Archive for the ‘Scooter’ Category

Sweden Loves Piaggio MP3s

Monday, April 22nd, 2019
motorcyclist in Budapest

There were a lot more bikes on the road in Budapest.

The most common motorcycles I saw in Stockholm, Sweden, a few weeks ago were Ducatis and the three-wheeled Piaggio MP3 scooters. They really like those scooters.

It may be that in late March and early April in Sweden, that third wheel makes all the difference. Nights were still getting down to freezing and if you are going to ride you’re much more confident on three wheels.

Now, as it turned out, the first bike I saw was a Gold Wing, then a scooter, a sportbike of unknown make, another scooter, then finally either a Harley or Harley wannabe. Then a BMW, another sportbike, a Ducati, a Triumph, an MP3, a V-Strom, and then another MP3.

So while there were four scooters in those first dozen, scooters were nowhere near as prevalent as they are in other European cities. And bikes in general were not as common.

Again, it may just be the season. Summer in Scandinavia may be very different.

Then we got to Copenhagen and I swear I didn’t see a single motorcycle or scooter in the first full day there. I was really starting to wonder.

At one point, though, we sat on a bench by a major street and then saw plenty of bikes. But this was rush hour and I hardly saw another bike the rest of the three days we were there.

It changed considerably when we got to Budapest. I saw more bikes in the ride from the airport to our hotel than I had the entire previous week. Of course Budapest is nearly 1,000 miles south of Stockholm, and 600 miles south of Copenhagen, so it’s full-blown spring here.

Which is where we are now, so I’ll end here. (But I actually wrote those words three weeks ago.)

Biker Quote for Today

To anyone commenting on my choice of riding in any kind of weather, “Beats driving a Prius”!

An Ugly Vignette

Thursday, June 21st, 2018
woman on scooter

If we feel vulnerable on our motorcycles, how vulnerable must scooter riders feel?

I have no idea what led up to this but I caught the very end of an ugly encounter on Wednesday.

Following my surgery in March I am now going to rehab sessions three times a week over at Porter Hospital. I was heading north on Downing, getting near Porter, when my eye was caught by the unusual motion of a scooter heading south.

The guy on the scooter was pretty interesting all by himself. He was wearing a helmet and for a jacket he wore a Mexican-style serape. Kind of odd looking. But that was not the point.

The point was that there was a pick-up right behind him, very close, and as I watched the scooter came to a very abrupt, very unstable stop, and as the pick-up blasted on past him the obviously angry rider threw up his arms in a middle finger salute. Holy crap, what just happened?

Of course the supposition is that the pick-up was crowding the scooter. Maybe he was not going fast enough for the pick-up driver’s sense of urgency or whatever. Whatever the case I’d say it’s pretty certain the guy in the pick-up was being a total jerk.

It wouldn’t be the first time. Heck, one time I watched as a guy in a pick-up deliberately pulled up slowly behind a motorcycle and tapped bumpers. The rider pulled forward and the guy pulled forward again and tapped his bumper again. Deliberately. Just being a jerk. Why do people do things like that?

I’ll never know the details of this vignette over by Porter but I will remember for a long time what I saw.

Biker Quote for Today

The only way to see the sunset is to ride into it.

Scooter Or Moped: South Carolina Is Confused

Monday, August 28th, 2017

My mother is not well so I’ve been spending a lot of time in South Carolina where she lives. On my most recent visit I noticed that there were quite a lot of scooters zipping around. She lives in Clemson, which is a college town, so it made sense that the college kids would be using scooters. I know parking on campus is always an issue, but not for a scooter.

scooter with "moped" plate

No, I’m sorry, this is not a moped, no matter what South Carolina says.

Then I noticed a billboard with a (I presume) public service announcement telling people to “Be Aware of Mopeds: They’re Everywhere.” And the text was accompanied by an image of a scooter. OK, do you people not know the difference?

Just on the off chance that anyone reading this does not know the difference, I’ll explain.

The word “moped” merges two concepts: motor and peddle. A moped is essentially a power-assisted bicycle that you can get around on just by peddling if you choose. To be a moped it MUST have peddles. Anything without peddles and powered entirely by the motor is a scooter.

