Is your scoot your only vehicle?

[Velma]

My husband and I are really striving to become a one car family (environmental & economical reasons mostly). We both live and work in the city and are close to public transportation when necessary/convenient. For now, I've hung on to my car, but I almost never even open the door.

Do any of you rely solely on your scooter for all your transportation needs?

In my case, there is always his car if necessary (because I can NOT figure out how to get a 20lb bag of dog food on the buddy) or for our camping weekends. I'm dying to get rid of my car!!

Thoughts? Experiences? Strategies for carrying groceries?

[still shifting]

my scooter is my only vehicle except for my other scooter. R

[weirdsong1]

The scooter is my sole mode of transportation, and my wife has a car (mostly because we can't strap the kid's car seat to the back of the scooter). We've been doing this for 3 years now, and for the most part it's been a great move. Large grocery trips we use the car, but anywhere I need to go I take the scooter. Really, logistics are only rarely a problem.

However, the longer I've had the scooter the more I've come to appreciate just how reliable cars are. Scooters and motorcycles are skittish. Even minor little problems can leave you stranded on the side of the road. Not a problem for the hobbyist, but when you've got somewhere to be it can be an unwelcome reality. I've been stranded (by minor problems) more times in 3 years on the scooter than in nearly 20 years in a car. Which isn't to say that the scooter is failing often, it's that cars don't. That's really my biggest bit of advice.

Good luck.

[uklemond]

Im coming up on a year now with my Buddy. I use her only for commute purposes, because the savings are huge.

I love the scooter, and wish i had the opportunity to go out on her much more, but having a young family means that is impossible. Evenings and weekends we use the wifes minivan, of which i do drive often, but she says i have lead foot.

Outside of the commute, i always jump in the car when i need to fo to the store or run an errand. I just feel safer on the streets of Boston when in a cage. However this year im hoping to get on a few scooter rallies so i can have some leisure time on her too.

[BootScootin'FireFighter]

Me and my Mrs got our 2 Buddies, and went car free for about a year and a half. We moved closer into the city, where like you said, public transportation was abundant. We also had a Zipcar membership, which I see is available in Atlanta. It worked well for us, only real issues were during the occassional snow, but we had Metro to fall back on. Only reason we caved is because we got a very broken in and reliable Honda Civic for free as a hand-me-down. Costs us about $200 a year for the state minimum insurance, and we pay for a parking space. She uses it more frequently, as her business takes her out to the far reaches of the metro area at all different times of the day and areas without good transit options. The car still is our primary means to get to family events, as we often have to carry food, extra clothes, and travel further distances without good transit. So it has it's purposes.

However, it is very feasible if your primary day to day activities keep you within the beltway. You'll learn to be creative in planning distance trips and how to pack the scooters for errands. We had grocery shopping down to an art with how much we can pack into our large hiking packs and topcases. Trips to my parents in the NYC area were by Megabus and included two rail systems as well. We even travelled to Seattle several times and LA without renting a car. Heck we rented scooters and got to ride with some awesome ModernBuddy members for a day in LA! But anyway, it takes planning and adapting.

The scooter keys are still what I'll grab 95% of the time. One thing I don't ever plan to do is to buy a NEW car. Too much depreciation and monthly costs to make it worth anything. My next big purchase will be a touring motorcycle, with the big cases. Hopefully she'll get comfortable with riding 2 up and we can use the car even less!

[Throwback7R]

put the 20lbs of dog food where your feet go.. place your feet on the bag , low center of gravity is good .. the bags are fairly strong . well cat food bags are and they seem to be the same.

[rentonhighlander]

I use my scooter exclusively "when I can". For most instances that is the entire week. Where I live we can get alot of snow and this last year there was ice on our road for almost two months. Not good to scoot on ice.
The reason I use a truck at all besides weather is because I have 7 and 8 year old boys. A scooter just doesn't cut it when a family goes places. But, like I said almost all of my miles are on my scoot even with weather and family accounted for.

[Dooglas]

I still have a car and the cost comparison to the scooters is fairly sobering. It is a diesel and gets better fuel mileage than any two of our scooters so, as far as mpg, is cheaper to operate than the scooters whenever my partner and I are traveling together. The car is extremely reliable and convenient when we need cargo or passenger space. Also gets 60,000 miles on a set of tires, etc. We use our scooters a great deal including commuting to work much of the time, but the main reason we use them is because they are fun, not because they are saving us money.

