I've found an unexpected bonus while riding my scooter on a regular basis. I've actually been able to ride quite a bit in the past 2 weeks which has been nice. I'm over 500 miles in the month since I bought it.
The unexpected bonus is that about 75% of the drive-thru order sensors apparently don't pick up enough of my bike to trip the alert. So, I set at the order sign yelling at the speaker like a moron. Apparently those things are only turned on when the buzzer goes off inside and I haven't had one come on yet, but I still retain hope! In any case, for the most part, I just drive off in disgust and figure I'll get my meal elsewhere which means at home or eating the food I actually brought to work. As it's mostly more nutritious and less fatty than the drive-thru stuff, I'm eating a bit healthier. See, double bonus. Try the scooter diet.
Showing posts with label scooter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scooter. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
It could've sucked more
The weekend wasn't total junk. For sure working both days and realizing I'll have roughly 12 days in a row without a complete day off definitely sucks. However, it was definitely tempered by some good times Saturday evening and Sunday.
We broke out the tandem and used it just like we'd always intended. We loaded up everyone and everything at the house and put the road train on the road. The plan was to hit Waterworks park and do a nice little picnic dinner and feed some old ass bread to the geese.
I know, I know, there are signs all over the park not to feed the geese, but how could you possibly deny such a sweet little 2 year old?!
We even took a picture of our goofy selves. Heh, the pain wasn't there yet as it's pretty much all downhill to the park...
The suffering began on the way home as we rode back through McRea park which is home to a nice 7-11% grade hill that rises about 100' total. We had 1 gear left as we grunted to the top. Not too shabby for hauling a loaded trailer and having a stoker with under 100 miles this year.
Sunday I was back for more at work. At least this time i only put in about 4 hours, but the office was completely void of life so I got even more work done. I think I can see a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel so I'm hoping it keeps growing. I've got a pretty buried week trying to start this job moving forward with less lurching and stopping than has been going on. I headed out at noon so I could get time to mow before Corley went down for a nap. The poor yard had been neglected for just about 3 weeks and was in major need of a haircut. I ended up raising the deck all the way up just to get it mowed. Of course it doesn't help when the mower isn't running quite right either...
Sunday afternoon was me and the little one once she woke up. We spent a good half hour snuggling with her sleeping on my chest. Man, I miss that! We hauled a huge load of cans and bottles down to turn in using the Bianchi and her trailer. The sky was turning pretty ugly as we left home so we beat feet down there and back. A couple blocks from home the sprinkling started, but we managed to stay mostly dry. Much to my dismay and Corley's anguish, the parks were now out of the afternoon plans. We made the best of it playing inside and watching the rain come down in sheets.
On to the start of another busy week. I start my motorcycle class this week so I can hopefully get my actual motorcycle license and be legal to ride the scooter. Shhh, don't tell anyone! We've got balloons on Wednesday, friends all weekend, and possibly a mountain bike race on Sunday. Jam packed I tell ya.
We broke out the tandem and used it just like we'd always intended. We loaded up everyone and everything at the house and put the road train on the road. The plan was to hit Waterworks park and do a nice little picnic dinner and feed some old ass bread to the geese.
I know, I know, there are signs all over the park not to feed the geese, but how could you possibly deny such a sweet little 2 year old?!
We even took a picture of our goofy selves. Heh, the pain wasn't there yet as it's pretty much all downhill to the park...
The suffering began on the way home as we rode back through McRea park which is home to a nice 7-11% grade hill that rises about 100' total. We had 1 gear left as we grunted to the top. Not too shabby for hauling a loaded trailer and having a stoker with under 100 miles this year.
Sunday I was back for more at work. At least this time i only put in about 4 hours, but the office was completely void of life so I got even more work done. I think I can see a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel so I'm hoping it keeps growing. I've got a pretty buried week trying to start this job moving forward with less lurching and stopping than has been going on. I headed out at noon so I could get time to mow before Corley went down for a nap. The poor yard had been neglected for just about 3 weeks and was in major need of a haircut. I ended up raising the deck all the way up just to get it mowed. Of course it doesn't help when the mower isn't running quite right either...
