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?

Reply to
Peabody
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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 winter

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

Reply to
Unquestionably Confused

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.

Reply to
Roadrunner NG

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.

Reply to
mjc1

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.

Reply to
Peabody

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.

Reply to
jim beam

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...

Reply to
Larry in AZ

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.

Reply to
mjc1

Peabody wrote in news:uICZj.1106$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe13.lga:

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.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

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.

Reply to
Peabody

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.

Reply to
JXStern

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