[Uncle Groucho]

I tried to get by with only my scoot; my wife has her Mini which came in handy but for the longest time I tried to get by with just me and Bogie.

On the other hand, it will rain or be too hazardous and waiting for Marta isn't that much fun. Schleping around a 20 pound bag of dog food on a bus isn't fun either.

After I wiped out in the rain it felt right to having a second car. I've got a child and while she can two-up with me going the mile and a half from school I would never dream of navigating North Druid Hills Rd with her on my back.

Look at it this way: the gas savings on your scoot will help pay for the car if you're still paying a note on it. If the car is paid for, that's your gas and insurance right there.

To solve the grocery dilemma either buy less every few days or use his truck.

It's great to want to get by only with a scoot and many make that happen. With Atlanta being Atlanta though, I don't think it's *that* possible, especially with a 50cc. But you make the best call for you.

Good luck!

[Keys]

Yes.

[Korova]

There is no way I could live without my car (Isuzu Amigo). Camping on the Buddy would be REALLY hard, not to mention IKEA runs...

[JohnKiniston]

I've got a car in the fleet, 2009 Honda Fit edging up on 70K on the odometer.

I try to only use it for those trips I can't use a bike for. Tho sometimes I'll hop in it when I'm not feeling in top condition for safety.

[Lokky]

No cars here... but I do have a second scooter and a motorcycle too

[Drum Pro]

Both my scooters are my only transport. I went car less a year and a half ago and am happy. I got nothing against cars, just riding is more fun. I started using my car less and less although I think it's more of a lifestyle change as opposed to a economical thing for me.

[skully93]

We have a hand me down ''99 beetle as a backup. When Mom gave it to us, it took 3 weeks of grocery runs, trying to teach Angela to drive a stick, and running to help a friend several miles away to burn through a half a tank. Several of these days I drove it due to blizzards, which are not feasible in on the Buddy.

I ride my Buddy most of the time, with the 'Beo for faster or 2-up trips. Been that way for 1.5 years, and it helps a lot. Even got Angela her own scooter. She walks or takes the bus to work.

I was actually shocked when I filled up the Bug last night for $45!

[Kerrara]

I haven't had a car for 3 years now, and the majority of that was bicycle only. The scooter seems downright luxurious by comparison. I think there's a couple keys to making it work:

1) Decent public transit. Cause sometimes you really, really just don't want to be riding out in the rain.
2) Coworkers that don't mind you bumming rides home on occasion
3) Friends that don't mind being the designated driver for day trips out of the city
4) Grocery/Drug store in walking distance, so you go for many smaller runs instead of massive, bi-weekly grocery forays
5) No kids, no (large) pets. Cause yeah.

Obviously, if there's another car in the household, all of this becomes MUCH easier.

I have a zipcar, but I hardly ever use it (I use it as a vacation rental more than anything else). But it's handy to have for the peace of mind. If you have Uber in your city, it is also AWESOME. Highly recommend.

Also, after seeing people in southeast Asia with crazy loaded scooters (I saw someone scoot by with an entire butchered pig), I have way less qualms about creating a pile of stuff on the floorboard and holding it between my knees as I go.

[Velma]

l I would never dream of navigating North Druid Hills Rd with her on my back.

Good luck!

Me. Neither. Fortunately we live in Buckhead and I work at Peachtree and Piedmont, so my ride is short and I go through the neighborhoods so it's minimal traffic as well.

Great thoughts and advice all around here (esp about putting the dog food on the floor....why i didn't think of that.....). As a little further detail, my car is paid for but my time in the military did some major wear and tear on her (cross country trips, high mileage, long storage, 4 shipments across the Pacific) so maintenance is getting high. I think my plan will be to keep the husbeast's Subaru, ditch my creaky civic and then see how things go for a bit.

Thanks, everyone. It's apparent this is a very individual choice, but you've all given me things to think about I hadn't considered.

[iamryan25]

My buddy is my only motorized vehicle

I live in the pacific northwest, so we get at least 6 months of riding, but no more than 10. January and February are ice and snow here.