Sunday afternoon was me and the little one once she woke up. We spent a good half hour snuggling with her sleeping on my chest. Man, I miss that! We hauled a huge load of cans and bottles down to turn in using the Bianchi and her trailer. The sky was turning pretty ugly as we left home so we beat feet down there and back. A couple blocks from home the sprinkling started, but we managed to stay mostly dry. Much to my dismay and Corley's anguish, the parks were now out of the afternoon plans. We made the best of it playing inside and watching the rain come down in sheets.
On to the start of another busy week. I start my motorcycle class this week so I can hopefully get my actual motorcycle license and be legal to ride the scooter. Shhh, don't tell anyone! We've got balloons on Wednesday, friends all weekend, and possibly a mountain bike race on Sunday. Jam packed I tell ya.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Plop Plop fizz fizz
Man what a week. The bad news is things will probably increase in intensity for at least another month before the bottom starts to drop out. I sit here at work on a Saturday knowing full well I'll not be able to complete as much as I need to today, so I'll be in tomorrow as well. I'd much rather not be here, but such is life.
Tuesday was a trip to the casino project. A 6 hour round trip and 9 hours of work makes for a long day out. I got some good things done and avoided being on site during the owner's review happening the following day. Of course I still didn't totally avoid it as I was called a number of times on Wednesday and Thursday to review questions or comments from the owner on our work. At least now things are a bit lined out and I can hopefully make some headway in lieu of feeling like I'm just spinning my wheels.
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. During my road trip, as often is the case, nature called. A combination of my typical morning routine being altered and a coffee from QT had the peristaltic action working it's mojo on my lower half. I veered off to the last rest stop before my turn off the main interstate to lighten the load so to speak. Now I have no real issues with using public facilities. I know there are a number of people out there that would rather die than have to use a truck stop or random public toilet to do their business, but I'm not one of those. As long as I can wipe the seat off first, I'm good to go. However, I may be changing that decision soon enough.
After popping into the restroom, I discovered the handicap stall to still be open as the other stall was in use. I had just sat down and for some reason was pondering how people can possibly even think about sexual rendezvous in such a place when I heard something. My brain refused to register it the first time or two, but slowly, the noise sank in. The stall next to me was grunting and groaning ever so slightly. OK, well, maybe he was working hard. Wait just a damn minute, now those grunts started having the sexual edge to them. OK, just what in the bloody hell is happening in the stall next to me. Am I about to be propositioned ala the foot tapping incident of Larry Craig or is the guy next door simply enjoying himself too damn much?! The noises now began increasing in volume with a few bits of dialogue including an "oh god" in there and finally hit crescendo with what I can only describe as the noise you hear on the alka selzer commercial. After the kids had been dropped off at the pool, I shit you not, the next words I hear were, "oh, that was good." Check please! I'm flailing about getting out of there as quick as I can and luckily make it before the next stall opened up.
OK, that's a chapter I can now check off in my life. Hope you enjoyed it too. Fucking weird! Wednesday was an early day just to ensure I could get a bike ride in. I headed down for the Ritual Ride. It was definitely a light showing with a vast number of people hitting Ragbrai this week. I think we had about 8-10 people total which is vastly short of the usual 25-50. We rolled out and kept the pace pretty chill until we passed 63rd and it was time to go. I tried rolling off the front, but was still flanked pretty well until I made a crossing that the other riders were just far enough behind on that they waited for the traffic to clear. Eventually, Nathan caught up to me being the racer that he is and did it on his fixie to boot. We rolled together for a couple miles until we hit that last big hill on the loop and he dropped back to find his girlfriend. I kept on the gas and ran another loop to see how hard I could push. I did ok, but not great which is pretty consistent with my lack of training. I headed home and broke out the mower to start attacking the jungle that has become my yard. 2+ weeks of not mowing tends to do that to a yard, ya know?
Thursday night we headed out to look at some commercial property that Miranda has been looking at. A couple guys representing the realty agency met us to show the properties. Nothing very special, but it was good for us to see what the market and cost is like so we can put those numbers into our business plan. Did I mention that we're seriously thinking of opening a local shop? We're starting to get some product out with a few local businesses and have had a good response thus far so we're thinking seriously of putting together an actual storefront. Just another stress at this point, but Miranda is doing a good job of taking the lead and bulldogging things. After the spaces, it was time for dinner. We headed to A-Dong's for some good cuisine and I tried a Vietnamese import beer.
