[LordOpie]

We have one of the two national rallies here in Denver going on and it got me to wondering since I see too many without lids and driving their bikes. Driving as in, no clue how to properly handle them or the rules of the road.

Also, the State Patrol worries about the lack of certification and driver training for scooter drivers; the bicycle lobby fears scooters are taking over their bike racks; and the Colorado Department of Public Health wants scooters to be subject to the state's emissions program.

I'm still baffled that there's no driver's license requirement for 50cc or less engines... which are just as dangerous to the 'rider' when they get t-boned at an intersection as any other bike.

How did this happen? Does the scooter industry have strong lobbyists in DC?

 

[Ridemonkey]

North America needs fewer nervous mothers. In most of europe and asia everyone is on scooter, including kids, and you hardly hear about some pandemic of scooter fatalities in Italian children do you? And hell, Italian kids can drink when they're 12!

Stop taking the fun out of life North America!

 

[stevew]

I remember being stuck behind a pack of vespa riders in Denver and the little blue cloud of funk that followed them around..... I think my 77 Land Cruiser put less pollution in the air then those piles of sh!t.

I think they should be emissions tested.

You don't need a license to operate one in CO?

 

[LordOpie]

You don't need a license to operate one in CO?

Nope!

It's not the license as much as the lack of knowledge of these riders. On a road bike, you quickly learn how to ride in traffic or you give up. I think scooters give people a false sense of security, but there are smart ways to ride in traffic and dumb ways.

ironically, they do put out a lot of emissions for their size.

 

[Tenchiro]

North America needs fewer nervous mothers. In most of europe and asia everyone is on scooter, including kids, and you hardly hear about some pandemic of scooter fatalities in Italian children do you? And hell, Italian kids can drink when they're 12!

Stop taking the fun out of life North America!

 

[Tenchiro]

You don't need a license to operate one in CO?

I Washington (or Warshington as the locals call it) you don't need a motorcycle endorsement for anything under 50cc's but you do need a drivers license.

It is funny where I work there is a huge scooter culture. You see them buzzing around with customer paintjobs and matching helmets, I suppose it is a good way to get around but I wouldn't feel safe on one. You need a bit more oompf to get out of the way of the idiot drivers here.

 

[BurlyShirley]

scooters, fixies, WHATEVER... lame, unsafe fashion accessories.

 

[Greyhound]

scooters, fixies, WHATEVER... lame, unsafe fashion accessories.

I agree with ya there.......I mean, I would LOVE to rock a scooter or a bike to work for my 10-mile commute, but I live in the South, in a rural community, and would get turned into a grease spot on the road by bubba and his merry band of pranksters that are doing 70mph on country roads in sketchy trucks with one headlight and an ugly dog in the back.

 

[Ciaran]

Stop taking the fun out of life North America!

It's the friggin' moms and lawyers. we should outlaw both.

 

[blue]

scooters, fixies, WHATEVER... lame, unsafe fashion accessories.

 

[narlus]

scooters, fixies, WHATEVER... lame, unsafe fashion accessories.

maybe in the land of the H2 and Excursion w/ 20' foot wide single lanes, and people too busy tuning in their Sirius radio, putting on cosmetics, or yapping in their blackberry to pay adequate attention to driving their SUV.

not the case in tight euro cities like roma.

 

[freeridekid]

my parents both have scooters. i think they're fine as long as they're fourstroke and have a decent displacement. (my mom's vespa has 150cc and has decent acceleration). but ya the little 50cc two strokes are slow and annoying to all around them.

 

[narlus]

I agree with ya there.......I mean, I would LOVE to rock a scooter or a bike to work for my 10-mile commute, but I live in the South, in a rural community, and would get turned into a grease spot on the road by bubba and his merry band of pranksters that are doing 70mph on country roads in sketchy trucks with one headlight and an ugly dog in the back.

exactly...they are meant for URBAN AREAS, where they are not 'lame fashion accessories' but a good idea. burly, when's the last time you've lived in a city?

