Oh No.... I'm a scooter nerd.

MayRoll · Post by **MayRoll** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 4:23 am

Over the years I've seen folks lying down on the gas tank of their large displacement sport bikes as they flew down the road at ungodly speeds and always thought fair enough. But I've always chuckled to myself when I saw a scooter rider tucked over the handlebars whilst traveling at a mundane 40mph. That's a little nerdy I thought, funny at best.

Well, two weeks ago my wife picked up a new 170i. After 60 miles I said to her "come on, let me have a go". Acceleration felt strong and linear up to 50bmph, it took a while to gain another 5mph. Next go around I found myself doing the impossible. Yes, I was tucking. God damn it, I'm one of those scooter nerds. On the same 3/4 mile stretch I touched 60bmph. I came home with a big grin on my face. "No" my wife said, "It's mine, and no you can't have one". Doh... I think I liked being a scooter nerd.

Do these things really get faster after a good amount of miles on them? Hers only has 60 miles thus far. Granted, I'm 6'2", 200 lbs. I feel like I'm a big wind brake on the thing. Will I ever be able to cruise at respectable 60mph without being a scooter nerd?

jrsjr · Post by **jrsjr** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 5:15 am

MayRoll wrote:Oh No.... I'm a scooter nerd.

Welcome to MoNerd, errm, I mean Modern Buddy.

Drum Pro · Post by **Drum Pro** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 5:59 am

Yeah they do and can get a bit faster. I've done 82 bpm in the right conditions. If it feels a bit weird at those speeds just loosen your grip a little and it'll work itself out... Now If only Vespa would make a GTS Primavera then I'm sold on a new scoot.... Oh and welcome to the form and Happy Holidays.....

Drum Pro · Post by **Drum Pro** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 6:04 am

There are bigger scoots out there if your thinking of getting one for yourself. And you can't count out a Stella. In fact I like riding the Stella more than the 170I.
The 170I is a more reliable scoot in the cold though as mine starts right up. The Stella: not so much....

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 6:28 am

The sport bike guys do it so they don't blow off at speed. On a scooter, you've got so much less power that you need to do the "Ruck tuck", pull in your knees and get creative in order to eke a bit more speed out of it. It's even worse when you get down to a 50cc, you'll darn-near celebrate every extra mile an hour you can wring out of it.

And always remember, it's a lot more fun to ride a slow bike fast than to ride a fast bike slowly.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 6:35 am

az_slynch wrote:It's even worse when you get down to a 50cc, you'll darn-near celebrate every extra mile an hour you can wring out of it.

That's for sure. My first scoot was a 50cc that would top out at 40imph (indicated mph). Then one day I was riding home in a stiff headwind, and in a full tuck could only muster 20imph.

I didn't have that scoot much longer

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 6:42 am

Syd wrote:
az_slynch wrote:It's even worse when you get down to a 50cc, you'll darn-near celebrate every extra mile an hour you can wring out of it.
That's for sure. My first scoot was a 50cc that would top out at 40imph (indicated mph). Then one day I was riding home in a stiff headwind, and in a full tuck could only muster 20imph.

I didn't have that scoot much longer

Yeah, head winds suck...but that glorious moment when your single-speed 50cc touches 42mph and makes the "I'm gonna a'splode now" noises while doing so are pretty sweet. The day my Elite 80 hit fifty...fresh smooth hot top, no winds, no tuck...it was Zen.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 1:25 pm

Scooter nerd...I don't think so...enthusiast...yes...preparing for the CBR....oh yes!

With a fly shield and a tuck you can pick up 5-10 mph...the problem is that it's touch to stay in that position for 8-8101 hours!

Partial tuck at about 60 mph - otherwise known as "stretching out!"

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 2:24 pm

Welcome!
And, yes, these bikes are like red wine; they get better with age.
Most folks report the 'change' occurring around 1000-1500 miles and that's what it was for me.
Break it in good; just don't hold any particular throttle position for extended periods for the first several hundred miles (vary the engine speed).
And hold off making any modifications to the motor, electrical system etc until it's broken-in, too.

Stitch · Post by **Stitch** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:07 pm

On my Stella, tucked in, leaning 2 inches to the left puts me in the wind envelope enough for another 2mph. Left arm behind the back, another 100 rpms, and feet turned in with heels just a tick over the edge of the floorboard - 10rpms. Wish I was kidding, but I am not.

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:47 pm

Stitch wrote:On my Stella, tucked in, leaning 2 inches to the left puts me in the wind envelope enough for another 2mph. Left arm behind the back, another 100 rpms, and feet turned in with heels just a tick over the edge of the floorboard - 10rpms. Wish I was kidding, but I am not.

