Passes & Canyons Blog

Rocky and Rachel are ready to head for Red Rocks.

Making a living renting scooters is probably not an easy thing to do. In fact, David Howard, who has been running ScooTours Denver “since the snow stopped,” specifically did not ask folks who have tried it and quit it because he didn’t want to be talked out of his plan to do so. And you know what? His business model just might work.

David and I went for a ride Sunday on a couple of his electric scooters. David has these electric Vectrix VX-2s that we were on as well as a herd of Kymco People 50s, which are gas-powered. The key with all these scooters is that they are small enough that you don’t need a motorcycle validation on your driver’s license and you can park them anywhere, like a bicycle. That’s very important in the rental business. If your clients have to be validated motorcycle riders your potential for business just got cut by about 90 percent.

David promotes his business telling prospective customers he is set up just across the street from the blue bear, the big piece of public art that stares into the Denver Convention Center from the sidewalk. The way he is set up is what’s really interesting.

This block is where Bubba Gump’s sits, and the parking lot right next to the restaurant was where David worked out a plan with the operator to store his scooters. He was going to put a portable storage shed in one corner of the lot and work out of that shed. But the city said no.

Long story short, David confirmed with the city that it is legal to park small scooters like his on the sidewalk chained to bicycle racks. So he does. There are a few racks right by Bubba Gump’s and there are other racks around downtown where, when things are going on in those areas, he will park the scooters. They have seats of his signature green color that make them very visible and they are clearly marked as being for rent, with the phone number prominently displayed. If someone walks by and wants to rent one they call the number and David arranges to meet them and do the deal.

Walk-bys are his number one source of business, with number two being people who see people he has rented to riding by and getting interested. He also has made contacts with concierges at all the major hotels. That way, if a guest asks what there is to do in the area, renting a scooter and cruising around Denver is an option that may spark some folks’ interest.

So we were hanging out by the parking lot and David’s phone kept ringing. And people kept stopping to inquire. In fact, there were a couple guys in town for a convention there across the street who had seen the scooters the day before and decided they wanted to take advantage of a gap in their schedule to go cruising. Now was the time.

Unfortunately, as David explained to them, the paperwork and the prep–getting them familiar and comfortable with the vehicles–takes about 20 minutes and that would only have left them with about half an hour to ride. And they absolutely didn’t have time the next day or any other day of the week. Really too bad you guys didn’t call yesterday so it could have all been set up.

Meanwhile, we were there to meet Rachel and Rocky, who had called ahead to rent a couple scoots. Once they were mounted David asked them to ride around the parking lot a few times to get familiar with the scoots and also to help him get comfortable with them as riders. Rocky seemed totally natural right from the start. Rachel seemed tentative at first but very quickly her confidence blossomed and they were ready to roll. Rachel told me she has ridden jet skis, so she does have familiarity with the whole hand throttle, personal vehicle thing.

David then had them ride around the block just to get a bit more at ease, and then they were ready to be off. They have only been in Denver about five months and had not been to Red Rocks so that was their destination. It just seemed like a fun thing to do to head out there on a scooter.

So there’s more, and this post is getting long. I’ll pick back up next time.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Ride report: Spending time on a Vectrix VX-2

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you’ve never seen a sunrise from two wheels.

ScooTours is offering scooter rental and guided scooter tours of Denver.

I love the way people identify niche markets and go about serving them, and hopefully making a living in the bargain.

Enter ScooTours, a company in Denver that does not rent motorcycles–there are several others who do that–but does rent scooters. Plus, they offer guided scooter tours of Denver.

My introduction to ScooTours was when I got an email from David Howard asking if I could add his company to my Colorado Motorcycle Rentals and Tours page. I was interested so I checked out the site and went then ahead and got them added.

Of course I wasn’t done there. Anyone who knows me knows that I like to try out any powered two-wheelers I can, so I suggested to David that if he’d like to take me on one of his tours I’d be happy to write about it and help him get some publicity. I’m happy to report that he liked that idea so we are probably going to be going out this weekend. And this is great, too: he has gas-powered and electric scooters for rent. I’m really interested in electric scooters and David has some Vectrix models. Oh boy, this is going to be fun.

I’m also curious about the tours he is offering. He said he was still working on that, looking to line up the appropriate experts. I’m not sure what kind of experts he’s looking for but we’ll definitely be discussing that.

So you know I’ll be telling all about it right here. Stay tuned.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re becoming addicted to riding when the 1-1/2 mile trip to the grocery store takes 36 miles.

They may not be macho but scooters are fun.

Man, why don’t I just have unlimited wealth so I can buy anything I want? I’ve talked a lot here about wanting a dual-sport bike but I think I’ve also mentioned that I want a scooter.

