My long distance ride (VA to DE)

[Tao50]

Hi all, Im new to the forum and also new to scoot ownership. I Recently purchased a new tao tao 50, and plan to ride it from woodbridge, va to rehoboth beach, de this weekend. I will be taking lots of pictures and such for you to see! any comments and tips from others who have ridden a long distance are welcome.

I plan to change the oil before i go, using rotella 15-40, and putting a new ngk iridium ix spark plug. will be bringing a spare. im going to wire a 12v outlet to the scoot tonight, so i can charge my phone if neccesary, but i will be using a handpicked route i made on google maps (for backroad/low mph limit roads)

I will be leaving saturday evening, riding about half way there, and camping in the woods somewhere off the grid, then will finish the journey sunday morning, and come back sunday night.

Stay tuned!

[rks]

Wow....you are a brave soul...and I'd bet about 4 or 5 decades my junior.

I wish you luck, sounds like a fun trip, watch out for the idiots.....enjoy yourself.

Staying tuned.

[Roscoe]

wow, I googled it and the map shows 145.8 miles one way ... I got the rescued 50cc scooter roadworthy yesterday and took it to the store and back about 5 miles. Top speed I got was 35 going down a small hill. It would do 25-30 mph all day easily. Make sure your brake light is working and wear high visibility clothes. All it takes is one texting while driving driver to cause you a life of pain. Ride like you're invisible because that's what it amounts to with some drivers. Have a safe, fun ride and we are looking forward to the photos.

[cheapeto]

There are a more then a few threads over on TotalRuckus about long distance Ruckus rides.
Wan's is probably the most read.
Another thread, a guy from the Pittsburg area did around the US trip, on a ruckus pulling a tiny trailer!!
They are packed full of great pics, and information and tips.
The one guy I met at a CON, and rode with, rode up to Greenville NC, from Savanna Georgia and then back home, plus the couple of hundred miles we did around Greenville.
I ride a 250 honda, @ 61 years old, and my old body can make 400 miles a day or so before I'm just worn out. Well that was when I had the windscreen and leg shields on also.

It can get very lonely on a 400 mile riding day man. I love solitude myself, however once you encounter a mechanical failure out alone, and then realize you did not bring that ONE tool along like you planned on, you must seek the help of strangers.
I've never good at asking for help, I love helping folks, just not asking for it myself.

I would also suggest, load down the scooter with your kit, then do a short 50 mile run, maybe sleep over night in a state park. Cheap to do, and lots to learn.
Your scooter will handle different, and your speed will be reduced.

Now with all the mylar sleeping bags, tents, and what not, you can greatly reduce weight, if you can get used to their peculiar sound and feel. But they do work.

Best of luck to you man, I'll be looking for your results.

[Oldgunner]

Sounds interesting, keep us posted.

[Ozo]

Originally Posted by Tao50

Hi all, Im new to the forum and also new to scoot ownership. I Recently purchased a new tao tao 50, and plan to ride it from woodbridge, va to rehoboth beach, de this weekend. I will be taking lots of pictures and such for you to see! any comments and tips from others who have ridden a long distance are welcome.

I plan to change the oil before i go, using rotella 15-40, and putting a new ngk iridium ix spark plug. will be bringing a spare. im going to wire a 12v outlet to the scoot tonight, so i can charge my phone if neccesary, but i will be using a handpicked route i made on google maps (for backroad/low mph limit roads)

I will be leaving saturday evening, riding about half way there, and camping in the woods somewhere off the grid, then will finish the journey sunday morning, and come back sunday night.

Stay tuned!

I bought insurance from Geico and have roadside service as I am over 70 and hate walking especially when pushing my scoot. I also carry a small aluminum water bottle with gas which would be plenty to get to a service station if a run out. I have ridden a bicycle (recumbent) over 600 miles (10 days) when I was just 70 and would love to do a long ride on the scooter but this scooter is harder on the posterior than my recumbent bike so I will have to take a lot of breaks. I am up for "stealth camping" too. There are some cool videos on Youtube of "stealth camping". It is an art. Good luck .

Never ride at night unless you have too. Call in sick. I remember calling my boss with the sad news that I was broke down 6 hours drive away numerous times. He was always pissed but he got over it.

[rks]

Oh no.....not another "one and done" poster. Was hoping to hear back from him/her, with a full report on how things went.

[Ozo]

Originally Posted by rks

Oh no.....not another "one and done" poster. Was hoping to hear back from him/her, with a full report on how things went.

Yea me too. Too bad. Either they did not go on the trip or they are being held against their will somewhere in between for the crime of having too much fun. Let this be a warning to scooter riders. Do not be smiling when you ride, the cops might notice.

[Ozo]

Originally Posted by rks

Oh no.....not another "one and done" poster. Was hoping to hear back from him/her, with a full report on how things went.

I found the posters full trip review on another forum. Here is the link;

http://49ccscoot.proboards.com/threa...nce-ride-va-de

[MaxMe1]

That's not very nice, he forgot us! :-)

[cheapeto]

[That's not very nice, he forgot us! :-)]

That is what most do, well in my 10 years or so of being here.

We are the remnants of a once very large community, that shredded itself due to in house fighting over nonsense, and click groups, that fractured into a few different scooter sites.
Once united by the quest for cheap transportation, that then degraded into hateful shit slinging, and ugly hurtful accusations.
There was once huge files for every scooter out there it seemed. Miles of great information, how to videos, and much more, all now gone, and scattered into the various scooter sites.
What a shame really.

[Irish]

Originally Posted by cheapeto

[That's not very nice, he forgot us! :-)]

That is what most do, well in my 10 years or so of being here.

We are the remnants of a once very large community, that shredded itself due to in house fighting over nonsense, and click groups, that fractured into a few different scooter sites.
Once united by the quest for cheap transportation, that then degraded into hateful shit slinging, and ugly hurtful accusations.
There was once huge files for every scooter out there it seemed. Miles of great information, how to videos, and much more, all now gone, and scattered into the various scooter sites.
What a shame really.

Anger is the wind , that blows out the light of the mind! Irish

[sc00ter]

Interesting that you say you are remnants of a once large community. I got into it with someone from this site on the Zumaforums waaay back. I wish I could remember their user name. Thought to myself "What a bunch of China junk scooter fools." and stayed on my Zuma site. I quickly noticed that the Zuma guys started getting mean and would rip into new members and trash talk each other so I dropped out of their site. I have local friends who are into Zuma's and we dont do any online forums. But your site has always seemed to support others and help noobs with problems without being jerks. So, when I ended up with a weird scooter I figured ScootDawg. Some ride scooters because they have to and some ride them because they love them, but we all RIDE SCOOTERS.

[Roscoe]

Ego stuff.... when ya ride an old scooter who gives a damn what others think? Be the person you are, not what others tell you to be.