But then I noticed something even more interesting. As you see in this photo, all these scooters running around Clemson had this tag on the back that read “South Carolina Moped.” This official sort-of license plate proclaims to everyone that this vehicle is something it in fact is not. South Carolina is very confused.

I think I do get it, however. These “mopeds” are of the 49cc variety that do not require “M” designation on your driver’s license and do not require actual license plates. There are scooters that do have more power than 49cc. These do require proper licensing. By simply playing the Alice in Wonderland game of making a word mean exactly what they want it to mean, South Carolina has sidestepped any stickiness in identifying the scooters that do not have legal requirements.

Plus, I’d be willing to bet that the legislators who proposed whatever law this is based on are clueless about the difference between mopeds and scooters anyway. It still strikes me as pretty idiotic.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycle + full gas tank + no red lights = happiness

New Take On An Old Issue

Thursday, July 20th, 2017
Honda 50 Cub

This was the big, bad “motorcycle” I was dying for at age 15.

I’ve talked numerous times about how, when I was 14 I announced that I would save my money and on turning 15 buy a motorcycle. And that day came and I had the money and only then did my mother say, “No you won’t, you’ll never own a motorcycle as long as you live in my house.” I was crushed, and not a little bit angry. Why had she waited a year to say that?

We were visiting Mom last week and she was talking about something her parents did when she was 13 that she considered extremely unfair and which she still resents. I didn’t say anything but was thinking about that Honda 50 Cub I had had in mind. One thing led to another and I was asked if my parents had done anything that still bugs me.

“I really did want that motorcycle at 15,” I replied.

That sunk in a moment and then Mom said something she has never said before. In past discussions she has always come back to saying she was sorry I felt that way but she stands by her decision. She just didn’t think I had any business with a motorcycle at that age.

This time she said she had spoken about it with my brothers and they had assured her that yes, I had made my desire and intentions known, and yes, I really, really wanted it. You see, after all these years she doesn’t even remember any of this; she only knows about it because I have stated that this was the case.

But in speaking with my brothers it seems that maybe they gave her some information she never had before, and certainly never bothered to obtain way, way back then. The “motorcycle” I wanted, and had saved my money for, was a little 50cc bike that was essentially a scooter. Not some big, hulking 350cc bike or anything like that. A little tiddler. That’s what a 15-year-old could legally ride in Nebraska back then.

And then she said it: “For the life of me I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t let you get a moped.” OK, she’s not a motorcycle person, and neither are my brothers, so they are not clear on the distinction between a moped and a scooter. But there it was. Is it really true that all those years ago she actually might have let me get the Honda 50 if she had understood what it was I really wanted? Can you say “I wish I could turn back the clock”?

Can’t be done. But I can’t help but think about all the what-ifs . . .

Biker Quote for Today

Diagnosis: knees in the breeze disease.

Not Our Beef–Don’t Penalize Us

Thursday, January 26th, 2017
The clever artwork the AMA came up with for this effort.

The clever artwork the AMA came up with for this effort.

Where’s the beef? And what’s the beef? Oh, the beef’s right here; the second answer is a bit more involved.

It seems the Office of United States Trade Representative is proposing to retaliate against European countries that bar American beef raised using hormones by levying a 100% tariff on small EU motorcycles coming to the U.S.

Now, you can argue whether using hormones is good or bad but for motorcyclists that’s not the issue. The issue–or beef–is why should we be the ones to feel the impact of something that has nothing to do with us? I mean, if the U.S. feels retaliation is appropriate, why not single out imports of olive oil or some other food product? Something that is at least in a way related. That would also serve to spread the impact around through a broader portion of the population, rather than focusing it sharply on just our small group.

Additionally, I have to wonder just how much impact this is expected to have. The new tariff would only be imposed on bikes between 51cc and 500cc. The manufacturers impacted would be Aprilia, Beta, BMW, Ducati, Fantic, Gas Gas, Husqvarna, KTM, Montesa, Piaggio, Scorpa, Sherco, TM, and Vespa. You know someone like Vespa would be hit pretty hard but think about the Vespa dealers in the U.S.–they’d be hit pretty hard, too. This is something done to benefit Americans? But on the other hand, how many bikes do all of these companies sell here? Can you name a single model in that size range?