Very light without a ton of flavor, but as it warmed up, it actually had some hints of wine taste to it. Very interesting. In an ice cold state, you could probably slam a 6'er of these and barely notice it until the alcohol set in.
I finally took the scooter out for a longer ride last night just to clear my head. I toured through Water Works park until I came back to the couple sections that were still closed. After that I putted through some neighborhoods that I'd never been in in the adjacent streets to the park. Mostly commercial/industrial, but a few housing areas sprinkled in. We took the night really easy and ended with a quick soak in the hot tub. Not a bad way to start a weekend, but then again, this isn't the weekend I want either.
There you go, all caught up on the lack of excitement in my life. Enjoy.
Tuesday was a trip to the casino project. A 6 hour round trip and 9 hours of work makes for a long day out. I got some good things done and avoided being on site during the owner's review happening the following day. Of course I still didn't totally avoid it as I was called a number of times on Wednesday and Thursday to review questions or comments from the owner on our work. At least now things are a bit lined out and I can hopefully make some headway in lieu of feeling like I'm just spinning my wheels.
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. During my road trip, as often is the case, nature called. A combination of my typical morning routine being altered and a coffee from QT had the peristaltic action working it's mojo on my lower half. I veered off to the last rest stop before my turn off the main interstate to lighten the load so to speak. Now I have no real issues with using public facilities. I know there are a number of people out there that would rather die than have to use a truck stop or random public toilet to do their business, but I'm not one of those. As long as I can wipe the seat off first, I'm good to go. However, I may be changing that decision soon enough.
After popping into the restroom, I discovered the handicap stall to still be open as the other stall was in use. I had just sat down and for some reason was pondering how people can possibly even think about sexual rendezvous in such a place when I heard something. My brain refused to register it the first time or two, but slowly, the noise sank in. The stall next to me was grunting and groaning ever so slightly. OK, well, maybe he was working hard. Wait just a damn minute, now those grunts started having the sexual edge to them. OK, just what in the bloody hell is happening in the stall next to me. Am I about to be propositioned ala the foot tapping incident of Larry Craig or is the guy next door simply enjoying himself too damn much?! The noises now began increasing in volume with a few bits of dialogue including an "oh god" in there and finally hit crescendo with what I can only describe as the noise you hear on the alka selzer commercial. After the kids had been dropped off at the pool, I shit you not, the next words I hear were, "oh, that was good." Check please! I'm flailing about getting out of there as quick as I can and luckily make it before the next stall opened up.
OK, that's a chapter I can now check off in my life. Hope you enjoyed it too. Fucking weird! Wednesday was an early day just to ensure I could get a bike ride in. I headed down for the Ritual Ride. It was definitely a light showing with a vast number of people hitting Ragbrai this week. I think we had about 8-10 people total which is vastly short of the usual 25-50. We rolled out and kept the pace pretty chill until we passed 63rd and it was time to go. I tried rolling off the front, but was still flanked pretty well until I made a crossing that the other riders were just far enough behind on that they waited for the traffic to clear. Eventually, Nathan caught up to me being the racer that he is and did it on his fixie to boot. We rolled together for a couple miles until we hit that last big hill on the loop and he dropped back to find his girlfriend. I kept on the gas and ran another loop to see how hard I could push. I did ok, but not great which is pretty consistent with my lack of training. I headed home and broke out the mower to start attacking the jungle that has become my yard. 2+ weeks of not mowing tends to do that to a yard, ya know?
Thursday night we headed out to look at some commercial property that Miranda has been looking at. A couple guys representing the realty agency met us to show the properties. Nothing very special, but it was good for us to see what the market and cost is like so we can put those numbers into our business plan. Did I mention that we're seriously thinking of opening a local shop? We're starting to get some product out with a few local businesses and have had a good response thus far so we're thinking seriously of putting together an actual storefront. Just another stress at this point, but Miranda is doing a good job of taking the lead and bulldogging things. After the spaces, it was time for dinner. We headed to A-Dong's for some good cuisine and I tried a Vietnamese import beer.
Very light without a ton of flavor, but as it warmed up, it actually had some hints of wine taste to it. Very interesting. In an ice cold state, you could probably slam a 6'er of these and barely notice it until the alcohol set in.
