american road trip By tdi (Read 2,623 times)

[cyborg]

considering that most of honda's small displacement bikes were made by SYM it's no stretch to think the elite was one of them,,,i've seen a few SYMs up close now over the last 6 months,,,,i don't think anyone is making a better bike quality wise,,,no matter what the size

[tdi]

Let me thank you for all the feedback.
I am a long time lurker on this forum, the little I have learned so far it’s in great part thanks to the tech/help threads.
I am new to scooters some of you got many years of experience that I value and respect. You all live in a country that I never visited before. So all that you say I will take advice.
So far I love the idea of buying a brand new kymco agility 125cc for some reasons:
1-It’s very cheap
2-It uses the gy6 engine that I am familiar with and I have all the parts in my garage that will cost me nothing: CDI, rollers, belt, clutch, variator, pump, brake pads, new head, rectifier, relay …. Maybe its not the best engine (air cooled) but if i got one new scooter and carry with me the most important parts. If I can gently break it in the first 2.000 miles I will have a solid scooter
3-Where I live there is a scooter rental company with a fleet of kymcos agility, they take a hard beating in rough roads, in the desert, carrying surf boards and dropped on the beach all day. Guess what? With 20.000, 30.000 kms covered with rust they keep going strong
Use a good quality synthetic oil each 1000 miles, never use full throttle, don’t ride more than 100 miles without stopping to cool off, in the desert ride by night and stop even more.
I will travel real light: 1 lightweight tent, 1 summer sleeping bag, 1 small backpack, tools under the seat, extra gas and water. Right now I am 80 kgs, I will improve my training and try to lose 5 extra kgs in a effort to make the ride even lighter for the bike. With a total weight of man and gear less than 240 lbs. A lower value than the rated 385 lbs
I am not sure if the Elite 110 new is still for sale in USA? Is it?
I plan to get out of the plane and start riding as soon as possible, if I buy a new scooter I can arrange payment by bank transfer and have it ready upon my arrival. If I still go shopping for a used one I will lose precious days in a country that I don’t know, paying hotel and taxi fares
I would prefer not to buy a 3.000 or 4.000 usd scooter because: After I am done with my 2 to 3 months run what will I do with it? Leave it at the airport? Get 500 usd back? If I buy a 1.800 usd scooter the risk will be lower
And I agree with you fugaziiv the scooter cannonball victory by Dabinche was very impressive. It was a hard task against some impressive scooters.

[fugaziiv]

If you really want a Honda Elite 110, you'd have to source one used unfortunately as they were only sold in the US during the 2010 model year. Shame really, what a nice scoot.


Matt

[kz1000st]

Go with the Kymco Agility. If you plan on riding day after day for a lot of miles you want a reliable, solid scooter. I can't think of a better scooter for the price. Of course there is the SYM Symba but that's another story.

[cyborg]

You are right Matt ,,it is a shame what honda does,,,they exclude the U.S. market on a whole bunch of their smaller models,,,we just don't buy them,,,,they new Cub they keep talking about isn't here yet as i know of and is for sale everywhere else,,,kind of a drag,,,but in america we as a collective think anything below a 750 is a moped,,,the small stuff just doesn't sell well,,i am seeing younger riders riding some small stuff but they quickly graduate to big bores soon

[jct842]

Honda isn'the only bike/scooter co. that does that. 650cc used to be a big full sized bike, now today if you want that same sized bike you are looking at 1000 to 1200ccc min. They keep making them for midgets, huge bemouths with a 23 or 24" high seat. Handle like crap but they are "cool".

[kz1000st]

What I've never understood is the lack of publicity for the bikes the Chinese have. You want a Cub that doesn't cost $4000 but is just as good? The BMS Bi Metro. You want a 50cc that runs forever and sips gas? The Roketa MC114a like Rocket. If I had to I'd happily commute on the Bi Metro yet nobody knows about them. Where's the advertising?

[cookees]

Start your trip in Pittsburgh.... I've got a Lance (SYM) PCH 125 AND a SYM Symba leftover from my shop. I'll sell either to you at dealer cost. Of course you'll have to ride with a Steelers decal !!!
You can drive South and visit Bashan in Alabama, then head west.

BTW. I ride a PCH 125 and I feel it's one of the best scooters on the market.

[richardv]

Now there's a deal.

[tdi]

cookees that's a cool offer. Sym's have wonderfull products.
The main problem is to arrive to Pittsburgh.

Starting Points i have 3 options so far.
1- Dallas, because a brothers friend lives there and works in the police he can help me with the paperwork. Arriving in Dallas takes a long time but it's not all that expensive, it's one of the main hubs for KLM
2-Miami. I like the idea of starting in a corner and for me it's the cheapest flight option even if takes me 2 days to arrive there. It has the advantage also that i can just buy one way tickets that saves worries about exact dates and surcharges for changing it
3-Boston. It's the only destination that i have a direct flight but it will cost me double of the miami option

[JR]

I'm not going to get into the what is the best scooter BS, IMO it doesn't matter what you ride if you are considering the southern route from Texas to California and riding a scooter.

I'll just say this, heat or no heat and where you're listing shows it's not the same heat as the lower SW United States. Not only have I traveled this area many times in a auto but I've rode as far as 400 miles in a day to Dallas 5 times with 2 of the trips in July. Going slow may be good for the scooter but it'll make a parched pretzel out of you, reason I know this? On one of my trips I left at 6 a.m. with it a nice 79F and by the time I arrived in downtown Dallas it was 106F. I work in outside in the heat in Arkansas a lot and on that day for whatever reason I'll not ever know I wore a short sleeve T-shirt along with pants. As tanned as I always am both my arms blistered from the heat and 60 MPH speeds.

Just this past summer I traveled through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona to California and believe me when I say this is a desolate area in places. You see homes abandoned, stations closed, and miles of sand and tumbleweeds. The roads are rough and will test any scooter and for sure your rear end and it's not a place for the meek. Break down and unless you are extremely lucky and can get some phone signal you'll be walking because what few that come by will not stop for a stranger. Extremely difficult to work on a scooter on the side of the road in 100F + temps. If you're planning then I suggest late November and then traveling at night is off unless you like freezing.

Miami through the south, a lot easier and IMO a heck lot more to see and enjoy.

JR

[fugaziiv]

Sept 18, 2014 6:21:55 GMT -6 JR said:

Miami through the south, a lot easier and IMO a heck lot more to see and enjoy.

JR

I concur.



Matt

[colt44]

    See "underboning the world "

[tdi]

I have read the under boning thread on ADV, it was impressive how they traveled half world in a couple of symbas.

I should have my motorcycle driving exam next week. in European Union i can drive a 125cc with my B class driving license but i learned that in USA you need a Motorcycle driving license for that. So i will get done with it right now

The way dealers try to up-charge or price up a scooter is unbelievable:
Look how this guy prices up a simple yamaha vino from 2.290 to 3.649!!!
Price 2,290
Freight 300
Assembly 250
Batt/Tires 3.50
Dealer fee 399
Taxes 7% 226.98
Tag & Reg 180
TOTAL $3,649.48

[cyborg]

The local geniune dealer did that here too tdi,,,,the stella list is $35-$3600,,,by the time that guy got done it was north of $5000,,,EEFF THAT so i drove not quite a 200 mile round trip to pick it up for $3346 out the door,,,,i saved over $1600 ,,,and i tell you once this thing is broke in if i had the time,,,(and the dough too of course),,i wouldn't hesitate one minute to ride across the country and visit JR and RICH and as many people on the forum i could along the way,,,i think real low mile used is the way to go myself,,,there's only one reason i went new with this one,,,a screaming deal