Go, Buddy Lightning! Go! - A Freeway Experience

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Thu May 31, 2007 12:04 pm

In honor of its recent accomplishments, today my scooter has earned the name Buddy Lightning.

For several weeks I've been eyeing the freeway. I've been driving parallel streets, watching traffic to get an idea of what type of pace I could keep. Yesterday, about 4:30PM, I bit the bullet and jumped on 90 West, heading into downtown Cleveland. I must say I was impressed with Buddy Lightning's performance. It was a very comfortable ride and I was able to keep pace with many of the cars on the road. Now we all know Buddy Lightning can't compete with cars, trucks, and bigger bikes flying by at 80+ MPH, but I found it relatively easy to stick with traffic moving at more moderate speeds.

This morning I figured I would try my AM commute on 271 North. This was a little gutsier of a drive. Drivers are a little more aggressive, there are more trucks, and the road has a pretty decent change in grade in some areas. So, I found an onramp with a good downhill grade and let it rip! I found it doable. Again, searching out traffic moving at more comfortable speeds was key. You also just have to make smart decisions and be courteous to other vehicles on the road. I was very conscious not to put myself in a position where I was holding anybody up. I also had to fight the urge to pass slower moving traffic and use it to my advantage. I wanted traffic to be able to flow smoothly around me, if necessary.

There are definitely cases where freeway driving is more practical than others. For example - heading from my place of employment in Wickliffe to downtown Cleveland via city streets can take up to just under an hour due to lights and such. Jumping on 90 cuts that down to 20 minutes. Totally worth it. However, this morning's commute on 271 took me 35-40 minutes. My normal back roads route takes 45-50 minutes. It was a good proof of concept, but I'm not going to risk riding 271 every morning for 10 minutes in time savings, but it's nice to know I can do it if I'm in a pinch.

In both instances I got Buddy Lightning up to an indicated 75 MPH, and he handled swimmingly. Keep in mind, this is not necessarily a recommendation for you to jump on the freeway yourself. There was definitely a signifcant amount of mental preparing I needed to do beforehand. I simply wanted to share my experience. In my mind it's good to know that, should I need to use it, Buddy Lightning can successfully travel the freeway.

prttynpnk · Post by **prttynpnk** » Thu May 31, 2007 12:19 pm

I was told when I was registering my Buddy that it's not freeway legal in OH. Do you know something I don't know?

Redrider · Post by **Redrider** » Thu May 31, 2007 1:25 pm

you are a brave soul. I have only risked the near west shoreway and approached that with probably too much trepidation to be considered comfortable.
I have a pronounced dislike of 271 even in my car, and I guess my personal opinion would be that any approach of a freeway within rush hours (8am-9:30am & 4pm-6PM) on a scooter is quite risky. Again just my opinion, like you said a lot of mental preparation required. Be careful outthere!

mandelia · Post by **mandelia** » Thu May 31, 2007 2:03 pm

prttynpnk wrote:I was told when I was registering my Buddy that it's not freeway legal in OH. Do you know something I don't know?

i don't see why... in OH, anything over 50cc's is considered a motor cycle... so, as long as you have a full endorsement on your license, you should be able to take it on the highway

bwilms - how were the cross winds? i sometimes drive down SOM center road (close to the I-90 on-ramps) where the speed limit is 40, but everyone's going over 50 anyway, and the wind has me disconcerted... i imagine it's a lot worse on the highway... thoughts?

angieyou3 · Post by **angieyou3** » Thu May 31, 2007 2:04 pm

bwilms----

you're nuts!

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Thu May 31, 2007 2:22 pm

prttynpnk wrote:I was told when I was registering my Buddy that it's not freeway legal in OH. Do you know something I don't know?

You might know something I do not. In my research I was never able to find anything definitive about interstates, then again I haven't picked up a phone and talked to anyone about it either. I realize ignorance is no excuse and won't work if/when I am pulled over. We talked about it in an earlier thread. I suppose I wouldn't be surprised if we were restricted. However, most interstates I see a minimum speed of 40 MPH, which we can easily maintain, so I think we should be able to use our own judgement as to whether or not we can jump on the interstate.

