Thinking about a scooter

[DrDiff]

I drive about 170 miles in a week and burn up half a tank of gas in my car per week. It costs me $35 to tank up each time.

I was thinking that a scooter might help me afford gasoline at $10.009 per gallon next spring.

We got a new scooter store here in Valpo IN, Get Scootin'. And I like the idea of a local dealer and club. The nearest Piaggio dealer is Chicago and a Scooter Virgin like myself doesn't want to have to ride a scooter on the interstate.

A friend who has a Vespa reccomended the Genuine Scooter line. Talked to the dealer today. I have to get a Motor Cycle operator license

Just might pull the Trigger and get one!

Thanks for letting me say Hello

Dean

James Dean Cory

[sargelee71]

Hi James,

You won't be sorry you got one! Just do it!

[Rhodyterri]

Hi Dean -

I got my Buddy for the exact same reasons that you are thinking about getting one. I had my Motorcycle license from my younger and wilder days, so I didn't have to do that part. But getting my scooter was the best investment I made. Now instead of putting all of my money into the gas tank of my Saturn Vue, I am picking out accessories for my Buddy!!

She just loves accessories!

Good luck, and happy scooting!

[r0sa]

YOU SHOULD GET ONE!
you won't know that feeling of scootin' until u get one...

[DrDiff]

I forgot to mention, since I work Graveyard Shift (11:00P-7:00A), I would be driving it mostly at night. No black scooter for me.

I was thinking that I would use some reflective trim tape to add visibility for other drivers on the scooter and my helmet.

The night visibility and safety factor are in my mind. Any thoughts now that you know I work at night?

Dean

[jmazza]

Yes, go for it! Check out your routes and make sure they are good for a scooter like the Buddy...

Night driving ideas: reflective tape is great- on your scooter, on your helmet, reflective piping on your jacket. I look positively like Tron Guy (well at least the reflective part) when a car's headlights hit me at night. There's all sorts of cool reflective stuff you can get.

Scooters are pretty invisible things to many drivers, especially at night, so keep that in mind.

Finally, if you have rural roads to take late at night, you'd have to be on the lookout extra hard for animals in your path.

I'm guessing you're pretty used to the graveyard shift, but the only other thing I thought about is that a scooter is definitely NOT the thing to be riding if you are really tired and beat from work. I did that the other day and had one of those "how the heck did I just get home" moments as I pulled into my driveway- I didn't even remember my ride. Not a good feeling.

Go check out scooters at the dealer! And forget about people who ask about a DUI, etc... you either get scootering or you don't.

[Ed Hit]

May want to look at upgrading your headlight bulb if possible to a halogen bulb.

If you get a buddy, you can upgrade the bulb and do some work on aiming the headlight better. Seems extremely important for the rural roads.

I just bought two of these at newenough on closeout for $10. Anyone have any experience with them?
http://www.newenough.com/closeouts/helm ... light.html

As I think about it for my city driving, might be nice to have one that stays blinking even when you are stopped at a light. But thought I would give them a try...

[ericalm]

As I think about it for my city driving, might be nice to have one that stays blinking even when you are stopped at a light. But thought I would give them a try...

Not sure about IL, but a persistent blinking light on a scoot would actually be illegal in CA and could get you a ticket.

[jfrost2]

I forgot to mention, since I work Graveyard Shift (11:00P-7:00A), I would be driving it mostly at night. No black scooter for me.

I was thinking that I would use some reflective trim tape to add visibility for other drivers on the scooter and my helmet.

The night visibility and safety factor are in my mind. Any thoughts now that you know I work at night?

Dean

The color of the bike doesnt actually make you anymore or less visible. There are people who ride motorcycles and motorcycles are mainly black and chrome.

The fact you are tiny and people are looking for cards and trucks, you arent in their "vision" unless they directly can see you or look at you.

But I think the reflective tape on the helmet, and a riding jacket with reflective material sewed on will help a lot being seen.

[Piedmont]

I've always thought a flame thrower would increase night time visibility.

[illnoise]

I drive about 170 miles in a week and burn up half a tank of gas in my car per week. It costs me $35 to tank up each time.

