Freeway on my Italia

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 8:03 am

Well it was late, past midnight here and on the way home I decided to just let it all go and go on the freeway. I think it was relatively safe since it was low traffic. I was pretty much doing an indicated 65, good thing is if you stay in the slow lane long enough you eventually will catch up to someone slower than you. Mine was a car carrying a couple bicycles on it's hitch. So I was able to catch a good draft even pretty far away and didn't have to pin the throttle to maintain 65. I gotta say though with small tires and the classic tread design of the Italias my scooter was a little bit wobbly following the rain grooves. I'm glad to know this scoot can handle the freeways though, just in case I wake up late and have to rush to work. I don't think though I would subject the buddy to that kind of torture for longer than about 25 miles or so, that is unless I think my scooter is plotting some terrorism then I'll advocate torture and perpetual imprisonment without trial in a far off country.

pcbikedude · Post by **pcbikedude** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:07 pm

Dude!!!
You're waiting to get busted by a CHiP-PY aren't you?

Grooved roadways, like CA freeways, cause even car tires to "dance". You just don't notice it because of the soft suspension.

Another thing you should take in as a factor, your OEM tires are only rated for 62mph. My friend had a blow out on his sport bike. After several surgeries, they got his leg back together. But he still has 4 months of recoup and driving his wife crazy at home.

un_designer · Post by **un_designer** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:11 pm

you are one brave soul. do you have a windscreen or anything to buffer the wind? the fastest i've taken mine is probably 55 going downhill. but really, even at 45 i can really feel the wind.

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:35 pm

I have a face shield, that's it. I don't see how it's too bbig a deal since a lot of cruiser riders don't have windshields. In a lot of states like when I was in South Carolina they didn't even have a helmet or sunglasses, I saw one guy riding down the freeway doing 90 wearing only shorts and sandals. I haven't heard of any of the guys in the scooter clubs I'm in getting busted by the cops just for being on the freeway and some of them were taking classic vespas on the freeway. If you're doing something stupid or speeding (impossible) yeah, but an indicated 65 means I was doing about 57-58 so I'm safe. I doubt the cops keep so abreast on scooters that they'll be able to single me out as having a 125 versus the slower chinese bikes that have a 150 and are freeway legal. I hear of people taking chinese 150's out there now that's brave because they go, and can sometimes barely top 55 and usually end up struggling at 50 though they think they're going 60

Oh and I've pegged my speedometer at 80 going down hill. Speed ratings aren't set in stone, there is a safety factor and tire's are rated for 62 which I wasn't breaking. I don't think genuine would have put inherently dangerous tires on the buddy, that's a lawsuit waiting to happen, because they know someone in the midwest is going to be riding long distance runs on the road at max speed.

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:42 pm

Oh yeah and what was really scary was I once got stuck onto an unmarked onramp to the freeway on my metropolitan

good thing there was a direct exit following the on ramp so I never really got on the freeway.

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:00 am

With the added confidence of knowing the Buddy can go on the freeway I decided to thoroughly break my new 210 mile one day ride. I went all the way to Bakersfield which is a cool 126 miles away so that's a 252 mile round trip! All freeway. The buddy held up fine to such a solid flogging, there were sections where I'd be full throttle 70 indicated for about 30 miles at a time, the engine is a real workhorse, motor oil looks good right now, could probably go another 1000 on it because it's still practically clear. My gas mileage for the trip was about 75 mpg. Weird that scooters get better city mileage than highway, probably the cvt. The only problem I had was that at around 200 miles my right mirror cam loose. Luckily I had my tool kit to fix that. At a fuel stop a guy who had passed me about 30 miles prior saw me at a gas station and said I "had a wheelbarrow full of guts to be taking it on a freeway" and when I told him I'm going from LA to Bakersfield and back his jaw just dropped. Another thing I noticed was at another fuel stop I had a little more oil on the rear rim than normal, seems something likely to happen being on the highway can thin gear oil so it can seep past the bearing at a stop. I should warn Alix from peacescooter about this problem because she will be putting some major miles on her scooter across the country. Aside from that things I've learned is that the buddy will wobble on those lines and get blown around some but if you just keep control of the scooters direction and not constantly fight the wobbles you'll be fine. Oh and it was super sunny so where my jacket's sleeves ride up I have a strange tan band because I had gloves but a section of my wrist stayed exposed. Another thing that pisses me off is a huge gust of wind ruffled my jacket and my mp3 player fell out

It's officially 3 weeks of Buddy ownership and I've covered 2063 miles.

pcbikedude · Post by **pcbikedude** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:34 am

Ford did not want to put dangerous tires on their Explorers either. But the OEM tires from Firestone cost them a pretty penny in lawsuits.

Wait, you went to Bakersfield on I-5 over the Grapevine???? Are you nuts?

I'm not a fan of nylon tires. The Buddy OEM tires are nylon cord. Generally, they are cheap for that reason (because they are cheap).

When you got your motorcycle license here in CA, you were aware that scooters below 150cc's are not allowed on the freeway. Drivers of cheap 150cc scooters should NOT take their bikes on the freeway if they can't keep up with traffic. They become a hazard to themselves and to the drivers in cages.

Just don't challenge a long hill. My Buddy tops out at 42mph on a 6% grade.

Personally, I would never drive any thing less than a 500cc bike on the freeway here in CA where the limit is above 50. Again, that's just personal. You daredevils out there can disagree with me.

pcbikedude · Post by **pcbikedude** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:40 am

Hey Dude,
I'm impressed. That takes a lot of "cajones" to do that trip to Bakersfield. Although I could have probably chosen a better destination. Bakersfield is known as the armpit of CA.

