A couple of my most-read threads over on ADV are the "stupid questions people ask you when stopped" and the "great motorcycling compliments" threads. I would love to find out what kind of stuff MB scooterists get asked, or hear.
To start things off:
On my way around town this afternoon, I was riding on the I-240 bypass. A guy on a motard-style motorcycle was slowly gaining on me in the left lane, and when he got to my blind spot, I did the 2-finger wave, just being friendly. As he got even with me, I looked over to see if he noticed, and he pointed at his speedometer, pointed at me, and gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up. (We were ticking along at about 60 in a 55 mph.) I could tell he was grinning in his FF helmet.
Made my afternoon that much more fun.
I mostly get "How much did that cost you?" Welcome to Recession-era Michigan. Most people are hoping to hear a lower answer than I can give them, so I round my answer down to "two grand" to avoid too much sticker shock.
The toll booth attendant at the far end of the Mackinac Bridge was "curious" what size engine my scooter had. For him, I handed him the toll, and "rounded up" to 125cc, the legal minimum for riding on the bridge. Then twisted the throttle and didn't look back.
My favorite remark would be as I pulled up to the curb at a neighborhood pizza/beer joint, and a passing four-year-old commented "Squeeeeee!" and jumped up and down.
chloefpuff wrote:Please, pretty please Chaos: tell us again about the time the guy on the crotch rocket chased you down and then said "f-u scooter boy".
Please?
Heh, I'd forgotten about that one! Here's a recap: A few months back I saw a street bike coming up on me fast in morning traffic on my way to work. I took the left side of the lane and he lane split me close and fast. I then sped up to catch him, though not really for any reason.
This seemed to upset him, and he began to accelerate and change lanes often to stay ahead of me. After me keeping up for a bit he began to lanesplit cars to get away from me!
You think this would be the end of it, but later in the day I had taken a long lunch break to run down to my dealer and was on highway 26 going back to the office(A interstate-esque 3 lane divided highway) when I see the SAME street bike in the center lane. I hopped into the fast lane and BLEW past him, well he jumps over as well gets right up next to me and screams over the wind "F*** you scooter boy!" and tears off.
a few weeks before Nascar racing started up this year an event was in town with drivers and the like... im sitting at the intersection right in front of Charlotte Motor Speedway in the middle of 3 lanes going forward... a black caddy suv pulled up in the right lane,,, just as the drivers window is pulling down the light turns green,,, it was Danica Patrick!!! im like jello as she asked did i know where Speedway Blv. is??? i pointed to our right and told here they just renamed it Bruton Smith Blv. but that was Speedway Blv. ... she said they need to update her GPS she let off the brake and rolled forward and said thanks for your help im late... im just going to myself "wow that was Danica Patrick,,, that was really Danica Patrick,,, wow she's hot,,, damn!!!"
im doing the biggest of no no's,,, sitting at a green light in a 50mph zone trying to grasp the moment,,, what the hell am i doing??? so i hit the Rattler for all its worth to hey keep up with Danica Patrick,,, it did not work she went left in a U-turn and i was going forward... she did give me a wave on the backtrack as well as i...
iv also had many many unhappy moments on the highways and streets in america,,, most i just try to forget and move on,,, some were great teaching tools of what not to do or do,,, where to sit in a lane where not to sit in a lane even what type of hement and face shild to wear... ill have to say the bad moments outweigh the good... maybe its becuz i dont play well with others... and yes some are of my own making... im one that well tell you to get off the phone or off the road... im one that well tell you you have no brake lights or one is out... im the one that well say its the law put the child in a seatbelt... some say thank you and others tell me to go get #(*$...
i love putting on eyeliner at a redlight when the lady next to me is doing the same,,, they normaly look at me with a snarl and keep doing it... but i let them know its not the place to be putting on war paint for their life while you put others lifes in there hands and there ability to handle 3000lbs of metal moving at 45mph while doing other things than "Driving" the auto...
Scoot'in is more fun than beating up your sister, and it comes with a key!!!
