Interstate highway travelling

tdaley26 · Post by **tdaley26** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:54 am

I have had my Buddy Pamploma "El Diablo" for about 3 weeks now. Have used it daily except when we had a real bad rainstorm. I have put 400 miles on it so far.

I had read a number of posts here advising against taking the scoot on the interstate, but my curiosity got the better of me. ( I am a school teacher, and when fall comes taking the interstate commute to work will save me 8 miles over the non interstate route.)

Anyway, I decided to take a ride of about 20 miles along I-10 in Metairie (a suburb of new orleans). What I found was that road conditions were not too different from a typical divided highway. I stayed in the slowest lane, kept a constant "buddy speed" of 60 and although I was passed by many vehicles, I was by no means the slowest thing on the highway either. Delivery vans, trucks towing boats, little old ladies in honda civics and all sorts of slower traffic were using the freeway. I even passed a few vehicles, but only after very carefully checking behind, since speed demons can ride up your a$$ in a moment.

Bottom line, while I wouldn't say interstate travel was the optimum buddy experience. If needed, I have no hesitation using the buddy on an urban freeway. I don't live in a rural area, but I would be interested in what experiences people have had in that setting......have I missed any critical detail?

r0sa · Post by **r0sa** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:05 am

when an 18 wheeler passes you up, you'll get a big wind whiplash. if you're gonna be riding the interstate for a couple miles, i say go for it, but be careful, a cage riding up your ass is dangerous, i would pull over and let them pass

rtaite · Post by **rtaite** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:07 am

The thing which scares the bejeebies out of me is the skinny tires on the Buddy. A small pothole on a freeway could mean big trouble for a Buddy.

Eazy · Post by **Eazy** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:11 am

I personally am wary of riding on the interstate.

3.5" tires can be very unforgiving at speeds of 50+ mph. Factor in with that the wind changes caused by large trucks and what not you can get into a scary situation really quick.

Although, I feel that if I lived in an urban area, I might be a little more comfortable, oddly enough because of the amount of traffic.

tdaley26 · Post by **tdaley26** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:18 am

[size=9]

Eazy wrote:I personally am wary of riding on the interstate.

3.5" tires can be very unforgiving at speeds of 50+ mph. Factor in with that the wind changes caused by large trucks and what not you can get into a scary situation really quick.

Although, I feel that if I lived in an urban area, I might be a little more comfortable, oddly enough because of the amount of traffic.
[/size]

That's kinda how i thought.... In the city you really don't have many 18 wheelers using the interstate.. and the those that do can
t really get up to high speed because of the traffic.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:22 am

tdaley26 wrote:...little old ladies in honda civics...

We've got little old ladies in Honda Civics on the Metro Phoenix freeways too. They're doing 85.

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:33 am

I've been to Arizona in the summer. I think those are actually young women in their twenties that happen to look like little old ladies because they've been dried out in the sun...

sotied · Post by **sotied** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 11:52 am

It's only been 200 miles or so on my Buddy, but the most comfortable I've felt has been in the middle of the city or on backed up surface roads going into the city.

It keeps everyone locked down to a certain pace - perfect for the scoot.

The most scared I've been was on these same surface roads when they're wide open and a pickup truck is screaming up behind you at 60 (when the limit is 45).

And no, I probably won't try the highway...even for just one exit - ALTHOUGH I have thought about it when I've looked up at the expressway and seen that it was bumper to bumper for a few exits. Might almost make sense to hop on and avoid a bunch of lights, rotaries and other hazards by going two exits at 20MPH with a billion other cars.

DennisD · Post by **DennisD** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 12:25 pm

tdaley26 wrote:I have had my Buddy Pamploma "El Diablo" for about 3 weeks now. Have used it daily except when we had a real bad rainstorm. I have put 400 miles on it so far.

I had read a number of posts here advising against taking the scoot on the interstate, but my curiosity got the better of me. ( I am a school teacher, and when fall comes taking the interstate commute to work will save me 8 miles over the non interstate route.)

Anyway, I decided to take a ride of about 20 miles along I-10 in Metairie (a suburb of new orleans). What I found was that road conditions were not too different from a typical divided highway. I stayed in the slowest lane, kept a constant "buddy speed" of 60 and although I was passed by many vehicles, I was by no means the slowest thing on the highway either. Delivery vans, trucks towing boats, little old ladies in honda civics and all sorts of slower traffic were using the freeway. I even passed a few vehicles, but only after very carefully checking behind, since speed demons can ride up your a$$ in a moment.

Bottom line, while I wouldn't say interstate travel was the optimum buddy experience. If needed, I have no hesitation using the buddy on an urban freeway. I don't live in a rural area, but I would be interested in what experiences people have had in that setting......have I missed any critical detail?

Did you ride at the same time you will be riding to school in the fall? Things can get crazy during those peak travel times. Having driven in the NO area many times there is no way in hell you would catch me on the interstate on a Buddy. Better the extra 8 miles.

Just my humble opinion of course.