Speaking of judgement (or possibly lack of), I'm in full agreement with you, Redrider. 271 is no fun. The only reason I tried it was because I was on the road at 6AM. Otherwise - no go. 90 W was far more comfortable, plus there are a lot of exits giving me plenty of outs, if necessary.

I appreciate your concern for my safety. I understand with great power comes great responsibility. Buddy Lightning will make freeway appearances on a strictly limited basis.

mandelia wrote:bwilms - how were the cross winds?

This was a consideration as well. Yesterday on 90 things were very still. I wasn't blown around at all. This morning on 271 I definitely felt some resistance and was moving around little more, but at no time felt unsafe due to the winds. However, if there was a little more wind this might not have been the case. The biggest gust I recieved was a draft off a truck late in my commute. One thing to add is that I have the medium windscreen, which may or may not make a difference. It does give me something to tuck behind for speed boosts

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Thu May 31, 2007 3:39 pm

I looked in the following documents:

http://www.publicsafety.ohio.gov/odps_p ... s_8_06.pdf

http://www.publicsafety.ohio.gov/odps_p ... _09_06.pdf

I found no mention of a cc restricition for motorcycles on freeways or highways in Ohio. Lots of restrictions in there regarding pedestrians, bicycles, mopeds, farm animals etc.

This is obviously not an exhaustive search of possible applicable laws, but I would expect to find a major restriction in there if it existed since other similar restrictions are mentioned. Also I am not an officer of the law or a lawyer and I don't play either one in TV/Movies/YouTube.

Other laws certainly would apply about minimum speed limits, impeding traffic, DUI, etc. that apply to any vehicle. Some roads are posted with additional restrictions at the on ramps.

I am not inclined to try an Interstate on my Buddy. I ride WOT every day on my commute on a 50mph posted multilane road. Yesterday I hit an indicated 72mph briefly, keeping pace with traffic on that road. Normally it is more like 65 indicated. It's only for about 2 minutes and I wouldn't want to do it much longer than that. On windy days I find it manageable but does take some effort.

Be careful, know your personal limits. Not every rider can or should try to ride all the way to the physical limit of their vehicle, whatever it is.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu May 31, 2007 6:05 pm

lobsterman wrote:Be careful, know your personal limits. Not every rider can or should try to ride all the way to the physical limit of their vehicle, whatever it is.

As always, good, rational advice.
Handling on the freeways and at high speeds is much different than at, say 50mph. I've not taken a Buddy up over 60mph or so... I got nervous when I hit 75mph (indicated) on my (arguably more stable) Vespa on a straightaway with no other traffic.

It's Crash Season and a lot of very experienced riders have been going down and taking some pretty serious injuries. Most of these come from overestimating their abilities or pushing the limits too far (especially hitting curves too fast).[/b]

prttynpnk · Post by **prttynpnk** » Thu May 31, 2007 7:32 pm

Well I decided to email the BMV and see what they tell me. I don't think it would be restricted from the freeway due to the CC's. I vaguely remember signs I've seen near freeway onramps saying something about vehicles with only hand brakes being prohibited. Which doesn't make any sense since even on a motorcycle most of the braking power is the front brake which is the handbrake.

Not that I'm interested in driving on the freeway but it would be good to know.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Thu May 31, 2007 10:37 pm

Last fall I rode my Buddy on I-17 from Phoenix to Camp Verde, AZ...a total of about 90 miles. Of course it was at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning and nobody noticed...

--Keys

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Thu May 31, 2007 11:53 pm

I too eye the freeway, yet I have found avoiding it has its rewards as well -for instance today, I did not get on 90, but got to take Lake ave (for non clevelanders -miles and miles of smooth road with few traffic lights and lake views) to an appointment in Avon and I kept saying "I am at work now, I am getting paid to do this???"

Sometimes b/c of how manuverable the scooter is (or any 2 wheeler) you can really repositon yourself around stopped or turning cars and save time.

