Motorcycle And Scooter News

[kz1000st]

Originally Posted by sc00ter

I have a Lectric Xpedition with a passenger kit on the rear for my wife. She has a bum hip and is also not very confident on 2 wheels, so the Xpedition is our local runabout solution. It'll hit 26mph max but I keep it at 14mph max with her on the back, unless we have a clear and safe opening, then 26mph it is. Very fun and cheap to run. The police never give us any grief, even if we ride on the sidewalk. I do show full respect for people on the sidewalk as they have the right-away. I also have a modded Lectric XP 3.0 that rarely gets ridden now. That thing is fast but it eats the battery pretty quick. I stay at 2 amps for charging, easier on the battery but it takes around 7 hours to full charge!

And speaking of 2 wheels, I inquired about a 2024 SYM CityCom 300i today. They would have to order it or I might have impulse purchased it. I suspect out the door it would be more than a 2024 Kawasaki Eliminator, the 500cc model. I try to hype myself up but I can't live with a motorcycle. But I really like that new Eliminator!

I really like the Eliminator too. I sat on one and it fits and I like the styling. It as 47 rear wheel horsepower so it's no slow poke at 390 pounds. Kawasaki builds great engines too. My only hangup is what it will cost OTD. It will be pushing over $8k and I don't know if I want to sink that kind of bucks into something. There are lightly used bikes for less at local dealers with no freight, prep and other costs that will hold me for a good long time.

Did you notice Jess's snarky comment over there about me posting? I wonder who told him since I doubt he would lower himself to come to a forum he doesn't control on his own.

[sc00ter]

Perhaps Jess's comments are a Vespa thing. If you still visit that site the current bicker point is KYMCO vs. Vespa. Poor OldScoot is caught up in that mess because he has both and voted KYMCO. If I had a good KYMCO dealer in my area I'd probably own a KYMCO myself. Great quality and easy to self service.

Before I forget, the Eliminator was marked down to $4999.00 for Memorial Day at my local Kawasaki dealer. I never made it to the dealership on Saturday so I guess the urge of a new bike isn't that strong for me. I was curious about the OTD price. I've never owned a Kawasaki product. Owned:
Honda scooters and motorcycles.
Suzuki scooters.
Vespa, both vintage and modern.
Lambretta scooters, obviously vintage.
Yamaha scooters and motorcycles.
Genuine scooters.
SYM scooter.
ADLY scooter.
Hyosung scooter. Friend had a Hyosung motorcycle.
Buell motorcycle.
KYMCO scooter.
Can-Am Spyder (wife had one, I did the service work)
WAIT, my roommate purchased a very used Ninja 250 for $400. Needed top end work. We used to fight over that bike. Went forever on a tank of fuel and was crazy easy to ride. That was a truely great bike!
Sure I'm forgetting some but if I did it's for a reason. The Buell was the worst. Heat made it terrible (not the later Rotax model) and it was all primitive. Never left me stranded though.

[kz1000st]

It's funny but my main bikes stayed a long time with me. Despite my time I have a few worth mentioning and several short time and forgettable models.

Chief on that list is a 2005 Honda Big Ruckus. I can honestly tell you it felt heavier than my CF Moto Fashion and a lot slower. One day my late wife blew me into the weeds leaving the house on her 250 Rebel. She was shifting and I was twist and going. It wasn't even close.

[kz1000st]

KTM automatic?? Between Honda DCT and electric clutch and this can it get any easier?

https://www.rideapart.com/news/72227...ept-prototype/

[kz1000st]

I'll be 88 years old by then but it's still sad news.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/72278...s-motorcycles/

[kz1000st]

And this is news? More bikes and less cars is always better.

https://www.advrider.com/creating-mo...-least-trying/

[kz1000st]

Electric clutch news.

https://www.motorcycle.com/bikes/fea...lutch-44603191

[sc00ter]

All these dual clutch motorcycles crack me up. I remember being clowned for my Helix being fully automatic by "motorcycle" riders. If they want shift gears and play with a clutch lever that's their problem. I like my fully auto scooters, hence the reason I still ride scooters and not motorcycles. So to all these people buying an automatic motorcycle all I can say is "Welcome to moped ownership nerds!" Automatic on a motorcycle makes it a moped. Scooters have onboard storage and are step-thru.