You need one of these now:

http://www.ekmpowershop2.com/ekmps/shop ... -701-p.asp

Rusty J · Post by **Rusty J** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 8:19 pm

Stitch wrote:On my Stella, tucked in, leaning 2 inches to the left puts me in the wind envelope enough for another 2mph. Left arm behind the back, another 100 rpms, and feet turned in with heels just a tick over the edge of the floorboard - 10rpms. Wish I was kidding, but I am not.

Picked up that trick (including the "one arm behind my back" part) back in the '80s on my Vespa 150 Super. I still do it on my 150S, 'cause it works.

I guess I'm a nerd too.

NeoGenesisMax · Post by **NeoGenesisMax** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 6:44 am

Sounds to me that that person was going for every last mph and rpm. Adding a spoiler would slow that person down. Spoilers cause drag and use wind to push down. That heavy ass scooter doesnt need extra downforce it needs a weight reduction. Try dropping the side panels and the spare tire. Lose any weight you can if you really desire every last mph and rpm. Do they make performance parts?

Rusty J · Post by **Rusty J** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:02 am

NeoGenesisMax wrote:Sounds to me that that person was going for every last mph and rpm. Adding a spoiler would slow that person down. Spoilers cause drag and use wind to push down. That heavy ass scooter doesnt need extra downforce it needs a weight reduction. Try dropping the side panels and the spare tire. Lose any weight you can if you really desire every last mph and rpm. Do they make performance parts?

At top speed it's all about aerodynamic drag, not weight. The amount of power needed to overcome aerodynamic drag goes up as the square of airspeed. On a bike that will normally do 59 MPH, if adding a low windscreen and/or crouching down gets you an extra 3 MPH, it's like a 10% increase in HP for almost free.

Weight definitely matters for acceleration and going up hills, though! Particularly hills at high speed, because the more power it takes to push your butt up that hill, the less is available to overcome drag.

I have no idea whether that spoiler does anything more than look decorative in a 1980s fashion.

Wolfhound · Post by **Wolfhound** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 1:56 pm

On the 170i the more miles on it the faster it does get. 65 bmph GPS's out to 60 mph, my preferred cruising speed. I like every thing about the 170i, especially the styling. Good rule of thumb is to expect the bmph to be 5 miles an hour less at any speed over 40.

MYSCTR · Post by **MYSCTR** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 3:23 pm

Wolfhound wrote:On the 170i... Good rule of thumb is to expect the bmph to be 5 miles an hour less at any speed over 40.

Good point! We have had 6 Buddy scooters - 3 125's and 3 150's and the best we can tell - we allow 7mph over any posted speed to be close to the actual speed. We generally ride 10 mph over posted and that keeps us within the flow of traffic or just over the posted speed yet not enough to attract any attention. The exception is school zones - where we ride 26 bmph or under.

Wolfhound · Post by **Wolfhound** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 3:34 pm

It applies to my other scoots as well. They all are off by 5-7 mph according to my GPS. I just use 5 mph as an arbitrary figure.

Wolfhound · Post by **Wolfhound** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 3:37 pm

It applies to my other scoots as well. They all are off by 5-7 mph according to my GPS. I just use 5 mph as an arbitrary figure.

viney266 · Post by **viney266** » Sun Dec 29, 2013 3:03 am

Stitch wrote:On my Stella, tucked in, leaning 2 inches to the left puts me in the wind envelope enough for another 2mph. Left arm behind the back, another 100 rpms, and feet turned in with heels just a tick over the edge of the floorboard - 10rpms. Wish I was kidding, but I am not.

True^^^ seen him do it, and I am behind him doing the same thing...AND catching his draft for another 2 MPH so I can sail by...then it starts all over again.

And yes, the buddies speed up a they break in.

MayRoll · Post by **MayRoll** » Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:37 am

Thanks for all the replies....

As I refuse to be a scooter nerd, I've found with enough road I've been able to muster 60mph indicated. Yes, I'm still a 6'2" 200lbs wind brake so the scoot is definitely drag limited. We live in a small rural town and 55mph speed limits are only available in a few spots. At those speeds the little scoot on 10" wheels gets a little nervous. I might try a medium sized windshield to improve ride comfort as well as a little top end improvement. The new scoot now has 160 miles and I'm glad to hear more power is available after more miles.

Thanks all.

Wolfhound · Post by **Wolfhound** » Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:31 am

Put the windshield on. You will gain at least 3 mph. At least I did on my 170i.

fullthrottle · Post by **fullthrottle** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:14 pm

When I'm cruising at highways speeds on my Vespa GT200L,
I found a comfortable position by putting my heels on the
passenger foot rests, pushing my butt all the way to the
backrest, and tucking way low.

Because of a few simple performance upgrades (nothing expensive),
I'm able to bury the needle past the limit of 90 mph on the
speedometer. The scooter is perfectly stable at that speed, as well.

It's quite a rush.

Modern Buddy

Oh No.... I'm a scooter nerd.

Oh No.... I'm a scooter nerd.

Re: Oh No.... I'm a scooter nerd.

that would not help me thinks

Re: that would not help me thinks