One thing -the wind draft of the trucks is really a potential threat. I have been blown around by trucks passing in the opposite direciton (both of us going 55-60) on smaller highways. I think an 18 wheeler passing by could be the biggest danger. That and night riving the drunks bearing down on you. Please be careful!

scullyfu · Post by **scullyfu** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 1:00 am

here in washington there is a restiction to freeway travel for any vehicle under 150cc. so on my trip home from my first day of msf class, i got stuck on a street that ended and was forced to go on the freeway (there was no way to get out of the lane cuz of traffic). so i gulped and went on the ramp, stopped at the light, proceeded when the green light came on and was puhleased as punch to discover that the onramp was also the offramp for the next exit.

fortunately, all the rush hour traffic was in the four other lanes...sitting. no one wanted to take the exit and i just motored along at 45mph in the lane, looking for a cop to pull me over at any time, but i got lucky in that regard. so that was the extent of my freeway experience, a whopping 1/4 mile. whew!

markontour · Post by **markontour** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 2:24 pm

I drive the freeway all the time. I end up getting the buddy up to about 65 (according to the spedo, so probably 55).
If I am only going to the 9-5 day job I just get on for 1 exit (to skip one annoying light). If I'm going to my night job, I'm on the freeway the entire time (to long to use side streets). I get passed, but I'm not going 40 so all is good. If it is windy I won't typically hit the freeway.

xtravbx · Post by **xtravbx** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 3:44 pm

I've been riding bikes for the past 4 or 5 years. The buddy is my first scooter. I got it as a "toy" (sorry to use that word guys and gals) for me and my girlfriend to putt around town on. She didn't like riding on the back of bigger bikes as much, and there's a whole romantic/cute thing, about doubling up on a scooter on a nice day.

ANYWAYS..

I took the buddy on the highway, and since I'm use to bigger bikes, I was scared $#!Tless on this thing. It does not feel highway stable. It was really windy, but man, I felt like I could wipe out at any minute. I was running WOT and definitely was being pushed around by the wind. I'll try it again, but don't see myself doing it regularly....

beelzebubbles · Post by **beelzebubbles** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 8:48 pm

xtravbx wrote:I took the buddy on the highway, and since I'm use to bigger bikes, I was scared $#!Tless on this thing. It does not feel highway stable. It was really windy, but man, I felt like I could wipe out at any minute. I was running WOT and definitely was being pushed around by the wind. I'll try it again, but don't see myself doing it regularly....

I agree that smaller wheels and displacement make for a more challenging ride - not impossible, but bit more of an adventure. Maybe it's a little more scary, especially at first, but there's also the fun that comes with the adrenaline rush

I remember this quote from Old Mod at modernvespa.com - I always think about it when I wonder about riding a small-wheel scooter (vs. a motorcycle or at least a big-wheeled scooter like the BV500) on the highways. I hope it's OK to quote him here (it's from http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic4781.html):

old mod wrote:As a previous writer said perhaps your riding requires BV/Burgman sized machines, although you then have to ask why not a touring motorcycle.
Riding a scooter at 70mph is going to take MORE skill than a motorcycle and I say that seriously on the bike its almost a yawn.
THIS is where the FUN factor comes in, to ride scoots at 65+ gets you onto the adrenaline level, you need 90mph+ for a bike to get to that sort of level at least i have found it so on our narrower roads.
All this fun (adrenaline) and at almost legal speeds.
The wind will play with you and the small wheels react nervously and thats the BUZZ.
Group riding is also the way to go, as you share the Fun and all get frazzled together. Makes for great coffee? breaks with trembling hands, thats the chill factor of course.
I have just thought this might read unkindly it is not meant to denigrate your research but to highlight a major aspect of why scoots are a challenge and to an extent why riders get such enjoyment out of them , sometimes pushing them well outside their original design envelope.
Cheers Old Mod

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:55 pm

bwilms wrote:In my research I was never able to find anything definitive about interstates, then again I haven't picked up a phone and talked to anyone about it either.

I sent an email to the Ohio BMV a few weeks back. The Ohio Department Of Public Safety replied back today with the following:

Ohio DPS wrote:Ohio Revised Code 4511.051 regulates vehicle on Interstates.

