I'll agree with the general consensus here. After watching the rising prices I decided this week to start riding to work everyday. Before I would ride one or two days a week for the fun of it.
I love to drive/ride/operate anything with wheels on it, from 2 to 6+, it doesn't matter. I am in love with the automobile (I personally own five different vehicles) but the Buddy definitely wins out on pure joy factor, and when I finally calculated the $30 a week savings over the JEEP it was a no brainer.
If it weren't for the need to transport my son every week, I'd probably de-insure the JEEPs a few months out of every year when it's not optimal wheeling season. To top it all off, the insurance on the scooter is half what it is on my cages (I carry full insurance on everything), so factoring that in, I'd save thousands a year if I could switch to full-time two wheeling.
The rising oil prices are mainly going to affect my ability to enjoy my hobbies. Camping, wheeling, getting the eff outta town, etc. I'm thankful I already had the Buddy when all this started happening so it wasn't as much of a crisis.
Besides, it's not as if I can't find a nice stretch of open, curvy road to cruise down at 90MPG if I want.
Here in N.C. prices wont go above $4. Saudi's know the unrest there is going nowhere since the U.S. is on the Saudi Gov't side. Its all fun and games and "speculating" in the stock market. Plus isnt it strange when gas prices spike Big Oil post record profits? As far as chinese scoots I got lucky I guess. Bought a Benelli Andretti m50 2 stroke and LOVE it. Only problem Ive had is fuel additives. DO NOT USE THEM IN THIS SCOOTER! Very finicky. Runs 40-45 no prob with good acceleration. The only problem is parts but I havent had anything done to it yet. Only changed the sparkplug.(which was god awful cruddy) These are just my opinions. I could be wrong.
The Edge....there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who truly know where it is have gone over. -Hunter S. Thompson
I was surprised to see prices in the $5-7/gallon range down here in Peru, much more expensive than last year. I've heard prices have gone up similarly in a lot of the local area and some adventure riders are spending upwards of $50/day on gas. Oof!
I thought Canada and Alaska on my scooter was pricey last fall, this might just break the bank!
trackpete wrote:I was surprised to see prices in the $5-7/gallon range down here in Peru, much more expensive than last year. I've heard prices have gone up similarly in a lot of the local area and some adventure riders are spending upwards of $50/day on gas. Oof!
I thought Canada and Alaska on my scooter was pricey last fall, this might just break the bank!
TrackPete... MB's roving reporter Hope the Peru adventure is going great Pete!
Its been a couple and a half weeks since anyone has posted gas prices for their area.Here in North East Indiana we are now knocking on $4.00's door,right at 3.99 a gallon.
I imagine 4 dollar gas will effect peoples psychic more being that it's a whole number,a ceiling of sorts for us to wonder if it will be break thru.What say you.
Scooter sales (the "pop-up" dealerships) went crazy here in 2008 when gas hit four bucks. It will be interesting to see if we get an influx of junk or whether the 'quality' dealers will get a healthy bump.
I'm a little concerned for their viability when my local Genuine dealer hasn't yet moved any of their Stella 4Ts, and still has two 2Ts. At least I'm pretty sure the same bikes are in the window. Don't know if they're moving any of their other makes.
PeteH wrote:Scooter sales (the "pop-up" dealerships) went crazy here in 2008 when gas hit four bucks. It will be interesting to see if we get an influx of junk or whether the 'quality' dealers will get a healthy bump.
Both.
Gas well over $4 here. Hard to say where it's going to go. Consumers have gotten very used to short spikes in prices and are less likely to spend money to change behaviors now than in '08. I don't think we'll see that kind of boom again this year. We will see a nice gain and, more importantly for dealers, a more stable and sustainable sales level.
Most were unprepared for the big boom and inevitable bust in 2008-2010.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
Kaos wrote:Thats funny, as my wife and I were just discussing this not 10 minutes ago as we drove past a gas station offering regular at $3.44. Its not a huge deal for ME as even with my 50mi commute I'm still spending less than $15 a week in gas.
It just means that I have one more arrow in my quiver to convince her to let me buy a sidecar for one of the bikes
Totally sweet! 1 time before I die, I want to ride in a sidecar!
I try and stay limber, swim, run, ride my scooter.
You guys that are paying less than $4 a gallon are lucky. We've been over $4 for several months and it's currently about $4.35 a gallon and going up seemingly daily.