I can see Honda going full electric. I'll stay on the fence until they get better battery technology. I learned a bunch with my ebike. Cold weather cuts your range, hot weather makes batteries act up, fast charging affects overall battery life, slow/safe charging takes forever, battery replacement is expensive, damaged batteries cause horrible fireworks, I stink at diagnosing electrical issues, battery power is heavy compared to gasoline powered and other things I'm forgetting. Overall I love my batteries in my ebike. I have faith a major change in battery weight/power/temp resistance will come and make me want a electric scooter one day.

[kz1000st]

Since I've been riding so long using a clutch doesn't phase me but for certain tasks the scooter makes life much easier. I have been tempted of late by a used DCT Honda at a local dealer with semi high mileage (27k) but clean and under $5k. Since Japanese motorcycles will run forever it is tempting.

As an aside I am Facebook friends with the owner of Freedom Motor scooters. He had a 400cc Chinese scooter is EPA testing but gave up on it. Not because it wasn't working out but that the market for scooters has sagged so badly he doesn't see a market for it in America. Also sales in this model have taken off for him.

https://freedomscoots.com/fighter200efi/

He's been riding one and loves it. Imagine a Grom with a 200cc engine.

[sc00ter]

Oh, I love bikes and can still ride one just fine. My problem is I get on one and I want to do a wheelie! Or go break 150+mph! Me personally I feel that motorcycle equals shifting. I would love to ride a proper DCT motorcycle just to see what its like. Would it add more complexity to a motorcycle? Is the service cost higher compared to a new clutch on a regular shifting motorcycle? How long does it last before needing servicing?

Scooters have their flaws as well with the belt drive CVT system, so I guess its down to what you like. Come to think about it a DCT motorcycle would kinda bridge the gap between the two. I wish my parking wasn't so tight. Anything over a 150cc can become a chore to get in my parking spot but I still kinda want to do one more impulse purchase, the kind that makes you later go "What was I thinking?" BUT you still enjoy it.

I will tell you what I found silly. That weird push button manual shifting on a Burgman 650. What a strange concept. Never understood what they were thinking. The Can-Am Spyder as well. That push button shifting is so dumb.

[kz1000st]

Get the sensation!

https://www.rideapart.com/news/72327...-turbocharged/

[kz1000st]

Originally Posted by sc00ter

I will tell you what I found silly. That weird push button manual shifting on a Burgman 650. What a strange concept. Never understood what they were thinking. The Can-Am Spyder as well. That push button shifting is so dumb.

I have a pretty good idea when a push button shift on a scooter would be nice....Hills. I was in the Catskills on my 250 Fashion one day on a group ride. We were on like an 7% grade when the group suddenly began to accelerate. Yanking the throttle open was futile as the variator will think you're upshifting and change the setup to do that. If you have the horsepower it works fine but against 117 cubic inch V-Twins i was standing still. Under the same circumstance my 250 Nighthawk would simply require a downshift, or two, and I would at least be moving quicker than the scooter.

In my experience a scooter CVT above 50 mph is pretty much a slave to not being able to move itself around to take advantage of its powerband. A gearbox is pretty handy in those circumstances, like passing a slower vehicle on the interstate. The Burgy shift button can help that out.

[sc00ter]

Yes, you made a valid point for sure. A good 99% of my riding is on flat ground, no speed over 45mph "posted" speed limit and stop and go commuting. I have zero experience riding both a motorcycle and scooters in any type of hills, and mountains? Nope! I still want to ride a proper dual clutch motorcycle one day just for the experience.

I've been invited to ride the "Tail of the Dragon" so many times and I always pass. I get motion sickness easily, plus I'm not going to ride all that distance to get there! I'll trailer queen my 2 wheel vehicle there!

[kz1000st]

A trip to France during D Day celebrations.

https://scooterlab.uk/sea-scoot-and-...ttany-rallery/

[kz1000st]

Ha Ha. A certain Italian scooter forum won't get to see this.

https://scooterlab.uk/52bhp-left-ves...oduction-news/