The Taiwan Scoot Experience
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- tyger23
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The Taiwan Scoot Experience
As some of you may know, I just spent over a week in Taipei. While it's not the first time I've been over there, it is the first time I have stayed in this "district". Also, I've not been over since January of 2002. I must say, the scooter expeirence is quite different in those 6 years. Scoots are everywhere!
Generally, I'd say there are about 2 to 3 scoots per every car in Taipei. How's that for a ratio? Also, scoots are encouraged to weave through traffic to get in the front at redlights. There's even special "boxes" for the scoots to gather (you'll see these in the pics below).
Now, getting down to the heart of the matter, our beloved PGO scoots simply aren't popular over there. As I posted in another thread, there are basically three main scooter companies in Taipei (Sym, Kymco, and Yamaha). Sym and Kymco probably are 1 and 2 in some order, with Yamaha as a close third. Everything else is a mere blip on the competitive radar.
I did find a few PGO's though. The BuBu's (Buddy's) are pretty easy to spot with their unique turn signals (especially from the rear). I never caught a pic of it, but apparently the BuBu scoots used to have a much different speedometer (more resembling the GMAX (Blur) than the current oval Buddy).
Another strange item of note, apparently the Taiwaneese don't like color very much. Almost all the scoots over there are black, grey, silver, white, or blue. There are very few vibrant colors similar to how we like our Buddy's.
Without further adew, here are the glorious pics of Taipei:
This is a pic of the sidewalk in front of computer giant "Asus". The sidewalk is typical of every company in Taipei. One person told me that more than half of the driving population in Taipei uses scooters as their main transportation.
We ate lunch my first day at the Taipei National University of the Arts. As you can guess, the students are pretty much all on scoots. Here are some pics from just ONE of the HUNDREDS of parking lots on this campus.
I also had my first Buddy sighting in this parking lot:
As you drive (ride) through the streets of Taipei, you never know quite what you are going to see. For example:
Here's another Buddy sighting:
And here's two more "Buddy" sightings, just different kind of "buddys". (Note the dogs in the tunnel)
For those of you wondering, that was an English Sheep Dog in the last picture. I couldn't get the camera up quick enough.
Keep in mind that scoots are the main tranportation for families in Taipei, so you'll often see things that wouldn't be considered "safe" here in the States:
Yes, that last picture is of a kid riding on the gas tank of a motorcycle.
Here are a couple of pics of the Taipei scooters in action in the city.
Now, here's a cool shot of the "typical" scooter store in Taipei. There are literally hundreds of these. If you don't see one, turn the corner. Most all of these stores are "mom-and-pop" joints that have 2 or 3 new scoots in stock, several basic parts, and a TV. The TV is so they'll have something to do for most of the day.
Here are shots of all the interesting scoots I saw while there. Note, even the cops ride scoots in Taipei.
Finally, I'll leave you with pics of the coolest scoot I have ever seen. I saw this (of all places) in the Taipei airport. This was in a COSMETICS company's booth. Apparently the company (Kiehl's) has a vast collection of vintage motorcycles. I don't know anything about it other than what the plaquard told me. It's a 1961 Harley Davidson Topper. Harley produced the Topper, it's only scooter, between 60 and 65. Some experts say as many as 8000 were made, but others say 3000. Only 100 are known to be in running condition. This one was found and restored by Bob Small (a southern Cali resident and retired Chrysler drag racing pilot). Enjoy....
Generally, I'd say there are about 2 to 3 scoots per every car in Taipei. How's that for a ratio? Also, scoots are encouraged to weave through traffic to get in the front at redlights. There's even special "boxes" for the scoots to gather (you'll see these in the pics below).
Now, getting down to the heart of the matter, our beloved PGO scoots simply aren't popular over there. As I posted in another thread, there are basically three main scooter companies in Taipei (Sym, Kymco, and Yamaha). Sym and Kymco probably are 1 and 2 in some order, with Yamaha as a close third. Everything else is a mere blip on the competitive radar.
