Baby Steps - in response to another blog

When I first decided to ride I knew there would be some issues.  Some costs and some things to overcome. I sometimes wonder if my getting a motorcycle was purely due to economic reasons, or was it something called a "mid life crisis."  Rather a bike than a blond I suppose.

I've piled up the miles on my bike running back and forth to my job, the sometimes odd errand and occasional ride over the hill just to see what's there.  I would not say that I've become a motorcycle enthusiast but I understand why people are attracted to this sport.

For me, it's nice to not have the distractions of a modern day car, GPS blaring turn here or there.  Radio blasting some forgotten song or useless top 40 bubblegum crap.  It's me, the road and my brain and body engaged in a simple dance.  Pay attention to that turn, is that a deer?  What is that moron doing?

That fact that I am thinking about dropping $1000 dollars into a machine who's Kelly Blue Book value is about $2500, just so I can get a few more years riding out of it speaks to my commitment I think.  I am in love with my machine.

Another blogger, Doug over at Forty Years on Two Wheels, recently wrote a wonderful piece about the death of smaller cc motorcycles.   I know for me, I started off on a small Yamaha Zuma 125 before moving up to the current 400cc Burgman.

His argument, and I fully agree with it, is that one of the reasons there are so few new riders is that the market is full of bigger bikes.  Part of this I think is the American mentality of bigger is better.  Part of it, I think is that a lot of people think your going to be bored with a smaller engine and will want more speed, more power in six months (I certainly heard that argument).  That there is nothing for the inexperienced rider out there.

On that part at least I disagree.  Scooters are the fastest growing motorcycle in the US today.  They have the "twist and go" transmission.  The lower cc and lower costs along with fantastic fuel savings (80 - 100 mpg).  If you read my blog for any length of time, then you know that I consider the small 50cc scooters so common on urban streets today to be more dangerous than anything else.  For example, here in Florida all that is required for safety gear is eye protection.  No helmet (unless your under the age of 21) or other protection in needed under state law.  Hell, you don't even need a license if the scoot is under 50cc.  Which I've actually seen used as a sales pitch.

Well I'm glad to see people out and about on these things...your top speed is MAYBE 39 MPH.  Lets' be honest, no one obeys the speed limit.  So they will either not see you, or see you and go around you, or your just going to piss them off.   If your going to ride, ride something that will get you up to the speed of the traffic around you.

Sorry, I'm ranting.

Thanks go to Honda for the picture.

My point is that there are smaller bikes out there.  The problem is that they are not "motorcycles" I guess.  The only major motorcycle manufacturer that I know of that makes a smaller bike is Honda and the their iconic Rebel.  I say iconic because everyone that takes a motorcycle class seems to have learned on one.  (UPDATE - Suzuki will have several 2013 models at or under 400cc.  It remains to be seen if they will be readily available).

Hyosung, a Korean company, also makes a 250cc which is much sportier than the traditional looking Rebel. I'm not that familiar with the brand or the make but with a starting price of around 4K for a new bike it's certainly something for the new rider to consider.  All I can tell you is do your research.  SYM is a Chinese based company that makes smaller cc motorcycles as well, but I've only seen scooters imported to the states, I could be wrong.

I'm still not sure why new riders, and older traditional motorcycle riders are afraid of scooters.  No not afraid, that is the wrong word...skeptical of scooters.  I actually came across an article in some motorcycle magazine arguing that that future in the industry was going to be Trikes.  Because the population of bikers was growing older.  That attitude needs to change (says the man that would like to eventually upgrade to a trike).  The step-through would allow those with leg and back problems easy access to the bike.  A bike like the Piaggio MP3 actually does not require the rider to put a foot down when stopped due to it's design.

Right now there are a lot of riders out there on little 50 or 125cc scooters.  They are going to want to upgrade someday.  If the industry wants to grow, wants to attract the woman, the young urban professional then they need to offer something that actually works for them.   Bikes in the 400CC range would be perfect I think.  Quick enough for the freeways and nimble enough for the city.  Great for a weekend away.

I think it's slowly changing...the market will grow due to the coming pressures of higher gas prices, continued urbanization and increasing population.  It's going to be interesting to see how the industry reacts to these changes.

Speedy Delivery

I consider myself a road warrior of sorts.

