Possibly OT, but does anyone here ever drive a scooter?

I think Honda makes them.

Would a scooter make it up a very long, pretty steep hill?

Is liability insurance for them expensive?

 

Just saw a Honda Silver "scooter" (650cc)that a friend bought. Probably
get you around 60 mpg but will get you where you want to go quicker than
you'd likely want to drive it. He claimed a top end of 105 m/h and
arrived at the meeting we both attended cruising at 85 m/h.

So, yeah, it'll get you up that hill and probably do so with the wind
making your cheeks looking like a squirrel stocking up on nuts for the

Don't know for sure but most likely cheaper than a car. The medpay will
be the killer<g>

 

I have a Yamaha Vino 125 which will go 50-55mph on a flat road. It will
climb extended hills at 40-45mph. I have a windshield which helps keep the
wind effect from hampering speed.
I get 80-85 mpg. I pay $185 for insurance for a full year. It is a blast to
drive and you can carry a passenger also.

 

Any four-stroke scooter of at least 75cc should do hills ok. I have
an Oxygen "Lepton" electric scooter that will only do 28MPH, but it has
plenty of torque for hills, at least in the "Sprint" mode. Avoid 50cc
two-stroke scooters. They are filthy little things, with very little torque.

 

Roadrunner NG says...

I guess I need to run the numbers on it, but my guess is
it won't make sense for what I want to do with it.

Basically, I don't drive much. My 94 Accord has 59K miles
on it. But I do drive to the gym every day, which is only
3/4 mile from my house. And of course these short runs
don't do the Accord any good. The engine barely gets warmed
up, but the exhaust system doesn't quite.

So my first idea was just to ride a bike to the gym. But
it's a long, hard, steep uphill trudge to get there, and I
was worn out by the time I got there. Plus, I was slogging
along very slowly in the right-hand lane on a major street -
three-lanes each way - where the typical speed is 45-50 mph.
And I felt, uh, unwelcome there, and very much at risk.

So in theory a scooter would work for this. But, I suspect
it would take a long time to save enough gas - only going
1.5 miles a day - to pay for the scooter, particularly if I
also have to buy insurance for the scooter.

Of course I would save the Accord's exhaust system, but
presumably not the timing belt expense if I believe what
everyone says about time/mileage, which, by the way, I
don't, but if I did, it would still be every 6 years.

I assume I'm looking at something like $2000 for the
scooter. And with that and the insurance, and presumably a
tag, I suspect it isn't going to work financially, even at
$4 a gallon. But maybe I should also test it at $8.

It's a shame there's no way to avoid a net increase in
liability insurance premium. After all, I'm the only one
who's gonna drive either the car or the scooter, so in
theory my time and mileage on the road, which puts the
insurance company at risk, isn't increased. I'll be driving
one or the other for any particular trip, not both.

Thanks for everybody's responses. Let me know if you think
I'm forgetting to account for any benefit or expense.

 

i may be wrong, but isn't that the point of going to the gym? a decent
bike helps with this a lot though.

take a parallel road. 1 mile on a safe road is better than 3/4 mile on
a dangerous one.

 

Here's a solution that's right in front of you...

Quit the gym. Just ride the bike up the hill. Save money in the process...

 

Given the short distance, an electric scooter seems perfect, as
long as you get a powerful one. You can still find new Leptons in your
price range. Virtually no maintainance is needed other than keeping the
batteries charged, and having to warm an engine up isn't a concern. As
long as you don't need to go faster than 28mph, a Lepton would probably
make you happy.

 

why don't you get an electric motor kit for your bike?
It will not power the bike exclusively,particularly up your long hill,but
it will give you a boost.Then you plug it in to recharge,at a very low
cost.
AND,you don't need motorcycle insurance,registration,and license plates.

 

jim beam says...

That's what I thought too, but I'm not a kid anymore, and I
found that by the time I got to the gym, I just didn't have
much energy to do the weights or swimming or other stuff I
normally do. The grade is pretty steep, and it's just
really hard going for me. Going home was fun though.

Unfortunately, there is no parallel road to take.

 

Just for that one trip, it doesn't particularly pay.

If you find other uses for the scooter instead of the car, the numbers
make more sense.

Or, you could get a Segway, and be ultra-cool. It doesn't pay
monetarily, but there's no way on earth to be geekier!


OTOH, if you're over a certain age, I'd not recommend you ride
underpowered two-wheelers in traffic anyway, whether the wheels are
inline or side-by-side.

J.