Scooter/moped suggestions

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:01 pm

I'm looking for a scooter/moped with a max speed of 30 mph for my son to ride around campus at the U of I. Anyone have any experience with them, or suggestions for what to buy? Looking for something under $1000, and the cheaper the better. He doesn't have a motorcycle license and the scooter has to max out at 30 mph to avoid classification as a motorcycle. I've checked out a number of websites but am having trouble with finding much that fits the 30 mph requirement.

R-Jack · Post by **R-Jack** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:03 pm

Get a ten speed for Crissakes.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:04 pm

Get him a bike. Why do you hate exercise?

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:05 pm

get him a bike. and a bike lock.

don't get him a moped unless he's a big Quadrephenia fan

Cuda · Post by **Cuda** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:55 pm

Sorry to hear your son is gay, Mace. How long have you known?

Bucmonkey · Post by **Bucmonkey** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:09 pm

Shouldn't you have cut to the chase and asked D.Vogel ? He should have a handyman's special for sale.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:14 pm

Thanks for all of the input, asshats. I should have known better than to ask the fucking question. My bad.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:48 am

another vote for getting him a decent bike. don't throw away 300 bucks on a bix box store POS though. C/L is full of good quality bikes for under 300 bucks. Have him check out bikeforums.com for plenty of info. That place is way more busy than this hole and unlike this dump, most are helpful.

Cueball · Post by **Cueball** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 1:16 am

Trampis · Post by **Trampis** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 1:44 am

He might as well just get a motorcycle endorsement on his license. Then he can get a small dual sport. That way if hes late for class, he can cut across peoples yards, double jump shrubs and curbs and in general kick urbancross ass.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 1:55 am

Thanks for the information. He had a 10 speed at school (my bike) that now has a bent rim.....a cheap dept. store bike I've had for 10 years.....and we're going to a local bike shop to find him a decent bicycle, and probably one for me too. I checked their website and they've got some decent 7 speed comfort bikes for $300-$400, so we'll check them out on Monday.

Thanks for the scooter info, Scott, which saved me from buying a cheap Chinese scooter off the internet.

Shlomart Ben Yisrael · Sun Mar 13, 2011 2:18 am

Mace wrote:Thanks for all of the input, asshats.

Don't worry, with a moped, I'm sure the kid won't have any problem getting "input".

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:00 am

Martyred wrote:
Mace wrote:Thanks for all of the input, asshats.
Don't worry, with a moped, I'm sure the kid won't have any problem getting "input".

I told him about the "gay" comments I received here and he laughed and said that many of the Iowa football players have scooters on campus....which might explain their 8-5 season, and that you guys could tell Adrian Clayborne that he's gay.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:18 am

Trampis wrote:He might as well just get a motorcycle endorsement on his license. Then he can get a small dual sport.

If you have a dual sport, why do you need a license (or license plate)?

R-Jack · Post by **R-Jack** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:19 am

Fucking Faggot!

Diego in Seattle · Post by **Diego in Seattle** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:28 am

Dinsdale wrote:
Trampis wrote:He might as well just get a motorcycle endorsement on his license. Then he can get a small dual sport.

If you have a dual sport, why do you need a license (or license plate)?

Trampis · Post by **Trampis** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:53 am

Dinsdale wrote:
Trampis wrote:He might as well just get a motorcycle endorsement on his license. Then he can get a small dual sport.

If you have a dual sport, why do you need a license (or license plate)?

I spose the option of takeing an overland route does help you get away from the police.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:56 am

Rack R-Jack.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:01 am

An old buddy of mine is a semi-retired semipro racer who lives in San Francisco.

He and his friends all seem to ride some sort of big thumper (XR600, CR450F, etc), which they put some funky (and expensive) on/off road tires on which they say work well for the local terrain. What they don't put on them are license plates.

And they use them as daily drivers.

On my visits, I've inquired as to the legality of their rides. I generally can't get any more answer besides "why?" when they can stop laughing long enough. Every now and then, they mumble something about "there's parks here, dude."

Myself, I retired from eluding many years ago.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:05 am

Dinsdale wrote:If you have a dual sport, why do you need a license (or license plate)?

C'mon, dinsdale....wake up.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:19 am

People Trampis is smarter than:

Diego

Mace

and plenty of others, I'm sure.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 5:04 am

Dinsdale wrote:People Trampis is smarter than:

Diego

Mace

and plenty of others, I'm sure.

Yeah, like anyone who intends to drive legally and not have to elude law enforcement are stupid, I guess. :roll:

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 2:12 pm

I'll bet that riding around without a plate deal works pretty well....till you want to actually stop and get off somewhere. I've been to SF. They have more than one cop there. They got these radio thingies as well. Infact, I would be willing to bet that they might have a few really tricked out mx bikes as well with pretty damn talented pilots to play with these alleged scofflaws you speak of.

In other words, yes I am throwing the bullshit flag. Seems to me that getting a plate is a lot easier.

