Advice Needed: Scootering from LA to San Francisco on a 170i

[Kerrara]

Hey all, first time posting on MB but have been lurking for a bit. Was hoping to get some advice on long-distance scooting

The Backstory: I live in San Francisco, but have been working down in LA for the past couple months. Because I don’t own a car and have always dreamed of having a scooter, I bought a Buddy 170i in early January and have been having a ton of fun on it (1,500 miles so far!). My time in LA is almost up, and I need to get my scoot back to SF, so it seems like the perfect excuse for an adventure!

Route: This is where I need the most advice. I know I don’t want to take the 5 or 101 for any distance, and I’ve lived/travelled all over California, so I’ve a passing familiarity with most of these routes, but I have no experience doing it on a scooter

Option 1: Highway 1 the whole way. Pro: It’s pretty! Con: Traffic/Difficulty/Cars.

Option 2: Inland from Santa Barbara, up Highway 25 ( http://screencast.com/t/obB9pnq5N9X ). Pro: The most relaxed route I can think of. Con: Not much to see other than cows

Option 3: WAY inland up 395 through Bishop ( http://screencast.com/t/Emq0QDzAMep ). Pro: It’s a REAL adventure! Con: It’s a REAL adventure! Also I have no idea how well a 170i can make it up the Sierras, but it seems like fun!

Gear: My regular full face helmet/boots/armored jacket and gloves, A change of clothes, a gallon of gas, my cellphone and some printed maps, water and snacks and emergency supplies in case I get stuck somewhere, a camera, and a printout of towing companies/uhaul/hotels/scooter shops in case I break down. I’m not super handy with self-repairs, so I’m not sure whether there’s anything obvious to bring beyond the default toolkit and a flat fix-it.

Other Questions:
- How far should I expect to be able to go in one day assuming a normal pace? )I’m assuming about ~200 miles/day)
- Any specific riding advice for rural roads vs the city riding I’ve been doing?
- Anything else I’m forgetting to ask?

All my (non-scootering) friends seem to think I’m insane for even thinking of this, but I if people can make it around the world on a scooter, I can make it to SF, right? I figure the worst case is I hate it or it’s too technical and I just rent a uhaul along the way and drive that the rest of the way up and save the adventure for another day.

[Skootz Kabootz]

I have done the ride in two days. It's a piece of cake. You can do the entire thing highway free.

Day 1: LA to San Louis Obisbo (you can go all the way to San Simeon if you prefer)

Day 2: Up the coast via the Cabrillo Hwy through Big Sur and Monterey etc.

http://goo.gl/maps/NlaZU (updated)

It is a GREAT ride! Only about +/- 200 miles per day, so not too strenuous at all. You can do the entire trip avoiding highways. From LA find your way to Ventura then go around Lake Casitas on Santa Ana Rd / 150 then through Montecito into Santa Barbara. Then take the 154 out to Foxen Canyon Rd and enjoy riding through the wineries out to SLO / San Simeon.

Be sure to gas up before heading north from San Simeon. There are no gas stations. Carrying a spare fuel canister will greatly aid with peace of mind. It's a good idea to give your scooter a chance to cool off each time you gas up. Other than that make sure it is tuned up and with fresh oil and good tires before you go and everything should be all fun.

Depending on the time of year you are riding it can be cooler at the coast, so be prepared and dress in layers.

I'll be spending my Labor Day Weekend doing this exact ride with the Adventurists SG. LA to San Simeon day one. San Simeon to Monterey and back day 2. Then home again on day 3. I can't wait!!

[Kerrara]

Awesome! Good to hear from someone that's done it before. I had not found the "avoid highways" option on google maps. That is very helpful!

Everyone always seems to speed on the stretch up to San Simeon, so I was honestly a little worried about that, but it doesn't sound too bad.

[Skootz Kabootz]

The toughest part speedwize is past Santa Barbara going up the long hill on the 154 into the Santa Ynez valley. It is a long uphill 55mph stretch which slowed my 150cc considerably. You may fare better on a 170 but even so, if you need to just pull over to the right and wave by any cars that seem impatient. You can always let cars go by if needed. Other than that it is a pretty straight forward cruise. I get totally excited just thinking about it!

Oh, and welcome to MB

[chooch]

If it were me, I would probably do the 1, with an overnight in the San Luis Obispo area (cause I live here ). I don't have too much experience with the other routes, but I would think you would have more options for breaks, gas stations, restaurants, emergencies (i.e. breakdowns) etc. going a more traveled route.

