One of my co-workers recently bought a Suzuki Savage 650 due, in part, to my glowing praise of two wheeled transport. He is still adjusting to the manual transmission, but I am sure that, given enough time, he will become more comfortable. Now he just needs to ride his bike to work so I can get a look at it.
My best friend is still riding his Wildfire R8 50cc scooter, which still runs and started right up this spring. He has had no more problems with the transmission since it was replaced (one should hope not!), and he and I have ridden together several times already this spring. Tomorrow will be another opportunity I am sure.
My boss is considering buying a motorcycle, though I am trying to convince her that a mid-size scooter might be a better choice since she is uncertain if she wants a manual transmission. Unfortunately, she has fallen prey to the common misconception that all scooters are slow and are not for riding on the highway. Certainly, a 150 may not be well suited for such use, but a 250cc or larger engine will be up to the task. Perhaps I should introduce her to the Piaggio BV-500.
The last person on the list is another colleague. He is a gentleman who works for the maintenance team at Friendship. He rides a 2003 Nighthawk 750 (pictured with my Sabre above), and after seeing my scooter, he was full of questions. Since he is an experienced rider, I let him take her for a little spin, and he was even more interested. So, I think I may have brought another scootster into the fold.If only I could make money convincing people to take up motorcycling and scooting, I'd be a happy guy. Unfortunately, my mechanical savvy isn't quite up to the point where I could start a scooter shop, and I just don't have the killer instinct to be a salesman (tried it once, failed miserably).
Maybe I could write a blog or something...oh...wait...
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4 comments:
"Unfortunately, she has fallen prey to the common misconception that all scooters are slow and are not for riding on the highway."
While I don't think all scooters are slow I've spoken to people with well powered ones and they all seem to think that being plastic covered puts them at a disadvantage in wind gusts created by trucks and other vehicles. Not to mention those Mother Nature inflicts. My wife, on the other hand, doesn't notice trucks on the interstate on her Rebel. It goes without saying my 650 isn't affected at all.
Wouldn't the same be true for any fully faired bike then? Like, for instance, a Goldwing or any number of touring or sport bikes? (Obviously a Goldwing is about as big as a truck, but I just threw that in there for flavor).
I've spoken to several Suzuki Burgman owners who don't seem to have any issue on the highway with trucks, but I've found that my saber can be a little dodgy at high speeds with trucks passing, and it's very heavy. I'm told that a windscreen might help a bit.
Plastics are certainly easily damaged, but one would think they would help with aerodynamics rather than hindering.
"but I've found that my saber can be a little dodgy at high speeds with trucks passing, and it's very heavy. I'm told that a windscreen might help a bit."
I can't explain that. In 37 years of street riding I've never had the problem with a host of bikes on some truly nasty expressways. Why not fully faired bikes? I hate to start an ugly debate on a scooter blog, but I don't believe scooters are aerodynamic. Fully faired motorcycles are made to exceed 150 mph with the assistance of their coverings. Scooters use covers to hide their unattractive components and shield their riders legs. I would imagine in a wind tunnel the turbulence they create would be quite a sight. 650 Burgmen and Silver Wings are just heavy enough to mask the issue.
The turbulence on my Saber varies. It's worse on days that are already windy. Today; however, I passed several trucks on the highway without the slightest tremor.
Your theory on scooters is plausible. It would be interesting to see it in action. Certainly, scooters with euro styling have poor aerodynamics, simply because they were never intended to go fast, but there are some with more sporty designs that might not be too bad, such as the T-max. Just the same, the big question is, what does the space between the fairing and seat do to the flow of air?
I can say from experience that there are some eddies behind the fairing on my People 150. They are very obvious when it rains. Rain drops falling from my helmet with go forward and hit the inside of the windscreen. I'll have to look up wind-tunnel testing and see what I find.
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