I finally took the scooter out for a longer ride last night just to clear my head. I toured through Water Works park until I came back to the couple sections that were still closed. After that I putted through some neighborhoods that I'd never been in in the adjacent streets to the park. Mostly commercial/industrial, but a few housing areas sprinkled in. We took the night really easy and ended with a quick soak in the hot tub. Not a bad way to start a weekend, but then again, this isn't the weekend I want either.
There you go, all caught up on the lack of excitement in my life. Enjoy.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
My scooter hauls
Literally and figuratively now that I have my new saddlebags on. My cycle shop ordered a set of bags from Prima for me and last I'd heard it was a 4-6 week back order. I was a bit disappointed, but that was soon shelved when I got a call back less than a week later saying the bags had come in. I scooted over there Friday on lunch to pick them up. Pretty sweet bags overall.
It didn't take me long to get tired of lugging drawings and misc work back and forth in a back pack. Granted, I never hauled half as much as what I did this morning, but it still wasn't my favorite thing to do. Since I'd driven the truck the past 3 days for various reasons, I was determined to ride in this morning. The only problem was I had a jobsite visit yesterday so I had a plethora of drawings with me. I guess it's time to see how much stuff these bags can handle.
Left side looks a bit full:
Right side does too:
Just how much did I have in there?:
All told it's about 40 pounds of drawings including a bunch of 11x17 paper and a couple half scale blueprints. Surprisingly, I didn't notice any ill effects on the handling or oomph, but did notice it actually rode a bitter more smoothly over the bumps with the added weight. The bags were a bit tricky to mount as there were no instructions and a pretty generalized picture on the box to go by. I'll probably play around a bit more with the mounting overall, but I'm pretty happy with them. The bags came with shoulder straps, rain covers, and some extra mounting bungees and straps. Retail list was $139.99, but I got a discount from the shop since I'd just bought my scooter. I picked up the helmet in the picture as well. I still like the open face better, but this will be nice in the wet or cold since I'm not planning to add a windshield.
It didn't take me long to get tired of lugging drawings and misc work back and forth in a back pack. Granted, I never hauled half as much as what I did this morning, but it still wasn't my favorite thing to do. Since I'd driven the truck the past 3 days for various reasons, I was determined to ride in this morning. The only problem was I had a jobsite visit yesterday so I had a plethora of drawings with me. I guess it's time to see how much stuff these bags can handle.
Left side looks a bit full:
Right side does too:
Just how much did I have in there?:
All told it's about 40 pounds of drawings including a bunch of 11x17 paper and a couple half scale blueprints. Surprisingly, I didn't notice any ill effects on the handling or oomph, but did notice it actually rode a bitter more smoothly over the bumps with the added weight. The bags were a bit tricky to mount as there were no instructions and a pretty generalized picture on the box to go by. I'll probably play around a bit more with the mounting overall, but I'm pretty happy with them. The bags came with shoulder straps, rain covers, and some extra mounting bungees and straps. Retail list was $139.99, but I got a discount from the shop since I'd just bought my scooter. I picked up the helmet in the picture as well. I still like the open face better, but this will be nice in the wet or cold since I'm not planning to add a windshield.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Good times
The weekend is a bit hazy, but overall was pretty decent. Saturday morning we were up relatively early and headed off to the zoo to catch one more show with the elephants before they left town. We picked up a friend's daughter and took her as well. The girls had an awesome time watching the elephants put on their show. We had a few sprinkles that threatened to get us wet, but luckily they were just a threat only. We buzzed through a few more exhibits and then it was time to head out for lunches and such.
I headed off to work after swining by the house for quick bite of lunch. I'm still pegging out miles on the new scooter. As of this morning I'm around 200 in just a shade over a week. I spent a 5 hour chunk prepping a single question set for the job I'm working on. Apparently the designer and architect don't ever talk to each other and I'm about the only one checking to see if items all work together which definitely isn't part of my job. So, after that was done, I couldn't really make any headway and it was time to head home.
