Took my 2006 Yamaha Vino 125 on the LakeErieLoop this past weekend. The Loop is a 1 day sprint around the lake for all bikes under 200cc's to benefit pediatric burn victims. I ended up taking second place in my class with a final ET of 14:12 covering a distance of 640 miles. The only "modifications" to the bike were a beaded seat cover and a 1.4 gallon spare gas tank straped to the rear rack. Sure am dragging my ass this morning.
Thinking about the Lake Erie Loop for next year. I just picked up a Sears Allstate 124 5v, it's all there but not running yet.
Sounds like an awesome ride and a bad case of monkeybutt, would like to do something like that some day on the scoot but until then... Where are the pics :ddog
Am curious: do many/most of the participants ride to the start point or do they mostly trailer the small machines? How about yourself? As others have said, would be nice to see some pictures but I haven't figures that out either. Ned
Sorry i didn't see this sooner. You have to use a host (smugmug, pisca,whatever) to host the pics and then link to them. Here is a link expaining how, look at option 2 in the first post. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=919
Most everyone trailers their bike in, whether a scooter or a motorcycle. This year we had entrants from Georgia, Colorado, Arkansas, Arizona, etc. Can't really expect them to ride thousands of miles, then compete on a 650/day sprint. I trailered mine in from just 15 miles away 'cause I set up my motorhome as "Rally Central" with the BBQ stuff, all the food for the participants and their families/crews, chase vehicles, etc. One "tourist class" (non-racer) rider came in from NYC on Friday and was too tired to ride the Loop on Saturday.
We're doing it again this June 7-9. LakeErieLoop X. Our 10th Aniversary of raising money for pediatric burn victims. www.lakeerieloop.com will get you to more info. While you're on that site, take the time to visit and join the lakeerieloop yahoo group. There's TONS of photos going back quite a few years. Hope to see a few inmates there, I'll be riding the Vino once again this year.
640 miles in one day on a Vino 125 is quite an accomplishment. I have never come close to that. 350 miles about does me in. The beadrider seatcover does work well, those who laugh at it have never tried it.
I am not a scooter guy, but can you tell me about what sort of speeds the group or yourself may have averaged? I expect the MPG is quite good, but their must be fuel stops every so often at decent intervals? Sounds like a hoot. I have been assembling some China made scooters at work, "Kymco". The smaller ones not very appealing and the build a bit questionable, but their 250 is quite good and really "scoots". I do see that the rules are 200cc and under. What other "quality" scoots besides your Yamaha do you see or that are the norm for reliability in the 125 and up class then? Interesting hobby and quest for the cause in this case. All good on you. Glad to help you with picture posting to get you started if you want assistance.
I looked at the web site www.lakeerieloop.com and one video on the site. It appears the interstate highways are used quite a bit in this ride. Is that true? Is there a two-day or three-day option for those who do not want to be in the saddle for sixteen hours at a time? I was able to make a good non-interstate route with the help of Google maps. Is the rally route prescribed or is everyone free to ride where they wish?
There is no perscribed route for the Loop. We start in Wellington, Oh. The "rules" state that you must return to the campground with a receipt of some sort from within 50 miles of Detroit (we'll accept aan Ohio Turnpike Toledo receipt), another receipt from somewhere in Ontario, and a receipt from within 50 miles of Buffalo, Ny. If you've been to those locations, then you've been around the lake. As for a 2 or 3 day route, that's not what we're into. This is a charity ride for pediatric burn victims who go through pain and discomfort every day of their lives. The whole point of the ride is that we too (the riders) can last through a day of discomfort for the sake of the kids. Are we tired when we're done, sure. Are we sore when we're done, maybe. Are we satisfied with our accomplishment, hell yes! This is all about raising money for the kids. If someone wants to turn the Loop into a 2-3 day ride, we're OK with that as long as we get out entry fee. Many of the "tourist class" riders will leave with us on Sat. morning and head west to Toledo's Tony Paco restaurant and have lunch. Some go east to Niarga Falls and return sometime Sunday. During LEL III we had 2 guys head to the Lake Erie islands around Sandusky, meet a couple chicks who asked them what they were doing, then spent the rest of the weekend with them. Never did see those guys again (but we did already have their $$$). By the way, I'm a retired career firefighter who has worked with these kids for over 35 years. I'm pretty much committed to this event. My wife, who runs it with me, is an ER nurse. I couldn't do it without her.