On a whim, I decided to hire a 125CC scooter and visit a friend in South Wales, as I was in London this was about a 180 mile trip (about 360 miles round trip over two days), although one of friends thought I was mad as he said I would ache. I did it without any serious aches, just suffering from the cold on early Sunday morning and the only issue is my right hand is a little weak and I am currently having problems with gripping things, however I have been told this will go away. It was lovely to see the English and Welsh countryside by blasting down the A roads att 60/70mph and I look forward to doing it again when I am back in the UK. As a 125cc scooter will do 70mph which is the highest legal speed you can do on dual carriageways (all the fun of changing speeds from 60 to 30, 70 to 50, etc...), I was wondering why I would need to bother learning how to use a clutch and change gears or even riding a motorbike? What do you have or have riden? Any road trips you have been on?
If you can get a scooter that's capable of doing the speed limit without crapping itself and don't mind that scooters look pants/find one that doesn't look pants then I can't really think of any good reason to get a bike instead. I ride a 250cc motorbike and don't think I can get over the look of scooters. Also though an old bike like mine is cheaper than buying a newer larger (for scooters) engine scooter, so I save money and have more fun pulling away at lights. And for long distance travel I'm a big fan of the car Bike gets too cold/sore/deadly for me hah.
I've driven a lower powered scotter here in Japan and a 250 cc bike. I'd say the bike was by far the most exciting but yeah, like Moiboi said, I'd use a car for any long distance drive. If I never had the option of a car, then yes I'd go with a 250cc bike over any scotter. Bikes are more fun and look cooler IMO. I couldn't ride a big bike though. I do 't have the skill for that. Yakumo
125cc on a motorway? Forget it, unless you got some fancy 2 stroke or Aprilia. Even my Duke II could do motorway speeds but it wasn't very viable due to the single cyclinder, partly because it takes too long to get there which leaves you vulnerable when circumstances change ie someone cuts you up, or you want to overtake. If anything was a good or bad idea, using a four stroke 125cc on the motorway is a bad idea. A two stroke 125cc should manage (barely) but depends on how heavy and/or how tall you are but I wouldn't reccomend it. Personally I wouldn't ride anything less than a 600cc these days - but for motorway you'd definitely want more than a single cylinder too. A nice twin will give you some low end torque, be loud as fook etc or you could also go for something a little funky like a Trumph triple, or sell out with a Japanese inline 4. Oh and the difference between no fairing and half a fairing is amazing - my Fazer was inifinitely better on the motorway then my Duke. I'm not sure I'd ride a fully faired 'bike though, may be more vulnerable to crosswinds and look like a muppet to boot. FYI I rode my Fazer from manchester to Bath, from Bath to the other side of the severn and back with no issues. Oh as for scooter too, as comfy as they are supposed to be I actually enjoy the discomfort of traditional riding - it keeps you sharp, plus I'd rather avoid looking like a dork if it is at all possible EDIT: Also I forgot to mention riding a manual is awesome for developing your forearm/grip strength should you take up any form of weight lifting
I myself own and drive a Kawasaki 454 LTD from 1986. I drive it daily to work except when it snows or the roads are iced over. For a 25 year old it is an amazing bike. Very reliable even in the winter it starts without much hassle. Biggest draw back is in the tank department, it only holds 9-ish litres so I need to fill it up after 180 kilometres, it runs 1:20 which is pretty good for it's age. Longest trip so far has been to The Hague and back. Looking into visiting family further up north in the future. Though the motorcycle is a little underpowered for my posture it is a good starting bike as I am in my first year of riding year round. When I save some money I am looking into something heavier, probably a Kawasaki Outrider.
No thanks, I cycle pretty much anywhere in town and for everything else there's the (quite excellent) public transport. ...even though I greatly enjoyed blasting through Cappadocia on a ramshackle Yamaha scooter two summers ago... it was grand. No cars at all, Italian-style helmet, 90km/h :dance:
I've started riding bikes on a 50ccm Puch Maxi when i was 16, but real soon changed to a Yamaha Scooter and then to a Derbi Bultaco Lobito (50ccm, 70km/h, 6 gears... yeeeeh ). In 2006 I bought my 2002 Ducati Monster 620ie Dark and I'm riding it almost daily since then, also during winter. Scooters (50ccm+) are perfectly fine for the city and imo much more maneuverable in heavy traffic jams than any 500ccm+ bike. I also prefer cars for long rides, although I've never tried one of those Sport Touring bikes or a Goldwing (lol). The fun thing for myself is acceleration, manual shifting and 1 day trips up some hill. Other benefits are the time i save in town, due to snaking through traffic jams and of course the free parking. Also, Yakumo, I'm 100% confident, that you could very easily ride a big bike with a bit of practice. All it takes is good sense. No matter if you ride a Scooter or a 1000ccm Superbike. Honestly, each new bike I tried, made me crap my pants for the first few days.^^
Nice to see, that here are also bikers around I can also show on a long bikehistory. I started also with scooter when i was 15(ok, no bike, and no clutch...but two tires ). Then with 16 i get my first 125ccm Enduro with 15PS. But y, open ->she<- has 24PS. Not bad all, and i still have that bike. With 18 i bought my first 750ccm GSX-R and did customize. I rebuilded the full bike to streetfighter and drove it for about 10 Years. At the end i has around 140PS at Tire so, also not bad for 750ccm. Since last year i have R1 RN19 2007 (Black = beautiful). I get it with just around 1000kilometer, so it was nearly brand new. Some guy bought it in the past and y, it just stand too much in his living room. It was a great deal.