I don't want to talk you out of buying a scooter, but do the math:

http://2strokebuzz.com/index.php?p=4100

You say you're spending $910/year on gas. ($35 every two weeks). That means that a one dollar increase in the price of gas, you're going to spend $1212 over the next year. That's a $302 difference.

This "crazy gas crisis" is going to cost you $302 over a YEAR.

Sure, the scooter gets better mileage, so let's figure that out. You're spending $70 for 170 miles. At $4/gallon that's 17.5 gallons, you're getting less than 10mpg in your car (really? Maybe your gas is closer to $3/gal now?) A scooter gets, say, 80mpg. That's 2.125 gallons for your 70-mile biweekly fill-up, only $8.50. But that's still $221 a year for gas.

1212-221= $991. Riding a scooter for a year will save you less than $1000 in gas per year.

Is it worth paying a few grand for a scooter, paying to title and insure it, buying a helmet and topbox and armored jacket, and getting a motorcycle license, and paying (relatively) expensive maintenance on the scooter to save (at best) $1000 a year? If you plan to get rid of your car and only drive the scooter (for a FEW YEARS), you're going to save a ton of money on insurance and such. But if you have a family, or you need the car for longer trips, or you need to pick up groceries or lumber, you're going to be using the car a good amount of the time, which will reduce your gas savings.

I love scooters, and the answer is yes, you should get one, but chances are, it's not going to save you that much money, it's mostly hype generated by the scooter companies and the media. A scooter is loads better than a second car, or as a primary vehicle, but if you're just going to ride it on sunny days and if you're driving a reasonably fuel-efficient car anyway, it's probably not saving you much. I'm sure you have other factors to work in, but it's all easy enough to calculate to decide if it's right for you.

[ericalm]

This is a difficult argument to make. I should know, because I jumped through all sorts of hoops trying to rationalize and justify buying a scooter before I got one. I even allowed myself to buy into some of the big myths about scootering ("scooters are safer than motorcycles" being the big one) and try to convince my wife of them. She was unswayed, though, and maintained her strong opposition to scooters.

When it came right down to it, the fact was that I simply wanted one. I'd wanted one since the first time I'd seen a scooter and that was it. So I went and got one. It was a purely selfish act that I don't regret for even a second.

You can justify getting one for all kinds of reasons, but as illnoise points out many of those don't really hold up in real life. Plus, most of those justifications—in my case and, I suspect, yours—were really just ways to distract from the safety issue.

You can't win the safety argument. They're right: A scooter is a dangerous thing. It's more dangerous than a car. And riding one primarily at night only ups the odds of an accident.

But none of that is of any use to you when trying to make a case for getting a scooter.

So, about the best you can do is acknowledge the risk and lay out the steps you'll take to minimize it. Take steps to let them know that though you're taking the plunge, that you'll be doing it as responsibly and safely as possible.

Let them know that you won't go out unprepared. That you'll take the MSF course and buy proper gear. That you'll take steps to maximize your visibility. That you'll practice riding and log 600 miles (or however many) of daytime riding and many hours of short nighttime trips on weekends before beginning to commute at night. Even then, you'll start out by riding the scooter a couple times a week to familiarize yourself with the route and get comfortable, confident and more experience before commuting full time on the scoot.

Will you ever convince them that it's the smart, rational and safe thing to do? Probably not, unless you're willing to lie and they're particularly gullible.

[hcstrider]

illnoise,

Thanks for your post. I was getting ready to write the same type of reply showing how I actually spend more money because of my Buddy scooters rather than save money. When I factor in the cost of the Buddy, helmet, armored jacket, insurance, etc… I have concluded that I ride a scooter because I enjoy it, not because I am saving money.

In addition to your article on 2strokebuzz.com there is a similar article on “Making Cents of Vespanomics” at:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_P ... 381&Page=1

The bottom line for me is that I love riding my Buddy and have no regrets about buying it but when I add all of the costs up it is not saving me money.

[Apiarist]

you could always make your own fuel from sugar at home:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domestic ... 1420080509

[mandyscoots]

I forgot to mention, since I work Graveyard Shift (11:00P-7:00A), I would be driving it mostly at night. No black scooter for me.

I was thinking that I would use some reflective trim tape to add visibility for other drivers on the scooter and my helmet.