Back when I had my Buddy, I was riding the 150-odd miles from Cottonwood to Phoenix, by way of Prescott and Wickenburg to attend the NASCAR races. I had all my camping gear strapped on and had stopped for gas in Peeples Valley. A grizzled ol' boy rode into the station, also for gas, on a nice, older shovelhead. He walked around my scooter, eyeballing all the gear strapped on for a few minutes, then turned to me and said, "Why don't you just get an f***in' Harley?"
I looked at him and said, "Everybody's got a Harley. That makes it a fad and fads are for people with no imagination."
He looked at me like I'd just kicked his favorite dog, shook his head and walked away.
I derived a great deal of satisfaction from that encounter.
Keys wrote: I looked at him and said, "Everybody's got a Harley. That makes it a fad and fads are for people with no imagination."
I derived a great deal of satisfaction from that encounter.
This is not to bash Harly riders. I know alot of Harley guys and they are good guys and fun to ride with. However...I do live in Boca Raton and we have our share of "I-waana-be-a-pirate" people.
One Sunday morining I hat the 67 GT out for a ride. I was stopped at a light when a pirate pulled up next to me. He had the dry cleaned and pressed doorag, the obligatory Boot Hill t-shirt and...top siders.
Hes blipping his throttle and points at my tail pipe...well...my scooters tail pipe.
"your scooters smoking"
"Yeah....its a two stroke"
"Well...its blowing smoke" blip...blip...blip
"Yeah...its a two stroke"
"Its blowing blue smoke... your burning oil" BLIIIP!!
"Yeah.... its a two stroke"
The GT is a stupid fast rat scooter so I left him at the light in a puff of two stroke smoke.
And at the next one. He was really trying this time but didn't stand a chance against the Flying Rat!
Guess I live a boring existance here in Pa. seems all I get is the typical, what's the gas mileage and how fast does it go questions.....
At the local Scooter Shop the other day a Harly guy was busting on me about the Scoot, Ummm...... we're at the Scooter Shop pal, but the mechanic/owner there is "equal opptornituny" (sp) When I told 'Harley Guy' my scoot goes as fast as the law allows and then some on all of our highways and byways he didn't beleive me..... OH well!!
Later that day when I saw him again, finally leaving the shop, I blew past him blaring my trusty 'stable' when he flicked me the finger! Harley horns sound like a dieing Opossum?
BuddyRaton wrote:This is not to bash Harly riders. I know alot of Harley guys and they are good guys and fun to ride with. However...I do live in Boca Raton and we have our share of "I-waana-be-a-pirate" people.
One Sunday morining I hat the 67 GT out for a ride. I was stopped at a light when a pirate pulled up next to me. He had the dry cleaned and pressed doorag, the obligatory Boot Hill t-shirt and...top siders.
Hes blipping his throttle and points at my tail pipe...well...my scooters tail pipe.
"your scooters smoking"
"Yeah....its a two stroke"
"Well...its blowing smoke" blip...blip...blip
"Yeah...its a two stroke"
"Its blowing blue smoke... your burning oil" BLIIIP!!
"Yeah.... its a two stroke"
The GT is a stupid fast rat scooter so I left him at the light in a puff of two stroke smoke.
And at the next one. He was really trying this time but didn't stand a chance against the Flying Rat!
Hah thats pretty hilarious. Apparently he didn't realize that its SUPPOSED to be burning oil
Well, most of the attention I get is riding by the high school, most of the kids think it's cool to see an old guy scooting by. Most bikers actually acknowledge me when I give them the two finger salute, so it's all cool. Being my scoot is bright yellow and blue, it's kinda hard to be ignored.
Had a couple interesting conversations today. First one was with a couple construction guys when I was getting the scooter tag. They thought it was pretty cool, and then their jaws hit the ground when my odometer came up. "12.5k?!? That's more than I put on my CAR!!" Hehe.
The other was with a state trooper who pulled me over because I forgot to put the license plate sticker on when I got it renewed. No ticket, though. I had it in my pet carrier, just forgot to actually put it ON the plate!
After handing me back my license/registration, he started asking the fun questions.
"You ride that HOW far??" 70 miles 'round trip.
"Every day?" Every day I go to school, but it doesn't include errands and fun riding.
"Wow...how long does that take?" About an hour 15...same as when I take the car.