I did find a few PGO's though. The BuBu's (Buddy's) are pretty easy to spot with their unique turn signals (especially from the rear). I never caught a pic of it, but apparently the BuBu scoots used to have a much different speedometer (more resembling the GMAX (Blur) than the current oval Buddy).
Another strange item of note, apparently the Taiwaneese don't like color very much. Almost all the scoots over there are black, grey, silver, white, or blue. There are very few vibrant colors similar to how we like our Buddy's.
Without further adew, here are the glorious pics of Taipei:
This is a pic of the sidewalk in front of computer giant "Asus". The sidewalk is typical of every company in Taipei. One person told me that more than half of the driving population in Taipei uses scooters as their main transportation.
We ate lunch my first day at the Taipei National University of the Arts. As you can guess, the students are pretty much all on scoots. Here are some pics from just ONE of the HUNDREDS of parking lots on this campus.
I also had my first Buddy sighting in this parking lot:
As you drive (ride) through the streets of Taipei, you never know quite what you are going to see. For example:
Here's another Buddy sighting:
And here's two more "Buddy" sightings, just different kind of "buddys". (Note the dogs in the tunnel)
For those of you wondering, that was an English Sheep Dog in the last picture. I couldn't get the camera up quick enough.
Keep in mind that scoots are the main tranportation for families in Taipei, so you'll often see things that wouldn't be considered "safe" here in the States:
Yes, that last picture is of a kid riding on the gas tank of a motorcycle.
Here are a couple of pics of the Taipei scooters in action in the city.
Now, here's a cool shot of the "typical" scooter store in Taipei. There are literally hundreds of these. If you don't see one, turn the corner. Most all of these stores are "mom-and-pop" joints that have 2 or 3 new scoots in stock, several basic parts, and a TV. The TV is so they'll have something to do for most of the day.
Here are shots of all the interesting scoots I saw while there. Note, even the cops ride scoots in Taipei.
Finally, I'll leave you with pics of the coolest scoot I have ever seen. I saw this (of all places) in the Taipei airport. This was in a COSMETICS company's booth. Apparently the company (Kiehl's) has a vast collection of vintage motorcycles. I don't know anything about it other than what the plaquard told me. It's a 1961 Harley Davidson Topper. Harley produced the Topper, it's only scooter, between 60 and 65. Some experts say as many as 8000 were made, but others say 3000. Only 100 are known to be in running condition. This one was found and restored by Bob Small (a southern Cali resident and retired Chrysler drag racing pilot). Enjoy....
- KRUSTYburger
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- tyger23
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Nope, did not get the chance to rent one. I was not with Mandarin speaking people over the weekend, so my communication was limited, at best. I did manage to get around on the MRT and view Taipei 101, Snake Alley, Longshan Temple, and the flower and jade market.
Hopefully, I'll rent one when I get the chance to go back.
Hopefully, I'll rent one when I get the chance to go back.
- schlagle
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LOL! Snake alley. Ya, you gotta see that. I literally almost got bit by a cobra my first time there. Longshan is beautiful. You really need to go with someone who understands its significance. We went during the New Year festivities. What a wonderful experience that was. I have tons of pictures for my website but haven't posted them yet.tyger23 wrote:Nope, did not get the chance to rent one. I was not with Mandarin speaking people over the weekend, so my communication was limited, at best. I did manage to get around on the MRT and view Taipei 101, Snake Alley, Longshan Temple, and the flower and jade market.
Hopefully, I'll rent one when I get the chance to go back.
- babblefish
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On my first trip to Taiwan, I made friends with several of the girls that worked in the hotel I was staying and they let me use their scooters on weekends while they were working. It was scary at first because I didn't know the roads well and most people seemed to be ignoring many of the traffic rules that I'm used to - but, they seemed to be riding/driving safely for the most part and were very courteous with just a few rogues - like most places. After a couple of weeks, I got comfortable and started "flowing" with everyone else. As they say; when in Rome, do as the Romans do!