Diego in Seattle · Post by **Diego in Seattle** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:38 pm

Dinsdale wrote:People Trampis is smarter than:

Diego

Mace

and plenty of others, I'm sure.

Including yourself.

Sincerely,

FLW Buckeye · Post by **FLW Buckeye** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 5:23 pm

Cueball wrote:

Double dating...

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 6:01 pm

FLW Buckeye wrote:
Cueball wrote:

Double dating...

I thought the same thing initially, then noticed that the pilot is a chick as well. Looks more like a pimp and his hos.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 6:59 pm

smackaholic wrote: In other words, yes I am throwing the bullshit flag.

The you would be so sorely mistaken, it's silly.

I don't think Homeboy is quite the urban terrorist he once was -- seeing the wrong side of 40 and spewing a couple of spawn will do that (as will working as a fashion photographer and owning a nightclub... to say he's an "interesting dude" would be a gross understatement). But in doing that near-daily, he never got caught.

Although... him and a bunch (like 40+) motorcycle racers used to get together on friday evenings, have a few barleypops, and then have a race around a predetermined course right through The City... starting at the Zeitgeist, of course. I'm sure LTS knows whatI'm talking about. That shit went on quite a while, right up until the fuzz addressed it with the appropriate resources. He didn't get it, but the slow guys did.

That town is a motorcycle free-for-all.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 8:39 pm

Dinsdale wrote:
smackaholic wrote: In other words, yes I am throwing the bullshit flag.

The you would be so sorely mistaken, it's silly.

I don't think Homeboy is quite the urban terrorist he once was -- seeing the wrong side of 40 and spewing a couple of spawn will do that (as will working as a fashion photographer and owning a nightclub... to say he's an "interesting dude" would be a gross understatement). But in doing that near-daily, he never got caught.

Although... him and a bunch (like 40+) motorcycle racers used to get together on friday evenings, have a few barleypops, and then have a race around a predetermined course right through The City... starting at the Zeitgeist, of course. I'm sure LTS knows whatI'm talking about. That shit went on quite a while, right up until the fuzz addressed it with the appropriate resources. He didn't get it, but the slow guys did.

That town is a motorcycle free-for-all.

so, they get a little liquored up and play isle of man TT through frisco?

nice.

being a motorcyclist myself i am generally saddened by the news of someone getting dead on a cycle. with this bunch, not so much. in fact i hope every last one of them ends up under a SF city bus.

Diego in Seattle · Post by **Diego in Seattle** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 10:09 pm

smackaholic wrote:
Dinsdale wrote:
smackaholic wrote: In other words, yes I am throwing the bullshit flag.

The you would be so sorely mistaken, it's silly.

I don't think Homeboy is quite the urban terrorist he once was -- seeing the wrong side of 40 and spewing a couple of spawn will do that (as will working as a fashion photographer and owning a nightclub... to say he's an "interesting dude" would be a gross understatement). But in doing that near-daily, he never got caught.

Although... him and a bunch (like 40+) motorcycle racers used to get together on friday evenings, have a few barleypops, and then have a race around a predetermined course right through The City... starting at the Zeitgeist, of course. I'm sure LTS knows whatI'm talking about. That shit went on quite a while, right up until the fuzz addressed it with the appropriate resources. He didn't get it, but the slow guys did.

That town is a motorcycle free-for-all.
so, they get a little liquored up and play isle of man TT through frisco?

nice.

being a motorcyclist myself i am generally saddened by the news of someone getting dead on a cycle. with this bunch, not so much. in fact i hope every last one of them ends up under a SF city bus.

+1

Let's hope they end up only removing themselves from the gene pool.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:07 am

Thanks for the information, Sam, and that's pretty much my opinion of the scooters too. That's why we're heading to the local bicycle shop tomorrow to pick up a couple of Trek Navigators for both him and me. I could use a little excercise too. :)

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:39 am

He's not going to hate you, Sam. In fact, he's on board for getting a good bicycle over the scooter. He's had my old POS 10 speed at school for 3 years and he's ready for an upgrade since a pot hole bent the front rim. He'll be happy with the light weight aluminum frame on the Navigator.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:48 am

Mace wrote:He's not going to hate you, Sam. In fact, he's on board for getting a good bicycle over the scooter. He's had my old POS 10 speed at school for 3 years and he's ready for an upgrade since a pot hole bent the front rim. He'll be happy with the light weight aluminum frame on the Navigator.

If he's gonna make a habit of nailing potholes, go for a MTB. Something with front suspension would be best. full suspension is only needed for insane downhillers.

Still think his best bet would be an older good quality mountain bike off craigslist.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:55 am

Sudden Sam wrote: This morning, I took my bike up to 100 for the first time in a long time.

I hope you fucking die.

