I joined the "Scooter Club"

[Cakemeister]

On Sunday someone came up to me as I was cleaning my garage and offered to buy my car. My car is a 1994 Infiniti Q45 with about 115,000 miles on it. It needs some major work. The air conditioning compressor is out, the struts need to be replaced, the traction control system has failed, the speaker amps are all screwed up. So this guy offers me $1300. After consulting with the wife, I agreed. I was going to give it to charity for a $3000 tax deduction when it finally gave up the ghost.

I purchased a new Yamaha Vino 125 scooter with the proceeds. My commute to work is 3.3 miles one way, on back streets. I don't want a motorcycle as I think they are dangerous and I would never ever drive one on a freeway. They had some kind of financing deal but I said F that and wrote a check. After their ripoff "handling fee" and taxes it ended up at $3700. If I drive 66 miles per week (to work, back home for lunch, back to work, back home, that's 3300 miles per year. At 90 mpg, I would use 36 gallons of gas vs. 220 gallons at 15 mpg for the Infiniti, a savings of $736 in gas per year at $4 per gallon. I haven't bought insurance yet, but I figure that it would cost less than the Infiniti. Depreciation for the scooter is unknown because I don't know what they sell for used. Wear and tear and maintenance should not be too terrible since I bought the expensive warranty.

Hopefully I dont end up like Paige.

Here's a picture, mine is black.

[somunny]

If your commute is so short and on back streets, why not just ride a bicycle?

[Cakemeister]

If your commute is so short and on back streets, why not just ride a bicycle?

Several reasons.

1) I am 15 pounds overweight and out of shape.
2) I am lazy when it comes to physical exercise.
3) It is 100 degrees and 95% humidity in the summertime where I live.

[somunny]

Fair enough.  Just asking..  not trying to stir anything up.   

1) I am 15 pounds overweight and out of shape.

Cakemeister, eh...  It all makes sense now! 

At any rate, watch out for a-holes 'cause they're not watching for you.

[TOK]

I'm starting to see a lot more people on scooters and small bikes now that gas is so expensive. Traffic is a little crazy where I'm at though. Its funny that you consider scooters safer than motorcycles. Falling off at 35mph feels the same if you're riding a scooter, a Harley or a Hayabusa. You are also actually safer on the freeway, because despite the speed everyone is heading in the same direction and there is nobody making left turns in front of you. All you have to watch out for is people merging.

Counting mini-bikes, I've been riding for over 35 years. 

[shmokes]

15 lbs is nothing.  It's certainly no reason not to exercise.  You'd take that weight off in a single summer if you started biking to work.  Now if you were 115 lbs. over weight, that'd be an excuse.  15 lbs. is a reason to ride a bike to work, not a reason to not ride a bike.

[shardian]

15 minutes on a real bike isn't even long enough to break a sweat.

Anyways, what do you plan on doing for nasty weather days now that your sole transportation is a scooter?

[CCM]

15 minutes on a real bike isn't even long enough to break a sweat.

Anyways, what do you plan on doing for nasty weather days now that your sole transportation is a scooter?

In 100 degree heat with 95% humidity 15 minutes on a bike is plenty to get you sweating. 

[shardian]

In 100 degree heat with 95% humidity 15 minutes on a bike is plenty to get you sweating. 

I drove cars w/o AC for years, and I guarantee I would sweat less on a 3 mile bike ride than in a 3 mile backroad drive in those conditions.

[Cakemeister]

Exercising is on my "list of things to do".  For Shmokes I'll try to get my weight down from 195 to 180 this summer. I have started going to spinning class. By the time that hour is over there's a pool of sweat around the bike, and that room is kept meat-locker cold. So a 15-minute bike ride is plenty of time for me to work up a sweat.

If I biked to work I probably would not be very pleasant-smelling when I got there. Clothing might be an issue, too, as jeans/slacks are not as easy to bike in as shorts, and changing out of and into shorts is a hassle and might cause a problem with the company dress code. There's also the issue of my not owning a bicycle.

For nasty weather days I can keep a change of clothes at the office in case I got wet.

[hypernova]

1) I am 15 pounds overweight and out of shape.
2) I am lazy when it comes to physical exercise.
3) It is 100 degrees and 95% humidity in the summertime where I live.

2 is ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow---.

3 would take care of 1 in no time at all.  This is your chance to get physically fit, not spend ANY money on gas for work, and help save the planet just a hair.  Especially when you say it is 3.3 miles, I mean, come on, guy!  Oh, and you'd be riding in the morning, right?  It's cooler then.  And when it's time to come home, that's when you'll get your small amount of daily exercise.

