I'm so glad....i'm apart...of the family...

[lillylars]

hey guys...i picked up my italia last night and i am thoroughly excited. i have been scooting around with my daughter on it all morning.

I am happy to say that I am super pumped to be a part of a happy scootin', gas savin', earth carin', taking my wife on an ice cream date tonight-in buddy family.

Two quick questions:
#1 (and I realize it is probably different in each state) but does anyone know the rules/ law for age of riders? My daughter is four, wears a helmet, and wears a little webbed strap to keep her from tipping of on a turn, etc.

Question #2: What should my engine sound like?? HAHA dumb question, but I am not sure if the low end "rattle" I hear when i accelerate is normal. The scoot seems to be running fine (I "downgraded" from a Harley so it surely doesn't have the pep of a 1200cc) but I am just not sure what it should sound like. I guess I thought I may purr a bit more, which it does when I idle, but on acceleration, it does kind of rattle. Anything to be concerned about?

Again, glad to be here...it has been a long road...i almost bought a scooter from GS Motorworks...anyone know about them....NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!! But that is for another post.

Love Wins
Lane

[twharton]

Welcome!

[hcstrider]

Congratulations on your new Italia. That looks exactly like mine except mine doesn’t have the windshield. I have to get one of those.

I thought that your first question about the rules/laws for the age of passengers was a very good question. The following WEB page displays the motorcycle laws for the state of your choice:

http://home.ama-cycle.org/amaccess/laws ... p?state=or

When I looked at the laws for Maryland, I was surprised to see that there were no age or weight/height restrictions for passengers. I expected to see restrictions similar to the laws that require child safety seats for children in cars.

It will be interesting to hear what the more experienced riders have to say.

[Keys]

I suspect the "rattle" you hear is actually the noise coming from the airbox. When you grab a handful of throttle, it makes a particular...well, "rattle" noise.

--Keys

[metty]

I do not think you should strap a child to the scooter. I it goes down she cannot seperate from the scoot. What if it rolled a few times. The best thing to happen is to get seperated from the scoot. Thats my two cents. Thats why you don't see seatbelts on motorcycles and boats for that matter. More ideas?

[voodoosix]

i have 2 little girls (5 and 8 ) that love to go for rides too......

but as 25yr cycle rider, i only give them rides in the driveway or maybe around the block. even though im an experienced rider, i cant bring myself to take them into the concrete jungle.

personally i dont think a bicycle helmet cuts the mustard and if they need to be strapped down- that may be a good sign as to wether or not they are too small to be riding on the back of a bike. ive seen my share of accidents and injuries over the years (like this http://www.speedfreakinc.com/content/ar ... queen.html ) i know id be pretty hard on myself if my child got hurt because of a choice i made for her.

there is no way i can tell another parent what to do, thats up to you, but at least get her a good helmet.

i dont want to sound preachy, just another father of daughters that love scoots -sharing his thoughts.

nice bike though! i love those series italias.

[lillylars]

ok ok...let me clarify...

we have just been going around the block,in the driveway, etc. right now.. No 45mph+ just little cruises.

The helmet and strap were merely to get her used to the feel of being on the back before I do take her out onto the road (in a year or so probably)...in my eyes, the strap was a better idea than her sliding off on a turn (particularly at slow speeds and stops which we all know happens quite a bit). This is all brand-new to her and I wanted her to feel secure and safe. I too have been riding all sorts of bikes, scooters, and mopeds since the age of 13. Now at the age of 30 I still have great respect for a bike considering the types of accidents I have seen too (and participated in).

As I stated in my earlier post, I just sold my vintage Harley 1200 Sporty and went for better fuel economy. I never took her on the Harley, and just wanted to get her used to the feel. Thanks for all the concern though.

Any other thoughts on that rattle??

[ryder1]

Know the feeling of wanting to share the ride with your kid, but personally I think she is too young.

This is a special time for her to have with her dad; but if there was some accident that would scar her for life, believe me it is not worth taking a chance. There are unpredictable people on the road. Keep in mind you are close to home where most accidents happen.

You were thirteen...think of things you had learned from 4 to 13 and the muscles in your body were developed for more than a 4 yr old. Even for her to hang onto you is a challenge if the wind were to get inbetween you...it can happen in a split second.

Nice to bring her into your world, but at four maybe better for you to join her world.

Give it some more thought.

[lillylars]

dude...i am going 10 mph with her...didn't I just clarify that? we cruise faster than that on the back of my trek bike...are you going to tell me parents who go for bicycle rides are unsafe too?? please.

thanks for the parenting advice...i have it covered...the wind is not going to pick her up off the bike at 10 mph in the driveway or up and down our 25mph street with three houses on it and 2 cars an hour...we don't live with Dorothy in kansas. again, thanks to all for the concern. the original question was to merely find out what the law said since i technically have her on a city street. btw...there is no age limit in michigan...i found that from the website link posted on this topic.

as to being in her world...thanks for pretending you sit in our living room. since you don't, I'll forgive you for the lack of class in a comment like that. Since you don't know anything about her or us, I will assume you don't know that we spend hours a day playing reading, singing, drawing, going on bicycle rides, etc.