As the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) sums it up, “Should product availability be hindered through unjustified trade sanctions on European-produced motorcycles, dealerships may close, leaving countless Americans without jobs. The negative effects of the proposed trade sanctions will not only harm the motorcycle sales industry, but will spread through the aftermarket equipment sector, recreation equipment sales, the sports entertainment industry and further down the line.”

This all got started before Trump became president so you have to wonder what attitude his administration will take. They might see this as harmful to Americans but they might also decide to double down, maybe increasing the size range to 1000cc or removing the size range entirely.

Anyway, the AMA is urging riders to oppose this proposal before the January 30 end of the comment period. And to that end they have set up a petition page to make it easy for you to do so.

I just sent my remarks. Now it’s your turn.

Biker Quote for Today

Therapy is expensive, wind is cheap.

Motorcycling Thoughts From Spain

Monday, May 9th, 2016
motorcycles filtering to the front

Motorcycles filtering to the front in Madrid.

We got home a few days ago from three weeks in Spain and of course I paid a lot of attention to the motorcycling scene over there and have some thoughts to pass along.

The first thing that struck me was how, unlike Paris or Rome, Madrid was actually not engulfed in small motorcycles and scooters. Yes, there were far more of them than you’ll see in any U.S. city, but not as many as in those other capitals. I think part of that may be that in Madrid–and in all of the Spanish cities we visited–the streets are generally wider, making things less congested and therefore the benefit of two-wheeling it is lessened. Just my speculation.

I was also interested to see that the Spanish seem to do a lot less lane-splitting. That seemed to be due to there not being enough room to get through up the middle when traffic stopped at red lights. Instead, the riders would filter to the front as much as they could by riding in the gutter–or even up on the sidewalk–or riding down the center stripe or even over into the oncoming lane. Then, as everywhere, when the light changed they would blast ahead.

Small bikes and scooters, and even a surprising number of larger bikes, were very common throughout the older, medieval areas of the cities where the streets are extremely narrow. We had rain off and on and I had to wonder how their tires gripped on the cobblestones and marble that were so common. I have a pair of Rockport shoes I took along and they slipped like crazy on wet marble, so much so that I quit wearing them if it was wet out or rain threatened. Presumably the tires had better grip.

I noticed how many of the scooter riders cruise along with one foot down. It makes sense. In the stop and go of working your way through dense city traffic you would forever be lifting your feet and putting them back down again. Many just don’t bother.

The city with the most bikes and scooters turned out to be Barcelona, the last stop on our trip. At last I was seeing the hordes of bikes I had expected to see in Madrid. Mostly scooters. Here it was amazing how sometimes almost entire blocks were given over to motorcycle/scooter parking only, and every slot was in use. Rather than stop in traffic and roll backward into a parking slot, the common approach was to pull up on the sidewalk and drive straight into the slot off the curb. Barcelona also has a large number of broad streets so actual lane-splitting, coming up the middle between lanes of cars, was much more common.

It was particularly interesting on Sunday, April 24, when we were driving from Sevilla to Arcos de la Frontera and the roads were full of motorcycles. Motorcycles by the hundreds, if not thousands. What, does every Spaniard go riding in the country on the weekend? I couldn’t believe how many bikes there were.

Well, we figured it out. We got to Arcos and were having beers and tapas in the bar at our hotel and they had the TV on. They were reporting on the Spanish Gran Prix, which had been held that day in nearby Jerez de la Frontera. All those bikes we saw were people riding home after the race. Valentino Rossi won, by the way, so he’s apparently not totally washed up yet, though he’s no longer the top dog he once was.

Most of the Spanish countryside we saw was not very interesting, and didn’t look like particularly compelling riding country. The one place that was not true was in the de la Frontera area. This area of what they call the Spanish white hill towns is, as the name suggests, a very hilly area. Narrow, twisty roads going up high with fabulous views. It’s probably like that up north in the Pyrenees, too, so if you ever go to Spain to ride just head straight for the good parts.

Biker Quote for Today

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

Resurrections From Examiner

Thursday, April 7th, 2016

I no longer write for Examiner.com, but I did for about eight years. During that time they went through numerous tech upgrades, with the result finally that all the work I did for the first nine months or so was no longer compatible with their latest software. So all that very early stuff was removed and is no longer available. I consider that a shame because some of that was very good (my own not so humble opinion).