After Corley's bed time we kicked back and watched part of a horror flick called "The Eye". I only watched part of it as I was due to get up early for a nice long ride with some friends. I rousted myself out of bed and was just a minute or two past our designated 7 AM start time when I reached their house. Hmm, that's odd, usually they're ready and waiting for me. So, I knocked and knocked again. Finally, I tapped on the glass in the door. Finally a bleary eyed buddy opens the door and regrets to inform me that an email was fired off after midnight last night that they weren't rolling with me this morning. Damn! I headed back out on the road and as the sun was warming my back I stopped to ponder.
Yup, I bailed on the ride. I really wanted to go, but something was nagging me to stay back and do other things. I'm not sure if I just thought going out on the ride by myself was being too selfish or if I just didn't want to be out on my own. In any case, I headed home, peeled out of the spandex, and made arrangements to help some friends out with a new swingset they were building. I spent the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon on that project helping with the heavyweight portions of the work. I had to head out early so Miranda could go to work.
Coley got up from her nap and had been begging to go swing all day. How could I resist? We loaded up and hit Ewing park for some good dirty fun. We swung, we slid, we shuffled our feet in the gravel, and had a great time.
We rounded out the night playing in the cool AC before hitting bed. Couldn't have asked for a much better Sunday.
I headed off to work after swining by the house for quick bite of lunch. I'm still pegging out miles on the new scooter. As of this morning I'm around 200 in just a shade over a week. I spent a 5 hour chunk prepping a single question set for the job I'm working on. Apparently the designer and architect don't ever talk to each other and I'm about the only one checking to see if items all work together which definitely isn't part of my job. So, after that was done, I couldn't really make any headway and it was time to head home.
After Corley's bed time we kicked back and watched part of a horror flick called "The Eye". I only watched part of it as I was due to get up early for a nice long ride with some friends. I rousted myself out of bed and was just a minute or two past our designated 7 AM start time when I reached their house. Hmm, that's odd, usually they're ready and waiting for me. So, I knocked and knocked again. Finally, I tapped on the glass in the door. Finally a bleary eyed buddy opens the door and regrets to inform me that an email was fired off after midnight last night that they weren't rolling with me this morning. Damn! I headed back out on the road and as the sun was warming my back I stopped to ponder.
Yup, I bailed on the ride. I really wanted to go, but something was nagging me to stay back and do other things. I'm not sure if I just thought going out on the ride by myself was being too selfish or if I just didn't want to be out on my own. In any case, I headed home, peeled out of the spandex, and made arrangements to help some friends out with a new swingset they were building. I spent the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon on that project helping with the heavyweight portions of the work. I had to head out early so Miranda could go to work.
Coley got up from her nap and had been begging to go swing all day. How could I resist? We loaded up and hit Ewing park for some good dirty fun. We swung, we slid, we shuffled our feet in the gravel, and had a great time.
We rounded out the night playing in the cool AC before hitting bed. Couldn't have asked for a much better Sunday.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Rattler ride in
I rode the Rattler in both Sunday and today. It was a bit wet out still at 6 in the morning, but no real problem getting in. I was definitely a bit more cautious on the wet pavement, but never had any issues. I think it's mostly in my head as I do the same thing when I'm on my bike. I even managed to work in my first errand on the Rattler on Sunday. As tacos seemed to be the order of the day for lunch, I called it quits at work around noon and headed towards home. A jog through downtown and across to 9th street took me by Taco Johns for a 6 pack and a pound. The bag neatly tucked in the under seat storage area and stayed pretty toasty for the 10 minute ride home.
Traffic was just slightly heavier this morning and moving along at 5-10 over the speed limit as is usual. I put the speedo at 5 over and try to hold it there. For the most part only a few cars passed me and I had no problems keeping up or even passing a few as well. I definitely would be a bit worried taking the scooter out on any major highway transits right now as it seems 55 is probably pushing the limits for top end while it's still breaking in. I haven't had it over 50 yet, but at 50 it's starting to wind out. I'm still waiting on the call back for a pair of saddlebags I want to increase the utility value. Right now a large backpack is sufficing, but lugging home a set of drawings Sunday wasn't much fun.
The final jury is still out, but I'm pretty sure I'll be enjoying this scooting deal for a while to come.