I resort to cabs, the bus, and hibernation to make it through the winter (with respect to commuting)

The colder months just mean I wear my snowboard gear.

Roadside assistance is a great plus, I know a lot of Buddy owners that have used this as it was included in their warranty.

I'm considering adding an affordable low cost 4 wheel vehicle this winter, but I really don't want to if I can avoid it.

If you're looking to have only a scooter at least make it a Buddy or something comparable in quality from Taiwan.

[JHScoot]

my scooter is my only vehicle except for my other scooter. R

what this guy said. i am fortunate enough to be in a life situation where this works. weather, work, family, friends, all know i ride and only ride. i insist on that. a MC is soon to come. just need something bigger and more powerful sometimes. not to mention more appropriate for some occasions

but otherwise i ride. unless children, chores, or work related i have no reason to drive. if i ever do again i will be a little sad but make due, i suppose. especially for work. otherwise i don't imagine a time.

i think if just one or two people "bike only" is completely feasible weather permitting and all other things being equal

[Witch]

I have never owned any motorized vehicle other than a scooter. I'm on my 5th one, but never had an overlap of 2 at once.

My fiance does have a Pathfinder which is useful... but I don't dare drive it (I'm excellent at riding, but I really really suck at driving). So if I'm going anywhere by myself, it's always been via scooter or the rare trip on public transit.

[Cheshire]

I sold my car end of January...I also have an 85lb rottweiler.
Cargo nets with metal hooks are amazing. So are luggage straps. Dog food bags are easy this way. If nothing else, a large enough messenger bag or rucksack works great.

I've carried dog food, charcoal, laundry, etc with no problems.

[TVB]

In my case, there is always his car if necessary (because I can NOT figure out how to get a 20lb bag of dog food on the buddy)

Have you tried the floor? I've done that with a 20lb bag of birdseed, which is probably about the same size.

or for our camping weekends.

Strategies for carrying groceries?

Heavy stuff in the pet carrier, boxed items in the milk crate on the rear rack, frozen foods in the Tactical Bail-Out Bag over my shoulder on the seat behind me, and light crushables (e.g. bread) in a plastic bag on the hook under the speedo.

I still have a car because we get three months of snow around here, plus I use it for rainy weather, laundromat visits, and the occasional out-of-town day trip or social excursion with passengers. (For some reason my 400-pound friend doesn't want to ride two-up when I pick him up on the way to the movies. (He won't fit on the floor.))

[Velma]

I want to go scooter camping so bad!! I doubt our dog would be super stoked on being left behind though . But I love knowing it's doable! Just gotta get my other half on a scooter and go!

My husband is working camp this summer so will be gone for about 3 weeks in a row. I'm considering this a trial run. If I can manage to make it through those weeks without using my car, it will be sold!

[anthony]

There's at least 1 or 2 threads I've seen on the forum about the amount of things that people have been able to carry on their scooter, with pictures of course. It definitely opened my mind to the many possibilities for carrying large amounts of cargo, and it's worth checking out.

[Kovudom]

Scooters and public transportation have been my only means of transportation for the last 6 years and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

[michelle_7728]

Not so sure about the idea of putting my feet on top of a bag or box on the floorboard, as I don't like anything to interfere with my normal riding posture. Just doesn't see so stable to me...I don't mean that I think the dog food would fall off--more that I would be concerned if you had to brake hard or swerve, how it would affect your grip and seating.

I'd be more inclined to take my saddlebags, load them up with other things (maybe two 8 pound bags of dog food?), and just place the 20 pound bag across the scooter over the top of the seat AND saddlebags and bungie it down (in place of where you see the box in the picture below). It might make you scoot a little more forward on the seat, but I think I'd be more comfortable with that.

Now if you could place the dog food vertically on the floor board...maybe bungie around it and under the seat to keep it in place, then you could still find a couple of inches to put your feet on the floorboard on either side, thus maintaining your normal riding posture--I had a few inches in the front and on each side in the picture below. I have carried tons of stuff that way. My husband and I do Costco runs all the time, and find a way to carry 1/2 to 2/3rd of a Costco cart load home...usually with room to spare.

viewtopic.php?t=21190&highlight=costco+run

Someone actually has a 20 pound bag on their scooter towards the top of page 2 on this thread:
viewtopic.php?t=17866&postdays=0&postor ... n&start=50

[TVB]

Not so sure about the idea of putting my feet on top of a bag or box on the floorboard, as I don't like anything to interfere with my normal riding posture. Just doesn't see so stable to me...I don't mean that I think the dog food would fall off--more that I would be concerned if you had to brake hard or swerve, how it would affect your grip and seating.

