Big Guy on a Little Scooter Syndrome

[CaseyJones]

I see it all the time. Where I'm at, the major thoroughfare is a limited-access highway with stoplights, set for "traffic calming" - which means most people hit all the lights as they drop red on you. Government at work....

But anyway. On my Burgman 650, I just blow them off; and sometimes make it to the next light before it drops. Probably enrages other drivers. But on my Big Ruckus...people don't expect me to hold traffic speed (50) so they get right on my @ss preparing to be angry and self-righteous.

And basically I pull away from the lane alongside me; often with the tailgater still riding me. Takes him a while to realize he's doing 10 over the speed limit and riding into the most well-known speed trap in two counties...

People just don't THINK when they drive!

[ijoe]

Originally Posted by CaseyJones

I see it all the time. Where I'm at, the major thoroughfare is a limited-access highway with stoplights, set for "traffic calming" - which means most people hit all the lights as they drop red on you. Government at work....

But anyway. On my Burgman 650, I just blow them off; and sometimes make it to the next light before it drops. Probably enrages other drivers. But on my Big Ruckus...people don't expect me to hold traffic speed (50) so they get right on my @ss preparing to be angry and self-righteous.

And basically I pull away from the lane alongside me; often with the tailgater still riding me. Takes him a while to realize he's doing 10 over the speed limit and riding into the most well-known speed trap in two counties...

People just don't THINK when they drive!

Nothing like a little justice!


I prefer a bigger ride, but when I rode my friend's Vespa 300gts in NYC, it was soooo much fun. Accelerates quickly because its so light and handling it is like a toy. I think people really don't understand how much greater a scooter is for congested cities.

[JerryH]

While I have other bikes, including an '85 Goldwing, I also ride a couple of small scooters, a Genuine Stella 2 stroke, and a Yamaha Vino 125. I'm also big, 6' 220, 34" inseam, and probably look like a circus clown on the scooters. But I don't care. The Vino is slow off the line, the Stella is way faster, and more than a match for city traffic. You can easily do a wheelie off the line, because all the weight is in the back, both rider and engine. I have no desire for a maxi scooter, to me scooters are supposed to be small. If I want bigger, I want a motorcycle.

[mazze]

I am still triyng to understand what goes through people's minds when they see a scooter.

When I ride my FZ1 slowly on a single lane road, all drivers stay calmly behind me, but if I am riding the girlfriends scooter, they try to force me to pull to the left, even if I am going above speed limit!

Maybe they are jeallous about not having one! Gasoline costs 8 USD/gallon here...

[Domromer]

All these stories make me cringe. I can relate to just about all of them. For some reason scooters do get people all worked up.

[ZREXER]

Intersting thread and my experience has been the same. I have a Vino 125. I had a young guy in a Cobalt SS turbo decide he had to show me what real performance was. So de does a clutch dump, totally smokes his front tires for 20 feet when we were leaving a light.

He had to stop for the next light, so I asked through his open side window asking if he beat most of the scooters he raced? His response is to do an even bigger burn out than the last light we were stopped at!

I generally find that scooters seem to bring out the inner 'red neck' in a lot of drivers. I just ignore them, I am well past the age that I really care what others think. Also no point in arguing with some one in a lifted 4 x 4

I love my little Vino for just tooling around. I also have a Suzuki Bandit 1250, but for just cruising around town I like the Vino better. Prior to the Bandit, I had Kawasaki ZX-14.

Having had both extremes, the Vino is a fun little machine.

[JerryH]

I now have a '95 1500 Goldwing, which is for sale. Just too big for one person, and burns more gas than my car. I also have a Vulcan 750 which is way smaller than the Goldwing, but just as fast, if not faster. I have put a few speed demons in their place with it, who thought is was "just a cruiser" It is a cruiser alright, with 66 rwhp and weighs 580 pounds. It runs a 12 sec. 1/4 mile. I was actually surprised by it's weight, it feels a good hundred pounds lighter.

Anyway the biggest scooter I have is the Stella 150, which, although easy to do wheelies on, really isn't that fast. Both my Vino and Zuma 125 have faster top speeds, and can handle full throttle all day, while the Stella can't. I am looking for a larger scooter right now. An Elite 250 would be perfect, but I want new. And I want something that looks like a scooter, which leaves out maxi scooters, which to me is an entirely different breed anyway. I'm not quite as big as John Goodman WAS, but probably close to where he is now, at somewhere between 220 and 230. I am perfectly comfortable on the 125s, and would be completely satisfied with them if they were freeway legal. Maybe if I can't find a Blur 220, I will seriously consider the Buddy 170. Small, but big enough to be freeway legal.

[MicroAdventure]

6'0, 280, frequently confused for some unspecified college defensive lineman from the 70s

ride a CT110. if I wore a derby hat I would be a dead ringer for Magilla gorilla

[Süsser Tod]

I sold my Suzuki AN125 last week. It was just grossly underpowered, to the point of being dangerous.

I really like the concept of scooters, but it just doesn't work for me. Maybe if I lived somewhere else, not in high altitude, a scooter would be more usable, but in Mexico City and living in the hills, it just doesn't work.

[DudeClone]

Originally Posted by Krusty ...