Dennis

charltons · Post by **charltons** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:08 pm

I'm in a similar situation- teacher with a Pamplona who rides everyday. I've put 1k miles in only a couple of months. The idea of riding on the interstate on my Buddy makes orifices pucker. nope. not me. Now when I get a MC or a maxi scoot...

bunny · Post by **bunny** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:25 pm

Don't

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 3:37 am

Owning a 125, I am not allowed on the Interstate. However, I would not ride in-town on the state highway (aside from certain timeframes such as very early Sunday Morning) for a couple of reasons:

1. Roads, even the state highways, in Oklahoma routinely look like they've been used for mortar practice by the national guard. They are seriously ugly. I've noticed how bad even when I'm in my cage and I don't want to drive at high speeds over them on the Buddy.

2. Drivers are insane on our state highways. Too many idiots out there. On the regular city streets, I have been impressed with the courtesy of Tulsa drivers; on the state highway (again, in-town) it appears to be a gathering of the Idiot's Cager Club. I want no part of it!

apetit · Post by **apetit** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:28 am

Bad, bad, bad idea...

I used to live in New Orleans. I learned to drive a car in New Orleans. I hate driving anything in Los Angles, but I would take my chances there first. (Full disclosure: I no longer live in NO and will not live in LA.)

I would highly recommend that you do not ride a scooter on I-10 in the New Orleans area. On any I-xxx in the New Orleans area. Unless the driving style there has changed radically, you are playing russian roulette with all chambers filled.

Bad, bad, bad idea...

Smiziley · Post by **Smiziley** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:41 am

pugbuddy wrote:1. Roads, even the state highways, in Oklahoma routinely look like they've been used for mortar practice by the national guard. They are seriously ugly. I've noticed how bad even when I'm in my cage and I don't want to drive at high speeds over them on the Buddy.

Ahh yes, another advantage of living in a state with a low tax rate. We've got 3"+ potholes about every 5 feet on the interstate in town. You know, the kinda that you shudder when you hit them in your car and throws your alignment off. While I'd be nervous to go on the interstate due to the speed and traffic, the potholes due to lack of maintenance are really what [will] scare me away.

andgosun · Post by **andgosun** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:32 pm

I scoot to work daily, and have 3 routes to work. With this wet spring in Oklahoma, my main route usually has less traffic, mainly locals, but due to the rain had 12" to 18" of water over the road for 1/2 mile. That was out for scootering. My 2nd choice was 12 Miles of loose gravel and possibly water crossings, I never attempted that. My 3rd choice was hiway 69. That divided 4 lane has a semi count of 8 to 10 per minute at peak traffic. I usually travel off peak, so that was the route I was left with. It does have some potholes, but driving a cage I knew where they were, allowing me to dodge them. I try to enter by a side street @ a light, wait for all the traffic to pass and enter behind the traffic line, allowing the light to give me a traffic gap behind me. I then drive 60 MPH and almost keep up with the traffic and get off 3 or 4 miles later. I use the lights to my advantage and it has worked for me so far.

sotied · Post by **sotied** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:25 pm

I've thought long and hard about riding the expressway here in Boston but haven't done it yet.

I'm thinking that I might try it only under certain circumstances. Those being real thick rush-hour traffic when the cars are pretty much bumper to bumper and only get going about 30 when the break out nearer the city.

It will give me a straight shot in and let me avoid a bunch of surface roads and rotaries.

Coming to the highway there are three options as I approach the on-ramp. I can jump on the highway (and sightlines are perfect so I can see if the traffic is backed up.

I can go left on the main surface road (like the mini auotbahn) where the speed limit is 35 but people blast down it at 55 in the am.

I can veer way left and take a different surface road that is 30 the whole way and people go 40.

So, my options are open. Rain would make the middle option real bad as that road floods, but my plan is to stay out of the rain.

DarbyWalters · Post by **DarbyWalters** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:04 pm

I do take my Lambretta 150 on the highway sometimes. It can easily pull 62-65 mph and have 12" tires...feels very stable. If taking the interstate for 3 miles saves me 5-6 miles, I feel ok doing that. I have had bigger MCs in the past but if you do not feel ok with highway driving, Don't do it.

RockRig · Post by **RockRig** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:13 pm

I have a 40 mile round-trip commute. About 5 miles of my commute is on a two lane highway with a posted limit of 55 MPH. Of course that means everyone is doing 65-75MPH. I see about 10 semi-trucks for the 5 miles I travel on this road. It's really no big deal and I haven't had any problems keeping up on my 150 Bajaj. Of course the truck headwinds push you around a bit, but as long as you don't panic, you're fine. Maybe once a month, I get a cager who's mad/upset that I'm driving a scooter at a slower speed on the highway. I just keep doing my scooter thing in the middle of the travel lane and stay focused on what I'm doing. I can't control other driver's road-rage. All I can do is make sure that I'm safely scootering down the road and not doing something silly/unsafe in order to accommodate a crazed cager.

IMO, it's more about experience and comfort level vs. safety. I grew up in CO and rode a MC all over Texas during college. I guess, I just got used to sharing the rode with tractor-trailers and cagers traveling at highway speeds.

Modern Buddy

Interstate highway travelling

Interstate highway travelling

Tires

Re: Interstate highway travelling

Re: Interstate highway travelling