I've spent the last couple of years quietly gloating to myself about the fun I have driving my scooter to work, and chuckling inwardly (ok, sometimes not so inwardly) when gas prices rose to near $3 a gallon, whileI was getting 80 mpg on my Kymco ZX50 Super Fever.
But the whirligig of time brings in his revenges, and this afternoon I had to drive home in 30 mph winds and 38-degree-Fahrenheit driving rain.
Do you know what cold raindrops feel like when they hit your face at 60 mph?
Flying needles!
*The headline quotation is from Disney's Pinnochio, when the boys on Pleasure Island are turned to donkeys.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
"You've Had Your Fun, Now Pay For It."*
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3 comments:
David,
I've been thinking about getting a scooter. I've done a little reading and I've seen claims that some scooters (especially, supposedly, Chinese schooters), while cheap to buy are trouble to repair because of the lack of available parts.
I wan't 80 MPG, no tags, no insurance, and as cheap as possible without getting a total piece of crap. Any recommendations?
The Kymco zx50 has been servicable but not great. It developed some electrical problems after about a year, and the dealer wasn't able to fix them entirely -- the turn signals don't work properly, though the headlights and brakelights do. Also, after about 3,000 km the electric starter has stopped working. I don't know whether it just needs a new battery, but I've been using the kick start, which works fine.
I've had no problems with the mechanicals. The engine runs well, and gets me up to traffic speeds with no problems -- but I'm not a big guy (155 lbs.)
However, if you have environmental concerns, I wouldn't recommend the two-stroke engine, which (I understand) emits a lot of particulate matter.
My next scooter will probably be something with a 4-stroke motor, and I'll have to get something with more the 50 cc's and acquire a motorcycle license.
The rain thing is maybe the only reason I don't ride a motorcycle.
In North Carolina the cold doesn't really prevent you riding almost year round, but the idea that every time there's a hard rain you have to choose between staying home or risking life and limb in an incredibly uncomfortable rain ride (particularly in the winter) is enough to keep me in my car.
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