Hey, I’m not some macho guy who wouldn’t be caught dead on a scooter. They’re fun and simple and I want one. I just want something I can hop on to run off to the grocery store or the post office or the bank–without having to put all this gear on and go through the hassle of rolling one of the bikes out.

Sure I’d still put on a helmet but going out on one of my big motorcycles takes me 5-10 minutes getting ready, depending on the time of year. I want to just hop on and go.

So I’m kind of jealous. Awhile ago Randy, one of the OFMC guys, let us all know he had come by a scooter for free. I don’t recall the details; something like an aunt won it in a raffle but had no use for it so she gave it to him.

Now just the other day Charley asked me if I had a battery charger because Danielle, his girlfriend, had a scooter in her garage and they figured they’d see if they could get it started. It seems her old boyfriend left it behind when he moved out and doesn’t want it. Why doesn’t somebody give me a scooter?

Well I am making money these days, what with this regular job and all, so I’m looking really hard at buying one. But I also want a dual-sport bike, and if I spend money on the scooter that’s money I won’t have for the dual-sport. Oh, these decisions.

But, you know, what I’d really like is one of those electric scooters. Then the dirt cheap cost of operation goes almost to free and you’re not messing with gas and plugs and oil and all that.

Anyway, I’ve been checking craigslist. Maybe some day soon I’ll have news.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Tilting Motor Works offers a fun trike conversion

Biker Quote for Today

Bah, anyone can drag their elbow on the pavement at 90 mph.

I’ve ridden motorcycle trikes before and I’ve never cared much for them. They don’t lean and they’re too much like driving a car for my taste. So I’ve been very interested for a long time in trying out the Piaggio MP3 scooter, which has three wheels but is not at all the same as a trike in its handling.

With abundant thanks to Tai Beldock at Erico Motorsports, I can now report that I have ridden an MP3 and it really is everything I expected it to be.

The difference with an MP3 is what Piaggio calls its “parallelogram suspension.” What they’re saying is that whether you’re leaning into a turn, one wheel’s going into a pothole, or whatever, those two front wheels remain parallel to each other. It’s like having one wheel in front in terms of handling, but two wheels in terms of stability.

That’s not to say that, trike-like, the MP3 won’t fall over; it will. Remember, it handles just like a two-wheeled motorcycle. If you come up to a stop on a regular bike and don’t put your feet down you’d better have exceptionally good balance. Same with the MP3, except that the MP3 has a button you can push at below 5 mph that will lock the fork and keep you upright. The lock disengages as soon as you start rolling again. Still, I found it easier to just treat it like any other bike and put my feet down.

Thanks to the elements I had a good chance to test the MP3’s stability. Going up and down Lookout Mountain there was gravel in many of the curves and having three wheels was very comforting. Later it rained heavily and splashing through puddles and turning on rain-slicked streets the MP3 again felt very secure.

This scoot–and it is a scooter, no gear-shifting going on here–comes in three engine sizes, 250cc, 400cc, and 500cc. While the 250 will theoretically run at interstate speeds, when I tried it I felt best in the right-hand lane. The bigger models do go faster, though not much. The main thing the bigger engines offer is increased acceleration and carrying capacity.

Now, I’m not about to go adding a scooter to my garage any time soon, but presumably decades in the future these big bikes I ride now are going to be a bit much for me. A lot of guys I know say they figure someday they’ll have a trike. Not me. Come that time I’d rather move down to something lighter, whether it’s a motorcycle or a scooter. And the MP3, or whatever like it is on the market at that point, would definitely be an option I would consider. Meanwhile, for anyone today who finds the stability of three wheels appealing, the MP3 is definitely something I would suggest looking at.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Another reason to wear ear plugs when motorcycle riding

Biker Quote for Today

I am in the relentless pursuit of 6th gear. I keep trying and it still isn’t there.

It was cold, and later it got wet, but I went over to the Fay Myers spring Open House Saturday as planned, to enjoy the show and ride some Zero motorcycles. It was worth it.

The stunt riders did the sort of stunts that by now I’ve seen many times, so even though I can’t come close to doing what they do it’s just not that big a thrill. However, there was a guy doing trials demos and he was definitely impressive. I want to see more of that.

My main reason for going was to demo ride some Zero electric motorcycles. I rode a few about a year ago and the improvements in that year are amazing. Last year we stayed in a parking lot and considering the capabilities of the machines, that was adequate. This year we got out on the street and that just had to be. There’s no way you can experience the power of the new S (street) and DS (dual sport) Zeros in a parking lot. They go fast!

And the Zero guys tell me they also go farther. I can’t wait to see what electrics can do in five years.