Why didn't you chose Santa Barbara instead? It would have been cooler (temperatures wise too).

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:53 am

I was clearing the tejon 5% at an easy 58 indicated 52 real, I'm only 130 pounds though. There was also a wildfire on the northern end of it. I didn't feel I was holding traffic back because big rigs literally were struggling to maintain 45 and I just settled in behind one and cruised along. And yes I realize 125's aren't legal, but I was passed by about 10 cop cars along the way and two biker cops, one gave me a thumbs up

Plus those Firestones weren't that bad, a lot of those blowouts happened because of excessive speed like 90, overloading and most of all ford's idiotic decision to say 25 psi is all you needed to inflate them to, against the manufacturers recommendation of 30, and the same tires didn't blow on Frod rangers and Chevy Blazers. Plus a blowout shouldn't roll your SUV over. It's less the tire's fault than Fords bad engineering, something they're notorius for, latest example is a solid axle new mustang. I think the combination of a mediocre tire and bad engineering on fords part is the cause of those deaths and rollovers.

http://www.time.com/time/business/artic ... 98,00.html

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:55 am

I've been to Santa Barbara before, and bakersfield really is the armpit of california, but I just wanted to see it for myself as I've never been. Now I have and will never return. And as further proof of it's status as armpit of california I submit this, it's calender of events

http://www.bakersfieldcalendar.com/

pcbikedude · Post by **pcbikedude** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 1:01 am

It looks like September is another exciting month in CA's armpit.

You know we're gonna get flamed by someone who lives there and thinks its the greatest place on earth (for a watermelon farmer).

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:05 am

Only scooter people see this site and when I went there not a single scooter, surprise, I did see a couple rusty harleys and honda cruisers but that's about it.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:35 am

I've mentioned before I did 90-some miles on I-17 from Phoenix to Camp Verde one Sunday morning...

--Keys

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:00 am

Hey Keys was it super hot? 90 miles is a lot too and I couldn't imagine doing it in Phoenix summer heat. Not without something like a misty mate constantly misting water in front of me. The only cooling water I felt was some exhaust water coming out of the backs of some cars when they'd accelerate, disgusting but somewhat refreshing.

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:11 pm

but an indicated 65 means I was doing about 57-58

So, as I understand this, there is "Buddy Speed" (BS) and "Real Speed". The Buddy's speedometer is 5-7 miles higher than real speed, right? (I think I've read this before but just want to verify it).

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:49 pm

Dude...it was last October, I think, and it has rained all night so it was really quite pleasant!

Pugbuddy, you are absolutely correct. The only correction I could add to your statement is that it is not a certain miles-per-hour it is off, it is a ratio or percentage. Since the speedometer is gear driven, the amount your speedometer is off is a direction result of the gears being, um...not quite perfect. In other words, based on the speedometer on my wife's Honda Helix (which has been proven to be correct) my Buddy's speedo is off by about 11 or 12 percent.

--Keys

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:18 am

Mine is about 12 percent off too, the odometer is also a little higher about 15%.

Buddy_wannabe · Post by **Buddy_wannabe** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:52 am

It is common for the speedo & odometer to be off on the Buddy ?? on all scooters?? .... Is ther a way to recalibrate it ?? ... here's a conspiracy theory ... could this be to make it seem like you are going faster / getting better milage then you are?

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 2:14 am

Buddy_wannabe wrote:It is common for the speedo & odometer to be off on the Buddy ?? on all scooters?? .... Is ther a way to recalibrate it ?? ... here's a conspiracy theory ... could this be to make it seem like you are going faster / getting better milage then you are?

Yes.
Yes.
No.
Maybe.
This has been going on forever. 2 wheelers, from the lowest Chinese POS scooter clone to the Desmosedicci have optimistic speedometers.

Most cars are off too. It's all relative. I just ride at a speed that feels "right".

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 2:43 am

There is a way to calibrate it, I'm trying to fabricate it now, I need a cnc'd aluminum case for a 12% gear reduction drive for the speedometer cable. It'll bolt inline with the original cable and reduce the speed going in so that the speedo and odo will read correct.

Tbone · Post by **Tbone** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:55 pm

pcbikedude wrote:Wait, you went to Bakersfield on I-5 over the Grapevine???? Are you nuts?

My thoughts exactly, well not that he's nuts just that the Buddy could handle it!!! SWEET!!!

It didn't overheat, no problem with the somewhat dramatic altitude shifts...full throttle for 30 miles...man nice scooter!!!

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 6:29 pm

ThisDude wrote:...there were sections where I'd be full throttle 70 indicated for about 30 miles at a time... My gas mileage for the trip was about 75 mpg. Weird that scooters get better city mileage than highway, probably the cvt...

Doesn't sound wierd to me, I would expect the gas mileage on any engine to go down when it's going full throttle.

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:18 am

I didn't experience any dramtaic loss in power at altitudes of as high as 4400 feet, the more I think about it I see that the little rubber intake hose that's in the filter box is there to keep the fuel air mix at different altitudes correct since it'll place a larger pressure differential in the intake than most any altitude, or temperature for that matter, will put so it evens out the fuel/air mix. The price you pay is a small hit in performance. I know this because with my modified airbox on my metropolitan it ran richer and weaker at altitude than with the unmodified box. So when you put the performance intake you end up with great performance but only at a certain altitude or air temperature when that changes you have to rejet.