Why I like Motorcycles

you two are arguing over a tool and its purpose

If I'm going to put a tack into my wall then I'll grab the tack hammer from my kit, not a 20 oz claw hammer

I'm fortunate to have several hammers to fit various jobs

But, if I could only have 1 hammer, and need it for various jobs (roles), then I'm going to go over-sized and get a 20 oz claw and just not swing it hard for tacks or small jobs

The same goes for bikes. If all you can afford is a scooter then so be it. But it's not going to do the job of 1500cc tourer or sport bike

A big bike can be used for short trips but it's clumsy to park but so aren't cars. On the flip side, an underpowered bike or scooter can be taken cross country but it's not going to perform like the properly sized bike. You will kick yourself for trying but it can be done, especially with 2 up, someone else is going to be kicking you as well

 

I find scooters to be effeminate. You sit on them, you don't ride them.
I'll take the bus before I'd ever taka a scooter anywhere in public.

Scooters are for folks like the one's who buy the Can Am trikes....a regular motorcycle intimidates them what with the coordination required for shifting and braking, every hand and foot action needing to be coordinated.
Motorcycles require attention, not just on the road, but on keeping the motorcycle under your constant control.

If you don't want to mess with all of that...if you want to sit up nice and straight on a scooter seat witth your feet resting on a flat surface and not pegs.....you get a scooter.

You could attach a Garrett TFE731-2 turbofan engine to a scooter and it's still...

a Scooter.

Even the name smacks of hipsterism...let's go "scooting"...

C;mon how can you defend them as not being unmanly?

I never said they weren't functional..it's the perception I'm talking about here...and yes I'm being blunt. If you're into scooters that's fine, I'm not. Now where's the bus pass because I'm never going to sit on a scooter and be seen in public doing so.

 

In other words: you are incredibly shallow and value your "image" over all else. I pity you.

Most scoot owners I know actually say, "Lets go riding."

 

Of course I'm shallow...your next point?

I'll grant you one thing. There are far more idiots on motorcycles than scooters. The typical scooter rider is probably a white collar worker on his way to a tech job, or something along those lines. He or she is obeying the traffic laws and are aware of their vulnerability compared with those riding in 4 wheeled cages. They aren't risk takers on two wheels and that is SMART riding. They view the choice of the scooter as environmentally friendly yet still dangerous enough to be cooler than stuck in a cage like a Prius.

That's my estimation of the scooter/motorcycle World out there.

Shallow perhaps, but blunt...and I respect blunt.

 

There really is no "typical" scooter rider. Many college students ride little 50cc scoots, since they usually do not need to be tagged, do not need a MC license, and in some cities, they can use bike lanes. On larger scooters, I have seen everyone from retirees to truck drivers to neo-hippies on them. Many ride because a scoot can manage 100+MPG, many others ride simply because it's FUN.

Will you take an opinion poll before buying your next bike?

 

I and my buddies must be exceptions to the rule then. We have all ridden motorcycles all our adult life, mainly sports bikes. I have had track bikes and so do my friends for track days. Quite a few of us ride scooters as a second bike. Great for nipping down the street for a coffee or the bread and milk without having to worry about being overly protected with full leathers and full-face helmet.

Troy Corser, (two times World Superbike champion) who lives in my area (when he's home) rides a scooter and quite a few of us are friendly with him. His father Steve is a regular rider on our ride days. Troy occasionally comes along when he's home.

Now living in Vientiane, my scooter (it's actually a step through) is my regular transport. I spend more time on it than in a car. Makes perfect sense with the city traffic.

 

I already know what my next bike will be, in fact my current bike is about to be moth balled until the Spring when I'll trade it in for one of these.


Kawasaki Concours 14

You like scooters, and that's all that matters...ride what you like. There are some nice scooters out there



However to me the notion of an automatic takes away the more visceral experience of clutch and shift work. Some scooters have manual shifting, but not many...there are few "automatic" motorcycles. Keeps your head in the game when you've got to do all the work in controlling the bike. Plus I'm so used to pegs, I could not get used to the ergonomics of scooter riding with your feet against a floor board.

 

What I typically see on a scooter is more in line with this...than a former Super bike champion.



Good for you and your buddies, as I will not ride a scooter...unless someone pays me to do so. I'd use my thumb before that....strictly on principles if nothing else.
Plus I don't race...I tour. My road companions are 40 ton tractor trailers...I want weight and power underneath me to compete for pavement..unless you're on a touring scooter, a small displacement urban scooter has no place on American highways for any extensive trips. You'd be road kill in no time.

 

I agree,, scooters are only for urban use.