 

[MudGrrl]

There's a lime green scooter around here (DC) that is dangerous.

Some 17 year old has been tootlin' along on his scooter, then raping women and taking off.

I think he's been caught.

 

[BurlyShirley]

exactly...they are meant for URBAN AREAS, where they are not 'lame fashion accessories' but a good idea. burly, when's the last time you've lived in a city?

I live in a city of over a million right now.

 

[BurlyShirley]

There's a lime green scooter around here (DC) that is dangerous.

Some 17 year old has been tootlin' along on his scooter, then raping women and taking off.

I think he's been caught.

Scooter = Rape.

 

[Ridemonkey]

maybe in the land of the H2 and Excursion w/ 20' foot wide single lanes, and people too busy tuning in their Sirius radio, putting on cosmetics, or yapping in their blackberry to pay adequate attention to driving their SUV.

not the case in tight euro cities like roma.

Exactly. They're really gaining popularity in downtown Toronto, which is practically a european city. With gas prices where they are, and too many cars for too few parking spaces they're a great solution for an urban dweller.

$5 worth of gas lasts a week, you can park them anywhere, and they're no less safe than *gasp* a bike. To me that's far more practical than an SUV (if you live in the city).

 

[BurlyShirley]

I honestly dont have an issue w/ scooters other than the fact that I flind the cliques lame. Yeah I know, whatever, dont be a hater, etc. But running a 2-stroke from 20-30 years ago ala fashion accessory is a bit lame...like the fixies. But its just my opinion. Nashville has lots of emo kids spraying around on them and they seem to do just fine.

 

[fluff]

Those little wheels are downright horrible, very unstable compared to a real motorcycle.

I did once manage to get a scooter to do 85mph. Helped pass the time on a very boring journey.

 

[Ridemonkey]

I honestly dont have an issue w/ scooters other than the fact that I flind the cliques lame. Yeah I know, whatever, dont be a hater, etc. But running a 2-stroke from 20-30 years ago ala fashion accessory is a bit lame...like the fixies. But its just my opinion. Nashville has lots of emo kids spraying around on them and they seem to do just fine.

See...I don't think you fully understand the concept. Firstly, most of the vespas/scooters I see in Toronto, are actually new(ish), get great gas mileage, and are a great way to get around town on the cheap.

I don't doubt that there are people who use them as fashion accessories...like the emo kids in Nashville, but in Toronto, for example, the population is very international. The area I live in is Italian, and we're bordered by the Portuguese/Brazilian region to the south, Korean to the north, and Chinese to the east. The city basically consists of bordering international communities.

In all of those countries scooters are used far more than cars for all the reasons I've mentioned above (if you think gas is expensive here you should see it in Europe), and they've brought the habit here. After a year in Toronto with a car, sitting in traffic, pumping $50 of gas/week, paying hundreds for legal parking, and hundreds for parking tickets you'd start to see the light too.

 

[Ridemonkey]

Those little wheels are downright horrible, very unstable compared to a real motorcycle.

I did once manage to get a scooter to do 85mph. Helped pass the time on a very boring journey.

The fact that you were doing 85mph might have had something to do with the instability They're design to be urban transportation at 35mph.

 

[fluff]

The fact that you were doing 85mph might have had something to do with the instability They're design to be urban transportation at 35mph.

I realise that, although you'd have to wonder why it had a 125cc engine in it.

I find them (at least some of the ones I've ridden) to be horribly unstable even at low speeds. The little wheels have less gyroscopic effect. You get used to it but I still think that they are an abomination.

 

[Tenchiro]

I realise that, although you'd have to wonder why it had a 125cc engine in it.

I find them (at least some of the ones I've ridden) to be horribly unstable even at low speeds. The little wheels have less gyroscopic effect. You get used to it but I still think that they are an abomination.

Alot of the newer scooters I see have what look like 16" wheels. About the size of a BMX or so. They look quite a bit more stable.

