Longest Scooter Rides?

[Rob]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, while I enjoy the shorter daily commutes on the scoot, what I really enjoy is the longer, weekend rides that I've been able to do.

I fully intend on making the 2 day NC/TN/GA trip this summer that POC Phil recommended in another thread. And also whetting my appetite during the long winter months, I've been reading "Lois on the Loose" covering her motorcycle trek from Alaska to South America. In the early days of my scooter research, one of the things that turned me on to Genuine and the Buddy in particular, was reading about the Alix Bryan, PEACE Scooter ride. Okay. I won't be making any 2000 or 3000 mile trips, but I do intend to expand my range. I'll likely get back into a motorcycle at some point.

My question though, is what is the longest scooter trips some of you have taken? I'm really just trying to gauge what might be reasonable. I enjoy a somewhat leisurely pace and don't intend to push the scoot to it's limits, certainly nothing like the Cannonball Run.

Rob

[bluebuddygirl]

Longest I've done is 115 miles a day for 2 days. Not exactly huge but it was all small roads and took quite while.

[MikieTaps]

longest ive done is maybe a couple hundred miles in a day.

the girl from peace scooter rode around the country... twice... so anything is really possible.

[Kaos]

I've done around 300 miles in a day. I do a MINIMUM of 50 miles a day, and very often do 150+.

[louie]

i've done 200 in a day. a quite leisurely trip in about 6 hours.
and lots of fun, think of all the miles of smiles.

[Kevin K]

One day on a scooter? 359 miles on the Vespa.
-K

[DennisD]

450 miles in one day, but on a motorcycle. Most on a scooter, about 120. I'm not real crazy about the upright position on a scooter for long distance, but that's just me. I prefer the overize seat and back rest on the Helix if doing long miles day to day.

[JasonH]

Atlantic City, NJ to Manchester Tennessee and back. 2,000 buddy miles in total

right now im trying to prepare for an even longer trip this summer. I just wish my mechanical skills were more advanced! I feel like you shouldn't tempt a very long distance ride without knowing how to fix common problems.

I'm leaving may 25th, come hell or whatever the other one is and heading south from New Jersey, crossing Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina to hopefully arrive somewhere in South Carolina on the second day to visit my friend in the navy training base outside Charleston. I won't be taking any interstates on this trip unless its only a short stint. After I spend the third day in South Carolina I plan to head west, through Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi crossing south to arrive in New Orleans early the sixth day exploring and then heading north to Alexandria where my brother just moved to help manage a Nursery and start a letterpress Printshop. From there I don't know where I'll head. It will be hard to turn back east knowing how far west I am I might just keep going if my mind and my scooter are up for it.

To be honest, right now the ole bud is not in the condition I would think it will have to be for the Journey, but between now and May I will try and fix it up myself and also schedule an appointment at the Philadelphia shop(they're always booked).

[olhogrider]

Bought my Buddy from POC Phil and rode it home to San Francisco in 5 days.

[pugbuddy]

I went from Tulsa to Bloomington IN in 2 days. Then to Bloomington IL and back to Tulsa in 2 days. I think it was roughly 650 miles each way so call it 325 a day? It was fun, whatever it was!

[Rob]

Wow! Some much longer trips than I'd anticipated. I think my longest one day ride thus far is in the 200 mile range. And while there are many trips here in that range, some are really impressive.

the girl from peace scooter rode around the country... twice... so anything is really possible.

If I tried that even once on the scoot, I don't think I'd be able to walk upright ever again.

I've done around 300 miles in a day. I do a MINIMUM of 50 miles a day, and very often do 150+.

That's a lot of routine riding. Around the urban areas, I kind of hit the wall after about 50 miles. Get me out in the more rural or scenic areas and I can ride for hours and find myself still wanting more.

450 miles in one day, but on a motorcycle. Most on a scooter, about 120. I'm not real crazy about the upright position on a scooter for long distance

I find myself thinking more and more about getting another motorcycle, just for those longer rides. Not to mention the fact that some friends of mine make the yearly trip to Sturgis and I'd really like to do that, at least once.

Atlantic City, NJ to Manchester Tennessee and back. 2,000 buddy miles in total. I just wish my mechanical skills were more advanced!
I'm leaving may 25th, come hell or whatever the other one is and heading south from New Jersey, crossing Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina to hopefully arrive somewhere in South Carolina on the second day to visit my friend in the navy training base outside Charleston. I won't be taking any interstates on this trip unless its only a short stint. After I spend the third day in South Carolina I plan to head west, through Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi crossing south to arrive in New Orleans early the sixth day exploring and then heading north to Alexandria where my brother just moved to help manage a Nursery and start a letterpress Printshop. From there I don't know where I'll head. It will be hard to turn back east knowing how far west I am I might just keep going if my mind and my scooter are up for it.