Last summer, I biked to work.  Over 11 miles one way.  It lasted three days.  On the second day, my tire sprung a leak on the way home.  If the conditions of the roads and sidewalks were better, I'd be doing it again this summer.  (It took slightly less than an hour each way.)  And amazingly, I wasn't sweating when I got TO work.  That cool breeze in your face feels awesome.  (For comparison's sake...6'2", 160 lbs.)

3.3 miles?  That's nothing.

Plus you wouldn't have to go to a spinning class.

[Dartful Dodger]

Like hypernova says 3.3 miles is nothing and if you rode a bike to work every day 1 and 2 would be taken care of in no time.

More incentive is that a fat guy on a bike is sort of funny.   
But the image of a fat guy on a scooter is a riot.  Like one of those clowns on a little bike only you're not trying to be funny, which makes it even funnier.

I guarantee you'll hear someone humming the "fat guy in a little suit" song and other people will giggle, because when you're not around they sing "Fat guy on a little bike".

After two-three weeks you won’t be that “fat bike guy” and by the end of summer you'll just be one of the in shape guys.
On the other hand you could end up as that “fat scooter guy” for the rest of your life.

[Cakemeister]

Too bad I don't have a twin, I could look like these guys:

[ahofle]

Its funny that you consider scooters safer than motorcycles. Falling off at 35mph feels the same if you're riding a scooter, a Harley or a Hayabusa. You are also actually safer on the freeway, because despite the speed everyone is heading in the same direction and there is nobody making left turns in front of you. All you have to watch out for is people merging.

I completely agree with every word there.  I constantly see idiots on scooters with no helmets and people saying how they are so much safer than motorcycles.   

[mpm32]

I am going to start riding my bike to work a couple of times a week - 22 miles each way.  Should take me about an hour.  I used to race so this distance is nothing to me, or it will be after a couple of weeks.  I haven't ridden in a year.

It will be nice to use my bike that happened to cost about the same as the scooter that Cakemeister bought.

[TOK]

Its funny that you consider scooters safer than motorcycles. Falling off at 35mph feels the same if you're riding a scooter, a Harley or a Hayabusa. You are also actually safer on the freeway, because despite the speed everyone is heading in the same direction and there is nobody making left turns in front of you. All you have to watch out for is people merging.

I completely agree with every word there.  I constantly see idiots on scooters with no helmets and people saying how they are so much safer than motorcycles.   

I wish I knew the percentage of motorcycle accidents that were caused by a car turning left in front of a motorcycle. It must be in the 70% range. There were 3 accidents near me Memorial Day weekend. One guy died and two guys were hurt. All 3 of those accidents were a car making a left turn across the path of a motorcyclist.

Around me, what makes a scooter impractical is the lack of a good network of back roads. If you're riding where you can't move with the speed of the traffic, it's downright dangerous. Most roads are posted 45mph, but traffic is moving at 55 to 60  -faster than most of them can comfortably run (for more than a couple minutes). You end up with some dumb ass mom in a Yukon tailgating or trying to pass while talking on a cell phone and arguing with their kids.

[patrickl]

If your commute is so short and on back streets, why not just ride a bicycle?

Several reasons.

1) I am 15 pounds overweight and out of shape.
2) I am lazy when it comes to physical exercise.

Aren't those just the perfect reasons to actually ride a bicycle to work? You'd lose weight and since riding a bike actually serves a purpose you're not wasting your time/energy on sitting on some useless home trainer.

[shardian]

I wish I could ride my bike to work. I practically lived on a bike until I was 18. I rode my bike to work at the Grocery store for a whole summer when I wrecked my car. I think that was around a 3-4 mile trip. Now that I live 25 miles from work with no realistic "bike roads", it isn't even a remote possibility.

[Dartful Dodger]

Too bad I don't have a twin, I could look like these guys:

I agree with shardian.   I wish biking was an option for me.   I live 33.3 miles from work and spend 60 bucks a week on gas. 

If I lived 3.3 miles from work I'd walk to work at least once a week.

15 pounds is nothing, 3.3 miles is even less.

the only one who thinks you're too out of shape to ride a bike is you.

If you don't want to do it for you, do it to make shardian and I envious.

[Cakemeister]

I drove the bike to work for the first time yesterday. Conditions were ideal, no traffic and relatively cool.

