This ain't "Top Gun" By cookees (Read 1,498 times)

[cookees]

What's with all this "need for speed"?

As I tell my customers, scooters everywhere in the world are used primarily for Cheap, Economical, Urban transportation.
However when they made the crossing to America something happened.

Americans first question was Cool....now can you put a bigger engine in it? Can I modify it to go faster? Can I make it sound louder?

Let's go over the parameters again:

Cheap... inexpensive, low sticker price

Economical... gas mileage in triple digits, low cost of maintenance

Urban... made for congested areas where parking is at a premium

A top speed of 60-65mph is more than enough for most modern metropolitan areas. 30-35mph is ideal for in city commuting.

I tell my customers, if you want to go fast, get crappy mileage, and spend a small fortune... the Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha dealers are down the road to the left...the Harley dealer is down the road to the right.

[250cc]

It seems that a lot of the "go faster" people are either young, unlicensed, uninsured and unregistered and are are buying 50cc scooters to skirt the registration, licensing and insurance laws. Then they want them to have the speed of a 150cc scooter or higher but still not have to obey the law. I think all scooters should be registered and have the proper liability coverage on them. After all if you hit my vehicle and tear it up why should I have to pay, and believe me a 50cc scooter traveling 30MPH can do a lot of damage.

[ccprof]

Wise words guys! I upgraded to the 250 not for higher speed but to better pull our hills. That's something that Cookees and JR know about. Here in PA, all scoots, even 50's have to be registered, have plates and insurance. You rarely see a 50 up here in the hills, just not enough power.

[250cc]

It is the same here in Ohio but you don't need a MC endorsement to ride a 50cc just a drivers license. Those people under 16 can ride Moped Only (with pedals) but they still have to be registered and insured. There are a lot of rules and regulations on 50cc and Mopeds too. Anyone under 18 must take the MSF course to be able to get a MC license.

[damin69]

I had the NEED for SPEED. I have a 125 and it tops out at about 47 with my FAT Arse on it. I really wanted to have cheaper transportation for going the 54 miles one way back and forth to work. I had figured a 125 would be fine for that. Well when it is 2 lane all the way to work and traffic is heavy people do not care if they cut off scooters so it was not safe at all. I needed to be able to do the speed limit so I upgraded to a 250 this year. Now I do not get passed very often and when I do I sure don't get the one finger salute I used to. So that is My TOP GUN reason for the NEED FOR SPEED!!!!

[cookees]

Jun 24, 2010 11:17:55 GMT -6 damin69 said:

I really wanted to have cheaper transportation for going the 54 miles one way back and forth to work. So that is My TOP GUN reason for the NEED FOR SPEED!!!!

54 miles one way!!!

That Sure Ain't Urban

[damin69]

Jun 24, 2010 11:30:02 GMT -6 cookees said:

Jun 24, 2010 11:17:55 GMT -6 damin69 said:

I really wanted to have cheaper transportation for going the 54 miles one way back and forth to work. So that is My TOP GUN reason for the NEED FOR SPEED!!!!

54 miles one way!!!

That Sure Ain't Urban

No it sure is not. But I do go through 7 towns on the way. And I work in Madison, Wisconsin so when you get down town by the University it is one big scooter parking lot. :-)

[jct842]

I am all for dropping all the benefits for 50 owners and make them have the same regulations as all the rest of us. license insurance registration etc. I don't really know that they are really benefits or not. As is in a lot of states a person with no idea of what it takes to ride upright on 2 wheels can get on an un-insured 50cc and cause a fatal crash and have no liability. It aint right.
Those who only ride for the price of gas are a different breed of rider. Those that ride on the cheap with chinese and expect the reliability that you only get with a yamaha or honda are a still different breed. I have rode since 1958 and never once bought a motorcycle or a scooter to save on gas, I buy to ride. The crotch rocket I just sold in jan cost more to own than a car, I had it 7 years and never had a break down, just maintainence like $150-180 chains, sprockets, and tires. no big deal to get 3000 mi on a $150-180 rear or a $120-150 front. every other rear tire, new sprockets and chain. the car I drove when I bought it got better mileage than the 28mpg I got on it on the highway with the crotch rocket. I have always rode because I like to ride. John

[Bashan]

