OT – Scooters zipping off lots

[Ex-SD]

I rode motorcycles for 35 years. Gave them up around a year and a half ago……………thought I had them out of my system……………….BUT, today, I bought a new Vespa, GTS 250cc scooter to putt around on.

jpinpb: A piece of well-seasoned advice: Whatever you do, DO NOT put a sidecar on your Vespa scooter. The frame will probably crack and you will wear out your CVT parts every 2k or less miles. We have owned seven sidecar rigs over the last 35 years (my wife preferred driving a sidecar rig rather than riding solo) and our children grew up, riding in them. We took a couple of NorCal vacations where we took our three children and a dog on two sidecar rigs (one of them pulling a small utility trailer).
Sidecars are great but you really only want to put one on a larger motorcycle……………..never a scooter.

[Eugene]

Im with you in that the freeway could be faster, but the drive down the backroads is quite nice. Almost all the lights on San Dieguito are green all the way to El Camino.

It’s more the matter of safety than speed. Bikes and scooters are dangerous. Your chance of getting killed per mile travelled on a motorcycle is 30 to 50 times higher than in a car. San Dieguito Road is scenic, but there are lots of hidden driveways where vehicles tend to appear without warning. If you’re not paying attention 100%, or if you’re driving too fast to stop in response to a careless truck driver pulling out of a driveway 200 feet ahead of you, it can end very badly.

And, when you’re commuting using the same road every day for months, it’s all too easy to stop paying attention or to add gas so you get home faster.

[Eugene]

Im with you in that the freeway could be faster, but the drive down the backroads is quite nice. Almost all the lights on San Dieguito are green all the way to El Camino.

It’s more the matter of safety than speed. Bikes and scooters are dangerous. Your chance of getting killed per mile travelled on a motorcycle is 30 to 50 times higher than in a car. San Dieguito Road is scenic, but there are lots of hidden driveways where vehicles tend to appear without warning. If you’re not paying attention 100%, or if you’re driving too fast to stop in response to a careless truck driver pulling out of a driveway 200 feet ahead of you, it can end very badly.

And, when you’re commuting using the same road every day for months, it’s all too easy to stop paying attention or to add gas so you get home faster.

[Eugene]

Im with you in that the freeway could be faster, but the drive down the backroads is quite nice. Almost all the lights on San Dieguito are green all the way to El Camino.

It’s more the matter of safety than speed. Bikes and scooters are dangerous. Your chance of getting killed per mile travelled on a motorcycle is 30 to 50 times higher than in a car. San Dieguito Road is scenic, but there are lots of hidden driveways where vehicles tend to appear without warning. If you’re not paying attention 100%, or if you’re driving too fast to stop in response to a careless truck driver pulling out of a driveway 200 feet ahead of you, it can end very badly.

And, when you’re commuting using the same road every day for months, it’s all too easy to stop paying attention or to add gas so you get home faster.

[Eugene]

Im with you in that the freeway could be faster, but the drive down the backroads is quite nice. Almost all the lights on San Dieguito are green all the way to El Camino.

It’s more the matter of safety than speed. Bikes and scooters are dangerous. Your chance of getting killed per mile travelled on a motorcycle is 30 to 50 times higher than in a car. San Dieguito Road is scenic, but there are lots of hidden driveways where vehicles tend to appear without warning. If you’re not paying attention 100%, or if you’re driving too fast to stop in response to a careless truck driver pulling out of a driveway 200 feet ahead of you, it can end very badly.

And, when you’re commuting using the same road every day for months, it’s all too easy to stop paying attention or to add gas so you get home faster.

[Eugene]

Im with you in that the freeway could be faster, but the drive down the backroads is quite nice. Almost all the lights on San Dieguito are green all the way to El Camino.

It’s more the matter of safety than speed. Bikes and scooters are dangerous. Your chance of getting killed per mile travelled on a motorcycle is 30 to 50 times higher than in a car. San Dieguito Road is scenic, but there are lots of hidden driveways where vehicles tend to appear without warning. If you’re not paying attention 100%, or if you’re driving too fast to stop in response to a careless truck driver pulling out of a driveway 200 feet ahead of you, it can end very badly.

And, when you’re commuting using the same road every day for months, it’s all too easy to stop paying attention or to add gas so you get home faster.

[jpinpb]

I didn’t know that about sidecars. Thanks for the information. Pretty cool that you had one and used it to bring the kids. Wow. Daring. I would think you’d be much more visible on a scooter w/a sidecar. I’ve seen Vespas w/them, even older ones. I guess from what you say, it’s a problem. I’ve been told they won’t go as fast w/a sidecar.

From what I understand CVT is automatic.

I have to say that whether scooter or motorcycle, you will have to be on constant alert for what other drivers are doing or about to do. It’s best to pretend you are invisible and that no one sees you and anticipate what everyone else is going to do as if you weren’t there.

So far, knock on wood, no problems. In fact, the opposite. Maybe b/c my scooter is vintage and gets noticed more, but everyone spots me, points, smiles, laughs, rolls down windows to comment. But I would never let my guard down.

[jpinpb]

I didn’t know that about sidecars. Thanks for the information. Pretty cool that you had one and used it to bring the kids. Wow. Daring. I would think you’d be much more visible on a scooter w/a sidecar. I’ve seen Vespas w/them, even older ones. I guess from what you say, it’s a problem. I’ve been told they won’t go as fast w/a sidecar.

From what I understand CVT is automatic.

I have to say that whether scooter or motorcycle, you will have to be on constant alert for what other drivers are doing or about to do. It’s best to pretend you are invisible and that no one sees you and anticipate what everyone else is going to do as if you weren’t there.

