Touring Scooters

Zomby Woof wrote: I would ride this to work and not care what they think

This is beyond crazy and I have no idea what's going on.

I will say, however, that I once worked on a 50cc Aprilia that was punched out to 70cc with an agressive carb, race pipe, and a really silly clutch/weight/pulley setup, so the thing would seriously wheelie easier than my TL1000. It topped out at maybe 25mph, but it got there in about 2 seconds on the back wheel.

Basically unridable. Stupid fun.

In reply to alex:

Yes I was staring at this and wondering the same thing. It looks like a custom billet v-engine???

350 cc V4, 112 HP.

Scooters: All of the dangers of riding a motorcycle, without any of the joy.

Scooters: All the fun of riding a motorcycle without all the expense.

Scooters are like fat girls: a fun ride, but you don't want to have your friends see you on one.

^^That's the one. Thank you.

I can't wait for all those stupid scooter jokes to die a fiery death.

stuart in mn wrote: I can't wait for all those stupid scooter jokes to die a fiery death.

The only way that'll happen is if gas prices hit the stratosphere, and "normal" people need them for transit. I kind of hope that doesn't happen. As it is, I'm used to it, and have for the most part reached the "don't care" stage, as long as no one goes out of the way to endanger or harass me on the road.

Besides, scooters are a lot of fun to ride, its kind of hard to be in a bad mood while riding one.

What exactly is the differentiator between motorcycle and scooter? Clearly they have 2 wheels and a motor so technically speaking... they are motorcycles. Is there a rule that a scooter has to look retarded or be skirt friendly or something? I've seen some scooters that would embarrass a Ninja 250.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: What exactly is the differentiator between motorcycle and scooter? Clearly they have 2 wheels and a motor so technically speaking... they are motorcycles. Is there a rule that a scooter has to look retarded or be skirt friendly or something? I've seen some scooters that would embarrass a Ninja 250.

all the scooters I see are automatics, small wheels/tires, and have a riding position I highly dislike. I don't think the Ninja 250 is the motorcycling benchmark.

You straddle a motorcycle. You sit on a scooter.

Cotton wrote: I don't think the Ninja 250 is the motorcycling benchmark.

LOL, I guess I wouldn't call it that either. I'm not even sure why I said that.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: What exactly is the differentiator between motorcycle and scooter? Clearly they have 2 wheels and a motor so technically speaking... they are motorcycles. Is there a rule that a scooter has to look retarded or be skirt friendly or something? I've seen some scooters that would embarrass a Ninja 250.

It's pretty open to interpretation. Vespas and Lambrettas were originally manual shift. Scooters were pretty much originally just a step-through design with smaller than usual wheels. Some say if the engine is part of the swing arm, it's a scooter, but that would mean the Burgman 650 and the TMax are motorcycles. Some say it's if it's automatic, which would mean the Honda DN-01 or NC700 would be considered scooters. Some say it's the small wheels, but then my old Kymco had 16" wheels.

Greetings from the past.

A couple of years ago I bought a BIG classic japanese bike (1980 kawasaki KZ 1300 6 cyl) because it is just so kool.Unfortunately the seat hweight, weight and short inseams make keeping iit upright atstops signes really difficult so I had to stop trying. it is for sale at $3500 if any one is interested. Later I found a Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter with less than 20 k miles on the odometer. I bought it, added a taller windshield and new tires. this thing has gotten me back on two wheels. I rode it over 3500 miles last summer and may take it out again if the weather permits.

This is a fine motorcycle that handles well enough to ride twisty back roads or cruise the freeway at 75 plus. Two up slows it a bit but Anne can ride with me. Best of both worlds.

Several people have complimented my scoot and one asked me at a rest stop on the Maine Pike if the cops would throw me off the road for riding a scooter and I replied "only for speeding".

thanks for your time.

Greg W