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- ericalm
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Ah, if only life here were like that!jfrost2 wrote:It's like a scooter rally everyday!
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
- babblefish
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Not really any different than anywhere else. You have your regular people who mostly obey the speed limit plus a few MPH, then you have your hooligans who do anything they want. Saw one guy wheelie his scoot an entire block. Kinda cool, but his scoot was kind of loud.ryder1 wrote:What speeds do they travel?
30-40mph or above 50mph?
- Pita1963
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- peabody99
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wow. very cool. Just where are the PGO's though?? I just got back from Italy (Rome, Genoa), Spain, and London among others, and my pics are not much different than yours save more Vespas. It does not appear if much of the world shares our love for vintage or vintage look. Kymco really is dominating. My thoughts about all the scooters was that everyday looked like a scooter rally. Except there is special awesome parking everywhere.
- tyger23
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Re: The Taiwan Scoot Experience
I don't know if anyone else noticed, but looking back on the pics, I just figured out that there are 4, yes FOUR people on that scoot.tyger23 wrote:Keep in mind that scoots are the main tranportation for families in Taipei, so you'll often see things that wouldn't be considered "safe" here in the States:
Count the legs.....
- ericalm
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Vintage-styled scoots are really a niche market overseas, where for many scootering is all about transportation and not culture or lifestyle. What you see are the Hondas, Toyotas, Kias, whatevers of the scooter world: mostly imports, mostly purchased for practicality, convenience, ad so on. People who own vintage-styled scoots are kind of like Mini Cooper and PT Cruiser owners here, if that makes any sense. (Uh, maybe not in L.A. where every fourth car is a Mini…)peabody99 wrote:wow. very cool. Just where are the PGO's though?? I just got back from Italy (Rome, Genoa), Spain, and London among others, and my pics are not much different than yours save more Vespas. It does not appear if much of the world shares our love for vintage or vintage look. Kymco really is dominating. My thoughts about all the scooters was that everyday looked like a scooter rally. Except there is special awesome parking everywhere.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
- peabody99
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I agree. they are definetely not riding around just for fun in most other parts of the world. Interesting analogy on the vintage though. I saw the most in London, and the least in Rome (can you believe it???). While I love the great niche of people I have met through scootering, I would love to see them be more routine transportation in the US. We would all benifit in the big (enviromental, politically-less dep. on oil) and smaller picture (special parking-yeah!).
- ericalm
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BTW, this thread is SO photo heavy (which is great) that it definitely belongs in the Gallery, so I'm going to move it. I'll leave a link to it in General Discussions, though.
Thanks,
The Management
Thanks,
The Management
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
- brimstone
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those are sweet man, thanks.
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Thanks for the pictures. I was there in 1973 for only one day and don't even recognize the city from your pictures except for all of the scooter even back then. Wish Harley Davidson and even Cushman would make scooters in the USA again.
Bart "This is the worst day of my life!" Homer "No it's the worst day so far!"
www.twincitiesrider.com
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- polianarchy
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My eyeballs are popping from all these sweet photos. Cheers, dude!
Indulge me in my femme moment here and allow me to say, YAY for Kiehls! They are a skincare company, y'all, and their moisturizers & sunscreen can't be beat. I think the motorcycle connection has something to do with their first products being for relieving wind chapped hands & faces. ANYWAY, that Topper looks AWESOME, and I love those photos, best.
Indulge me in my femme moment here and allow me to say, YAY for Kiehls! They are a skincare company, y'all, and their moisturizers & sunscreen can't be beat. I think the motorcycle connection has something to do with their first products being for relieving wind chapped hands & faces. ANYWAY, that Topper looks AWESOME, and I love those photos, best.
ModBud #442