When I put large items on the floor, I usually just move my feet back to the fake-metal grips on the sides. That's actually a good riding posture to be familiar with, as it allows you to take some of your weight off the seat and absorb bumps in the road better, which is even more helpful when the scoot is loaded down with groceries.

[rick71454]

Hello BuddyLand:

When I look at my odometer readings, I can see I ride my Buddy 125 about half of all mileage I travel. This means I ride my scooter most days of each week at least 10 months out of the year. For longer out of town trips, I take one of my 4 cars. I also have an 88 Honda Elite E scooter, but don't ride that much a all anymore. I also have 2 bicycles, a road, and a mountain type.

If I have the blessing of a date with a fine lady, I take one of my cars.

I have gotten use to riding with my Buddy in the pouring rain......it is fun!
My temperature range is from about 32F to 82F and I wear protective pants and jacket. Above 82F it gets too hot for me to wear my gear, so I take my car while using the AC.

I put loads on the floorboard, hang plastic bags on the hook, and bungee cord clothes on the back.

I have so much fun riding my Buddy, that I sometimes slightly, carefully, and when nobody is around, weave my Buddy on the road like a ham.

Rick71454

[ravenlore]

I too would like to go car-free and utilize scoot, public trans and carshare. At this time I do own a car. The car predates the scoot by 7 years. The car also costs three times the price to insure compared to the scoot per month.

Since December 2011 i've put like 1700 miles on the car. I drive so, SO little that when my bff's car broke down I lent her mine. She lives in the 'burbs and cannot be without a car. To me this is my test. can i REALLY live car-free? I'll find out next week, when I have to ride to the far southern 'burbs every day for a training class.

I'm terrified, sort of. I've no reason to be; it's a reverse-commute, i have a 250 and i've chosen a route with a 55mph speed limit. But part of that route IS a four-lane arterial, albeit a 55mph four-lane. And there's a bridge to cross that's just long enough to trip my bridge phobia. (Thankfully, not all bridges trip the phobiameter or i'd be right screwed living in this town)

To circle back to the topic: this week is my test. If I can get down to Eagan every day I'm closer to living without owning a car. Longer trips would be managed via carshare, outright car rental, or planes/trains/busses

The LAST obstacle for me in going car-free is the proverbial phone call in the middle of the night. Just over a year ago I got one of those calls. BFF had been hit by a drunk driver, and it was me she chose to call to come to the ER. I don't take that lightly. Minneapolis is currently working with carshare providers to aggressively expand availability. I'm hoping that's all it will take. i just need a sharecar in walking distance at 3 am, and that will cover all the bases for me.

[tommyred]

My 09 Buddy 125 is my main mode of transpo year round. I have an old Subaru I use if it rains, or when I have to cases of water or soda. People look at me walking to my scoot with a cart full of groceries, thinking how the hell is he gonna fit that on a scooter? I have a Givi top case, but could fit more on it when I had the milk crate.

[Tazio]

No way! Besides the Buddy, Vespa and Ural, I drive a 89 Porsche 911, 49 MGTC, 29 MG M Type, 89 VW Vanagon Camper and 8 bicycles. Wife also has some kind of Honda thingy.

Been cutting back though. Already got rid of 3 MG's, 3 Rolls Royces and a 56 Porsche.

Always looking for offers on the ones I still have though. Most of my annual miles are on a ex Discovery Team Trek.

[michelle_7728]

When I put large items on the floor, I usually just move my feet back to the fake-metal grips on the sides. That's actually a good riding posture to be familiar with, as it allows you to take some of your weight off the seat and absorb bumps in the road better, which is even more helpful when the scoot is loaded down with groceries.

You know, I've tried that. Maybe it's just me, but I just feel too vulnerable if I can't have my feet braced partly against the front of the floor board area where it goes vertical. I just feel that in a panic stop, swerve, or huge unforseen bump, any other foot position just wouldn't be as secure.

