From Mod to Rocker ( or answering the secretly curious )

Tam Tam · Post by **Tam Tam** » Wed Nov 19, 2014 3:46 am

Jrsjr wrote that it might be a good idea to discuss the transition from full time scooter rider to motorcycle rider. The scooters were my long & short distance commuters and laundry haulers and grocery getters, but both are gone. In their place is "Electric Sally" the Honda Shadow ( In the spirit of The Dread Pirate Roberts, I decided any two wheeled terror I own will be named 'Electric Sally'...all I have to do now is get her the LED lights)
First was getting used to the riding position. The shadow at first made me feel like a Natural Geographic pic of a frog in mid jump...legs asplay and arms stretched out. It also feels more exposed...no leg shield or windscreen in front, and the back just tapers off. I liked feeling 'encapsulated' on the scoots vs sitting astride a motorcycle, but this feeling soon left.
The turning radius took a while to get used to. Scoots can drive into a compact car parking spot and do a u turn and drive right out. At first the shadow felt like a huge cruise ship; there is almost no close quarter turning. This, coupled with the new weight , made Flintstoning around very difficult as well. After a bit, though, it gets easier.
The speed and wind...first time I hit 75mph I thought I was gonna get blown right off the seat! But soon, I got used to it. Now cruising at 80 feels like scooting at 45mph. I recall going from a 50cc to a 125cc and that is how this change felt ( I can accelerate up hills! I can pass people! This is great!)
Some of the drags - can't carry near what I used to. I now use a big camping back pack with a hip belt and such. Have managed $100 in groceries with it, but I miss having fore & aft racks and a floorboard to stow stuff.
Thankfully the Stella taught me all about clutches so that was easy. The foot gear shift took some getting used to at first, but now I don't even think about.
The single biggest drag is - yep, other motorists. The overall change for me is that I now look even further ahead at traffic. The shadow is heavier and has more power, so I am always thinking about stopping distances etc...I encounter all the treats I used to on scooters-
When the red light turns green, the car behind me thinks I am going too slow. So they whip into the next lane to pass me. On scoots and the moto I rarely go WOT at a green, I just smoothly come up to speed. When they realize I am going the speed limit and just accelerated slower than them, they gun their engine and fly past me, only to come back into my lane with very very little room between us. People still pull into traffic at a snail's pace when I am going 45 ( or whatever the limit is for that road),
Or turn in front of me, or just drift into my lane as I hit the brakes and give them room. The last time that happened I beeeeeped my horn at a suburban being driving by a middle aged lady with the "I need to speak to your manager" haircut. She pulled back into her lane, and as we approached a red light, I saw her window go down and she leaned her head out as I rode by at about 5mph, getting ready to stop at the red. My helmet cut off most of her vocalizing, but I did catch "-f*#k is your goddamned-"...so that is nothing new. On the highway, drivers will just 'normally'. If they are cool they pass me with lotsa space between me and them (even if they drive about 1/3 in the opposite lane), then signal and get back into my lane a good 40 feet ahead of me. Or they do like a lotta the Mercedes and Lexus out here:
I am cruising at 80 in the right lane of a four lane road. These cars pull up to maybe 1 or 1 1/2 car length behind me, then stay there for a good minute or two, even if that left lane is clear for them to pass me. Now, I am not about to play with a sedan at 80 on two wheels so I just maintain my speed. When they realize I am not gonna speed up ( do they expect me to change into the breakdown shoulder for them to pass?) they will gun their engine and swoop around me. Even if I let up on the throttle to give them more room, they won't signal and will just swerve back to the right side lane. Then, they will slow down to, I don't know, "show me what it's like to have some a** hole in front of you going too slow!"
So far, the thing that really sets it apart from scooting is when I turn onto a road and go 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th really quickly and feel the acceleration with my body as I lean into the speed. I cannot lie; the increased speed and power is very cool. But I think riding scoots for years was a good way to learn riding techniques. Being smaller and slower really taught me to be defensive and read traffic and ride as if invisible. Now that I have more speed and power I must use it judiciously, kinda like Capt America lol

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Wed Nov 19, 2014 4:40 am

as someone who has both too:

When people get near you on the highway, either slow down or gun it. It's nothing personal, they do it by habit. I just let them rip by.