Traffic was just slightly heavier this morning and moving along at 5-10 over the speed limit as is usual. I put the speedo at 5 over and try to hold it there. For the most part only a few cars passed me and I had no problems keeping up or even passing a few as well. I definitely would be a bit worried taking the scooter out on any major highway transits right now as it seems 55 is probably pushing the limits for top end while it's still breaking in. I haven't had it over 50 yet, but at 50 it's starting to wind out. I'm still waiting on the call back for a pair of saddlebags I want to increase the utility value. Right now a large backpack is sufficing, but lugging home a set of drawings Sunday wasn't much fun.
The final jury is still out, but I'm pretty sure I'll be enjoying this scooting deal for a while to come.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Calling all scooter riders
I'm in the market for a scooter. I want to finish off driving my truck as much as possible. While I love the idea of riding my bike in to work on a daily basis, it isn't always practical. I don't just work as a desk jockey (I'm not sure if that's fortunate for me or not). I occasionally have meetings to attend, jobsites to check on, and errands to run. Hopping on my bike to trek to an across town meeting or jobsite, just isn't going to cut it. I can also borrow my boss' truck since it's a company vehicle, but then that begins to be a pain as well. So, it's time to scoot.
I've been eyeing them for a while and slowly doing a bit of research. From the sounds of it, there are about 3 levels I can go with. First you have the Chinese direct gray market imports that have about the same quality as a Harbor Freight tool. Don't get me wrong, Harbor Freight is one of my favorite stores to blow money in, but I don't go there looking for long lasting quality tools. Add in that parts and service are questionable or hard to come by at best and it becomes a disposable item. The second level seems to be midline, fairly reliable, but not as well known brands such as Genuine and Kymco. I'd probably equate these to your average Sears quality. It should last you for a while, but at least you know that parts and service will be available when you need it. Lastly, you have the high end Honda's, Aprillia, and Yamahas. Well known, parts and service are plentiful, and have a good reputation for long lasting quality. Oh ya, and they come with the price tag too boot.
I've pretty much decided on the midline scooters. The local dealer is a whopping 4 blocks from my place, offers free pick up for warranty work, and seemed to be pretty friendly when I went in to check them out and pestered the guy with questions for close to an hour when I'm sure he knew I was just browsing. Overall, I think my needs are pretty well met by this selection. I need to commute roughly 18 miles round trip per day, I'll have some 40-50 mph traffic to deal with along with a possible stint up to 60-65 if I jump on the freeway, and I need to be able to haul a few things such as drawings and blueprints. I'd also like to use it for running small errands and such.
There are 3 options I'm looking at right now.
The Buddy 125
The Rattler buck ten
And the People S200
All 3 have distinct advantages and hindrances. Here's what I've put together so far (note I was not able to test ride any of these yet).
Buddy 125: Good- pricing, top speed, overall looks, accessories Bad- get up and go is less than the others, foot rest area is tight, hard to ride two people, baby blue is the in stock color...
Rattler buck ten: Good- pricing, aggressive styling, get up and go should be the best of the three, go fast parts available, reportedly the most fun to ride of the three Bad- doesn't seem to have the functionality of the other two, lower top speed, hard to ride two people.
People S200: Good- most powerful, highest top speed, more substantial size/heft, accessories available, most capable for riding two people Bad- pricing is the highest by $600.
All of them are pretty decent scooters from what I can see. It's mostly coming down to buyer preference when choosing between them, but the $600 is just about a deal killer when I'm doing this to save money. My ROI on the extra cash would take roughly another 4-6 months of riding to cover and could go a long way towards maintaining the other two. The biggest factor for it is the ability to ride two people, but I just don't know if I need to have that ability. Mostly my wife and I wouldn't ever ride together since the little one would need to have a sitter. Plus for the riding we might do, it would just be small trips and no long distance riding which should be fine for the other two. I'm really trying to decide between the buck ten and the 125.
The buck ten is a two cycle 110cc motor and should really get up and move in comparison to the other two. It has some cool styling and according to the salesman would be his choice for fun to ride which I have to admit plays a part in my decision making. If it's fun to ride, I'm more likely to ride. I can accessorize it just as well for functionality as the 125, but that also tones down the styling of it a bit. The biggest down side is that the reviews all say it will get up to 55-60 mph but has no more top end even with power modifications due to the gearing. I just don't know if that will cut it if I ever have the need to jump on the freeway.