The night visibility and safety factor are in my mind. Any thoughts now that you know I work at night?

Dean

Yo, Dr. Diff
I work graveyard too 9p-9a, somtimes 2a-9a. Anyways I have a 16-18mile one way commute. My buddy does fine. I don't currently wear any hivis clothing but my helmet and my back pack are reflective. Buddy has highbeams and you can see the road well enough. But I am definetly thinking about getting a hivis vest or something for night time rididing.
Just be extra careful and you and your Bud will do great!

[jmazza]

Wait! We can SAVE MONEY by riding these things too!! YES!!

Actually, while I haven't run exact numbers, I'm pretty certain I'm in the "saving money" camp.

My car died and instead of buying a new car, I bought the Buddy so right there I saved a ton of johnny cash. Since it's not an extra vehicle I'm also saving on gas and insurance. Our one car really doesn't get driven any more than it normally would now so I'm not losing money there.

But yeah, in many scenarios, it's not the money saver it seems. Maintenance and gear can be killers.

[DennisD]

I am thrifty. I have to be. However, thrift is only one part of riding a scooter. The fun factor quickly puts the thrift thing aside and although it plays a large part, its hard to deny that the reason you continue to ride is because it has become so much fun.

Dennis

[nissanman]

My truck gets 10 MPG on my work commute and likes to break down at random. My scooter gets 65+ mpg and gets vapor lock if I overfill it. I save about $35 a week every week I can ride vs drive. That's just on gas. What I spend on accessories vs repairs, call it a tie

[nissanman]

That said, I ride cause I want to. If it was all about the $$$ I'd ride my Electra Ghostrider3 to work.

[DrDiff]

I live in North West Indiana. Chicago is the nearest big city. I am guessing I could ride the scoter maybe 6 months out of the year.

Then add in the fact that I get my sons every other weekend and have to use my car to get them...

I am not seeing the economics add up. Yet. Maybe if gasoline prices go higher...

[illnoise]

Maybe if gasoline prices go higher...

Let's keep our fingers crossed. : )

Bb.

[jfrost2]

I dread the day when gas hits 10 dollars a gallon, cars will be rare, but us scooterist will begin feeling a strain on our wallets.

[ericalm]

Maybe if gasoline prices go higher...

Let's keep our fingers crossed. : )

I used to joke about wanting gas to hit $4/gal. Now I'm freaked about it destroying our already weakened economy. Seen how much groceries cost these days? It's scary!

At the same time, there have been several local media reports on the glut of used SUVs for sale and how people are having to let them go at insanely low prices. Apparently, there are ads in the paper marked "sacrifice," which I find kind of ironic. Hummers are about anything but sacrifice.

So people may not run to scooters, but maybe better, smaller cars. And it seems like Detroit is finally waking up, though so much of their greening ir PR and hype.

[illnoise]

Well, if the recession/oil prices stay on trend, this scooter craze may stick around longer than I expected.

Ironically, if the economy gets better and gas prices drop, we'll all be buying up used bikes and hitting the going-out-of business sales at the fly-by-night scooter shops as everyone flocks back to their Hummers.

Vote accordingly.

[ryder1]

This info may help you when you take your written or on-screen touch test:

Select appropriate for your State on drop down menu for the 1st two.

http://www.dmv.org/dmv-practice-test.ph ... motorcycle

http://www.dps.state.mn.us/mmsc/latest/ ... d=5&mid=31 (Click on the red motorcycle for each #)

http://www.msf-usa.org/CourseReview/Questionframe.htm

http://www.msf-usa.org/index_new.cfm?sp ... rse%20Info

http://www.msf-usa.org/CurriculumMateri ... oprint.pdf

http://msf-usa.org/downloads/Scooter_tips-screen.pdf

[charltons]

Well, all I can say is I spend a lot less on gas with my scoot than I did with my 3/4 ton. Ye, I could have a more efficient car, but I haven't seen one as efficient as my scooter.

yes, there are safety issues, and sometimes it's not convenient, but it's a lot of fun.

As for all the accessories, I guess that's a personal choice. One could be very thrifty there as well.

Having said all that, I would think really hard about using it exclusively on night commutes. I drive early in the am, and I'm less nervous when the sun starts poking out.