Full Throttle Touring - 150 through the Rocket City

I have always tended to avoid the city and head out of town. I will try to fight that urge and explore the city itself. Thats one reason I got the scooter. It really is more practical and fun around town.

I'm trying to take a page from iDave's playbook and do just that.

Anything or place in particular you would like me to get a picture of ?

You are absolutely right. It is something however, that non-riders will never understand.

Soboy, we need to get together sometime when it's warmer and run the scoots through the twisties around Suches....purely in the interest of our mental health of course.

That sounds like a great idea, klaviator!

This should become a VERY interesting thread----.

I worked for a couple of weeks in Decatur last summer and HIGHLY suggest the museum. It's pretty much corporate sponsored, but some of the things you see in there will blow the tech savvy guy away! Where else can you see a full size Saturn V horizontal with the stages exposed? Or walk up to a SR-71, or look at a Saturn Gyroscope?

Anyway, the BBQ was a big draw for me. We must have tried every joint within 30 miles of Decatur. I highly suggest 'the Chuckwagon' and 'the Greenbriar' if the rule of 'small, dumpy, and non-chain' are the the keys to good BBQ.

The cycle shop near Decatur looked pretty good, but I never got a chance to step in there. I would also suggest 'Bama gun and pawn' if you want to see where all the stolen tools end up in your area...and a scary group of individuals.

I enjoyed the time I spent down there and will be doing more work in Decatur sometime around June-July.

Congrats on the S8!

i remember your thread in the Battle Scooters forum about your choices and buying experience. you seemed a bit on the fence about a few things scooter related, but as it turns out....well....you seem really happy with the scooter and your choice!

its nice when things work out like that, and even nicer when a long time motorcyclist discovers the joys and practicality of scootering

oh, and the awesomeness of a good deal on a good Kymco scoot

I'll do my best to make it interesting. Here is a link to an interesting article in Cycle World on the Super 8: http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycl..._articles/10q4/kymco_super_8_150_-_first_ride

I'm not normally big on museums but I do plan on spending some time at this one.

Let me know if you come back down this summer. By then hopefully I'll know the interesting places to go.

I don't make New Years resolutions. I didn't make one this year. I did make a resolution a couple of months ago when I relocated to Huntsville. My resolution was to stop wasting so much time, especially in regards to time that could be spent riding. I rode just under 5000 miles in 2010. Thats probably my worst total in over 20 years. At least the riding I did do was almost all really great high quality riding. Also it was almost all off road or on twisty paved roads. Still, I hardly rode unless I could go for an all day ride or longer.

I was out of town on the first so I couldn't go riding but wasted no time when I got back today. Since small scooters are designed for the urban environment, that's where I decided to go exploring today. Looking at my Huntsville map I found a couple of historical districts near downtown Huntsville. Thats on the other side of town from my apartment so I figured out a route to get there without getting on the interstate. I'm trying to hold down the speed until my scooter is fully broken in, but even when it is broken in, it will never really be a highway machine.

The ride was chilly, I don't think it made it to 40 today. When I got downtown, it was pretty deserted. Normally I try to avoid traffic but somehow it the lack of traffic made downtown seem dead. I suspect it's a different place during the week, especially when it's warmer and more people are outside. Just outside of downtown there was a neighborhood of old historical houses. I'm not an expert on houses but I was surprised to see that many of the houses were built in the 1800s. I took a few pics.



The house above was built in 1815. If I had taken this pic when it was built, the only vehicle parked out front would have been a horse drawn carriage!

This house was next door.



I rode around some. Like downtown, this area seemed pretty dead. I suspect it's much more lively when it's warmer. Add some springtime leaves and colors and it will likely have a completely different feel.



Looking down the street. Unlike many modern subdivisions, this nieghborhood was built for walking with sidewalks on both sides of the street.



I imagine that not only did the original residants use these sidewalks to go walking, but when they did they probably got the chance to see their neighbors who I can imagine relaxing on their front porches in the evenings.



I would guess that these people actually knew each other. I'll have to stop by here on some warm evening and see if the current residents still use their porches........or if they all sit isolated inside their houses watching the latest sitcom on their hi def, big screen TVs.

Just to the east of here are some mountains. I could see them and they were calling to me Not sure what I was thinking, I was already cold. All I needed was to go up in elevation where it would be colder. I don't always think clearly so up I went. I found a couple of my favorite signs.







Unfortunately I also found sand and salt all over the road. Nothing worse than having to go slow on some fun curves

Well, it could be worse, at least I got to get out and go for a ride. Tomorrow it's supposed to get all the way up to 50 degrees Looks like I'll have to go for another ride

Something I don't understand. How can a scooter with what appears to have very little torsional rigidity go fast around tight curves w/o wobbling all over?

My '72 H2 Kawa. 750 2 stroke wobbled, as did my '74 Z1, although not as much. Even my steel perimeter-framed '86 VF1000R wobbled.

