'My - Have Scooters Changed Over The Years'

[Panther_99FS]

up here in toronto, scooters are for people who can afford a motorcycle, but are too snooty to ride one. it never ceases to amaze me when i see some goof ride by on a brand new vespa that i know he paid over 3 grand for.
he coulda spent the same money and got an actual motorcycle.

Ah I hate to say this...
But most motorcycles today start at around 5K.......

 

[Matt Wynn]

my First' Moped/Scooter was a Peugeot Speedfight 2, now i had saved for years and years and finally got my dream bike...

Speedfight 2

my current beauty...

'Cept mines yellow i like the 996R and i like some of the older bikes too, what i'd give to ride a Vincent Black Shadow

 

[djscoo]

My dream bike...and when I get it, I will wear a helmet like the one in Panther's picture.
View attachment 29271

 

[brad kaste]

Now here is a scooter!

Cushman Scooters from the 1940's and 50's. Can't beat 'em. Heck,...ever the Dead End boys would tool around on them.

 

[Ken Stallings]

My brother has nearly paid for his Piaggio in what he has saved in petrol and Congestion Charge already and he's only had it a couple of years. It costs him pennies to commute into London every day. One thing he doesn't look when he is riding it though is 'trendy'

I wouldn't fancy trying to commute to work in a Cessna Skyhawk.

Congestion Charge ...

I'm suddenly reminded of the scene from Blazing Saddles where the character played by Slim Pickens arrives at the toll booth for the LePetamain Throughfare and laments, "Now what'll that ******* think of next!"

I'm sure enough taxes by governments could make walking more affordable. But that doesn't really mean its more efficient.

Obviously you missed the point ... what vehicle do you really think costs more to produce -- an airplane or a scooter? Considering mass production, the scooter is way overpriced. Even more overpriced than an airplane, and that's not exactly a victory one should want because aircraft are overpriced also.

A motorcycle at $5,000 is a better buy than a scooter at $3,000. My point is that to charge $50,000 for a three-wheel motorcycle is ridiculous. I could have compared it to a $15,000 Mini but I thought since it was equivalent to an airplane that the comparison would make the point better. Since this is a flight-themed website I thought perhaps that point would emerge. Guess I was wrong!

Ken

 

[6297J]

Precisely!

I was watching "How It's Made" this morning. They showed production of a three-wheeled vehicle for road travel. It was a glorified motorcycle but with the styling of an ATV.

It costs $50,000! :isadizzy:

To put into perspective ...

For $50,000 you could purchase a quality 1970's era Cessna Skyhawk. Right now, even a 300 total hour 2000 model Skyhawk only costs about $100,000.

The price of things today is totally out of hand. And I suspect part of the reason is the marketing focus on "being trendy."

..........................

Obviously you missed the point ... what vehicle do you really think costs more to produce -- an airplane or a scooter? Considering mass production, the scooter is way overpriced. Even more overpriced than an airplane, and that's not exactly a victory one should want because aircraft are overpriced also.

Did you mean this high-performance hand-built luxury three wheeled vehicle?

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/382547/how_its_made_three_wheeled_vehicles/

I'd say 50 grand was about right.

In fact I'd say it was a bargain compared to a beaten up mass produced thiry to forty year old Skyhawk which I couldn't drive to work in.

But then we'd be comparing apples and oranges again wouldn't we :mixedsmi:

 

[Bjoern]

Two wheels and an engine is an engine too much.

 

[cheezyflier]

Ah I hate to say this...
But most motorcycles today start at around 5K.......

i wouldn't buy a motorcycle new for 5 grand. about the only one i know for that cheap (at least 600 cc) would be the korean hyosung, and it's garbage. these days, anything less than 600cc doesn't belong on the freeway. there was a time when you could get a small bike that would have been ok for short-ish hops, but i haven't seen any made in the past 10-15 yrs.

i sold this bike at the going rate, which at the time (2008) was 3 grand

99 suzuki intruder vs 800
hard bags, custom seats, forwards, airhorns digital tach, lightbar, jet kit,new avon venom tires, windshield, jardine exhaust, and too many chrome goodies to list. 30k miles.

