Old dog considering new tricks (scooters)

Out again. We mixed it up, urban adventure cruising...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/in-search-of-skanka.html



Fueling up, we had the opportunity to get some real-world mileage numbers:
I went 115 miles, used 1.15 gallons... pretty easy to figure that at a nice even 100 miles per gallon. The Blonde went the same 115 miles, used 1.08 gallons, coming in at 106 miles per gallon. I can easily attribute that to the fact that I outweigh her; neither of us have been babying the throttle.

These little scoots just keep impressing me!

Best wishes,
Captain Jim

Cap'n,

Sure have been enjoying this post. As someone who has been keeping an eye on the scooter market, the two scoot idea is very appealing to the Mrs., and you two are making that alot easier for me. Thanks for that. I also have been linking up to your blog.

BTW, on the Harley issue. When ever i'm on my older r100, I always make sure that when I park near a bike gathering I search out the Harley section. I squeeze right in, look around, and then announce, "Is this the good bike parking, or just Harley's". Pisses those leather-chrome heads off.

More pics are needed.

Thanks for the kind words, Sam... we're just having fun. One of my favorite bikes was an R1100RT after owning a series of Harleys. A Harley riding friend of mine asked, "How's the yuppie bike?"

I told him, "The bike is great! More comfortable than the dresser, and I'm doing fine with the surgery."

"Surgery?"

"Yeah, to get my nose turned up."



Another person's ride doesn't make mine better or worse. I'm fine joking with any bike owner... as long as they have a sense of humor.

We were at a WingDing in Madison, WI, years ago and some of the people there found out we lived near Sturgis.

One guy asked me, "Have you ever taken your GoldWing to Sturgis? I heard they beat you up if you show up on anything but a Harley."

He was serious.

I responded with, "Yes, that's true. When you come into town, they divide the traffic into 2 lanes: beating and non-beating. (long pause) Are you kidding me??"



Chopper, squid, sport tourer, cruiser, dirt riders, scooter pilots... most of us on two wheels have something in common... it's about the experience. And if you can laugh at yourself, it's good; or if you can laugh at someone else, it's even better!

Best wishes,
Jim

The Blonde is making riding plans for tomorrow, and told me about another ride she wants to do on Friday, to a festival. This is great - I don't even have to be the "tour director." Yeah, Sam, this is working out good!

Capt...are you allowed to ride on the Tx toll road with those scooters???
BTW...nice rides
ct

Enjoy the new scoots, but do be careful around here. Phoenix has some REALLY bad drivers, and I believe they have more cell phone impaired drivers than anywhere else in the country. With those 150s you might be able to make it up to Canyon Lake/Tortilla Flats area. It becomes a major biker hangout on weekends this time of the year, mostly Harleys though. I've had my Genuine Stella up there a few times.

No toll roads in our part of Texas (the Tropical Tip... WAY down south). The PCX 150 is supposed to be legal on Interstate highways... doesn't mean we'll be looking for that. These scoots are going to be taking us on the byways more than the highways.

Thanks, Jerry. We have traveled all over this country. Phoenix has some bad drivers, but they are pussycats compared to Texas. Yes, I know motorcyclists in every state think their drivers are the worst, but Texas seems to have a much higher proportion of aggressive drivers. I consider it NASCAR meets Tijuana Taxi! :eek1

"Neighborhood cruising" in the desert...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/into-desert.html

Big Red & Little Red:



Best wishes,
Captain Jim

The windshields are back-ordered... we need something to keep that hot dry wind from frying our faces...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/flip-top.html



Not a lot of miles today, but even better miles per gallon!

Best wishes,
Captain Jim

Been here all my life, never heard of Verado. But very familiar with Buckeye. Used to work part time for a trucking company out there. I belong to a local model rocketry club, and our launch site is way out in Rainbow Valley, southwest of PIR and the Estrella Mountain development. I go through Buckeye to get there.

