Scooter Tour of Taipei

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GregsBuddy
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Scooter Tour of Taipei

Post by GregsBuddy »

Hello,
I'm planning a business trip to Taipei for the end of the month. It's coming together rapidly. I'd like to have a go at seeing the city by scooter.
My preference is to hire a scooter tour guide and rent a scoot for the day. I'm open to touring with a group or with just the guide.
It would be cool to see the PGO or Kymco factories as well.
Can anyone help me on my quest?
Thanks!
'09 Yamaha TMAX Large sport scoot.
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vintagegarage
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Post by vintagegarage »

I try to check out the scooter scene in Taiwan at least once a year. Here are some photos from my trip there last year. These photos are from Taipei. You may have to go to Kaohsiung City near the south end of the island to see the factories..

It is not uncommon in Asia to find many similar businesses next to each other on a single street. For example you might find one street that is mostly flower shops, another street might be many shops selling hardware and tools, and another street might have a lot of shops selling vegetables. Here are some photos of a street in Taipei that contains many scooter dealers showcasing their scooters out front on the sidewalk:

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Last edited by vintagegarage on Thu Jan 11, 2018 12:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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vintagegarage
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Post by vintagegarage »

More, same street:

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vintagegarage
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Post by vintagegarage »

More, same street:

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vintagegarage
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Post by vintagegarage »

Here are a few photos I took of various scooters in on the streets of Taipei last year. See how many you can identify:

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Last edited by vintagegarage on Thu Jan 11, 2018 12:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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vintagegarage
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Post by vintagegarage »

Here are some more:

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GregsBuddy
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Post by GregsBuddy »

Thanks, I love going to countries where scoot's are fully appreciated! The gathering of industries is common in Europe as well. We seem to do it here to a limited degree with auto's and motorbikes. I'd like to see more.
A scoot' tour of Taipei may be a simple walk to check out what folks ride.
I identified a couple of scoot's in the photos; Smax, old Honda Elite(?), Kymco Like 200i. The Kymco with large wave rotor and caliper looked like a nice performance model.
I've found that scoot shops in other Asian countries have cool performance items like wheels, dampers, pipes, calipers, frame strengtheners, etc. I'll be sure to have room in my luggage for such items if possible (wheels, not so much...)!
'09 Yamaha TMAX Large sport scoot.
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Dooglas
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Post by Dooglas »

Wow, great photos. Thanks. On the other hand, I have driven a car around in Taipei. I'm not so sure I'm up for riding a scooter there. Driving a car through one of the big traffic rotaries is scary enough!
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Post by wheelbender6 »

Eat some stinky tofu for me while you are in Tapei.
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PhillyKick
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Post by PhillyKick »

That bright yellow BuBu Kick!!!! :cry: :cry: Why couldn't Genuine bring that color here?!?!
Always ready to ride in the Philly area, hit me up.
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babblefish
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Post by babblefish »

Thanks for the pics. Reminds me of when I was living and working in Hsin Chu City, Taiwan (the Silicon Valley of Taiwan) back in the early nineties. That's where I got bit by the scooter bug for life. At that time and in that city, scooters outnumbered cars 5:1. I lived there for 1.5 years and had made friends with some of the local girls that worked at the hotel I was staying at. They let me use their scooters whenever they were at work so I didn't have to rent. Of course, I made sure I returned their scooters with a full tank and any repairs needed taken care of. I had a rental car, but much preferred to get around via scooter due to the congestion and parking. Loved it there and wanted to stay longer but my employer pulled me back.
By the way, it's a good thing you're going to Taipei this time of year instead of in the summer. Besides the heat, the air pollution in the summer is a killer. What looks to be heavy fog is not water molecules... :shock:

Warning: most people there don't follow traffic laws, so ride accordingly. My first experience was frightening, but soon learned to go with the flow...in other words; when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Lol.
Last edited by babblefish on Wed Jan 17, 2018 5:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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GregsBuddy
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Post by GregsBuddy »

Babblefish,
I've ridden in Vietnam and am experienced with "pragmatic" traffic laws. In fact, I prefer them to our overly tight control of traffic flow.
'09 Yamaha TMAX Large sport scoot.
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babblefish
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Post by babblefish »

GregsBuddy wrote:Babblefish,
I've ridden in Vietnam and am experienced with "pragmatic" traffic laws. In fact, I prefer them to our overly tight control of traffic flow.
I agree for the most part. Still, its a little disconcerting to be mindlessly riding in the supposed correct lane when all of a sudden there are a bunch of scooters and cars coming straight at you in your lane. I have to say though that throughout my entire time there I saw only one accident between a car and a scooter. The scooter guy was fine. The car driver was at fault and owed up to it and just paid the scooter rider some money and both went on their way. Simple. Taiwan is not a sue happy country, thank God.
Anyway, have fun while you're there and be sure to try some beef noodle soup. Taiwan is famous for it.
Some people can break a crowbar in a sandbox.
PhillyKick
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Post by PhillyKick »

vintagegarage wrote:Here are a few photos I took of various scooters in on the streets of Taipei last year. See how many you can identify:

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Izzat a frame stiffener? I've only ever seen those on modified Ruckus's's's

Neat.
Always ready to ride in the Philly area, hit me up.
GregsBuddy
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Post by GregsBuddy »

That's what it looks like. It appears to me that it would have little advantage since it doesn't help much in twist. It looks cool though...
'09 Yamaha TMAX Large sport scoot.
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