Another concern I would have is being able to keep up with highway speeds when having to get on the 101 or other faster highways, but I'm not familiar enough with the 170i top speed (or your specific setup that would affect top speed) to make that sort of call. I know for me on my wife's 150, I rarely get on the freeway because I can barely get up to speed, max of 60mph (or about 70bmph).

Edit: I like Skootz Kabootz answer better. I was typing before he posted

[LDB]

Choose the route that lets you stop at Split Pea Andersen's to eat on your way. Good luck.

[Tazio]

Having driven, both the coast and 395 many times (never by scooter though) I feel the coast would be much more safer than 395. Just my 2 cents worth. The climb on 395 above Bishop is steep and you climb from a very high altitude to an even higher one.

[ericalm]

You're not at all insane for thinking of doing this. It's not so unusual and many of us have done it!

If you're going to do the trip, you'd be depriving yourself of one of the greatest riding experiences in the US by not taking Hwy 1.

As far as your gear and supplies, here's a post I recently did for the LA Scooter Group site on Essential and Non-Essential but helpful supplies, including some extras for long-range trips.

Your list is pretty good. I'd add a spare external cell phone backup battery.

Fix-a-flat is pretty useless and can cause more harm than help. If you get a flat, you're probably going to need a tow. Are you still covered by Genuine Roadside Assistance? If not, consider getting AAA motorcycle/RV coverage (costs small amount extra per year if you have AAA) or seeing if your insurance offers a Roadside Assistance plan.

Do you have a windshield? A small/medium windshield is a big help on rides like this. On some of these smaller 2-lane highways, trucks passing the opposite direction can feel like a giant wind fist smacking you around. The windshield definitely helps!

How long do you have to prepare? There are some twisty and difficult roads along the coastal route and if you're not used to that kind of riding, they might surprise you. If you've been doing mostly urban riding, you might want to spend some weekend days trying out some of the more challenging routes and longer rides in the area. In the city, there are the canyons in the Hollywood Hills and Mulholland Dr. Just a little further out, Mulholland Hwy, Topanga Cyn, Angeles National Forest (Little Tujunga, Big Tujunga, CA-2) and many more. Depending on where you are, these can be tackled in a couple hours or a full day.

One other piece of advice is to not push yourself or the scooter too far. Take breaks every 100 miles or so (every tank of gas is a good measure, too). Take 10 minutes or so to stretch, hydrate and let the engine cool.

[Kerrara]

Very useful advice! I'll definitely dump the flat fix-it, and will see about maybe adding a windshield when I get my maintenance done this week. I don't have any roadside assistance (no car, so no AAA, and my scooter was bought slightly used so no Genuine), so I may just pay out of pocket in case I break down since it seems awfully expensive for just one trip

so after poring over google maps a bit, I think this will be my route: http://goo.gl/4icu7 I can stay with family in Santa Maria overnight, which leaves me for a long ride for day 2, which I may end up stretching into 3 days and stay overnight in Monterey or Santa Cruz, depending on how far I get.

I'll be leaving next Tuesday, and unlike most weekends I'll be staying down here in LA instead of flying back to SF so I can run the last few errands I need. I'm over by the airport so certainly going up to Mulholland drive for a spin sounds like fun.

one minor question while I'm at it - speaking of backup cell phone battery - can I just leave my phone plugged into the charger slot for the trip, or will that be too much for the Buddy's electrical system for such a long haul?

[Christophers]

so after poring over google maps a bit, I think this will be my route: http://goo.gl/4icu7 I can stay with family in Santa Maria overnight, which leaves me for a long ride for day 2, which I may end up stretching into 3 days and stay overnight in Monterey or Santa Cruz, depending on how far I get.

Nice route! I wish I could go with you!

I think you're fine leaving your phone plugged into the charger as long as the scoot is running. I've left my phone plugged in on the 125 for a couple of hours straight while I was riding. There didn't seem to be any adverse affects to the scoot, and the phone charged all the way up even while being used (as an iPod).

[TVB]

I've never had any trouble at all from plugging the smartphone into the charger whenever it needs it on long trips. I don't even bother with the electrical hookups at the campsites where I stay: I just charge on the road. In fact, I've even been known to charge the phone off the scooter when it's just sitting there (though I try to avoid that) with no adverse effect.