I think if the 125 had a bigger spot for my big ass feet (size 11.5), it'd probably be a pretty easy choice. The styling is decent and it is supposed to run up around 65 mph at the top end which is enough to move me along nicely on the freeway even with the 60 mph speed limit areas now in effect. Most likely I'll head back to the shop and see if I can sweet talk them into a test ride since I don't have a motorcycle license yet. They might be a little more willing if I prove I'm serious about buying based on a test ride. As long as it's fun to ride, I can live without the need to pretend it's a mini motorcycle ala the driving force behind the buck ten.
If you've got an opinion, post it!
I've been eyeing them for a while and slowly doing a bit of research. From the sounds of it, there are about 3 levels I can go with. First you have the Chinese direct gray market imports that have about the same quality as a Harbor Freight tool. Don't get me wrong, Harbor Freight is one of my favorite stores to blow money in, but I don't go there looking for long lasting quality tools. Add in that parts and service are questionable or hard to come by at best and it becomes a disposable item. The second level seems to be midline, fairly reliable, but not as well known brands such as Genuine and Kymco. I'd probably equate these to your average Sears quality. It should last you for a while, but at least you know that parts and service will be available when you need it. Lastly, you have the high end Honda's, Aprillia, and Yamahas. Well known, parts and service are plentiful, and have a good reputation for long lasting quality. Oh ya, and they come with the price tag too boot.
I've pretty much decided on the midline scooters. The local dealer is a whopping 4 blocks from my place, offers free pick up for warranty work, and seemed to be pretty friendly when I went in to check them out and pestered the guy with questions for close to an hour when I'm sure he knew I was just browsing. Overall, I think my needs are pretty well met by this selection. I need to commute roughly 18 miles round trip per day, I'll have some 40-50 mph traffic to deal with along with a possible stint up to 60-65 if I jump on the freeway, and I need to be able to haul a few things such as drawings and blueprints. I'd also like to use it for running small errands and such.
There are 3 options I'm looking at right now.
The Buddy 125
The Rattler buck ten
And the People S200
All 3 have distinct advantages and hindrances. Here's what I've put together so far (note I was not able to test ride any of these yet).
Buddy 125: Good- pricing, top speed, overall looks, accessories Bad- get up and go is less than the others, foot rest area is tight, hard to ride two people, baby blue is the in stock color...
Rattler buck ten: Good- pricing, aggressive styling, get up and go should be the best of the three, go fast parts available, reportedly the most fun to ride of the three Bad- doesn't seem to have the functionality of the other two, lower top speed, hard to ride two people.
People S200: Good- most powerful, highest top speed, more substantial size/heft, accessories available, most capable for riding two people Bad- pricing is the highest by $600.
All of them are pretty decent scooters from what I can see. It's mostly coming down to buyer preference when choosing between them, but the $600 is just about a deal killer when I'm doing this to save money. My ROI on the extra cash would take roughly another 4-6 months of riding to cover and could go a long way towards maintaining the other two. The biggest factor for it is the ability to ride two people, but I just don't know if I need to have that ability. Mostly my wife and I wouldn't ever ride together since the little one would need to have a sitter. Plus for the riding we might do, it would just be small trips and no long distance riding which should be fine for the other two. I'm really trying to decide between the buck ten and the 125.
The buck ten is a two cycle 110cc motor and should really get up and move in comparison to the other two. It has some cool styling and according to the salesman would be his choice for fun to ride which I have to admit plays a part in my decision making. If it's fun to ride, I'm more likely to ride. I can accessorize it just as well for functionality as the 125, but that also tones down the styling of it a bit. The biggest down side is that the reviews all say it will get up to 55-60 mph but has no more top end even with power modifications due to the gearing. I just don't know if that will cut it if I ever have the need to jump on the freeway.
I think if the 125 had a bigger spot for my big ass feet (size 11.5), it'd probably be a pretty easy choice. The styling is decent and it is supposed to run up around 65 mph at the top end which is enough to move me along nicely on the freeway even with the 60 mph speed limit areas now in effect. Most likely I'll head back to the shop and see if I can sweet talk them into a test ride since I don't have a motorcycle license yet. They might be a little more willing if I prove I'm serious about buying based on a test ride. As long as it's fun to ride, I can live without the need to pretend it's a mini motorcycle ala the driving force behind the buck ten.
