How to get the wife to learn how to scoot?

2wheelNsanity · Post by **2wheelNsanity** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:01 am

My wife luvs riding on the back of my scoot, however when I ask her if she would like to learn how to ride, the answer is no. Not an absolute no but just a casual no.
I had plans, after I get a real job (fingers crossed), to get myself a Piaggio BV350 and her the MP3 400 and go cruising across the western U.S. (especially all parts in New Mexico).
What angle do I play it? Do I just continue to let her ride on the back and let her have the idea of getting a scoot on her own?

Mutt the Hoople · Post by **Mutt the Hoople** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:29 am

Have her drive it. But you won't get it back...

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:22 am

My wife is fine on the back of mine too, but as of yet doesn't want one of her own.

A friend said it this way: is the cat starving? no? then quit trying to force feed it.

If she wants to learn she will, if not, she won't. Then you can save up for that BV 350

AlleyOops · Post by **AlleyOops** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:25 am

Just get her to ride it?

I've only had my scoot a few weeks, but a month ago my fiance said he would never be caught dead on a scooter. I let him ride it around the block the other day, now he's hooked and wants his own. (and he's mad I won't let him take her out on the parkway unless he takes his safety class and gets his own gear)

We don't have the $$ right this second to buy another scooter, but maybe next year.

What if you offer to buy her one? Or maybe tell her you bought her one and judge her reaction? Maybe she just really is happy riding on the back?

michelle_7728 · Post by **michelle_7728** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:42 am

Well, I am definitely not an expert, but I can tell you what worked, and didn't work, for me.

I was the first one (between my husband and I) to start riding, but he soon saw how much fun I was having and jumped on the bandwagon also.

Until the age of 47 I had no interest in motorcycles, then I met a co-worker about my age who was in to scooters. My interest was piqued, and hearing my uncle and girlfriend talk about his Buddy 150, and what a blast they had riding it (she has her own Buddy now

) got the ball rolling so to speak.

First, I went to the DMV, and took the written test so I could get my 90-day learner's permit.

I had the scooter delivered to our driveway, then rode it back and forth in the grass in our back yard several times (we're only talking 20 feet one way, then turn it around and back the other way 20 feet). Once I realized that it wasn't going to take off without me, I rode it across the street to the culdesac. After a time or two around there, I was ready to ride around the neighborhood.

The next weekend I got up fairly early and rode a couple miles away to some empty (well, closed for the weekend) business parks and rode there a bit...then on to less congested streets around town, building up bit by bit until I rode it to work one day (on the WEEKEND, when there was no traffic) which was a 10 mile one-way trip. I had signed up for the MSF course and as soon as I was able to take it (a few weeks out, unfortunately) I did, riding my own scooter in it.

I progressed from there, going a little faster and further, riding on a little busier streets only as I felt more comfortable. It took me quite a while to build up to going on the freeway (something that not everyone even wants to do, or should do...it really depends on your road speeds, conditions, weather, the demeaner of other drivers, and of course your comfort level).

But back to the Buddy. I did finally get an MP3 250, after I'd had the Buddy for a couple of years and put a few thousand miles on it. I'm really glad I learned on the Buddy, as (for me) learning how to ride an MP3 with no prior scooter or motorcycle experience would have been a HUGE mistake. MP3s handle quite a bit differently than Buddys in some respects: center of gravity is much higher, heavier bike, takes more room to maneuver. My main issues, when I first got it was the higher center of gravity and learning to act with deliberation. Meaning that when I pulled up to a gas pump, I needed to lock the suspension, shut off the kill switch, turn the key off, pull up the emergency brake, then get off the scooter. Getting back on I was likewise careful to make sure the emergency brake wasn't on before taking off. If you "oops" on that, and give it gas, if your feet are up, over you will go. I never did that, but it was close a couple of times...you have to be very conscious about your actions. A biggie, is to not come to a stop in a hurry with your bike not level, as the higher center of gravity could make you drop the bike. I was lucky with that one too. Thanks to the Buddy I was used to coming to a smooth stop staying vertical.

My point here is if she is interested, start her on your Buddy, and have her get totally comfortable on that (like months of comfort) before having her try the MP3. If she's ambivalent about riding, a fall may well turn the ambivalence to "no thanks!" The Buddy is SO easy to learn on, it just makes learning fun! I can't stress enough that everything has to be at her own pace and comfort level.

And of course the MSF course is a must! Much of the time they will let you bring your own bike which IMO only makes sense, if you already have the bike you want to ride.

2wheelNsanity · Post by **2wheelNsanity** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:25 pm

I know its going to be her choice, I understand her trepidation, the fear of operating it in traffic etc. I was reluctant to scoot even though I wanted to for years and the the only reason I took the plunge was we gave my Mazda to my oldest son to use for college and we couldn't find any reasonable priced cars in our area, so I got a scoot at 0 down and 2.9% interest (a deal).
So, plan "B" would be getting a BV 500 and she ride on the back during our trips, which is a win for me as well.
Thanx for the replies

.