So I decided the thing to do would be to put some of the best stuff up here on this blog, and here’s the first. I will make note that one thing has changed radically in the interim, which is that the price of gasoline has plummeted. It’s a good indicator of how the future may not be at all like we currently envision it.

I Have Seen The Future And It Seems To Work Just Fine

Woman in skirt with scooter

They do things differently in Europe.

The middle-aged woman, wearing three-inch heels and a black cocktail dress, paused next to the little scooter. Popping open the storage compartment, she stashed the black shawl she was wearing and put on the denim jacket she took from the compartment. Pulling on a helmet, she shut the compartment, and shakily, on her high heels, rocked the scooter off its center stand. Finally, she unfurled the scooter’s protective skirt and draped it over her in order to ward off dirt or water and to maintain her modesty. Then she drove away.

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more. Heck we’re not even in the U.S. My wife and I witnessed this vignette last week in Paris. Clearly they do things differently over there.

Welcome to the land of $11 gasoline. While we moan about $4 gas, the Europeans paid that much and more for years. Now we pay $4 and they pay $11. Scooters are king on the Continent and you really know that’s true when you see this sort of scene.

Of course, it’s not as if I didn’t know about this, but our recent two weeks in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands brought home a number of points I didn’t realize.

For one, you really see the most bikes of all sorts in Paris, at least of the places we spent time. In Toulouse there are many, many scooters, too, but a really phenomenal number of bicycles. In Bruges, Belgium, bicycles constitute an even greater majority. At the train station in Bruges they had racks and racks and racks of bicycles, thousands of them, apparently parked there by their owners who were taking the train in to Brussels or Ghent to work.

In Rotterdam, the city center was destroyed during World War II and has been rebuilt with wide streets. Consequently, there were nowhere near as many bikes, motorcycles, or scooters. Still, rather than sharing the streets with cars and trucks, bikes and scooters have a separate lane of their own on both sides of the street.

The key in all these cities, however, is public transportation and two-wheeled transportation. The Europeans saw the need for fuel-efficient transportation long ago. Now that we’re feeling the bite in gas costs we’re finally seeing the light, too. I have seen the future and it appears to work just fine.

Biker Quote for Today

The only thing better than a motorcycle is a woman riding one.

Vintage Motorcycle Show Will Be June 7

Thursday, May 14th, 2015

by Matt Wessels

The Vintage movement is in full force and old motorcycles are finding their way back to daylight and backroads in record numbers. This year will mark the 5th annual Vintage Motorcycle Show in Golden, Colorado.

Heritage Square will host the event one last time before they close their doors at the end of 2015, and all of their facilities will be operational for the show. Those facilities include bathrooms, restaurants, and a bar.

Erico Motorsports, GrandPrix Motorsports Indian and Foothills Triumph/BMW will be there showcasing some of the factory retro motos. Last year they had a half-million dollar Vincent show up, by the name of the Black Prince. It might make a re-appearance at this year’s show.

The show (Sunday, June 7) is open to anybody with a vintage motorcycle following the structure of a controlled open floor. To enter, respond to the evite and drop a comment so that Bob can get an idea of how many bikes there will be. Being a part of the show is just as free as attending it. They are taking donations for Hospice care, so bring some stray bills to support a good cause!

Much like the show being a celebration of all that was good and right in the motorcycle world, the Hospice donations are a celebration of good people who make it their life’s work to increase the quality of life for those who can not completely provide it for themselves. The idea was started when a friend was immensely impressed with the Hospice workers who take care of his mom, and wanted to give back.

The VJMC is also giving back by footing the bill for the event and wants all motorcycles from all backgrounds, manufacturers, and styles to attend. This isn’t a profitable endeavor, this is simply two enthusiasts who want to bring like-minded people together and celebrate good bikes, good food, good talk, and good experiences.

If you missed the link up above, go HERE to register for attendance. IT’S FREE!

For any other questions or comments, please reach out to Bob @ superhawk65@gmail.com

Many of the same folks meet at the GB Fish and Chips on the first Thursday of every month for Old Bike Night. There are a few other Old Bike Night meetups around the front range area, but not all necessarily connected with this one.