[ericalm]

The reason I suggest a separate cell charger is in case the scooter has an electrical issue. That's unlikely but possible. I could live with a lot of things going wrong, provided I could contact help. Maybe I'm scarred by memories of walking miles to pay phones more times than I can count many years ago. Now, good luck finding a pay phone! (I saw two people using them on the same day in LA recently. Maybe they were talking to each other. Or no one. Anyways…)

I'm often running/using the phone while riding, too — either for maps or music via Spotify — or have the GPS plugged into the 12v port. I'm also one of those jerks who's constantly using the phone while not riding, so I'm a bit of a power pig.

[neotrotsky]

As everyone here has echoed, the 170i will have NO problem with that ride. Hell, that's small compared to many other rides. And, you are in a great state to do it in... very scenic! If I could ride my Vespa from Phoenix to Toronto and back, you can easily make the trip to the Bay area comfortably and easily.

As for cell phone issues: The reason I chose my current phone was because it is one of the few around that still has a removable battery. Carry a spare and you're never out of luck

[Kerrara]

so trip update! I made it safe and sound. had a lot of fun with the PCH in the Big Sur area - for once I felt like the cars were slowing me down rather than the other way around, so definitely appreciated the advice to go that way. Very glad I did.

All in all it was about 18 hours, including stops, over 2 days (6 the first day, 12 the second.. once I hit Gilroy I decided to just power on through).

The only problem I encountered was in the stretches where highway 1 is more of a freeway than a coastal route (Morro bay to San Simeon, and north of Monterey) and I had to hold it at WOT the engine would overheat VERY quickly. (Engine light would come on, the scoot would start making a godawful noise until I stopped and let it cool down again). It was a pretty warm day and north of Monterey I made it only about 10 miles at 60-65 indicated before I had to stop in the middle of nowhere Watsonville. ended up rerouting to take 152 east to Gilroy (which was a lovely route - who knew!) and surface streets all the way back up (Monterey Blvd to El Camino) because I didn't think I could make it all the way through Santa Cruz and up through Half Moon Bay.

From reading old forum threads it sounds like that's pretty normal - but wanted to double check, should I be worried/take it in?

Funniest comment on the trip: while going past construction in Big sur, construction worker says to another "hey, look at THAT thing!"

Thanks again!

[Skootz Kabootz]

Glad you had a good trip! I just came back from driving down the coast and was was clocking the milage between gas stations from Carmel to San Simeon to see if I could help you with more info. I was happy to see there are a couple more stations along Hwy1 than I recall from the last time I did the ride. Really it's quite scooter friendly for gas now, assuming all stations are open.

So what will the next scooting adventure be?

[smartestartist]

i'm so excited i found this post!

i am moving to big sur from nyc and i plan to transport my buddy 125 on a trailer behind my friend's car and have that as a means of transportation within big sur (which, if you couldn't tell, is rather big).

i will be living at esalen and it will be nice to use my scooter locally to get to "town" (restaurants, post office, gas station, etc within big sur) which is about a half hour north up highway 1. i'd most likely use a car to go further for weekend trips to monterey and san francisco.

as my moving date draws closer, my anxiety has been heightening about having a scooter versus possibly selling it and buying a motorcycle. i'm in love with my buddy and don't really want to do that, but it would suck to get out there and find that it's completely inappropriate.

i'd be interested to hear anyone's opinions on how a buddy 125 would fare on the hills on that stretch going at a good speed. technically the speed limit on highway one is around 50 mph, and though most people go slower, i know there's lot of crazies who don't, and i don't want to endanger myself. perhaps i should invest in a fluorescent vest and a flag or something and up the safety factor (and the dork factor). opinions? ideas? thanks for any input!

[Kerrara]

While I'm hardly an expert on 125s, I will say that most of the stretch of Big Sur is curves posted at 25-45 MPH, so I found I wasn't even hitting close to full throttle. While in the straighter sections I did run into a few speed demons, there's a lot of pullouts for slow vehicles so I just found myself checking my mirrors behind me frequently and pulling over as soon as someone came up behind me rather than worrying about tailgaters.

only thing I would say though is that I would NOT feel comfortable riding it at night or in the rain on any two-wheeler really. Way too dark, way too curvy, and too many sandy/gravelly sections from rockslides. Also agree that you'd want a car to go up to San Francisco - that's a long drive even by car, especially if you're only doing day/overnight trips.

EDIT: I think this video shows the right stretch of the trip to give you a bit of an idea what to expect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiyrj4mb8xo