Stormswift · Post by **Stormswift** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 4:01 pm

Being a passanger and enjoying the ride is very different from being in control of the bike. I am a rider. I cannot be someone's passenger. Ever. I would rather not ride at all. My brain goes into a different mode when I ride. The level of concentration it takes to manage the bike cannot be gotten from riding in the back. But you already know that.
You cannot make someone into a rider. I firmly believe that you are either born a rider and given opportunity will ride or you are not and might enjoy riding as part of being a couple or being with friends. As long as your sig other likes riding it does not really matter whether she rides with you or rides her own. Bigger bike that can acommodate 2 sounds like a great idea. Wish I could ride something bigger then my Buddy so that I can take longer trips and bring my kiddo with me. He is definately NOT a future rider. Can't even talk him into riding with me.

Tenchi · Post by **Tenchi** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:19 pm

My Buddy just isn't big enough to accommodate both me and the Missus, since I weigh 200 and she....well, more than 100, let's leave it at that. We went to Hawaii in 1984 and she managed to scoot around Waikiki on a 50 cc scoot just fine, so I am hoping to get her into the scoot world. Probably start off with a 80 cc Honda and move upward. Neither of my grown kids have shown any interest in scooting, so you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.

scudder · Post by **scudder** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:34 pm

I use to help out at a moped shop and have seen alot of husbands try and force their wifes too ride....it never ends well! If someone doesn't want to ride don't force them. My wife, on the other hand, loves riding a scoot but really does not seem to grasp the basics of riding. I have to start it, put it up on the center stand etc......she already crashed once and has had nemerous close calls, she doesn't belong on a scoot. Oh well, I ride my bicycle on the roads and have been tagged a couple times so who am I to judge.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 7:57 pm

My wife enjoys riding light weight scooters and rides our Buddy to work whenever the weather is good. It is true that she made the decision to try riding on her own - so my advice is to not push it. On the other hand, if I ever refered to her as "the wife", it would take a long time for the bruises to heal.

(hey, come on over to the house - meet the wife, the kid and the dog. We could drink some beers. )

un_designer · Post by **un_designer** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:51 pm

my 2 cents:

1) empty, wide parking lot with no car/traffic
2) a time when no one's going to be around
3) propose 1 & 2 to her and see if she would like to give it a try.

sometimes people are just nervous about all the things that could go wrong, or are embarrassed. removing the obstacles sometimes makes a better case.

sometimes people just don't want to.... and there's not much you can do. heh.

bigbropgo · Post by **bigbropgo** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:12 pm

take the car. hide keys to any other vehicles. call her and tell her your in the hospital. leave your scoot keys on the counter in the kitchen. sink or swim.

just playin.

go for a ride to a place with a big parking lot. take a frisbee. fake pulling a hammy and make her drive you home.

or just buy the new scoot. have a friend drive it to a out of the way secluded area. have a nice picnic lunch. tell her you have a surprise over buy a big tree or something. as she goes to look, ditch her. and text her that the keys are in the ignition.

JHScoot · Post by **JHScoot** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:50 am

Patience

AlleyOops · Post by **AlleyOops** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:59 am

bigbropgo wrote:take the car. hide keys to any other vehicles. call her and tell her your in the hospital. leave your scoot keys on the counter in the kitchen. sink or swim.

just playin.

go for a ride to a place with a big parking lot. take a frisbee. fake pulling a hammy and make her drive you home.

or just buy the new scoot. have a friend drive it to a out of the way secluded area. have a nice picnic lunch. tell her you have a surprise over buy a big tree or something. as she goes to look, ditch her. and text her that the keys are in the ignition.

you're evil.. but I like it

2wheelNsanity · Post by **2wheelNsanity** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:33 pm

Well, I'm not the sort to force anything on anyone, I am the only one in the family who is a vegetarian yet I prepare meat dishes for them every night. With that said, I did ask her after I posted this if she would be up to just giving it a try in the parking lot next door, she said yes (wooooooot)

, we'll give it a shot next weekend, I'll post the results.

un_designer · Post by **un_designer** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:42 pm

good to hear

i hope it turns out well. a couple of years ago we had friends visiting, one of whom haven't been on a bicycle for a very very long time. i know... anyway she was really nervous about falling. so, we took her to one of the many empty parking lots around here and after a bit of practice she felt comfortable enough to join us on the bike trails.

Lotrat · Post by **Lotrat** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:40 pm

My wife has had no interest in riding. She does have lot of passenger miles under her belt. I really got the scooter for her, but in a years time I only got her to ride around the block a few times. Maybe once in a big open parking lot. A few weeks ago I got her to ride around the block again. This time I jumped on my motorcycle to follow her around. After 10 times around the same block, I could tell she was getting bored. I pulled up along side of her and asked if she wanted to buzz around the neighborhood... she said yes! I took a familiar route and we rode that a few times. I decided to push my luck and asked if she wanted to head down to the coast... she said yes! We stopped for some coffee and I could tell something clicked. She was hooked. We did the same route a few weekends in a row, but I can tell her desire to ride is nowhere near mine. I'll get on 2 wheels when ever I can. The stars and planets need to be aligned for her to get on and ride. I'll take what I can get.