My bad, Jerry - it's Verrado, with 2 "r"s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verrado

Off to Scottsdale today. Here's my definition of "urban cruising"...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/urban-cruising.html

We stopped at the motorcycle shop to make an appointment for our break-in service. I have to chuckle about these scooters: so easy... and fun.

Best wishes,
Captain Jim

It's worth the trip...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/its-worth-trip.html

Scootering off for Sunday breakfast.

Best wishes,
Jim

Live to ride, ride to eat...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/ridin-hogs-and-lookin-for-chicks.html

Fueling up today: my bike - 100 mpg, her bike - 109 mpg. I am truly amazed at the mileage we are getting on these scoots. Yes, I read what others are getting, but in real world use (cars, trucks, boats, RVs, motorcycles), I rarely seem to get what others state. Maybe I'm overly realistic?

Best wishes,
Captain Jim

Nah, growing up near Disneyland we had a game of name the state by how they drive. Massachusetts has the worst drivers in the nation, Louisiana and Florida are both worse than Texas especially when you get outside of the major cities. When I see Louisiana plates on a car in Houston pay close attention to what they are doing. Not all folks in Louisiana are bad drivers but there's a pretty high percentage that are.

FWIW, my son used to lie to his friends when they'd ask the gas mileage he was getting on our Buddy 125. He'd tell them 95mpg when he really got closer to 105. I asked him why and he said they felt bad enough about the gas mileage of their truck or car. Plus his school required a parking permit with a $100 fee to park a car, assuming you were lucky enough to get one of the limited number of parking permits while the Buddy and other scooter/motorcycles have an area they can park free without a permit.

Ah, this reminds me of the George Carlin routine about "two kinds of drivers."

There are plenty of bad drivers out there - my comment was in regards to aggressive drivers. Only in Texas have I been passed on the right... when I was already in the right lane! :huh Only in Texas have I been passed on the left, only to have that driver cut across 5 lanes of traffic to "make the exit." If you are only doing 10 miles per hour over the speed limit, they will come up behind you and ride your bumper (rather than just pass). After we were hit by an uninsured driver in Texas, I was told by the insurance adjuster that they estimate over 40% of the drivers in south Texas don't carry insurance. When we are there, I tend to spend more time on the water than on the roads... it's much safer.

We spent 30 years in the Black Hills in western South Dakota. It is a motorcycling wonderland. Also, a major tourist destination... so there are drivers from all over there, just like Disneyland. Plenty of "flatlanders" who haven't driven hills, mountains, and twisty roads. We have traveled coast to coast; from south of the Mexico border to north of the Canadian border... there are plenty of bad drivers out there.

If you see a car driving 20 mph under the speed limit, in the passing lane, with their left turn signal blinking away endlessly... betcha there's a Minnesota license plate on there!

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Regarding the gas mileage: when someone asks, I tell 'em "around 100 miles per gallon." My wife is always quick to add, "I get better than that." Apparently, it IS a contest.

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More scootering around today - lunch out and some shopping. We put an easy 55 miles of in-town driving on the scoots.

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/just-boppin.html

Best wishes,
Captain Jim

I'm sure it's the fact that the Honda just looks friendly - it brings out the comments...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/comments.html

Best wishes,
Captain Jim

Git yer motor runnin'.
Head on on the highway...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2013/03/speed-runs.html



Best wishes,
Jim

Another fuel-up today - I did not break the century mark... Captain Jim's bike: 98 mpg; the Blonde's bike: 104 mpg.

About 12 years ago, I was riding a 50cc Tomos moped with a top speed of 30 mph on the right shoulder of SR347, between I-10 and the town of Maricopa. At that tine Maricopa was experiencing a huge housing and commercial construction boom, and the traffic on the 4 lane road (2 lanes in each direction) was heavy and the drivers aggressive. It was perfectly legal to ride the moped on the shoulder of a rural road in AZ, bicyclists do it all the time, in fact I had passed a couple of them earlier. Some moron in a Suburban decided traffic was not going fast enough (it was about 65-70) and tried to pass on the right shoulder. He did not see me riding along at 30 mph until it was to late. He ran off the shoulder and into the dirt, but cut it to close, the corner of his front bumper caught my right leg just below the knee from behind, breaking my leg in several places, tearing us muscles and ligaments, etc. I went down hard, and instead of sliding, tumbled until I came to a stop. I had 9 broken bones, a lot of road rash, and severe muscle, tendon, ligament, and cartilage damage.