4511.051 Freeways - prohibited acts.
(A) No person, unless otherwise directed by a police officer, shall:

(1) As a pedestrian, occupy any space within the limits of the right-of-way of a freeway, except: in a rest area; on a facility that is separated from the roadway and shoulders of the freeway and is designed and appropriately marked for pedestrian use; in the performance of public works or official duties; as a result of an emergency caused by an accident or breakdown of a motor vehicle; or to obtain assistance;

(2) Occupy any space within the limits of the right-of-way of a freeway, with: an animal-drawn vehicle; a ridden or led animal; herded animals; a pushcart; a bicycle, except on a facility that is separated from the roadway and shoulders of the freeway and is designed and appropriately marked for bicycle use; a bicycle with motor attached; a motor driven cycle with a motor which produces not to exceed five brake horsepower; an agricultural tractor; farm machinery; except in the performance of public works or official duties.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If, within one year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one predicate motor vehicle or traffic offense, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If, within one year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of two or more predicate motor vehicle or traffic offenses, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004

If your 125 CC is over 5 brake horsepower and street legal, it can be operate on the interstate. Be sure the bike can maintain minium speed if so posted.

prttynpnk · Post by **prttynpnk** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:27 pm

Below is the response I received from the BMV.

I received your email about the legality of riding your scooter on highways. Yes it is legal with the horsepower rating of a 125 cc motor. That size motor should meet the minimum hp rating. Also provided the scooter can go the minimum speed of 40 mph.

However, I do not recommend it as it is very dangerous

S/Lt. G. Allen
Ohio State Highway Patrol
(614) 387-6090

x-mojito50mod · Post by **x-mojito50mod** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 6:13 pm

I decided to give it a go too. I know it's illeagal in CA under 150cc, but, I figured, WTF, I removed the "125" badges. I was running late from my GF's house, going to work. For those who know LA, she lives in Eagle Rock (almost Pasadena), and I work in Beverly Hills. There is no real direct route between these two points without going through Silverlake (slow, lights), but there is a strech that I thought I could make some time up on for part of it. So, I hopped on the 2 from Verdugo to the end (Glendale Blvd), cutting about 5-6 minutes off the commute. I've always been scared of the freeways here...average speed is 70-80mph in most places. So, I stayed to the right, made sure the strech I was going to hit didn't have any major uphill parts, and it was fine. I actually had to pass a couple trucks on the downhill...73-74mph indicated. It was actually quite fun to see what this thing could do.
Since then, I've taken it every morning!

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 6:24 pm

x-mojito50mod wrote:Since then, I've taken it every morning!

I've found myself in that situation as well. I still commute backroads to work (40-45 minutes). Backroads driving home is a different story, consitsting of stop-and-go traffic for 1 to 1.25 hours. Now that I'm comfortable with it, if the conditions are right, I'll jump on the interstate heading South, which takes me about 30 minutes instead.

Tbone · Post by **Tbone** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 6:58 pm

Well wed was the last morning I commuted on the scooter.

I've realized I haven't been enjoying my rides.

Partly due to trying to be hyperaware of EVERYTHING as a new rider. 2ndly, I haven't given myself the time to ride leisurely from point A to point B before I need to be at point C! Just me and my compacted busy schedule.

Well wed morning I got up early with the intention of just taking my time more to enjoy the ride. It was nice.

The spill ended that process

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:43 am

well there is nothing more dangerous that being in a hurry or distracted on 2 wheels. my other 1/2 had 2 parking lot drops on buddy (I realize I am also discussing your other thread). I have begged him to take the class b/c I already know what he did...braked suddenly in a turn to avoid the car headed in his path...and in a hurry. when I find my self in a rush or distracted I stop and tell my self to chill the heck out and not risk my health. This is serious stuff, no zoning out or risks allowed! That said using the scooter to get to work or on the job is what helps me make it through a bad day. Just relax and think of it as your time to smell the roses (and road kill)...not whoever or what ever you are rushing too.

angieyou3 · Post by **angieyou3** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:45 pm

Hey Tbone,

What happened?

Tbone · Post by **Tbone** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:50 pm

At 4:30pm PST 6-20-07 I spilled doing a simple left hand turn from a stoplight.

I just passed the MSF's BRC (3 days too late as my wife put it!) and I know what mistakes I did going into that turn. It sucks. Scooters in the shop getting fixed, insurance rate is bound to go up...sigh...the wife and I are back to coordinating our schedules with the car and I'm not riding. SUCKS!!!

Modern Buddy