So far, knock on wood, no problems. In fact, the opposite. Maybe b/c my scooter is vintage and gets noticed more, but everyone spots me, points, smiles, laughs, rolls down windows to comment. But I would never let my guard down.

[jpinpb]

I didn’t know that about sidecars. Thanks for the information. Pretty cool that you had one and used it to bring the kids. Wow. Daring. I would think you’d be much more visible on a scooter w/a sidecar. I’ve seen Vespas w/them, even older ones. I guess from what you say, it’s a problem. I’ve been told they won’t go as fast w/a sidecar.

From what I understand CVT is automatic.

I have to say that whether scooter or motorcycle, you will have to be on constant alert for what other drivers are doing or about to do. It’s best to pretend you are invisible and that no one sees you and anticipate what everyone else is going to do as if you weren’t there.

So far, knock on wood, no problems. In fact, the opposite. Maybe b/c my scooter is vintage and gets noticed more, but everyone spots me, points, smiles, laughs, rolls down windows to comment. But I would never let my guard down.

[jpinpb]

I didn’t know that about sidecars. Thanks for the information. Pretty cool that you had one and used it to bring the kids. Wow. Daring. I would think you’d be much more visible on a scooter w/a sidecar. I’ve seen Vespas w/them, even older ones. I guess from what you say, it’s a problem. I’ve been told they won’t go as fast w/a sidecar.

From what I understand CVT is automatic.

I have to say that whether scooter or motorcycle, you will have to be on constant alert for what other drivers are doing or about to do. It’s best to pretend you are invisible and that no one sees you and anticipate what everyone else is going to do as if you weren’t there.

So far, knock on wood, no problems. In fact, the opposite. Maybe b/c my scooter is vintage and gets noticed more, but everyone spots me, points, smiles, laughs, rolls down windows to comment. But I would never let my guard down.

[jpinpb]

I didn’t know that about sidecars. Thanks for the information. Pretty cool that you had one and used it to bring the kids. Wow. Daring. I would think you’d be much more visible on a scooter w/a sidecar. I’ve seen Vespas w/them, even older ones. I guess from what you say, it’s a problem. I’ve been told they won’t go as fast w/a sidecar.

From what I understand CVT is automatic.

I have to say that whether scooter or motorcycle, you will have to be on constant alert for what other drivers are doing or about to do. It’s best to pretend you are invisible and that no one sees you and anticipate what everyone else is going to do as if you weren’t there.

So far, knock on wood, no problems. In fact, the opposite. Maybe b/c my scooter is vintage and gets noticed more, but everyone spots me, points, smiles, laughs, rolls down windows to comment. But I would never let my guard down.

[Ex-SD]

jbinpb: The lateral stress that a sidecar puts on the frame is too much for that little, sidecar frame. There is no safe way to make it safe enough to where I would ever put anyone in a scooter/sidecar rig and feel comfortable. Yes, you see some people do it but they are truly playing with fire.
Sidecars can be a blast to ride and own but you need a strong motorcycle frame (and usually a subframe on the bike) to connect the sidecar to or you wind up with catastrophic metal failure with the frame.
Also, with a scooter, the extra weight of the sidecar (even without a passenger in the car) the extra stress and weight on the engine and transmission of a scooter is probably ten-fold that of attaching a sidecar to a motorcycle. If anyone tries to tell you something different, they’re just trying to sell you something where they’ll make a buck. It’s not safe.

[Ex-SD]

jbinpb: The lateral stress that a sidecar puts on the frame is too much for that little, sidecar frame. There is no safe way to make it safe enough to where I would ever put anyone in a scooter/sidecar rig and feel comfortable. Yes, you see some people do it but they are truly playing with fire.
Sidecars can be a blast to ride and own but you need a strong motorcycle frame (and usually a subframe on the bike) to connect the sidecar to or you wind up with catastrophic metal failure with the frame.
Also, with a scooter, the extra weight of the sidecar (even without a passenger in the car) the extra stress and weight on the engine and transmission of a scooter is probably ten-fold that of attaching a sidecar to a motorcycle. If anyone tries to tell you something different, they’re just trying to sell you something where they’ll make a buck. It’s not safe.

[Ex-SD]

jbinpb: The lateral stress that a sidecar puts on the frame is too much for that little, sidecar frame. There is no safe way to make it safe enough to where I would ever put anyone in a scooter/sidecar rig and feel comfortable. Yes, you see some people do it but they are truly playing with fire.
Sidecars can be a blast to ride and own but you need a strong motorcycle frame (and usually a subframe on the bike) to connect the sidecar to or you wind up with catastrophic metal failure with the frame.
Also, with a scooter, the extra weight of the sidecar (even without a passenger in the car) the extra stress and weight on the engine and transmission of a scooter is probably ten-fold that of attaching a sidecar to a motorcycle. If anyone tries to tell you something different, they’re just trying to sell you something where they’ll make a buck. It’s not safe.

[Ex-SD]

jbinpb: The lateral stress that a sidecar puts on the frame is too much for that little, sidecar frame. There is no safe way to make it safe enough to where I would ever put anyone in a scooter/sidecar rig and feel comfortable. Yes, you see some people do it but they are truly playing with fire.
Sidecars can be a blast to ride and own but you need a strong motorcycle frame (and usually a subframe on the bike) to connect the sidecar to or you wind up with catastrophic metal failure with the frame.
Also, with a scooter, the extra weight of the sidecar (even without a passenger in the car) the extra stress and weight on the engine and transmission of a scooter is probably ten-fold that of attaching a sidecar to a motorcycle. If anyone tries to tell you something different, they’re just trying to sell you something where they’ll make a buck. It’s not safe.

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