While the typical affected driver is male, and often in a pickup or SUV, it's hardly limited to men only, or any type of vehicle. The most memorable so far has been a city bus that suddenly went WOT right after I passed it. Did the passengers egg the driver on? "C'mon, man, don't tell me this thing is slower than the fat guy on that little moped."

All I can do is shake my head and smile. Who knew bruising egos was this much fun?

i love when this happens, most of the time. unless the driver is being super aggressive and dangerous to others on the road. i don't think it has much to do with our size / weight, though. happens to many of us i imagine

i like it when i can "feel" the cager trying to outgun me from a light and they finally just give up. happened this morning with a prius. i split to the front, prius beside me, mack truck at the other side of the intersection, prius lane. so the little shit car decides to make a go. i make a go with it and i guess it doesn't want to go past 45mph in a 35mph zone because i get up to 50mph in no time (a slight downhill) and leave them both behind

i also enjoy being aggressively passed in heavy traffic. silly cagers. don't they understand as soon as they get a car in front of them or at the next light i will buzz right by them, and make a point of it when and if safe? of course they don't! because they don't ride and have no perspective of what we are capable of, sliding and gliding and filtering through cages with the greatest of ease. it is AMAZING to be in heavy traffic and all of a sudden.....between lights..... hey....where did it go! nothing but a clear road ahead. well, its all behind us at the last light. too bad for them :(

have fun and rock on, big man on your Elite. YOU shine out there =]

[Phipsd]

Originally Posted by Krusty ...

Big guy on a small scooter syndrome.

Since April or so, I've been commuting on a '85 Honda Elite 250. I've enjoyed this little scoot very much. It's the perfect tool for my six mile commute.. But I have noticed an amusing reaction from some of the drivers I share the roads with.

First, you should know that I'm not a small man. Picture John Goodman, and you'll have an idea.

Second, if you're unfamiliar with the Elite 250, you should know that it isn't a large scooter. While it shares virtually the same driveline as the Honda Helix, its wheelbase is 14 inches shorter. It's considered a maxi, but physically it isn't any bigger than most 150's.

It does have some zip, and it dispenses with the caging commuters with little effort. If I'm in a pack of cars at a red light, I'm often out front soon after the light turns green. I'm not making any aggressive effort, you understand- the big Elite just likes to get itself moving.

But it seems the idea of a big guy on a little scooter being out front is simply more than some drivers can handle.

Every day, somebody feels the urge to prove that they're not really slower than me. They floor their gas pedals in outrage and blow by me. As if I've emasculated them, threatened their manhood. As if the spectacle of me and my "little" scooter out-accelerating them from a standstill has them shouting, "THIS WILL NOT STAND! FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!"

I don't notice this reaction when I ride the GF's Helix, although I feel I must look way more comical on that scooter. The seat is so low, I have to sit on the rear section to keep my knees from bumping into the grips. Kinda makes the front end a little light.

While the typical affected driver is male, and often in a pickup or SUV, it's hardly limited to men only, or any type of vehicle. The most memorable so far has been a city bus that suddenly went WOT right after I passed it. Did the passengers egg the driver on? "C'mon, man, don't tell me this thing is slower than the fat guy on that little moped."

All I can do is shake my head and smile. Who knew bruising egos was this much fun?

What's really fun is when you can time a light just perfect and get the jump on one of the faithful on his Hogley Ferguson. VBG

[Phipsd]

Originally Posted by Süsser Tod

I sold my Suzuki AN125 last week. It was just grossly underpowered, to the point of being dangerous.

I really like the concept of scooters, but it just doesn't work for me. Maybe if I lived somewhere else, not in high altitude, a scooter would be more usable, but in Mexico City and living in the hills, it just doesn't work.

Small bikes with a carb tend to suffer the most at altitude because there is no reserve of power to lose. With a conventional carb the higher you go the more power you lose. The engine will run rich with a black sooty exhaust and will run poorly.

A bike in the 250-300 class with FI would be alot more useful and fun. A bike with modern FI can automatically adjust and run more efficiently at higher altitudes than a carbed bike and the greater torque (pulling power)of the bigger motor makes starting quickly on hills easy work.

You would still lose some power at altitude compared to sealevel, but it would be much less and much less noticeable than with the small bike.

[Phipsd]

Originally Posted by mazze

I am still triyng to understand what goes through people's minds when they see a scooter.

When I ride my FZ1 slowly on a single lane road, all drivers stay calmly behind me, but if I am riding the girlfriends scooter, they try to force me to pull to the left, even if I am going above speed limit!

Maybe they are jeallous about not having one! Gasoline costs 8 USD/gallon here...

It's funny it's the opposite here at the southern coast of British Columbia Canada. When I'm on my V-Strom people ride my ass wanting me to go faster no matter how fast I go, on my scooter, they leave me alone.

One reason I think is than most small scooters here are 50cc and they are really slow, trying to bully them into going faster is a waste of time, especially on the many hills here. It's easier just to pass and let them be. To the 'unwashed ' in their cars my bike looks like one of those gutless little puddle jumpers even though it isn't.

[scootrboi]

This is a thread that could have used some pictures!

[MODNROD]

Only mental pictures from the thread so far, but that's a giggle!

One more mental picture......

A bloke 6ft1, race-stickered aero full-face helmet, Dianese race leathers, sitting on 90kph on an isolated country highway on a bright green 125 scooter.
Oh, I forgot. Waving happily at the trucks as they roll by.......

Gotta love scoots!