Also, let;s say I am in the 'fast' lane on the left, and someone decides they must go 95 in a 65. If there is no one in the right lane, I move over. If I'm going 75+ and am flying by the traffic on the right, the person behind me can find a fire and die in it.

The biggest problem I have had transitioning from scooting is not being in blind spots. You don't realize you are until you look around. It takes getting used to.

Post by **jrsjr** » Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:06 am

Wow! Great post. Thanks for that, Tam Tam. Lots of stuff to think about there. Motorcycles without saddlebags are pretty close to useless for carrying stuff. That's always the first big surprise that folks get. I like tank bags, but they are not secure. Anybody can steal anything in them or just take the whole bag. Lockable saddlebags are pretty much a necessity for riding any distance because wearing a loaded backpack is exhausting. It's nice to be able to run with traffic, but as you point out, even that comes with a whole new set of problems. You make an interesting point about the shifty Stella making a good training bike since it forces you to learn a clutch. Most especially I liked this line from your summation:

But I think riding scoots for years was a good way to learn riding techniques. Being smaller and slower really taught me to be defensive and read traffic and ride as if invisible. Now that I have more speed and power I must use it judiciously, kinda like Capt America lol

That is OH so true. It's always way more fun and educational to ride a slow bike fast than it is to ride a fast bike slow. This whole line of thinking went completely out of style for the past three decades, but now smaller bikes are making a comeback (mostly because they cost less), but they still will make for better riders.

Anyway, thanks again for the feedback. I'm going to bookmark this thread for future reference. Be careful out there.

BeefSupreme · Post by **BeefSupreme** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 10:32 pm

Thanks for the awesome post. Always be on the lookout for the INTSWYM haircuts. They're a very predictable breed. As for transitioning from a scooter to a MC, I took the middle route and went from a 170cc Kymco to a Burgman 400ABS. It's a great blend of all the best bells and whistles from both scooters and motorcycles. Some people don't like the looks, and I didn't used to either... but it's grown on me.

10714067_10153263501436110_9182082132517962951_o by documbie, on Flickr

srbbnd · Post by **srbbnd** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:44 am

Thanks for the information and informative post. I have decided in 2017 I will purchase a Royal Enfield. It looks like having a manual scooter will help the transition, but I think the Enfield won't go too much faster than my Stella, but it should make highway riding a much more enjoyable experience.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:55 pm

The royal enfield would be drastically faster than your stella I would think.

The clutch isn't the same kind of operation, but you'll definitely benefit from knowing how to do it. This is why I TRIED to get my wife to take her MSF course on a manual bike. No dice...

LunaP · Post by **LunaP** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 6:57 am

I will always prefer scooters over MC's. Even if I didn't, though, I can't shift with my left foot like riding an MC requires, so it's not possible for me to have one. That, and I can't handle the weight or height.

... I not so secretly love 80's Hondas and the like, though. Good looking bikes.

Many people I know have made this transition eventually... although I don't think they think of themselves as rockers.

Tam Tam · Post by **Tam Tam** » Tue Nov 25, 2014 10:06 am

Thanx for the feedback, folks. Yes, I really don't think of myself as a rocker, nor do I wear fringed leather and chaps and skull themed clothing. Hey, if someone else wants to, it causes me no pain.
And I still dig scooters in a big way. I follow " Show us your scoots" on FB to maintain my fix lol. Scooters just plain look cool, period. Lol the one drag I have with my shadow being red is trying to find red accessories that won't break the bank or require painting and detailing to make them fit with the bike. ( fairings and such seem to always be in black )
But I have started a change jar for another scooter, and while it make take years, I have no doubt I will scoot again.
Should any new realizations come to light, I will pipe up about them...in the meantime, y'all enjoy yer scooting and be safe!