This is one of those (well this and your upcoming trip) very impressive rides. Not only because of the length of the trip, but because of some of the scenic routes I know you had to take. Very nice! As for the mechanical skills, I've always worked on all my vehicles and gas powered toys. But the Buddy, with the lack of documentation, still comes with a learning curve. I'm not too concerned other than the CVT ... I've never worked on something like that before. As for the lack of documentation ... thank god for MB! ... what a great resource.

Bought my Buddy from POC Phil and rode it home to San Francisco in 5 days.

This one really amazed me. Not only the distance (that has to be 2300+ miles), but in that short amount of time. You had to be doing 450 to 500 miles a day. Then I realized (if this was in fact a new scoot) that you also had to contend with the break in.
Can I ask why you chose to go so far to get your Buddy?

I went from Tulsa to Bloomington IN in 2 days. Then to Bloomington IL and back to Tulsa in 2 days. I think it was roughly 650 miles each way so call it 325 a day? It was fun, whatever it was!

And yet another impressive ride and this one more in the range I was thinking about extending myself towards this summer. Bloomington, IN? I'd guess you were visiting IU? I don't know if you ventured very far south of there, but some very nice countryside (covered bridges, etc.) in Brown County and particularly scenic in the fall.

Rob

[Kaos]

That's a lot of routine riding. Around the urban areas, I kind of hit the wall after about 50 miles. Get me out in the more rural or scenic areas and I can ride for hours and find myself still wanting more.

My commute alone is 50 miles, so its kinda the status quo for me. I'll often take the scenic route home if I have time, which ups it even more depending on how I go. I guess I just like to ride

[r0sa]

longest scooter ride i've done was roughly 200 miles, 3 hours on a trip to austin from san antonio :]

[olhogrider]

Bought my Buddy from POC Phil and rode it home to San Francisco in 5 days.

This one really amazed me. Not only the distance (that has to be 2300+ miles), but in that short amount of time. You had to be doing 450 to 500 miles a day. Then I realized (if this was in fact a new scoot) that you also had to contend with the break in.
Can I ask why you chose to go so far to get your Buddy?

They didn't have any in San Francisco and I thought it would be a fun challenge. It was! I also stopped off at the Knuckledragger's Scooter Rally in Moline.

[mshaw09]

I purchased a 2009 Buddy 125 today. On the way home from the scooter store it started to snow. I live in Idaho and I realize that winter time is not the best time for riding but I had the money and the chance so I bought it today. I wanna take it to cities that are 100 to 200 miles away but I don't know what is the best way to do that. I don't wanna go on the freeway because the speed limit is 75 and most people go 80-85. What is the trick to getting far distances and avoiding freeways?

Any tips would be fantastic.

[JasonH]

Around this part of the country there's always a road that USED to be the highway and that's usually what you want to take, but watch out for potholes!

[Perkussion]

What is the trick to getting far distances and avoiding freeways?

Any tips would be fantastic.

I use
http://maps.live.com/
Just keep double-clicking on the area that you want to zoom in on.
I've found loads of smooth roads with very low traffic.
I love riding out in the countryside.

It's added so much fun to my weekend rides!
Google maps are ok too, but I find this one more to my liking.

[Kaos]

What is the trick to getting far distances and avoiding freeways?

Any tips would be fantastic.

I use
http://maps.live.com/
Just keep double-clicking on the area that you want to zoom in on.
I've found loads of smooth roads with very low traffic.
I love riding out in the countryside.

It's added so much fun to my weekend rides!
Google maps are ok too, but I find this one more to my liking.

Google Maps has an avoid freeways option. That works well usually.

[Cheshire]

I go old-school. Get a paper map, spend a little time scouring it.
Another great source of information is to find your local bicycle shop. Talk to the people there: if there's a non-freeway way to get from point A to B, they'll know it.

[olhogrider]

I go old-school. Get a paper map, spend a little time scouring it.
Another great source of information is to find your local bicycle shop. Talk to the people there: if there's a non-freeway way to get from point A to B, they'll know it.

Yeah, but we can't take scooters on the bike trails or public transit!

[Cheshire]

Who said anything about trails or public transit? I know I didn't.

[olhogrider]

Who said anything about trails or public transit? I know I didn't.

That's how I avoid the freeway on my bike.

[Rob]

Bought my Buddy from POC Phil and rode it home to San Francisco in 5 days.

This one really amazed me. Not only the distance (that has to be 2300+ miles), but in that short amount of time. You had to be doing 450 to 500 miles a day. Then I realized (if this was in fact a new scoot) that you also had to contend with the break in.
Can I ask why you chose to go so far to get your Buddy?

They didn't have any in San Francisco and I thought it would be a fun challenge. It was! I also stopped off at the Knuckledragger's Scooter Rally in Moline.

Good thing they had them in Cleveland ... your next stop would have been Boston.
Once you mentioned Moline, I had to look up the Knuckle Draggers and check out their rally. Moline isn't too far from where I live and I've been in the Quad City area many times. One of the first pictures I came across was the Bier Stube ... I've been there a few times, and at least for far too many hours and beers.
They also have some really interesting vintage scoots in their club.