So I chatted with a couple of the Zero guys a bit and they filled me in on where things are headed. I asked first if Zero is planning to offer bikes with gears, as Brammo is now doing. There are issues with that, I was told. Adding gears would add weight, which is something they definitely don’t want to do until battery power is better. And I haven’t checked this out so it’s just hearsay, but they guy told me they recently had a race where the new Zeros outran the new geared Brammo. So why add gears?

He also told me that in this race they were competing against gas-powered bikes and the electrics just smoked the gas bikes. Even giving them a head start–I can’t remember how much, three minutes?–he said the electrics all overtook the gassers by the third lap.

One of the bikes I rode was the Zero XU, which in truth seems to be pretty much a scooter. It doesn’t have the power or range of the S and DS and is only intended for running around town. So I asked if Zero was considering selling a scooter. The issue there, I was told, is that it costs in terms of design, production lines, and warehouse space every time you add a new model. There’s a lot the company would like to do but until they can ramp up sales significantly those things are just not going to happen.

One aspect of doing this demoing at Fay Myers is that Zero is looking to sign up dealers to carry their bikes. They’re especially interested in the Colorado market because of the terrific tax credits this state offers for electric vehicles. The highest price Zero is the DS, which has an MSRP of $10,495. With state and federal tax credits, we can buy them here for $5,395. With that bike’s improvements, that’s something worth considering, especially since operating the thing costs about a penny a mile in electricity. How does that measure up to your $3.67 a gallon gas?

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Demo riding 2011 Zero electric motorcycles shows huge advancement

Biker Quote for Today

If loud pipes save lives imagine what learning to ride that thing would do!!!

Today I returned the Piaggio Fly 50 scooter that Erico Motorsports had loaned me, but not before giving it a real workout. I rode up to Boulder and back yesterday. That’s an easy trip in a car, but was a real expedition on a 50cc scooter.

I had borrowed the scoot with the idea of using it as my only transportation for a week. I just wanted to really see what riding a scooter is like, with, of course, the plan of writing about the experience here, on Examiner.com, and on RumBum.com.

What I found in going to Boulder is that even this little scoot is fully capable of getting you to distant places, as long as you’re willing to take the time. And the time is not dependent on the speed of the scoot on the street, but on the fact that it’s too small to get on the highway. It didn’t take me any longer than it would have in a car on the same route. The difference is, in a car the route I took is not what I would have taken. I would have taken I-25 and the Boulder Turnpike. As it was, I zig-zagged my way on Hampden, Broadway, Evans, Federal, Alameda, Sheridan, . . . on and on, taking a west-bound road, then a north-bound road, then west again, all the way to Boulder.

Coming back then was the real fun part. I had gone up to 120th and headed north on McCaslin Blvd. on my way out, and that’s how I came back as well. Well, if you know this area you know that McCaslin coming up to 120th is a long, steep hill. Back when the Red Zinger (later Coors) Classic bicycle races were still running, they used this as the finish line and called it “The Wall.” Going down I really got ripping. Coming back up I pulled into the bicycle lane so traffic could get by me. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it at all but I did.

Then, a little later on my way back a light started flashing furiously to warn me I needed gas. I stopped and filled the tank, but then when I took off the scoot started faltering. It would lose power, then surge, then lose power again. I was way across town and concerned about getting home. After stopping awhile to let it cool off it ran OK and I got home fine. I asked Tea about this when I returned the scoot and she said they sometimes have issues with vapor lock. I told her I had been afraid I had pushed it too hard and had done some damage, but she said no, you can’t break these things, they’re as tough as lawn mowers. Oh good. I wasn’t excited about paying for repairs. And it definitely did run like a champ this morning again.

So my week of scootering is over and I have a couple conclusions. First, they really are fun to ride and they’re unbeatable, at least in good weather, for running errands. Second, at least for someone like me who is accustomed to riding motorcycles, 50cc is just too small. It might be the perfect size for your mother or grandmother, who are not already comfortable on a motorized two-wheeler, but I would want at least a 150cc scoot for myself. But I wouldn’t go much bigger than that because what would be the point? I already have two motorcycles. If I need more power I’ll just ride one of them.

If you don’t have a motorcycle already, then go with a 250cc scoot. Then you get the best of both worlds, an inexpensive, fun mode of transportation and the ability to get on the highway and not have to wind your way through the neighborhoods because you don’t have the power for the highway.

Who knows, maybe there will be a scooter in our garage sometime soon. I took Judy over to a parking lot to ride the thing, and while she was nervous, it wasn’t long before she was wheeling that thing around freely and easily, and she was smiling a huge smile. I loved seeing that smile.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Scootering with the horde

Biker Quote for Today

Freedom is having a wife who lets you go riding. Pride is having a wife next to you on her own bike!