I'm seeing some new Chinese scooters buzzing around town lately. The ATV dealer down the street from me have a ton of Chinese scooters. They don't seem to be moving quickly because he has the same ones displaying outside his shop for awhile. I've not seen any interest in them from the public.
pcbikedude wrote:I'm seeing some new Chinese scooters buzzing around town lately. The ATV dealer down the street from me have a ton of Chinese scooters. They don't seem to be moving quickly because he has the same ones displaying outside his shop for awhile. I've not seen any interest in them from the public.
Me too! There are two new 'dealers' that have popped up around here (west of Portland) selling nasty looking plastic chinese imports.....
People say that I'm crazy
But I'm not that way inclined
I know what I know and I'll happily show
That madness is all in the mind
I'm noticing this as a trend in Nashville, too. Seems the verdict is in, and our customers now seem to mostly know all too well the hazards of buying cheap Chinese scooters -- either because they have done so in the past and been unhappy with them, or via word-of-mouth. The only folx I know who're not at least stopping by our shop and considering at least one of our consignments, and instead are buying Chinese junk are those who're just up against it, financially. And even a lot of those are trying to scrimp and save up some money to buy better. They've done their research, now... but it has taken our shop five years to truly differentiate (in the public's awareness) the Taiwanese offerings from the discount Chinese stuff. It used to be, "Hey, I've never heard of Kymco either -- so how do I know this is better than a Roketa?" Now they KNOW.
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pcbikedude wrote:I'm seeing some new Chinese scooters buzzing around town lately. The ATV dealer down the street from me have a ton of Chinese scooters. They don't seem to be moving quickly because he has the same ones displaying outside his shop for awhile. I've not seen any interest in them from the public.
Me too! There are two new 'dealers' that have popped up around here (west of Portland) selling nasty looking plastic chinese imports.....
Ohh, I wonder if thats why I've seen a crapload(pun intended) of China scoots around Beaverton lately.
Ouch,gas shot up 20 cents overnight here in Northern Indiana,at 4.17.I was trying to remember what the highest price per gallon was in 08 but can't remember exactly,4 something.
better them than me. Just passed $4 today for 87, but it hasn't hit me in the pockets yet. Just another reason for me to love my scooter, that and the early summer weather we've had this week!
Zhul wrote:....If it weren't for the need to transport my son every week, I'd probably de-insure the JEEPs a few months out of every year when it's not optimal wheeling season. To top it all off, the insurance on the scooter is half what it is on my cages (I carry full insurance on everything), so factoring that in, I'd save thousands a year if I could switch to full-time two wheeling.
this is slightly off topic but does any one know of an auto insurer where you only pays for what you drive? We are only averaging about 75 miles a month in the car and are paying way too much (we have gieco for the car)thanks for any ideas. We already told them when we got scooters in 2006 that we were using it less but they did not adjust any. Now that we are in a location with 12 months of riding it is even more dramatic lack of cage use.
Instead of filling the tank a couple days ago, I waited, and gas prices shot up overnight. This blatant procrastination must have cost me the better part of a quarter!
this is slightly off topic but does any one know of an auto insurer where you only pays for what you drive? We are only averaging about 75 miles a month in the car and are paying way too much (we have gieco for the car)thanks for any ideas. We already told them when we got scooters in 2006 that we were using it less but they did not adjust any. Now that we are in a location with 12 months of riding it is even more dramatic lack of cage use.
Several insurance companies are implementing "black box" technology, where they install a gps like device that actually monitors your usage (and driving ability). If you rarely use the car, the monitor will notice this and reduce your rates. However, if you speed regularly or drive erratically, the monitor will notice this too.
I ditched my car in 2010 and joined a car share service. I pay $20/month for membership and an $5/hr rate for usage, plus a per mile fee of $.20. However, I DON'T pay for any gas, insurance or upkeep... that's covered by the company.
You can also take the cars out on a flat fee daily rate.
They even have a pickup and van available. I recently used the truck to bring home my new Symba from another city!
~$4.00/gallon for regular, ~$4.20 for premium. After filling up on the way from Milwaukee to Sheboygan last week, I left my WRX at home this week and rode my scoot from Sheboygan to Milwaukee. It didn't take much longer to get down here being off the freeway. I got passed by maybe 4 cars over the entire 60 miles, and they were all on 4-lane sections of 55mph highway. I think I'll be doing this more often...
peabody99 wrote:this is slightly off topic but does any one know of an auto insurer where you only pays for what you drive? We are only averaging about 75 miles a month in the car and are paying way too much (we have gieco for the car)thanks for any ideas. We already told them when we got scooters in 2006 that we were using it less but they did not adjust any. Now that we are in a location with 12 months of riding it is even more dramatic lack of cage use.