Rob

[Rob]

I purchased a 2009 Buddy 125 today. On the way home from the scooter store it started to snow. I live in Idaho and I realize that winter time is not the best time for riding but I had the money and the chance so I bought it today. I wanna take it to cities that are 100 to 200 miles away but I don't know what is the best way to do that. I don't wanna go on the freeway because the speed limit is 75 and most people go 80-85. What is the trick to getting far distances and avoiding freeways?

Any tips would be fantastic.

As someone else has suggested, many map sites or programs offer you an "avoid highway" option that works well. I also have a GPS with the same option. IMHO, nothing better than taking rural, country routes whenever possible.

Rob

[JNV]

JRSJR and I rode for fourteen (14) hours straight once. Stopping only for fuel and to pee. No lunch and no rest stops. JRSJR rode a Blur, i was on a Vespa P-200.
that was one of my most memorable rides ever. But, boy did we suffer. Ice cold beer and a pizza was our reward.

[Alix B]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, while I enjoy the shorter daily commutes on the scoot, what I really enjoy is the longer, weekend rides that I've been able to do.

I fully intend on making the 2 day NC/TN/GA trip this summer that POC Phil recommended in another thread. And also whetting my appetite during the long winter months, I've been reading "Lois on the Loose" covering her motorcycle trek from Alaska to South America. In the early days of my scooter research, one of the things that turned me on to Genuine and the Buddy in particular, was reading about the Alix Bryan, PEACE Scooter ride. Okay. I won't be making any 2000 or 3000 mile trips, but I do intend to expand my range. I'll likely get back into a motorcycle at some point.

My question though, is what is the longest scooter trips some of you have taken? I'm really just trying to gauge what might be reasonable. I enjoy a somewhat leisurely pace and don't intend to push the scoot to it's limits, certainly nothing like the Cannonball Run.

Rob

What! When?
Where is that thread from POC Phil?
(Being lazy)
I'm there!

[jrsjr]

JRSJR and I rode for fourteen (14) hours straight once. Stopping only for fuel and to pee. No lunch and no rest stops. JRSJR rode a Blur, i was on a Vespa P-200.
that was one of my most memorable rides ever. But, boy did we suffer. Ice cold beer and a pizza was our reward.

That was the night you rode without a headlight, right? Thank goodness for my Blur's headlight, eh? Not nearly as funny as our little "gas stop" in the desert, was it?

[Rob]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, while I enjoy the shorter daily commutes on the scoot, what I really enjoy is the longer, weekend rides that I've been able to do.

I fully intend on making the 2 day NC/TN/GA trip this summer that POC Phil recommended in another thread. And also whetting my appetite during the long winter months, I've been reading "Lois on the Loose" covering her motorcycle trek from Alaska to South America. In the early days of my scooter research, one of the things that turned me on to Genuine and the Buddy in particular, was reading about the Alix Bryan, PEACE Scooter ride. Okay. I won't be making any 2000 or 3000 mile trips, but I do intend to expand my range. I'll likely get back into a motorcycle at some point.

My question though, is what is the longest scooter trips some of you have taken? I'm really just trying to gauge what might be reasonable. I enjoy a somewhat leisurely pace and don't intend to push the scoot to it's limits, certainly nothing like the Cannonball Run.

Rob

What! When?
Where is that thread from POC Phil?
(Being lazy)
I'm there!

Nothing wrong with being lazy ... that's what weekends are for.

No official ride .. just myself and several friends getting together in mid-July near the Smokys for a couple of day of ATV riding and then several days of scootering/motorcycle riding. We are looking to do the Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway. POC Phil recommended a two day ride in the same general area ... all in the thread topic9425.html.

You and anyone else that might like to make the trip would be more than welcomed.

Rob

[Rob]

JRSJR and I rode for fourteen (14) hours straight once. Stopping only for fuel and to pee. No lunch and no rest stops. JRSJR rode a Blur, i was on a Vespa P-200.
that was one of my most memorable rides ever. But, boy did we suffer. Ice cold beer and a pizza was our reward.

That was the night you rode without a headlight, right? Thank goodness for my Blur's headlight, eh? Not nearly as funny as our little "gas stop" in the desert, was it?

And now you know that you'll need to add a little more detail about that "gas stop".

Rob

[Kevin K]

LD riding is not that difficult. The secret to piling on the miles is to keep the kickstand up. Eliminate any unnecessary stops. Pee when you stop for gas, and hydrate as well. Surprisingly, beef jerky and trail mix will sustain you for quite a while. Avoid caffeine, if possible.
Comfort is key. If you can't stand to ride the thing across town, let alone 1000 miles, you need to either a) consider another bike or b) assess the situation and make adjustments so you're more comfortable.
We had a local rider who did 2000 miles in under 48 hours--on a Ducati 748--with only a sheepskin seat cover and a cigarette lighter (hose clamped to the frame) being his only modifications. He wasn't walking very upright after that ride....
-K