Insurance for the scooter is $200/year with everything and a $100 deductible on collision and comprehensive vs. $900/yr for the Infiniti with a $500 deductible.

I've put about 22 miles on the scooter and the 1 gal. tank is about 3/4 full, so the 90 mpg figure looks about right.

If a scooter of this type costs $1200 used and I depreciate over five years, that's $500 depreciation per year for five years. So I still am saving $200/year before gas.

For gas, if I drive the scooter 2400 miles in a year at 80 mpg, that's 30 gallons of gas. The Infiniti got about 15 mpg for a usage of 160 gallons, a savings of about $500, which pretty much cancels out the depreciation.

The downside is getting wet, haven't worked out a good way to deal with that yet. Maybe I'll keep a change of clothes at the office.

[ahofle]

The downside is getting wet, haven't worked out a good way to deal with that yet. Maybe I'll keep a change of clothes at the office.

I usually take a backpack when I ride to work which has rain gear in it.  Riding in the rain does suck, but it's not terrible if you have the gear for it.  Just be extra careful, especially during the first few minutes of rain when it's the slickest.

[paigeoliver]

Drop your scooter insurance down to liability, you aren't going to walk away from an accident that would do significant damage to a scooter, so the insurance is pretty pointless. I had one flip 4 times on me at about 40 miles an hour and the damage to it involved replacing a bracket and the handlebars, about $100 worth of parts.

Scooters actually have really good resale, especially compared to motorcycles. However the downside is that they are basically parts fodder by 20,000 miles, if they still even function at that point, so the hardware cost per mile is much, much higher than a used compact car. Not to mention the fact that even a $2000 used compact with 140,000 already on the clock will be an order of magnitude more reliable than a motor scooter that actually gets used as a primary vehicle.

[Cakemeister]

Drop your scooter insurance down to liability, you aren't going to walk away from an accident that would do significant damage to a scooter, so the insurance is pretty pointless.

After the first year I'll probably drop the collision and keep the comprehensive for theft coverage. $200 is so cheap compared to auto insurance that I decided to splurge.

I figured my break-even would be about 3 years/10,000 miles so if the thing fell apart after 20,000 miles I would be way ahead. I splurged again on the extended warranty (I know it's a ripoff) so I should be good for 5 years/15,000 miles.

[Xiaou2]

 
Your probably saving a lot more on repairs and maintenance too.

 Cars:

 4 tires needing replacement at least twice a lifetime if not more.

 4 brakes needing rotors and pads several times

 Balancing, Alignments..

 Various Fluid changes, flushes, more Oil, various part failures, muffler replacement, bad hoses/leaks, pollution control issues (exhaust leaks / bad sensors) , filters, and much much more.

 Most garages charge insane repair rates (60$ per hour) , and inflated part costs. 


 Gas Cars Stink.

 
 Your lucky to be in a climate where its possible to ride one.  Here in NY it gets way too
cold most of the year to drive one.   

[protokatie]

Im just glad that I live about a mile from work, so I use my feet. I sold my ranger last year, and therefor am not an automobile owner. Im not missing the insurance and gas costs, not to mention the maint. There is a woman who lives about 1/3 of a mile from where I work, and she will drive her H2 just to get a cup of coffee at my workspace... 2 days ago someone keyed her nice "little" H2, she is lucky they didnt slash her tires....

[Dartful Dodger]

I drove the bike to work for the first time yesterday. Conditions were ideal, no traffic and relatively cool.

You drive a car and ride a bike.

Riding a scooter is feminine enough.  There's no reason for you to talk like a girl too.

[Jouster]

2 days ago someone keyed her nice "little" H2, she is lucky they didnt slash her tires....

Idiots that do that crap to some one else's car should be taken to a dark alley and have the same thing done to them.

A local paper here had a story/review on some scooters...but I'm about 30 miles from work, most of it interstate too.  Not really an option for me to do the scooter or bike thing.

Jouster

[paigeoliver]

That would be true if it wasn't for that fact that most periodic maintenance items on cars would be replaced less often than the entire scooter would.

[Cakemeister]

I gassed the scooter for the first time today. I rode (not drove, thanks Dartful) the scooter 65 miles and I put in .842 gallons, for a mileage of 77 mpg. I didn't put the gas in coming out of the dealership, so there's no telling how close to full the tank was at the outset and thus the mileage is just an estimate.

I found it mildly irritating to have to gas the thing after only 65 miles. The gas gauge was at the top of the red, so I probably could have gone another day. I'm guessing that the gas was originally less than completely full, and so the 77 figure is probably high.