"...How much is insurance on something like that?" Much cheaper than the car. A great deal much cheaper.
I was about to tell him where I got it, but he had to get back to work, and I'm not going to try to detain an officer.
KABarash wrote:Guess I live a boring existance here in Pa. seems all I get is the typical, what's the gas mileage and how fast does it go questions.....:
Yup, I get that a lot too. Coming out of a liquor store I met a guy who just loved my white wall tires. Thought it made my scoot look so cool. Turns out he works in a tire store and tires just catch his eye.
Ride what you like so you'll love to ride!
Scooterist Extraordinaire!
dakotamouse wrote:Coming out of a liquor store I met a guy who just loved my white wall tires. Thought it made my scoot look so cool. Turns out he works in a tire store and tires just catch his eye.
It's nice when someone can find a job that matches their... interests.
KABarash wrote:Guess I live a boring existance here in Pa. seems all I get is the typical, what's the gas mileage and how fast does it go questions.....:
Yup, I get that a lot too. Coming out of a liquor store I met a guy who just loved my white wall tires. Thought it made my scoot look so cool. Turns out he works in a tire store and tires just catch his eye.
I Stopped by the local Kawaski shop yesterday, a guy on a BMW simply asked me, "when was the last time I put gas in that thing"
I told him, "just this morning"
He asked, "how big is the gas tank?"
I answered, "I donno exactly, about a gallon and a quarter"
He asks, "How far do you get?"
Me: I Donno, about 100 +/- SMILES
Him: "HUH??"
Me:
When I was leaving, a couple of guys looking at 'slime green' crotchers asked "why would I want to ride something that goes so slow, what's the excitement in that?"
I tell them "I can go as fast as the law allows on all the roads and highways in this state"
Their jaws hit the pavement!
Last edited by KABarash on Wed Mar 17, 2010 3:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
KABarash wrote:I Stopped by the local Kawaski shop yesterday, a guy on a BMW simply asked me, "when was the last time I put gas in that thing"
Once I did it a few times in a day (had a lot of ground to cover, but the answer is usually sometime in the past couple weeks. Compared to my car, which I can usually answer by naming the month I last put gas in it.
One morning Diva Bocette and I were headed out to meet the group for a ride. She was on the Buddy and I was riding the GT. This was when gas was about $4 a gallon. We werent really low but wanted to start the ride with a full tank. We finished filling both scooters for like $6.50 when a guy filling a Surburban passing $70 yelled out...with a smile..."OH you two have to be kidding me!"
BuddyRaton wrote:One morning Diva Bocette and I were headed out to meet the group for a ride. She was on the Buddy and I was riding the GT. This was when gas was about $4 a gallon. We werent really low but wanted to start the ride with a full tank. We finished filling both scooters for like $6.50 when a guy filling a Surburban passing $70 yelled out...with a smile..."OH you two have to be kidding me!"
WE smiled back and waved as we scooted away!
Heh, often times if an SUV pulls in to gas up at the same time I do, I'll yell out "I win!" when I finish topping off. I usually get a grin from the driver of the SUV
Kaos wrote:Heh, often times if an SUV pulls in to gas up at the same time I do, I'll yell out "I win!" when I finish topping off. I usually get a grin from the driver of the SUV
But try that with a pick-up, and you'll get a shotgun blast.
I get alot of school bus stampedes. If I'm behind a school bus at a stop light and if the bus is filled with middle school age kids then they all end up at the back of the bus, smiling and waving. Kids that age think scooters are totally cool.
I also get alot of waves from guys on motorcycles. I think it's the light blue scoot, Corazzo jacket and blond ponytail whipping around behind my helmet. For all they know I could be butt ugly but everyone in a full face with a tinted shield is beautiful!
LuvMyScoot wrote:I also get alot of waves from guys on motorcycles. I think it's the light blue scoot, Corazzo jacket and blond ponytail whipping around behind my helmet. For all they know I could be butt ugly but everyone in a full face with a tinted shield is beautiful!
Anecdotally, my wife gets a lot more friendly reactions than me. I think it's more socially acceptable for some people when the "feminine" scooter is ridden by a woman.
