cargo weight placement question

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:59 am

How much weight do you think I would be able to safely carry on the foot area for a long distance? Strapped down, of course.

ScootStevie · Post by **ScootStevie** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:03 am

Probably quite a bit. It's a low center of gravity point.

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:07 am

Maybe in the 100-160 pound range?

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:11 am

One thing to consider in addition to how much weight... if you are going on a long distance ride, you will want room to move your feet around for comforts sake. When we did the LA to San Fran ride, if I couldn't have shuffled my feet (and butt) around, it would have been miserable.

Also, don't forget to factor that each pound of additional weight will affect your mpg and speed, especially going up hills.

There is a really good chapter on how to load a bike and other long distance considerations in Proficient Motorcycling. A really good read...

UnionZac · Post by **UnionZac** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:56 am

What are you trying to carry on your floor boards that weighs 160 pounds, and where are you going to burry them?

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:59 am

UnionZac wrote:What are you trying to carry on your floor boards that weighs 160 pounds, and where are you going to burry them?

I come up with the craziest schemes on occasion.
(an anvil.)

It crossed my mind that it would greatly expand my search radius.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:02 am

UnionZac wrote:What are you trying to carry on your floor boards that weighs 160 pounds, and where are you going to burry them?

A body. The ocean.

KABarash · Post by **KABarash** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:29 pm

jfrost2 wrote:
UnionZac wrote:What are you trying to carry on your floor boards that weighs 160 pounds, and where are you going to burry them?
A body. The ocean.

Geeze, I guess I have it easy, since my ex only weighs about 110 the ride to dispose won't be all that bad......

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:57 pm

KABarash wrote:
jfrost2 wrote:
UnionZac wrote:What are you trying to carry on your floor boards that weighs 160 pounds, and where are you going to burry them?
A body. The ocean.
Geeze, I guess I have it easy, since my ex only weighs about 110 the ride to dispose won't be all that bad......

Dont forget you need concrete blocks to tie down the body so it sinks like Scott Peterson did back then with his wife Lacey. Those add some weight too.

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:40 pm

I'm serious. It's within the weight limit specs of the scooter and shouldn't affect speed terribly much. It's less than or equal to the weight of a passenger. In my favor, the weight's low and distributed over both wheels, so it's well inside that stability triangle thingit they went over in MSF class.
What I'm not sure about is, while that's less than the weight of a passenger, it's not as dispersed. The weight will be over a smaller contact area: more weight per square inch.

I'm not asking just for the single instance. As I'm learning blacksmithing, I'm wondering about the feasibility of being able to pick up found metal when I'm out on my scooter. If this kind of cargo hauling could potentially compromise the integrity of the frame, I'll resign myself to dashing home, getting the car, and hoping it's still there when I get back to it, or staying within a smaller search radius for things like this and passing up great deals that the cost of gas in the car make not-so-great.

If it was a motorcycle, it wouldn't be an option. The weight would have no place to be but up high, making it top-heavy regardless. Scooters, however...they're step-through.

easy · Post by **easy** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 12:12 am

lot of weight concentraded on maybe weakest part of frame

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 1:28 am

Cheshire wrote: As I'm learning blacksmithing, I'm wondering about the feasibility of being able to pick up found metal when I'm out on my scooter.

This sounds like a situation that might be perfect for one of those scooter trailers...