With the exception of the big rigs I've logged a lot of miles in my day.  Partly because I've had jobs where I been required to drive from site to site, or to make customer service calls in person or just to get from point A to point B.  I enjoy driving, although frankly I don't think I could do it for a living.

So I find it a bit funny that I'm a subcontractor for a publications company.  I work for them two days out of the week and two additional days out of the month on top of that.   In doing so I earn an additional $225 - $320 a week.  I also get to deduct mileage, tires, oil changes and what not on my car.

I invest this money into my house and into my stock portfolio.  

Why am I telling you this?  Because yesterday I was running late for work and the wonderful woman I call the Girlfriend had to finish the route for me.

I knew that I would be running past a few of the more remote stores on my commute into work, so we filled up the unseat storage space on my Burgie with the books and off I went!

Its not the first time a scooter, maxi or other wise, has been used to deliver things.  Down the street from where I used to work there is a restaurant famed for it's corned beef but also for making deliveries on little 49cc scooters.  When I asked the driver about it one day he laughed and said it was the owners way of avoiding insurance and gas costs.

Food in the back, drinks up front.  :)

"They are also a lot of fun to drive."

While I don't see the streets of (insert a major city here) filled with scooters anytime soon, I just can't help but wonder how long it will be before other companies copy this idea?  Or before delivery boys and girls do something to save a dime or two and invest in a scoot?

I have to admit that if it wasn't for the getting off the bike, opening the storage compartment and then restarting the bike only to do it all over again, I've considered using my maxi-scoot for deliveries.   Sadly a little 49cc won't do it.  Right now I don't have the money to consider something like this.

We will just wait and see if it's going to be something I might expand upon in the future (I don't do pizza's but magazines) and would it be worth it to me?  Or perhaps there is a business opportunity here?

Right now I'm more interested in just riding and enjoying myself than I am anything else, but in the back of my mind there is that idea that eventually I'm going to replace my car full time with my Burgman.  So this is an idea that will always be filed in the back of my mind.

The logic or lack of logic in my getting a bike.

I am a new rider.  When I first thinking about getting a motorcycle I went through every emotion that a person can go through and I'll admit I thought about it months before I finally bought a used scooter.  

It seemed that everyone had a story where either they knew a friend of a friend or knew someone directly that had lost a direct head on confrontation with an 18 wheeler.   "They are called donor cycles for a reason."  "Your going to be road pizza!"  I imagined my mother saying.


But at that time gas was quickly approaching the $4 US mark and the bike that I was considering buying would average about 70+ miles (113 + km) per gallon.  At the risk of losing you completely, lets do some math.

 It was a Yamaha Zuma 125 stock (meaning it had no upgrades).   I found a blue book value for it and truthfully I overpaid.  I figured about 3 years of riding it however would pay for the bike, and that was even if I rode it 75% of the time.

 Living in Florida gives me an advantage over most riders, in that I can ride nearly all year and motorcycles are a pretty common sight here as well.  That does not mean they are any safer but, in my twisted logic at least, meant that I would be a little more visible than lets say in my home state of Pennsylvania.

My commute at the time was only 15 miles (24 km) one way, flat and more or less straight.  The 125cc engine could easily keep up with city traffic and my commute at night (I work till 1 AM most days) would be on more or less empty streets.   I felt safe.

BUT first...a shiny helmet which I hoped would reflect light when driving a night.   A bright yellow jacket.  Anything to make me a bit more visible.    A simple mantra that I would repeat..."Cocky will get me killed."

So I started to ride.   In the parking lot at first, then in the side streets around my home at the time.   Then simple jaunts up and down the busier roads to Subway or the market.   Then work.   Then before you know it something happened.

I started to relax, to enjoy the ride.  What started out as a logical way for me to save some money turned into something else, I realized it one day when I jumped on the little bike just to ride...and got lost on the back roads, not caring.  I started to look for excuses to take the little scoot out.

Now I understood what my biker friends where talking about.  Complete and total freedom.  A stupid grin on my face.  Life on 2 (smaller) wheels was not so bad after all.

Then something happened.   I bought a house which was about twice as far as I was before from work.   My little Zuma 125 had a top speed of 55 mph (88.5 kph) and that would not cut it on the highways I had to travel.  So with only a few months of riding experience under my belt I had to upgrade.

Again I had to consider my options between a Scooter or a "Real Bike."