I agree you're not going to get blinding speed out of a scooter, if you want that get a MC. My Amore putters along and that's fine with me. But there is some relatively inexpensive fun in trying to eke out a little more from a small engine. I think that's where the hobby part of scootering comes in. I rode my Bashan 150 today and I must say it was an exciting ride zipping through the curves and hills around here after using the "putter' for a couple weeks. I can see both sides of the scootering experience being entertaining. Rich

[zugzug]

I can relate to all sides of the issue. I've had from 60cc-1800cc bikes and everything in between. Ive done the Bigger, faster, mods, tweaks, etc. It was fun with every bike I owned and I enjoyed riding and tinkering with them all. ;D

And then came the scooter.... I have just as much fun and maybe even more since I got my first scoot the 150cc Riviera. Its good for almost all of my riding and I love the simplicity of it. Even though I like to tinker with stuff I refrained from doing too much because it runs so darn good!

Now your thinking, didnt he just buy a 250? Why yes I did. Even though the Rivi is great I wanted to have a little higher travelling speed on the 55+ roads. The Rivi can do 60 on a level no headwind stretch early in a ride but once the CVT gets nice and toasty I can only maintain a top speed of 53 mph.

I also see a lot of posts saying dont WOT for long periods. Personally I dont agree with that. As long as your motor is tuned properly (mainly not running lean) and your not overreving it( like with a no-limit CDI), the motor can run all day at WOT. These scoots are just like any other equipment/vehicle. Its all about the maintainence.

Umm, that sounds a lil like a rant doesnt it? OK rant over then...
-Zug

[wolfhound]

I agree with CooKies and Dr. JR basically. Nothing wrong with modding, have done a little. Nothing wrong with 50cc bikes when used correctly and in town. I own 2, one is my Tomos
Revival( my motor home bike) and the other is a TGB Delivery 50cc, it is a good campus bike or town bike. I will sell it soon. I traded my Tank 250 for an older TGB Delivery 150 and have no regrets. For my riding needs and area the TGB topping out at a bit over 60 is fine.
For those who are gifted at wrenching and who enjoy souping up 150's go for it. The idea is to have fun with the ride. For those of us who are not gifted in that area and want speed, go to the 250's. As for me I will stick with stock 150 scoots. If you really want to go FAST get a Piaggio MP3 500. Had one pass me on the X way the other day, I was doing 75 and he left me and a bunch of others in his dust doing at least 80. By the time you get thru modding you
will have spent enough to buy the Piaggio and can get more than enough speed plus have a reverse trike to boot. (well, perhaps not as much since the Piaggio runs around $9000.00).

[runningslow]

Jun 24, 2010 9:58:00 GMT -6 @250cc said:

It seems that a lot of the "go faster" people are either young, unlicensed, uninsured and unregistered and are are buying 50cc scooters to skirt the registration, licensing and insurance laws. Then they want them to have the speed of a 150cc scooter or higher but still not have to obey the law. I think all scooters should be registered and have the proper liability coverage on them. After all if you hit my vehicle and tear it up why should I have to pay, and believe me a 50cc scooter traveling 30MPH can do a lot of damage.

Down here in Florida, we're a little backwards. We don't have a mandatory helmet law and you're not required to have insurance on any motorcycle. There's some fine print for both, but that's the general rule. Kinda makes you go "hmmm..." when we have so many motorcyle related deaths during Daytona Bike Week and Biketoberfest each and every year.

In fact, at the moment I'm not insured, although I also haven't ridden my scoot in over 6 months. (Soon though!)

[250cc]

I'm not against getting all the speed that you can, that's why I got a 250 and sold my 150. I just don't like to see inexperienced young riders with more power than they can handle. I had a kid from Kentucky that wanted me to make him new decals for a 150 that said 50 so he could ride it on the street with no tags, license or insurance. I wouldn't do it but I'm sure he found someone who would. He was riding it at the time at a flea market, very recklessly barely missing people and tables.

[larrball]

I ride because i just plain like to ride my 50, and with little to nothing more then a good PDI i hit 40Mph when needed. $1.50-$2.00 a fill up does wonders on the pocket book as well

[ccprof]

Yep - economy is great but scoots are just plain fun. Welcome to the forum!