Sin,

smackaholic and Diego

Unless of course they're applying their "rules" about wishing death on people selectively.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 2:30 am

smackaholic wrote:
Mace wrote:He's not going to hate you, Sam. In fact, he's on board for getting a good bicycle over the scooter. He's had my old POS 10 speed at school for 3 years and he's ready for an upgrade since a pot hole bent the front rim. He'll be happy with the light weight aluminum frame on the Navigator.
If he's gonna make a habit of nailing potholes, go for a MTB. Something with front suspension would be best. full suspension is only needed for insane downhillers.

Still think his best bet would be an older good quality mountain bike off craigslist.

The Trek Navigator 2.0 has front suspension and is listed at $400. I'll see what kind of deal I can get buying a pair of them. I'll also check out their used bikes before I make a purchase.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 3:04 am

smackaholic wrote:isle of man TT through frisco?

nice.

At the risk of name-dropping like Zyclone at a bathhouse...

OK, I'm not really name-dropping, but I figured there was a Zyclone reset in there somewhere...

Anyhoo, my buddy's old SF buddy and buddy rider/mechanic/racer/instructor is a hero of the TT, or so my English kinfolk tell me. Broke some records, and conducted himself in a manner that made him the hit of the TT. And since Americans have traditionally be shunned there, it was kind of a dealio at the time.

Not sure if dude ever did the street race thing. His father did in fact start the legendary Sunday Morning Ride (crazy shit if you've never heard of it), which has been going on since the 1950's. Some dude made an impromptu documentary about it (which wasn't his intent) about 20 years ago, but I don't remember what it's called, nor how readily available it is.

Motorcycle capital of the world.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 3:05 am

BTW -- Trek seems to deliver pretty good bang-for-the-buck.

Rooster · Post by **Rooster** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 10:35 am

At the risk of opening myself up to the derision of the board, I will 'fess up to owning two Vespas, both of the 49cc variety. My wife's ET50 is an older two stroke model and goes like a scalded cat off the line-- up to 30 mph, at which point it accelerates much slower, up to around 44 mph. Mine is the newer four stroke, VX50, California acceptable model. It is considerably slower off the line than the two stroke, natch, but the top end is around 52 mph at my weight, 55 mph for my wife.

Her's gets approx 90 miles to the gallon, mine gets 110-ish depending on how wide open I run the throttle.

She got her's from our son who attended university in Hawaii, where nearly everyone who travels any amount of distance owns one. And in Hawaii there are no helmet laws or licensing fees. Your bill of sale is your title and registration. It cost $1000 and was a year old with 300 miles on the clock. We've put 1500 more miles on it in since we had it shipped over to Cal from Hawaii and it has performed flawlessly for the past 7 years.

All that being said, yes, the small wheels can be tricky due to their lack of gyroscopic stability and smaller contact patch with the road, but from my experience with driving a number of other maker's models, the Vespa has a superior brake to ChiCom scoots.

We drive ours around town to get groceries and whatnot, or to zip past traffic if there is a festival or holiday going on where traffic is snarled up from cars. They are almost completely maintenance-free and and utterly bomb proof due to their steel and aluminum body. If we were discussing camping and trailers, the other brands would be the flimsy plywood on steel frames compared to the Vespa's Airstream.

As for the whole gayness factor, well, I tend to just ignore it because for getting errands done around town, seeing my $2.36 fill-up at the gas station rapes the shit out of the ass of the guy who pulls up next to me at the gas pump and shells out $150 to fuel his Ford F150 or Hummer to do the same errands. I guess it all comes down to if you like it up the ass financially or are confident enough in your own masculinity to drive a supposedly faggotitty scooter. :P

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:29 pm

Thanks for the info, Rooster. Everything I've read says that Vespa is the absolute best in scooters and, if I every buy a scooter, that's what I'll get. The "gay factor" is a non-factor but, having never owned a scooter, safety is my main concern....although a scooter is probably just as safe as a bicycle in traffic. Another thing I've learned is that you can spend $6,000+ on a bicycle if you're so inclined. The bicycle shop we're heading to today has a website I've been checking out and apparently has a pretty good inventory of bikes. Biking is pretty big around here but I had no idea anyone made a $6,000 bicycle.....or that anyone would pay that much for a bike. If I'm spending that much money, the thing better have an engine.

R-Jack · Post by **R-Jack** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:33 pm

Rooster wrote:At the risk of opening myself up to the derision of the board, I will 'fess up to owning two Vespas,

I'm not the type of guy who does image seaches for dildos, so you won't get a derogatory comment from me.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:33 pm

Dinsdale wrote:
Sudden Sam wrote: This morning, I took my bike up to 100 for the first time in a long time.
I hope you fucking die.

Sin,

smackaholic and Diego

Unless of course they're applying their "rules" about wishing death on people selectively.

I am not against stupid motorcycle tricks in general, having done a few myself. Going fast on an empty backroad or interstate is fine with me as it endangers only yourself, some bugs and whatever roadkill candidates chuck d tosses on the road in front of you. Street racing in SF at any hour is very likely to endanger others. People that do this are selfish cunts and deserve to become bus fodder.