I'll assume you haven't noticed the sacrifice we make as a family so my wife can stay home with her and her baby brother.

I'll also assume you don't know the 2-3 hours a day we as her parents spend with her doing treatments for her Cystic Fibrosis...the genetic disease she was born with. I will assume you don't see the time spent in her world helping explain to her at the age of 4 that she has a disease that currently gives her a life expectancy rate of 35 years old...Thanks for the advice of getting into her world...i will take that into account the next time i sit in a hospital bed with her for 2 days straight trying to clear intestinal obstructions that are one of the many byproducts of CF. "get into her world..." hmmmm...thanks...I will try that. (there's a guilt trip for ya)

Again, the original question was to know what the law said...today has been a really fun day of tooling around the house on the scooter, making her feel safe, and creating memories with her...

again...any other thoughts about the rattle or am i looking at a common sound on a great running engine on an even sweeter looking bike?!



Love Wins
Lane

[ryder1]

In rereading my post it does state "personal" opinion.

No, I am not saying parents are unsafe on a bike. I'm saying accidents can happen.

Yes, anyone can be hurt on a bike--I do know of someone close to my family who was riding her bike and not going near the 25mph you speak of. She fell while riding, shook the dirt off and was fine but developed a headache then when she got home went into lie down for awhile. Didn't feel better so she went to the hospital, she was dead in a matter of a few hours. Yeah, you can imagine when our family got the phone call about this tragedy from a bicycle ride.

The comment about joining her world was not an accusatory tone. Great you are able to join her world--I'm sure she enjoys it and will share all the memories you are making with her.

You sound like you have plenty of experience in riding; enjoy!

[ryder1]

hcstrider...Maryland laws

http://www.dmv.org/md-maryland/motorcycle-manual.php

While no age is specifically stated in the manual, it does indicate the passenger should have footpegs for placing their feet on to secure their ride.

[metty]

If you are careful and staying in the neighborhood going slow. Great. Your daughter from the picture looks like she loves it. I might have thought you were riding all over town and that led me to say what I said. Just be careful and have fun. Thats what scootering is all about. Glad to have you aboard and happy scootering to you and your cute as a button daughter. Metty

[SteMer]

Congrats on the scoot! Looks great. I had a feeling as soon as I saw your posted photo that people would get sidetracked with opinions about your daughter riding, the strap and the helmet. Every now and then something strikes folks pretty strongly. We're a good-hearted bunch though. I like the fact that you are creating some fun memories with your daughter. You know what's best for her. Welcome to the forum.

I can't help you with the rattle question. But I do know where you can get a fried twinkie in Cincinnati.

[maryvu]

When I'm not wearing earplugs, I do hear a bit of rattling when accelerating. I do have a bunch of random things in my glove box, but I know it is coming from the engine. It's a combination of rattle and grinding? Not the kind of grinding noise that would be BAD for an engine, of course. That's what it sounds like to me. I've got about 2700 miles on my 125 since March, and it's had 3 oil changes since. (It did not have a proper break-in...I couldn't help it!) The ducati mechs at Duc Seattle have taken it for rides, and have not reported this noise as problematic. (They also were impressed with my bar end mirrors!)

It's still riding well, and routinely 'carves' up Lake Washington Blvd in Seattle and blasts down Rainier and West Valley Freeway en route to Kent every day.

Cheers, maryvu

[lillylars]

awesome. thanks for the help on the rattle. i think it is normal, but seems to be a little odd. just wondered if it was the sound all buddies made.

[louie]

Welcome,
the rattle i noticed when i got mine was from a loose plate on the glove box. Our little engines are quite different than your old sportster. we've got an old shovel head and I can loose Don in a heartbeat in the city.
CF is an awful disease to live with for the whole family, i've got some first hand experience from too many years ago and I understand the reasons for wanting her to experience the thrills of life when she's feeling good enough to enjoy them.
You're the Dad, Ride On.

[BuddyRaton]

Congrats on the new scoot! I know that in several states the passangers feet must be able to reach the pegs or rest. Here in florida passangers under 16 must wear DOT approved helmet

[nonsense]

My scoot had an annoying buzz that was a higher pitch than I liked. Never at idle or constant speed, only while accelerating. I saws posts where people described their engine as a "throaty growl". Mine definitely didn't sound that way. After the dealer completed the first service the noise was completely gone and it sounds much better. Good luck with yours.

[hcstrider]

hcstrider...Maryland laws

http://www.dmv.org/md-maryland/motorcycle-manual.php

While no age is specifically stated in the manual, it does indicate the passenger should have footpegs for placing their feet on to secure their ride.

Thanks for the information which will make me a more informed scooterist. For me this is more curiosity rather than necessity because I do not intend on riding with a child passenger but lillylars’ question made me wonder what the laws were. Like you I also checked the Maryland Motorcycle Operators Manual and read that if carrying a passenger your motorcycle should be equipped with footpegs and you should instruct your passenger to keep both feet on the footpegs even when stopped. From this I deduced that your passenger’s legs should be long enough to reach the footpegs.