[Dartful Dodger]

I had an old Suzuki in college but got rid of it when I got my “real job”.  This thread got me thinking about buying another bike.

I'd save about 40 bucks a week if I rode a motorcyle to work.  I live near Chicago so I can only ride about 6 months a year(that's a high estimate) which will save me $960 a year.  Since a decent bike will cost me $1200 + tax + title + insurance, for now that era of my life officially over.

Maybe when I retire I'll buy a big bike that I’ll ride once or twice a year.  I can be one of those fat old Harley dudes that think they’ve still got “it”, when in reality they lost it two decades ago.

[TOK]

I gassed the scooter for the first time today. I rode (not drove, thanks Dartful) the scooter 65 miles and I put in .842 gallons, for a mileage of 77 mpg. I didn't put the gas in coming out of the dealership, so there's no telling how close to full the tank was at the outset and thus the mileage is just an estimate.

I found it mildly irritating to have to gas the thing after only 65 miles. The gas gauge was at the top of the red, so I probably could have gone another day. I'm guessing that the gas was originally less than completely full, and so the 77 figure is probably high.

I think you'll see the mileage improve after 1000 miles or so are on the clock and the engine loosens up.
Does it have a tach on it? Curious what its revving at cruising speed.

[Minwah]

Most garages charge insane repair rates (60$ per hour) , and inflated part costs. 

That's cheap as chips...UK garages charge more like £60 per hour ($120).  Or £100 per hour if you go to somewhere like a VW garage.

That's why I have a 30 year old mini, and can fix it myself...  Mind you, economical as it is (850cc), I won't be able to afford petrol soon.

[Xiaou2]

Cheap?!

  Maybe they pay people in the UK much more... & or the cost of living there
is cheaper.

[Cakemeister]

I think you'll see the mileage improve after 1000 miles or so are on the clock and the engine loosens up.
Does it have a tach on it? Curious what its revving at cruising speed.

No tach. Gas gauge and speedometer/odometer.

[shmokes]

Heh . . . I don't know about the UK in general, but I think the only city in the entire world with a higher cost of living than London is Moscow.  For example, auto mechanics charge $120/hr.  I've actually never been there, but I've spent a bit of time in Paris and about the only thing more surprising than how ---smurfing--- crazy expensive Paris is, is that everybody I know who has been to London says it makes Paris seem like a downright bargain.

[DrewKaree]

Im just glad that I live about a mile from work, so I use my feet. I sold my ranger last year, and therefor am not an automobile owner. Im not missing the insurance and gas costs, not to mention the maint. There is a woman who lives about 1/3 of a mile from where I work, and she will drive her H2 just to get a cup of coffee at my workspace... 2 days ago someone keyed her nice "little" H2, she is lucky they didnt slash her tires....

Your entire post reeks of holier-than-thou.  Someone is "lucky" they only got their car keyed   You imply she's wrong for stopping at the coffee shop you work at, when you know nothing about her other than where she lives and what she drives.

You're claiming you like the economic impact of your choices, yet can't fathom why someone sees their economic impact as acceptable to them.  It quite simply doesn't matter one whit what YOU think of their economic choices, but then again, this really isn't about their use of their money, is it?  Perhaps when your militant brand of "moralism" comes down to the level you expect everyone else to apply to you, it actually might happen.  Until then, you're begging for treatment you aren't willing to give to others.  Someone might be thinking you're a religious person, based on the intolerance simmering in your views of others

Hypocrite.

[TOK]

[Sprucemoose]

/\
 |
 |

TOK,

Absolutely brilliant!

[boogieman]

From riding a motorcycle I have this advice:  Pretend everyone is out to KILL you and you should be O.K. 

Truth is, there probably are people out to kill anyone on 2 wheels, and many others just don't care to give you the respect/right of ways as another vehicle.  It is a common myth that motorcycles stop faster than cars, and many drivers will try to use that to gain a few seconds since they are late for work while talking on the cell phone, putting on makeup, reading the newspaper and eating breakfast simultaneously. 

The worst part is, after running over someone on 2 wheels (sometimes even in fatal accidents) a simple "I didn't see them" is usually all they need to say to avoid any legal ramifications.  Ridiculous but true.   

Watch this:

[SirPeale]

The video has a nice point, but at the same time it's like comparing apples and oranges.  First things they asked was how many passes the white team made.  So of course I'm concentrating on the white team, and blocking out the black team.  And anything else that's black as well.  In a car I'd be watching out for everything, not just one particular event.