So what kind of clothing do people wear during the summer? Do you still wear special jacket/pants/gloves/etc to protect yourself from road burns if you get into an accident? I've toyed with the idea of getting a scooter/light bike for commuting on the local roads and doing errands when it's nice out.
I never bothered with leathers - my weight goes up and down all the time. I just wore normal clothes, but with decent boots, small alpinestars supermoto gloves and arai helmet. I also used a motorcross-style Alpinestars back/shoulder/chest/kidney protector which didnt look too vulgar and I just put it on over my clothes as l was content to look weird. Sometimes I'd cover it with a synthetic biker jacket if it was late or weather was bad etc.
Always helm, gloves and jacket with protective plates. No matter how careful you drive, nine out of ten it's the box-driver that overlooks you and before you know it you are trying to high five the asphalt with either your hand or your face. At least to have something in between that will help immensely. And trousers mainly to battle cold, when the weather gets better I wear long jeans. And yes, you will sweat during the summer but it beats missing an arm in case of an accident.
I prefer the madmax-style. A bit retro with modern finish. Must look a bit rancid. I get on this trip since i dived in the custombike-streetfighterscene. So, all in black leather. @Jamtex I do every year several roadtrips during the summer to several bikefestivals. I think 10 till 12. And when i get vacation (not much time because of work) i ride with my friends also for one week to italy near bolzano. Really great area. So i come till the end of summer at around 8000km. But for winter and bad times in summer, i'm still in love with my consols You disagree yourself. In the first place you say; protectors are essential to drive bike but second you drive just with jeans when weather is fine...
Yes, but still wearing helmet, gloves and jacket. The last time I checked all the vitals are housed there.
YAAAAAYYYY SCOOOOOOOOOTEEEERRSSSSS! I ride 60 miles roundtrip on my Honda Ruckus on nice days and I don't wear full leathers, although maybe I should. I wear a full-face though, and I recommend everyone else does too. No shorts, etc, but otherwise I don't sweat it. It isn't really much faster than a bicycle, lol. Here are my two bikes. 2008 Honda Ruckus and a 1960 Honda Super Cub. In DC/Maryland/Virginia, I don't need registration or tags for a 50cc, which is enormously helpful, because then I can park it anywhere, like a bicycle. I was tempted to sell the Ruckus and buy a new Honda 125cc PCX, but then I'd need a plate and I'd lose all my parking options. I've organized a couple of large Ruckus rides/events, several dozen loud tiny bikes all pack-riding together in DC. It was pretty rad. 150 mile roundtrip ride happening on April 17th, that I regrettably cannot attend. These belong to my friends Teru and Oba in Japan, they built RA1/3 Honda Odyssey "carry vehicles" for their Zoomers. I will definitely be doing this as soon as I can find a nice one. Need TRA Kyoto 666 aero and Air Ride :-D
Nice pics there Wangan - you won't catch my on anything that small though FYI I parked my bigger bikes wherever I cared to (tried to be considerate) and even though the majority of the time it was technically illegal, I never once got a ticket. I think if I did it in London I may get ticketed though. My Fazer new My Fazer's final crash (head on into an oncoming car) I found a pic of the gimp suit I was on about, it was awesome - just wear whatever you are going to wear (with boots, gloves and helmet) and throw this on top - it has a built in back protector too. The bggest shame to me is that people want to spend so little on their helmets sometimes. You can buy a £50 helmet then try a £100 helmet and the difference in quality is amazing, but then you can get a £300 helmet and be totally blown away even more so. The plan is always to never hit the dirt, but when you do, how much is your life worth? It is certainly worth protecting properly that is for sure!
Here's my 7... Bring on the warm sunny summer days.. LeGit, your right about protection, you see so many people with minimal gear. I always buy the best i can afford at the time, and never ride without my leathers, gloves or boots, even on the hottest days. Its just not worth it.
^^ That's a pretty bike. I love Kawis, especially older ones. My next pickup is probably a GPZ900R, which I intend to restore. The other option is a Royal Enfield sidecar rig.