 

They make some very nice, mid displacement scooters capable of highway use and extensive travel...however most urban scooters should stay off of the highway. My very first motorcycle was 500cc and my first longer road trip was 400km. It got scary at times, it's fully capable of highway speeds but it just didn't have the road presence of a bike built for touring.

Look at it this way, if you're on a scooter, you've got a cheap ride in terms of fuel. If you stay on city streets, it's far cheaper to use one than a car. The money saved can be used for something else. They are practical in that way, you just have to aware cars don't "see" you the way they see another car. I always wear bright yellow vests with reflectors when I ride, even if it looks dorky, because I want to be seen. A small scooter would scare me because they can be invisible to those traveling in cages. Cars and trucks.

 

I agree.That's an excellent way to put it.Scooters are for sitting on.Not riding.
A motorcycle requires some degree of skill.To shift,turn into a corner and brake.
Not just sit on and scoot around.I think I'm right about scooters being for those
not skilled enough to appreciate what a motorcycle offers.
I was wrong about the Russian Urals.With a sidecar and 2 wheel adaptability
they can easilty handle snow,better than most vehicles.Plus they can handle places most
vehicle couldn't dream of like off road on some broken trail in the backwoods.

 

The Concours was standard cop issue motorcycle.I think some CHIPS units
in California used them as well.The Honda ST 1300 is really a great overall bike.
I'd like to know how a 650 cc scooter could have a top speed of 120 mph.
That surpasses most Harley models { TC 88 versions }.
Top speed on Harley's Night Rod { upgraded V-rod } is 131 mph.
A mid 60's production Norton 650 SS { 110-115 mph}

 

They meant to say ... " Let's go sitting ". Er " Let's go sitting around town ".
Whatever floats yer ducky.

 

I have to respectfully disagree again. We can list all two-wheeled vehicles and do a comparison

We have bicycles, motorized bicycles, mini-bikes, mopeds, scooters, and of course motorcycles.

The basics of riding for all are the same. Turning is the same as well as braking.

Some typically have gears (i.e. bicycles, motorized bicycles, and motorcycles) while some typically don't (mini-bikes, mopeds and scooters). All but the bicycle are motorized but a bicycle can have over twice as many gears as a motorcycle.

Some are easier to ride and go faster but the basics are remain the same. There are bicycle racers that go faster than those riding a small displacement motorcycle (albeit not over long distances) and while braking and turning for a bicycle is typically more critical than for a motorcycle because of the extremely narrow tires. Some of these are vary similar in riding except for speed. There isn't much difference between a touring motorcycle and a scooter for example except the touring motorcycle is heavier when you come to a stop. We wouldn't lay over a touring M/C and drag the pegs for example like we might with a crotch rocket.

One thing common to all is that a person can get their **** in the breeze, regardless of what they're riding if it rains they all get wet and that's what riding is really about.

 

Are you stoned?!

 

Stupid statement!

 

Eh? I'm thinking about buying a scooter, since I can get a lower CC model, brand new, for within the $1 grand range - fully street and highway legal, and gets nearly 100 mpg - last year I got a used car which cost about $3,500 - and within 1 year the transmission is dying and will cost as much as I spent on the car to repair - I currently work at home and don't have to drive to commute, so I'm thinking of buying a scooter until I can save up money for a down payment on a more expensive used car which won't die out on me within the first year of buying it..

Or I could chalk out upwards of $10 grand for a new Harley which 'looks cooler'

 

First of all, what new scooter is less than $1K?
You're probably talking about something made in China with a 50cc engine displacement. If you think 50cc is "highway ready," you need to seriously reconsider this.
A smaller displacement new scooter of a reputable brand like Yamaha will run about $2K and a Vespa $3K. You're putting your life on the line with anything on 2 wheels, it's not a place to sacrifice safety. Same goes for the helmet, and I strongly suggest wearing a helmet, even if it's not mandated by law. I also strongly suggest getting a motorcycle license, again even if it's not mandated for that specific displacement. Prior to applying for the license, you should take a safety course.

Scooter riders are generally safer than motorcycles because they take less risks...any fool can plop down $4k - 5k on a used 600cc sport bike and have the ability to out accelerate 95% of anything on the road. The combination of youthful invincibility and raw power on 2 wheels is not conducive to general safety. Therefore a scooter for a new rider is not a bad choice...I would recommend something bigger than 50cc, but if you like that class, at least go with a reputable brand. For crissakes do not take it out on the highway, look I don't know you, it's some anonymous board...but stay off the highway on anything with less than 125cc under you. Even that is too small in my estimation. For me it's nothing less than 250cc.