 

[narlus]

I live in a city of over a million right now.

i mean an older (proper) city, not some mega-sprawl-opolis.

 

[LordOpie]

i mean an older (proper) city, not some mega-sprawl-opolis.

You mean a city with serious traffic congestion and parking issues?

I love Denver, but you almost NEED a scooter, bicycle, motorcycle to find a parking spot downtown... or pay in blood.

 

[DRB]

I live in a city of over a million right now.

A million in Nashville? Maybe the metropolitian area but not the city itself.

 

[Ridemonkey]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville,_Tennessee

More like half a million. Toronto is about 2.5 million in the core, and 6 million in the Greater Toronto Area, AND it's a big tourist destination for theatre, the arts, and shopping...so it's a dramatically different picture. Having a car here SUCKS!

 

[stevew]

You mean a city with serious traffic congestion and parking issues?

I love Denver, but you almost NEED a scooter, bicycle, motorcycle to find a parking spot downtown... or pay in blood.

Have you ever been to Swanky's in downtown Denver?

 

[LordOpie]

Have you ever been to Swanky's in downtown Denver?

no. What is it?

I know you lived here years ago so maybe it's gone?

 

[blue]

I don't understand the scooter craze...why buy a ghey scooter when you can have a relatively safer, more practical moto for the same price?

 

[stevew]

no. What is it?

I know you lived here years ago so maybe it's gone?

A drinking establishment that features shuffleboard, pool, and porn.

A friend and her friends ended up in there. Interesting atmosphere.

 

[narlus]

I don't understand the scooter craze...why buy a ghey scooter when you can have a relatively safer, more practical moto for the same price?

same price? not overseas, that's for sure (don't forget insurance either). haven't priced out any scooters here. plus, in really tight traffic, where you zigzag to get to the front when @ a red light, the scooter's got a distinct advantage over a fullsize moto.

 

[ohio]

I don't understand the scooter craze...why buy a ghey scooter when you can have a relatively safer, more practical moto for the same price?

About 7 years ago, I rented a scooter to get around the island of Elba (in Italy). On day 2, a car ran a red light and broadsided me. I skidded sideways about 10 feet, wobbled another 30 and rode out of it. If I had been on a motorcycle, it would have crushed my femur, knee, and shin bones. As it was the thing had some broken plastic and a loose swingarm, but was still pretty damn rideable.

It ain't sexy, but it is practical in a city.

 

[Changleen]

I had a blue one of these when I lived in London:

Fast enough for highway use, a whole bunch of fun, practical, great gas milage and only 7 pounds to fill up. Scooters can kick ass.

 

[stevew]

So do scooter motors pollute as much as say snowmobile motors or jet ski motors?

 

[narlus]

probably, esp the older ones. they always seem to be trailing blue plumes of smoke.

that said, i don't know anyone who commutes on their jet ski or gets goes to the store on their snowmobile.

 

[Westy]

I don't understand the scooter craze...why buy a ghey scooter when you can have a relatively safer, more practical moto for the same price?

The biggest advantage I see is you can park them on sidewalks. At least 'round here you can.

 

[Ridemonkey]

probably, esp the older ones. they always seem to be trailing blue plumes of smoke.

that said, i don't know anyone who commutes on their jet ski or gets goes to the store on their snowmobile.

If they're tuned properly they're not bad, but most scooter owners don't know that so you often see them running way too rich, thus the smoke.

 

[stevew]

probably, esp the older ones. they always seem to be trailing blue plumes of smoke.

that said, i don't know anyone who commutes on their jet ski or gets goes to the store on their snowmobile.

But some people enjoy complaining about the amount of pollution they put out into the enviorment. But they are probably the same people who would ride a scooter and feel good about themselves.

They should be emissions tested.

 

[Ridemonkey]

The biggest advantage I see is you can park them on sidewalks. At least 'round here you can.

Yeah, in Toronto they just passed a bylaw that basically lets you park them anywhere without getting a ticket. The city is trying to get cars out of the core.