The broken bones and road rash healed, but I still have issues with the tissue damage, and the doctor says I always will. There were multiple witnesses, and the Sub driver stopped. I collected a $50,000 insurance settlement (policy limits), my insurance from work covered all the medical bills, but I had to be off work for 3 months (2 weeks of it in the hospital) and had to use my sick leave time for that.

I had already noticed that there was absolutely no traffic enforcement on that road, which was under the jurisdiction of no less than 4 different LE agencies, AZ DPS, the only one that responded to the accident, Maricopa county sheriffs office, Maricopa police department, and Gila River Indian reservation police. I sent emails to all 4 agencies and the governors office, the only one I heard back from was DPS, thanking me for my interest. BS.

I now notice the police are all over that road, from one end to the other. They must stop at least 100 vehicles a day.

There are places in AZ where the drivers are not to bad, and there are places it is attempted suicide to go on a scooter, moped, or small motorcycle.

I was recently up in the Payson/Show Low area, in a truck, and encountered heavy snow between Payson and Show Low (about 100 miles) I noticed a lot of people driving way to fast. I also noticed a lot of vehicles that had slammed into guard rails, run off the road into ditches and trees, and a couple of rollovers. For some reason almost everyone in this state is absolutely determined to drive as fast as they can. Some go just a little too far.

And besides cars, several roads were pretty much taken over by crotch rocket riders, riding over 100 mph through curvy mountain roads in large groups. The cops finally got tired of that, and called in enough reinforcements to shut it down. These roads are still heavily populated with cops, and these riders are still getting busted despite all the publicity about it.

Hi Jerry,

I certainly understand. I've been riding for 45 years, and have gotten off hard twice. I don't ride my motorcycle a lot in south Texas because of the aggressive drivers. The problem for riders everywhere is: someone stupid can show up anywhere... not just where traffic is congested.

I've noticed a change in attitude (mine) as I've ... um... matured. While there are times I enjoy carving up a canyon, I just like being out on two wheels. Perhaps I am saying something that all the scooter riders here already know, but I feel (and act) differently on the scooter. Perhaps it is a change in mindset, maybe I've mellowed, or it could be that old "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" advertising? I have no desire to "challenge" the road or the conditions.

I know there comes a time when one has to say, "Maybe it's time to be done with this motorcycle stuff?" I have to say I was getting pretty close to that decision... and then my wife brought up the idea of a couple scooters.

I'm having fun on two wheels again. We are being cautious - it takes longer to heal at our age. Or, as my dear ol' Mother used to say: "Getting old isn't for sissies." If I can't blend with traffic, I'll do my best to find alternative routing. I have said before, I don't much like big cities. For a lot of years, I have "endured" our time in Phoenix... because we get to spend time with our delightful daughter and son-in-law. For the past couple weeks, I have seen this city in a different light... not doing the Interstates and expressways has actually been a pleasure. Instead of "Well, it will take us a half hour to get to Bell Road via the 101," I don't care how long it takes, and I'm enjoying the time enroute.

The scooters are light, maneuverable, and easy. There was a time in my life I would have been embarrassed about riding something "so small." These days, I don't need a particular motor size or brand. I'm just having fun!

Let's all ride careful. Riding through an intersection a few days ago, I came upon the aftermath of an SUV/motorcycle accident... the Suburban was parked at the curb, the bike was being loaded on a flatbed... the thing that really gave me that nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach: there was a shoe still laying in the intersection.

Take care.

Jim