Plus I like to have whatever load I'm carrying on the floorboard protected from swaying, etc, by having my legs on either side.

But to each his/her own, right?

[tommyred]

No way! ...I drive a 89 Porsche 911...

That's my dream car. I'd love a 911 of any kind. Wanna trade it for an 07 Kymco

[ericalm]

I haven't had a car for 3 years now, and the majority of that was bicycle only. The scooter seems downright luxurious by comparison. I think there's a couple keys to making it work:

1) Decent public transit. Cause sometimes you really, really just don't want to be riding out in the rain.
2) Coworkers that don't mind you bumming rides home on occasion
3) Friends that don't mind being the designated driver for day trips out of the city
4) Grocery/Drug store in walking distance, so you go for many smaller runs instead of massive, bi-weekly grocery forays
5) No kids, no (large) pets. Cause yeah.

Obviously, if there's another car in the household, all of this becomes MUCH easier.

+1 on all of this.

I'm all scooter. After being all scooter for a couple years, I bought a car a few years ago when my commute changed, After leaving that job, I put many more miles on 2-wheelers than the car (which I LOVED) and ultimately gave it up.

All of the above factors have helped, though. I'm 2 miles from the subway and can bike there and there's a stop near my office. My wife has a car and works close to me. If I really need car, there's a cheap rental place within walking/biking distance. We have no kids. It rarely rains or gets very cold.

It also helps that it's very easy to traverse this city, the whole state, even, without getting on a freeway. All it takes is a little patience. I am getting a motorcycle at some point, mostly for longer touring rides and some local sport riding. A bigger bike is just more reliable and can handle more miles on a touring trip.

That hasn't stopped me from doing some on scooter, but nothing compared to those who have ridden cross country, some a few times!

[peabody99]

we have been car light (one car, 2 working adults) since 2006. And before anyone wonders how hard that can be in S.Cal, most of those years were in Cleveland! Believe it or not it was easier there because of several factors people have mentioned above-decent public transportation and we lived with a 3 mile radius of BOTH of our offices.

When we decided to do this we thought we would be renting cars about 1-2 x a month since both our jobs may require us to go somewhere during the day once at the office. In reality we have only had to do that once in going on 7 years! So we saved the cost of entire car....what are talking $25,000+?.

Now, truthfully it IS a real hassle when it rains here in SD because people drive like complete morons, so even though both of us are quite used to rain riding, its unsafe based on the idiots in cages (both our commutes are about 13 miles freeway). So we are carpooling in heavy rain and based on my new office location, we are in opposite directions-so it sucks. The public transportation does not work for either of our locations unfortunately.

Anyway, we still are not even considering going back to 2 cars. The biggest problem with being car light is it opens the door (and garage space) to being a scooter hoarder.

[neotrotsky]

I went scooter/motorcycle only for a long time when I was a Stage Manager since all I needed were a couple of laptops, a few prompt books and one backpack. (Front rack and saddlebags worked for this). These days as a TD and the resident Audio Engineer, I've been struggling with the SUV we have. Granted, the Chevy Tracker is my wife's and I try to avoid using it as much as possible, I'm afraid with my job I just can't go scoot only anymore. Audio gear is large, heavy and always requires you to bring multiples of everything! Although, I have lugged a few things on the bike I shouldn't of

But, that's not to say the scooter has been religated to a toy. Just these two weeks alone I've put 1200 miles on the Agility taking care of a system install at a Messianic Jewish church/temple/thing (honestly not sure what to call it) that is located on the other side of the valley. It's 40 miles via surface streets one way, and I still have one large show of the season at the University venue I work at for the next two weeks. This puts my commuting just north of 100 miles a day. Equate the fuel savings, and this scooter has been a godsend for saving us money that would normally be eaten up by the massive commuting I've been having to do the last couple of months.

[Dalla$$hole]

Car-less for the first time since I was a teenager. The wife has one but as far as the 7 or so miles to work, etc. I'm scooter only. Winter was made tolerable by my snowboarding jacket but I'm not sure how the scorching summer heat of Texas will play out just yet.

Dallas is huge but I pretend it's a small town and the scooter goes along with that quite nicely!

[jprestonian]

Scooter-only since 11/2006.

Now have a 27-mile one-way commute. :)
.