LuvMyScoot wrote:I also get alot of waves from guys on motorcycles. I think it's the light blue scoot, Corazzo jacket and blond ponytail whipping around behind my helmet. For all they know I could be butt ugly but everyone in a full face with a tinted shield is beautiful!
Anecdotally, my wife gets a lot more friendly reactions than me. I think it's more socially acceptable for some people when the "feminine" scooter is ridden by a woman.
Or it might just be about flirting.
I do get quite a few 'off color' statements thrown in my direction about the scoot and 'feminine' mostly out of the school busses as they go by. (They're just jealous though....)
Sorry LovMyScoot, seems the opposite here in Pa. as to what you see in Ct.
MAYBE I should move there..... Hmmmmmm..... Both my brother and sister used to live in Hartford and she's still in New Haven....
As a male, I do get a little play from the opposite sex on the scooter, mainly stuff like "nice scooter!" and a smile while waiting at lights.
I actually don't get as much negative stuff as I thought (the road rage incident a few months ago and the sportbike incident yesterday notable exceptions). I figured I would get a lot of verbal insults for scooting- not really the case.
Most people just want to know the cost and milage, and are disappointed when the cost is more than $500, and amazed that the milage is over 100.
LuvMyScoot wrote:I also get alot of waves from guys on motorcycles. I think it's the light blue scoot, Corazzo jacket and blond ponytail whipping around behind my helmet. For all they know I could be butt ugly but everyone in a full face with a tinted shield is beautiful!
Anecdotally, my wife gets a lot more friendly reactions than me. I think it's more socially acceptable for some people when the "feminine" scooter is ridden by a woman.
Or it might just be about flirting.
I do get quite a few 'off color' statements thrown in my direction about the scoot and 'feminine' mostly out of the school busses as they go by. (They're just jealous though....)
Sorry LovMyScoot, seems the opposite here in Pa. as to what you see in Ct.
MAYBE I should move there..... Hmmmmmm..... Both my brother and sister used to live in Hartford and she's still in New Haven....
Wow, that is different than here in NE CT. Kids here LOVE my scooter, even high school kids (at least the ones who bother to pay any attention to someone over 18 who isn't a celebrity, that is!) I really do believe it's because I'm a woman. People think of scooters as "girly" and so have no problems with a woman on one, especially if they look "girly", i.e. lots of soft colors (lt. blue, pink, cream, etc). Men on scooters on the other hand are facing the same kind of discrimination that women on Harleys did 20 years ago. Society just doesn't think they belong on them. Morons.
BuddyRaton wrote:He had the dry cleaned and pressed doorag, the obligatory Boot Hill t-shirt and...top siders.
Oh, man, that reminds me of the CFO of a company I used to work for. At some point he bought a HD and his clothes always looked just so; the T shirts were always new, the jeans were always fresh from the dry cleaner and the boots were always shiny. The only thing that looked used was the jacket because it was bought distressed (of course, it had a half naked woman straddling a bike on the back). AND he got manicures. I grew up with people who rode Harleys and whenever I saw him on that bike, looking more like an ad in GQ then a real biker I'd think "That's not right." When he told me he was going to Daytona I remember hoping he'd get back alive because he was a nice guy. He did get back alive but he didn't go to Daytona again the next year.
KABarash wrote:I do get quite a few 'off color' statements thrown in my direction about the scoot and 'feminine' mostly out of the school busses as they go by.
Whenever someone comments about the supposed femininity of my ride, and especially if they refer to me by one of the popular epithets used for men who do not conform to traditional models of masculinity, I make a point to say "thank you".
KABarash wrote:I do get quite a few 'off color' statements thrown in my direction about the scoot and 'feminine' mostly out of the school busses as they go by.
Whenever someone comments about the supposed femininity of my ride, and especially if they refer to me by one of the popular epithets used for men who do not conform to traditional models of masculinity, I make a point to say "thank you".
That's brilliant! I think it's impossible to come up with a smartass comeback to "thank you".
(We were ticking along at about 60 in a 55 mph.) I could tell he was grinning in his FF helmet.
They thought it was pretty cool, and then their jaws hit the ground when my odometer came up. 
No ticket, though. I had it in my pet carrier, just forgot to actually put it ON the plate!