450 miles in a day is no big deal on that bike. you can't do that on a scooter.

that said, for a scooter, the piaggio is pretty cool and they corner real good too. it's not for me, but i do appreciate the innovation and technology.

answering the statement about half helmets.
manufacturers don't need to test their helmets in order to claim a DOT rating! a helmet manufacturer only needs to feel that a helmet is meeting the DOT specs to brand it as "DOT rated." the DOT might occasionally pull helmets to perform testing, but the most helmets sold as DOT certified do not undergo any testing. snell testing is far more rigorous and all helmets claiming a snell rating have paid for the helmet to be tested by snell.
be advised that even many of the models claiming dot certification that actually were tested still failed. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/2008s218.pdf

the dot tests a helmet by dropping it from a height of 10ft. if the simulated head inside the helmet recieves less than 400 gravity units, it passes dot.
a dot certified helmet will not protect you in a collision where you impact at more than about 25mph. your neck wouldn't survive the impact anyway, making any helmet (in that situation) useless for anything other then having an open casket funeral. what a full face helmet is good for, is if you go sliding down the road at 80 mph. as long as you don't hit anything with your head, you'll get to keep your face. most accidents at speed, the head leaves the body because the weight of the full face helmet pulls it off.
however, most accidents over all, impact at speeds less than 25 mph if the rider has time to do any real braking and manages to keep the bike upright all the way to impact. the guy who tells you "i had to lay it down" is an ill-informed rider who jepordized his own life. sorry for the dissertation, but hopefully that clears things up

 

[Matt Wynn]

do yourself a favour and don't go and look at the going rate for a 996R or it's spec, it's heart attack territory

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/ducati/ducati_996r.htm

... standing quarter mile in 10.1secs, top speed of 281.6Km/h....... beauty! and as for helmet well... I have a Simpson Bandit, it'll be familiar to some of you. looking at upgrading it to a Simpson X Bandit

at least my car is a bit more same.... Mazda MX-5

 

[kilo delta]

Was never interested in 2 wheels, preferring the relative comfort and safety of a 4 wheeled vehicle. My BIL recently bought a tuned 1300cc Hayabusa....impressive machine.....but I'd rather rip the engine out of it and put it in a classic Mini,Smart car etc.

 

[CADFather]

Here is a proper scooter for a man.

2005 Triumph Rocket III in the faster black color. Just 2300 CC's or for the conversion challenged 140 Cubic Inches, 140 horsepower and 150 pound feet of torque. Weighs just 704 pounds dry and still gets close to 50 MPG. No it doesn't handle like a sport bike, but it does handle better than any of the three "American" bikes I've owned plus a couple of the Japanese cruisers I've had.

 

[Brian_Gladden]

Speed you come off a motorcycle, half helmets are as useful as not wearing any in most occasions.


...I might not be the best looking guy but I like to keep my face in once piece, dont fancy my jaw being ripped half off either

After 20 years in emergency services... I wholly agree with this. There's a reason we called 1/2 helmets on the ambulance, "Brain Buckets". Cause that's all that's covered by the things.

Here's a scenario. I was in New Hampshire one day (No helmet law) and I saw a bunch of Harley types wearing no helmets, jeans and t-shirts. a little ways down the road is a guy on a sport bike full leathers and a full face helmet.

Now tell me who is more likely to get up and limp away after laying the bike down after getting cut off by grandma in her Crown Vic?


I don't own a motorcycle but if I did, My minimum riding attire would be boots, jeans, leather jacket, gloves and a full face helmet.

I've been to, too many bike wrecks over the years. It always seems to be the Harly crowd wearing the half helmets... the Gold Wing crowd seems to wear at least 3/4 or full face helmets for the most part.


I'll get off my soapbox now....


Brian

 

[cheezyflier]

cadfather, i agree, the rocket is an awesome bike. hinkley marches to the beat of it's own drum, and seems to do it very well. even their electrics have improved. hahahaha

 

[CADFather]

Lucas didn't earn the nickname of "Prince of Darkness" for nothing. Just ask an owner of anything with Lucas electrics.:salute: I do love the power of the Rocket and always feel a little weird when I get on it. I mean it's British for Gods' sake, it shouldn't be that powerful, then I remember that it was the Brits that made the Mustang fighter what it was with the Merlin. And they did give such things as the Spitfire, Lancaster and other powerhouses as well. It must be an American attitude thing I have, I mean I come from the land of Chevys, Fords and the mighty Mopar, but this bike kicks tail in any language.

Oh and plus one on the full face helmet debate, even though one of the many Docs piecing me back together after my little accident in '06, told me that the added weight of a full face helmet would have more than likely caused the vertebrae in my neck that cracked to completely fracture and/or severe my spinal cord. As it was I had 3 cracked vertebrae in my neck and my skid lid came off at some point during the crash. According to the witness statements my head never impacted, but my brain managed to smack the inside of my skull. I did suffer some head trauma, which required brain surgery and during that I had a stroke. So yeah, I'm luckier than Dick with 2 dogs, or something to that effect to still be here and have most of my faculties. For me and mine at least, it's now All The Gear, All The Time. (ATGATT) I'd rather sweat than bleed any day.
CAD

 

[Ken Stallings]

My first reaction to the Triumph bike was to note that you could get 140hp from a 140cu inch engine! That's very impressive!

Ken

 

[Mobayrasta]

As a motorcycle owner and rider, I would still love something like a Honda Silverwing. Very comfortable and easy ride, with as much power as you could ever need. Its almost like a sport bike thats comfy.

