Scooters, I just don't get them??

DandyDoug

DandyDoug

750cc
Late last year i came to a cross roads about continuing to ride.
My left arm had been bothering me for a while and one day about 300 miles from home it got so bad i could not squeeze the clutch lever without significant pain. Actually had tears running down my face gritting my teeth the rest of the way home.

Went to all the doc's , sports medicine folks , even an acupuncture clinic ( got the best relief from them ) My main doc took xrays and an MRI decided I had major nerve damage not just a case of tennis elbow. No good chance for any repair as far as he could tell . Lot's of ice and rest was the solution, but it's always there, sort of like someone hitting you on the funny bone with a hammer CONSTANTLY !

Sat and pondered what action to take , felt at 68 it might be finally time to hang up my helmet.
Actually tried to do just that a year before but it only lasted a month.
( for other reasons I won't go in to )

The wife is concerned since riding is really my only hobby , she suggested I try a scooter and see if it might work.

Managed to get an extended test ride on a 650 Suzuki Burgman.

I was pleasantly surprised at how it rode and handled, no problem on the freeway, hauls butt in the twisty bit's, stops like a sports bike, great weather protection , electric adjustable wind screen, ABS , huge ( and i mean ) huge storage capacity under the seat .
It has a dual type final drive CVT leave it in drive mode, or switch it to manual and toggle switch to change gears. Front brake and throttle just like a motorcycle, rear brake is where the clutch would be.
Solved my problem and kept me on two wheels, no regrets here.

Took it on a 1000 mile long weekend trip with a bunch of my Bonneville riding friends, got some good natured kidding at first , but that all stopped when they found i had no problem keeping pace with them running both on the freeway and in the twisty bit's.

It's really like a Goldwing light without the stereo .

So before you ( the original poster) shoot your mouth off sonny, I suggest you try one and get over your vanity before you disrespect those of us who can most likely put you in the weeds riding anyway :poke:
 
T

Twodogs

Street Tracker
DandyDoug said:
Late last year i came to a cross roads about continuing to ride.
My left arm had been bothering me for a while and one day about 300 miles from home it got so bad i could not squeeze the clutch lever without significant pain. Actually had tears running down my face gritting my teeth the rest of the way home.

Went to all the doc's , sports medicine folks , even an acupuncture clinic ( got the best relief from them ) My main doc took xrays and an MRI decided I had major nerve damage not just a case of tennis elbow. No good chance for any repair as far as he could tell . Lot's of ice and rest was the solution, but it's always there, sort of like someone hitting you on the funny bone with a hammer CONSTANTLY !

Sat and pondered what action to take , felt at 68 it might be finally time to hang up my helmet.
Actually tried to do just that a year before but it only lasted a month.
( for other reasons I won't go in to )

The wife is concerned since riding is really my only hobby , she suggested I try a scooter and see if it might work.

Managed to get an extended test ride on a 650 Suzuki Burgman.

I was pleasantly surprised at how it rode and handled, no problem on the freeway, hauls butt in the twisty bit's, stops like a sports bike, great weather protection , electric adjustable wind screen, ABS , huge ( and i mean ) huge storage capacity under the seat .
It has a dual type final drive CVT leave it in drive mode, or switch it to manual and toggle switch to change gears. Front brake and throttle just like a motorcycle, rear brake is where the clutch would be.
Solved my problem and kept me on two wheels, no regrets here.

Took it on a 1000 mile long weekend trip with a bunch of my Bonneville riding friends, got some good natured kidding at first , but that all stopped when they found i had no problem keeping pace with them running both on the freeway and in the twisty bit's.

It's really like a Goldwing light without the stereo .

So before you ( the original poster) shoot your mouth off sonny, I suggest you try one and get over your vanity before you disrespect those of us who can most likely put you in the weeds riding anyway :poke:
Click to expand...

Excuse me Dandy Doug I was reading your post with great interest right up until the very last bit and I must say I take your comments with much the disrespect that you accuse me of. Please take your time to read the my post and I purely asked the question as to owning a Scooter vs a motorcycles, I just didn't get scooters. A lot of comments centred around fashion statements in regards to the smaller size ones and other practicalities such as fuel economy, unrestricted laws for riding etc which I can understand but it was the larger size ones I did not really understand and your comments were explaining this to me, but at no time did I belittle or downgrade the individual who chooses to ride one. so in future Pops read the post before you come out with all guns a blazing! PS love the comment about putting me in the weeds......how old are you really??
 
britman

britman

Scooter
Know the feeling

Went to all the doc's , sports medicine folks , even an acupuncture clinic ( got the best relief from them ) My main doc took xrays and an MRI decided I had major nerve damage not just a case of tennis elbow. No good chance for any repair as far as he could tell . Lot's of ice and rest was the solution, but it's always there, sort of like someone hitting you on the funny bone with a hammer CONSTANTLY !