You're going to get posters on here, "I rode a mini-bike from Alaska to Miami" you're wrong...
ok...I've ridden motorcycles for approaching 25 years...the first few months of getting experience on the roads are the most dangerous....don't take needless risks during this stage of riding...and go with quality over simply trying to save a buck. Scooters have small tires, you could hit a pot hole and lose control and even at 40mph, your body is going to be hitting the pavement hard. You get up to highway speeds and it enters the lethality zone, particularly since other vehicles are less apt to have the time and distance to avoid hitting you if you go down.

You're not protected by a cage, keep that in mind. A junker car breaks down, it's a hassle, a mechanical failure on 2 wheels and it's broken bones.... Is your life worth risking to save a few bucks?

 

Question for you, now be honest. How many times have you punted a motorbike around a race track in race track conditions?

 

I am ntly building a V-8 trike, engine not decided maybe a flathead ford. I know a three wheeler? Its not a big heavy boss hog type thing but rather a throw your leg over it, not as heavy as some dresser goldwings etc kind of trike. I hope it will keep my face in the win until I get better.
But what do I like about bikes? I love all of them. Been riding for um’ twenty years or more, began with a 750cc Norton Atlas (something like a triumph) basket case, that I pushed more than rode. I could have bought a pristine 1000cc kaw, but newwww’ !!!

I must be a motorcycle based masochist because I am a lover of old iron, and so my cash bought ten boxes of parts that I was promised was a complete bike…REALLY? I still do stupid s*fft like that because I am a lover of old stuff. Antiques etc are just so difficult, so much pain to restore that I often find myself questiining my motives. If someone is a specialist in a certain brand the pain is reduced, lol. Anyway, me being poor I buy what I can afford, and that means difficult to restore rides! Anyway I and the pretty black gloss and gold leafed embossed fuel tank Norton ended our affair after I spent a night on the blue ridge parkway wishing a bear would eat me to reduce the pain of hypothermia (it died in a black bear reserve) I traded the old brit bike for a even older 900cc 1959 XL Harley Sportster. It had a Fairbanks Morris magneto, linkert DC non accel. Pump carb (the same carb that an drag racing S&S ‘G’ fuel carb was based on and was made of cast alum, not brass like the early big twin linkerts. The sweet little 900 had aftermarket sifton minus-minus cams, four of them, branch heads w/manley stainless valves and real factory drag pipes, meaning smooth bends, no mufflers but baffled. For an ancient ride, in the early eighties, it was a fast bike for a HD anyway, and that sound!

By the sound I meant when two non PC drag piped sporsters are side by side their motors ‘harmonize’ when they together came up ‘on the cams’ (at about 110 mph in fourth gear * 4000 rpm), man they sounded like a P 38 lighting which is a beautiful supercharged WW2 aircraft, the twin booms contain two massive radial air cooled with 5” bore engines! Oh baby!

Its THAT euphoric feeling of freedom and nostalgia, of speed and I can explain it, its just something you have to, a definite bucket list item! I also love walking to the outbuilding in dawn, the smells of leather and hi test gasoline that permeates the shop where my baby sleeps, like a pet dragon just waiting for me to take her for a flight … that is why I love bikes.

reva

 

Actually, P-38's were powered by a pair of turbocharged, water-cooled Allison V-12's.

 

They're pretty much ALL made in China now. Nobody has claimed a 50cc is highway capable.

You can get a Honda Metro for $15-1600, or a Kymco for about the same. Used, of course, they're much cheaper!

Plenty of 150's are highway capable, at least for short runs. Otherwise, spot on.

I'm on two boards filled with mostly Chinese scooter riders. Not one has had a wreck related to mechanical failure! (One went down when a tire failed, but that had more to do with the vodka bottle he ran over.) If you can do basic service, a 50cc scoot is about as dirt-cheap as it gets!

- - - Updated - - -

Never have, not claimed I had. Yer point?

 

No point really. You appear to be getting aggressive in what started as a fun thread.

You come across as a tin top enthusiast trying to hold a conversation with a bunch of motorcyclists in a pub while drunk.

 

I mean like it ain't like the header {OP} was :
- Why I Like Motorscooters -.
Which then opens an all new can of worms.Is a motorscooter a motorcycle.
A scooter is a motorcycle with a step-thru frame and platform for feet.
Well then what's a motorcycle.?
A Cruiser isn't a Sportbike.A dirt bike isn't a sportbike.A touring bike certainly isn't
a dirt bike with bags.Even though like I said,Ewan McGregor might care to differ.
He went on a trip from London to New York, via central Europe,Ukraine,Mongolia,
Siberian Russia,Canada to the U.S.
A distance of 22,345 miles on a Beemer { BMW 1150 GS Adventure }.Which is kind of
a fancy schmancy touring dirt bike.Can handle off road.
Care to digress ?

 

You're getting as incoherent as Fool. Are you baked?