My insurer (State Farm) has a discount for low-usage vehicles, but it doesn't go very low. I drive my car about 2500 miles/year, but the lowest rate they have is for "under 10K miles annually".
peabody99 wrote:this is slightly off topic but does any one know of an auto insurer where you only pays for what you drive? We are only averaging about 75 miles a month in the car and are paying way too much (we have gieco for the car)thanks for any ideas. We already told them when we got scooters in 2006 that we were using it less but they did not adjust any. Now that we are in a location with 12 months of riding it is even more dramatic lack of cage use.
My insurer (State Farm) has a discount for low-usage vehicles, but it doesn't go very low. I drive my car about 2500 miles/year, but the lowest rate they have is for "under 10K miles annually".
Suspend your insurance. You can usually do this for a $5 a month fee. Then when you want to drive call your agent and have them activate your policy for that day. You'll just pay whatever portion of the month you used.
I do that with my hotrods.
i have not read every post on this but here is a thought to rattle in your bucket holder....
we as humans are using fossel fuel much faster than it being made...the price of oil well do nothing but rise till the demand drops so low from other forms of energy that will take its place... but as it goes now we just have to bite the bullet and pay the price and adapt in other ways...
was talking with some friends about the future of gas and autos when this came to mind,,, once a balance is found to where the demand is not dependent on gas what then??? i do for'see the old "Full Service" gas station with a human grease monkey making a comeback... at that time when the gas engine going down in production,,, tech's changing job fields,,, fuel cells and other forms of energy to power our movement,,, a good ol grease monkey is going to be hard thing to find... kind of like trying to find someone to fix a cassette tape player today... (you might remember cassette you could still get them on cars in the early 2000's)...
the full service "gas" station does have a future at some point it would just make good smarts... people paying $100's to fill up and not even a thank you most the time... as a child i remember getting gum,,, game cards and boxes,,, candy and other toys from the man that would clean the windows and check the air in the tires,,, as we as the oil and other fluids if asked... i would hate when my grandfather would go to station that was giving out "Green Stamps",,, that he could redmean for all kind of things form a catalog that had no toys... if something that took time to do to the car like flat tire,,, oil change and other small repairs,,, the waiting room was always cold from the AC going wide open (lived in Fla. so that was a blessing) the smiles and handshakes with good honest doings... that was back then when gas was a dime and you did not care what milage you really got,,, just mostly your auto and tires... even tiping the attendent a few...
my health is starting to fade and i wish i could just give up driving a car and well soon becuz of that fact... but you can tape me to my 50cc scooter and ill get there geting close to 100 mpg... amazing just amazing...
Scoot'in is more fun than beating up your sister, and it comes with a key!!!
Kaos wrote:Suspend your insurance. You can usually do this for a $5 a month fee. Then when you want to drive call your agent and have them activate your policy for that day. You'll just pay whatever portion of the month you used.
That wouldn't work well for me, because my use of the car is unpredictable and pretty frequent. Just usually not very far. For example, I drove the car today because it was raining buckets when I left for work at 7:30am. I'll be making a similar judgment tomorrow morning. Next week I'll need the car to haul my clothes to the laundromat some evening, but I won't decide until after dinner whether I'm doing it that day or not. Even if my agent were always available, calling her whenever I need a roof or a trunk for a little while would get old really fast.
peabody99 wrote:
this is slightly off topic but does any one know of an auto insurer where you only pays for what you drive? We are only averaging about 75 miles a month in the car and are paying way too much (we have gieco for the car)thanks for any ideas. We already told them when we got scooters in 2006 that we were using it less but they did not adjust any. Now that we are in a location with 12 months of riding it is even more dramatic lack of cage use.
We have our cars defined as recreational use because we put so few miles on them. Our insurance is with Progressive. Maybe check into that?
Kaos wrote:
Suspend your insurance. You can usually do this for a $5 a month fee. Then when you want to drive call your agent and have them activate your policy for that day. You'll just pay whatever portion of the month you used.
Does this suspend your comprehensive coverage too?
Hope the Peru adventure is going great Pete!