I have a Triumph Sprint ST and am getting ready to go and buy a Triumph Rocket III ( http://www.triumphrocket.com/ now this is a BIKE) but would still ride a Silverwing or some other type of large scooter and not think twice about it.

What I can't understand is paying way too much for a bike because of a name.....

Would never waste my money on an overpriced dinosaur. I will take nice new, much cheaper technology over old tech for twice the price anyday.

 

[Mobayrasta]

Here is a proper scooter for a man.

2005 Triumph Rocket III in the faster black color. Just 2300 CC's or for the conversion challenged 140 Cubic Inches, 140 horsepower and 150 pound feet of torque. Weighs just 704 pounds dry and still gets close to 50 MPG. No it doesn't handle like a sport bike, but it does handle better than any of the three "American" bikes I've owned plus a couple of the Japanese cruisers I've had.

I made my post before seeing yours. I can't wait for my Rocket III. I AM SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED. A perfect compliment to my Sprint sport tourer!

God that Rocket is an amazing piece of equipment for about the same price as a low end Harley. Just can't get over it.

 

[Dain Arns]

As a motorcycle owner and rider, I would still love something like a Honda Silverwing. Very comfortable and easy ride, with as much power as you could ever need. Its almost like a sport bike thats comfy...

Exactly.

Something light. Easy. Need to "go grab a half gallon of milk at the store" kinda bike.
Kathy's Dad had a Silverwing, and a Goldwing. Well, a Harley too.
To me anyway, it's nice to have something lighter to run around town with all of the starts and stops at intersections.
I guess that's my mindset.

I'd never use a 50cc though. I consider that attempting suicide.

 

[luckydog]

i wouldn't buy a motorcycle new for 5 grand. about the only one i know for that cheap (at least 600 cc) would be the korean hyosung, and it's garbage. these days, anything less than 600cc doesn't belong on the freeway. there was a time when you could get a small bike that would have been ok for short-ish hops, but i haven't seen any made in the past 10-15 yrs.

i sold this bike at the going rate, which at the time (2008) was 3 grand

99 suzuki intruder vs 800
hard bags, custom seats, forwards, airhorns digital tach, lightbar, jet kit,new avon venom tires, windshield, jardine exhaust, and too many chrome goodies to list. 30k miles.

450 miles in a day is no big deal on that bike. you can't do that on a scooter.

that said, for a scooter, the piaggio is pretty cool and they corner real good too. it's not for me, but i do appreciate the innovation and technology.

answering the statement about half helmets.
manufacturers don't need to test their helmets in order to claim a DOT rating! a helmet manufacturer only needs to feel that a helmet is meeting the DOT specs to brand it as "DOT rated." the DOT might occasionally pull helmets to perform testing, but the most helmets sold as DOT certified do not undergo any testing. snell testing is far more rigorous and all helmets claiming a snell rating have paid for the helmet to be tested by snell.
be advised that even many of the models claiming dot certification that actually were tested still failed. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/2008s218.pdf

the dot tests a helmet by dropping it from a height of 10ft. if the simulated head inside the helmet recieves less than 400 gravity units, it passes dot.
a dot certified helmet will not protect you in a collision where you impact at more than about 25mph. your neck wouldn't survive the impact anyway, making any helmet (in that situation) useless for anything other then having an open casket funeral. what a full face helmet is good for, is if you go sliding down the road at 80 mph. as long as you don't hit anything with your head, you'll get to keep your face. most accidents at speed, the head leaves the body because the weight of the full face helmet pulls it off.
however, most accidents over all, impact at speeds less than 25 mph if the rider has time to do any real braking and manages to keep the bike upright all the way to impact. the guy who tells you "i had to lay it down" is an ill-informed rider who jepordized his own life. sorry for the dissertation, but hopefully that clears things up

We have the same tastes and philosophies, Cheez...............
my first bike was a new '68 BSA 650 Lightning, followed by several Harleys.
My latest (and probably last) ride is this '96 1100 Viagra:

View attachment 29325

I agree that helmets are not much more than decoration.
On an open highway.......a do-rag and goggles is fine ( depending on
state law).
1/2 helmet on a nice day in town.....
rainy and/or cold: full face.

 

[CADFather]

I made my post before seeing yours. I can't wait for my Rocket III. I AM SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED. A perfect compliment to my Sprint sport tourer!

God that Rocket is an amazing piece of equipment for about the same price as a low end Harley. Just can't get over it.

When you get your Rock be sure to check out the Rocket forums, both the dot net and dot com sites are good. Net is more technical, while Com is a little more relaxed and fun. We are having a gathering coming up in April in the Texas hill country, I realize that is a pretty good ride from Maryland, but it'll be well worth the trip.
CAD