If you've got an opinion, post it!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Money pit
With gas prices hovering near $4.00 and I pesimistically assume they'll go higher, it's time for change. While I actually do use my truck for more than just basic transportation on a regular basis, I can and should give it a rest for basic commuting duty. My vehicle commute amounts to 20 minutes and 8.5 miles one way on a daily basis. My bike commute runs about 9 miles and takes 35-40 minutes depending on several factors.
I spent some time running gobs of numbers since I love to geek out on that kind of stuff. I ran various options of adding on a more fuel efficient car, buying a commuter bike, buying a scooter, or buying a scooter and commuter bike. The biggest influence in the numbers was plugging a guesstimate on how much time I'd use one of the other forms of conveyance versus my truck. Obviously a car would be used the most and the bike would be the least used. While I love biking, I haven't fallen in love with commuting just yet. As we have no shower facilities in my office, I'm mostly required to be dress casual (nice jeans and polo type shirt), and I don't necessarily enjoy having to dress a certain way to ride in only to change again at the office, it makes it difficult for me to commit to commuting by bike only. As I ran the numbers, I amortized them out over a 5 year period because it was the only way to give the new car a fair shake on cost.
The car being the most useful still lost out on the cost analysis as it would cost me roughly $1200 over the 5 years. The scooter was actually the best cost savings as I'd be more likely to use it than a bike alone and showed a savings of roughly $7000. The bike only option was next in line at $6200 and the bike/scooter combination came in third at $6000. All of these are actual savings based on 5 years of usage and purchasing new equipment has all ready been taken out of the costs. How can I save so much? Easy, I drive a vehicle that averages 11 MPG year round and put roughly 13,000 miles per year on it. At $4 per gallon, it doesn't take long to add up.
Although I'm a frugal person (read cheap bastard) for the most part, I also recognize where I can take advantage of certain situations to buy something I've had my eye on. This particular situation would normally dictate I go buy a scooter and keep on trucking. Now that wouldn't quite be fair in the light of how much I'm enjoying my cycling, so why not take the opportunity to save money yet increase my bike count by 1 as well?! Evil genious I tell you. Sometimes I amaze even myself. Stay tuned for a rundown of some bike(s) and scooters I'm considering. Feel free to post up recommendations if you like.
I spent some time running gobs of numbers since I love to geek out on that kind of stuff. I ran various options of adding on a more fuel efficient car, buying a commuter bike, buying a scooter, or buying a scooter and commuter bike. The biggest influence in the numbers was plugging a guesstimate on how much time I'd use one of the other forms of conveyance versus my truck. Obviously a car would be used the most and the bike would be the least used. While I love biking, I haven't fallen in love with commuting just yet. As we have no shower facilities in my office, I'm mostly required to be dress casual (nice jeans and polo type shirt), and I don't necessarily enjoy having to dress a certain way to ride in only to change again at the office, it makes it difficult for me to commit to commuting by bike only. As I ran the numbers, I amortized them out over a 5 year period because it was the only way to give the new car a fair shake on cost.
The car being the most useful still lost out on the cost analysis as it would cost me roughly $1200 over the 5 years. The scooter was actually the best cost savings as I'd be more likely to use it than a bike alone and showed a savings of roughly $7000. The bike only option was next in line at $6200 and the bike/scooter combination came in third at $6000. All of these are actual savings based on 5 years of usage and purchasing new equipment has all ready been taken out of the costs. How can I save so much? Easy, I drive a vehicle that averages 11 MPG year round and put roughly 13,000 miles per year on it. At $4 per gallon, it doesn't take long to add up.
Although I'm a frugal person (read cheap bastard) for the most part, I also recognize where I can take advantage of certain situations to buy something I've had my eye on. This particular situation would normally dictate I go buy a scooter and keep on trucking. Now that wouldn't quite be fair in the light of how much I'm enjoying my cycling, so why not take the opportunity to save money yet increase my bike count by 1 as well?! Evil genious I tell you. Sometimes I amaze even myself. Stay tuned for a rundown of some bike(s) and scooters I'm considering. Feel free to post up recommendations if you like.
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