Doug,

I can relate and suffer from the same condition. At 63 mine is the result of years of lifting weights, spending the last 13 years pushing around wire and heaving pipe in an electrical warehouse, with some good old arthritis thrown in for good measure. Like you know some days are better than others. (Don't you younger guys love it when old people discuss their conditions.) In reference to acupuncture, I was damn skeptical but gave it a try. I agree, a little 5'2" rice propelled gentleman made me feel a hell of allot better with needles. I plan to keep riding as long as I can or until I leave one day and can't find my way back home. Sadly I must confess I think any trips of distance are really a thing of past, but I make the most of short runs. Keep the scooter between the ditches and enjoy the same wind and joy we all experience no matter what the ride the is, just so it has two wheels.....
 
M

Mark

750cc
285274957616555359_8ZTpaG4b.jpg


keep on rockin in the free world!
 
T-boy

T-boy

Rocker
DandyDoug said:
My left arm had been bothering me for a while and one day about 300 miles from home it got so bad i could not squeeze the clutch lever without significant pain. Actually had tears running down my face gritting my teeth the rest of the way home.
Click to expand...

This is exactly why I limit my rides to 30 minutes or less, tops. Some days it seems worse than others for some reason. As long as we're riding something with 2 wheels we can call ourselves bikers, right?
 
KingBear

KingBear

Hooligan
I also used to think scooters were lame, but nowadays I get it. As far as size goes, I sometimes take shit about my little 865cc Bonneville from my Road King riding buddies, so I'm over the "bigger is better" thing. Most scooters aren't meant for highways or even major surface roads. They are primarily for urban transportation - just enough speed for downtown, nimble, easy to ride, squeeze into any parking space or even pulled up onto the sidewalk, mileage upwards of 100mpg, and all the other points previously mentioned. Plus some appreciate not having to swing their leg up over the saddle, just step through the open frame (which is usually part of the legal description of a scooter).

Here in the states relatively few of us would use scooters as a primary form of transportation mainly because we frequently drive so far, so fast, on roads so big that a scooter just wouldn't seem practical. But if I lived downtown in an apartment or townhouse, and measured my most frequent trips in blocks instead of miles, I'd probably own one. Even now if I had a stable of a half dozen different model bikes, I'd count a larger CC scooter among them. Maybe this retro Vespa...

vespa-gtv-300-ie-has-classy-looks-but-the-price_1.jpg
 
DandyDoug

DandyDoug

750cc
Twodogs said:
Excuse me Dandy Doug I was reading your post with great interest right up until the very last bit and I must say I take your comments with much the disrespect that you accuse me of. Please take your time to read the my post and I purely asked the question as to owning a Scooter vs a motorcycles, I just didn't get scooters. A lot of comments centred around fashion statements in regards to the smaller size ones and other practicalities such as fuel economy, unrestricted laws for riding etc which I can understand but it was the larger size ones I did not really understand and your comments were explaining this to me, but at no time did I belittle or downgrade the individual who chooses to ride one. so in future Pops read the post before you come out with all guns a blazing! PS love the comment about putting me in the weeds......how old are you really??
Click to expand...

Just re -read your original post; I stand corrected :c
 
hankmarx

hankmarx

750cc
I have to admit I am attracted to the Honda Ruckus. It's like the minibike I never got. :scooter:
 

Attachments

  • 2007HondaRuckus.jpg
    2007HondaRuckus.jpg
    86.4 KB · Views: 0
S

simpson

TT Racer
We had a Ruckus on consignment at our shop for a couple of weeks...
We rode it a lot. Lots of fun, but I agree with Bonafide: overpriced.

-simpson
 
Cereal KLR

Cereal KLR

Two Stroke
Last year picked up a Yamaha Zuma 50 off Craigslist for 250 bucks. Only 700 miles and theft recovery from kids by the looks of the wiring harness (they jumped the wires to the fuel level gauge to try and start it).

While I had it torn down figured lets make some more ponies so went with the 70cc kit/carb/pipe. This thing is so much fun that when I take it to swap meets or Bonneville as a pit bike my friends never let the thing cool off.

Gets crap gas mileage now but the laughs are worth it when it gets on the pipe and wraps the speedo around. As a bonus it will hold a bag of ice and two six packs under the seat no problem :)
 
hankmarx

hankmarx

750cc
woah, woah, woah. I am not buying a scooter. I said I was just looking. And maybe just one roll around the block. Maybe once around south Austin. If it were late and I had on a full face. hmph.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top