My '89 Hawk GT didn't wobble at all, same for my '05 SV650 (both bikes gone now). My '88 ZX10 barely wobbles if pushed pretty hard, the Busa not at all.

I do NOT like wobbling!

I don't know how much torsional rigidity the Super 8 has but there are many factors that go into making a bike handle well. I have owned quite a few motorcycles and have had only a few problems with wobbles. I suspect the fact that the Super 8 is very light and only has 11 HP means that it doesn't have to be that stiff. I have not had the chance to really push it very hard but if you read the Cycle World article for which I posted a link, John Burns didn't seem to have any problems with wobbles either. I'm sure he pushed it pretty hard. For most of the bikes I have owned, the main limit on cornering has been ground clearance. Even my dual sport bikes with skinny dual sport tires start scraping hard parts before the tires start to slide (on dry pavement). I haven't had any problem with wobbling on any of my dual sport bikes and none of them have frame rigidity anything close to that of a modern sport bike.

I think that suspension, weight, power, tires and rider technique all have some bearing on whether a bike wobbles.

Those are great shots of those beautiful old homes. And I thought our house was old (1919).

I bought that issue of Cycle World to read about the Super 8. He liked the scooter a lot.

jon

Got up early this morning. It was about 25 degrees. I decided to go for a walk instead of a ride. Yeah, I know I'm a wimp but I think I'll wait until it warms up a bit before going riding.

My apartment is right on a small lake. It's a nice place to walk and very scenic. I snapped a few pics.

There was steam rising from the water.



There are some real nice houses across the lake.



More mist and interesting reflections.



It's very scenic, looks a little like New England.



Unfortunately, these houses are way out of my price range. Still, it's great to be able to live on a lake and enjoy the scenery. Here's looking back at my apartment complex.......where the common folk live



I'll be going for a ride once it warms up. If nothing else, I need to go to Wal Mart for more ice cream!

Temperatures in the high 40s and wall to wall sunshine. There was no way I could not go for a ride today. I have been studying my Huntsville area map. One of the dominent features on the map is the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. It is quite spread out and has several large areas. I decided to head for one large area just west of Huntsville.

Heading west, it did not take long to get away from civilization. Here's a rural gas station. Good thing my scooter gets good gas mileage, because there's none available here.



I know I just left Huntsville, but it feels like I took a wrong turn........and ended up in Kansas:huh

It is flat farmland here.



The roads are straight, except for the occasional 90 degree curve.



The Silos make the feeling I'm in Kansas even stronger.



Wall Street? Did I take another wrong turn???



The pavement ends. Time to see how 14 inch tires work off road.



They work quite well. Actually, this dirt/gravel road is nearly as smooth as the pavement was just before it ended.

I don't get far before coming to a gate so I turn around. I ride around some. It appears that the interesting roads depicted on my map are unpaved, and gated. At least there's some trees here.



Some of the locals have gone off roading here:



But I think I'll pass.

So far I've been un-impressed with the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.

There is some muddy water.



But I have yet to see ANY Wildlife.

I was expecting ot see this:



And this:



But I took the last two pics within a couple hundred yards of my apartment. I guess nobody told this bird that there is a wildlife refuge nearby

I took one last pic on my way back. There's a new crop being grown on some of the farmland around here:



Quite a contrast from the houses I photographed yesterday.

Ha Ha Ha...full throttle urban touring

Scooters are great gizmo's. When my son was road racing Aprilias in the old Aprilia Cup series, he acquired one of their 50cc scooters in Rossi colors. It was supposed to be his pitbike, but he lived in Boston where it's hard to keep a car or truck. So the little scooter became his basic transportation around town. He apparently was an 'early adopter', because MA didn't have registration for scooters then and he was stopped alot by the police because he had no plate. It took a good 5 years before Boston's finest learned about scooters. My son was about the only scooter in the city back then and it was very cool...

Today Boston is a scooter mecca. They are everywhere and even have special parking. I must say, urban scootering is not only fun, but pretty darn handy. Let me also say that those big wheels of your model is exactly what you need for urban usage. The big wheels roll the bad tarmac and grip better in the sketch. The Japanese OEM's are way behind with their little rollers.

PS: My son is retired from racing now for a couple seasons. He still has the scooter, but it's had a very hard life, even doing a stint in San Francisco. Today he is back in our fair city and do to know what he rides now? A Ural!

No blizzard stops a 2wd Ural for urban commuting. Not sure it will catch on like scooters, though.

Downtown Decatur..there is an old building with repaired pock marks from a civil was cannon fired from the river! they also came up with a neat way to save the trolley tracks but still make the street usable.

Also...CF Penn burger joint that opened in 1924. You won't find a flat top since they double deep fry the burgers....woof, those were nasty. No wonder you don't see anyone over the age of 70 down there.