Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Ridin' with Mr. and Mrs. Harley.

Tim and his wife and I had a nice ride yesterday out Meridian Road, into Georiga and then over to Thomasville Road back to Tallahassee. It was the first time I had the Kymco out of town and I was itching to see how it would do at 60 or 65 mph.

Short answer? WOW. Seriously, this scooter is awesome, very powerful and smooth. Compared to the Piaggio, you have to countersteer, and I sometimes think too much about it and scare myself, then quickly countersteer and head right through the corner. I've been working on the corners and some roads in town, like the new Blairstone extension and Shamrock Circle are really nice. Lots of long sweeping curves where you lean over forever and slide right around.

I did a search a few nights ago and found a motorcycle group based here in Tallahassee, named No Club. Seems they are all about the ride, without the drama or brand envy/bias you might sometimes encounter. Not to say anything about motorcycle riders, you run into that brand bias in anything. Anyway, on a lark, I joined their group and sent the head guy a short email saying I'd be interested in riding with them but I am on a scooter, a 250cc scooter, but a scooter, nonetheless. I got an email back and he said we (meaning anyone of us that wants to ride with them) are more than welcome to join. Seems they really are all about the ride.

So, I plan on meeting up with them sometime, seems like a good group.

This afternoon, I rode over to Hobbit Hoagies in Killearn to meet the fmaily for lunch. Afterwards, I was heading home and saw two beautiful Harleys ride by, just as I was suiting up to leave the Hobbit. I decided to see if I could catch them and I couldn't due to the two cars between me and the Harley's. However, finally, at the light at Killearney and Thomasville, I pulled up next to them. I was going to turn left and they were going straight across Thomasville Road. Hmmm, I pulled over and got in behind them.

Those two bikes were really spotless. They also weren't so loud your ears almost began to bleed but they did sound good, nice low rumble. The light turned green and we headed across Thomasville onto Maclay Road.

The People followed them quite nicely and it was pretty funny. I'm sure to the casual observer, I fell in quite nicely with the Harleys, but with a little less chrome and a lot less rumble.

Anyway, at Meridian, they were going right and I was taking a left to go home. I pulled up beside them and one of the riders was grinning at me. I complimented their awesome rides and the light turned green so we headed in our seperate directions.

Hmmm.......how much do Harley's cost? :)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Ok, I want to ride this weekend so let's plan something.

Ok, I'm riding this weekend, with or without other riders :) What about a nice ride to Monitcello? Or maybe somewhere west of town? Or maybe Thomasville?

It's early enough that we can all figure out somewhere to ride so start posting, people!

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Wow, I'll never ever ever complain about Tallahassee traffic again.

Watch this video and then tell me how 99% of these people don't die every night. This is crazy. This video was linked on the Scootdawg forums. Take a look, it is insane!

Friday, August 17, 2007

Capital Circle? Northeast? No problem!

Well, I was out working on FSBO's (For Sale By Owner's) and stopped by All About Scooters to check on the 300 KM service and headed back to work. Reaching Park Avenue, I decided not to turn left and take the city streets.

Nope, I turned right and then took a left onto the Tallahassee Speedway, also known as Capital Circle Northeast. Ummm, it wasn't nearly as scarifying as I thought it would be (yes, I just created the word scarifying, cool word, isn't it?) The People is bigger and faster than the Piaggio 150 and cruising along at high speeds on Capital Circle was a breeze. I even passed well, a whole lot of people.

I am really loving this scooter. It is a blast to ride.

Speaking of rides, anyone up for one this weekend?

Thursday, August 16, 2007

So, about the Helix I bought....

Well, if you remember, I won an auction on Ebay for a 1999 Honda Helix. I won the auction for a very good price, especially when you add the cost of the free new parts that came with the scooter; two new tires, new belt, brake pads and shoes. All Honda parts.

I spoke to the Seller by phone several times and exchanged email, also. We were trying to figure out how I was going to get the scooter and we talked about him bringing it down, if I paid for his gas both ways. I agreed and the next morning he emailed me asking for the deposit so he could bring the scooter down, since he was going out of town in three days so the sooner, the better. He had almost 700 feedbacks on Ebay so I figured he was good for it.

I sent the deposit on July 31st and called and emailed him that day. And the next day. And the day after that. And again and again, just for kicks. I never heard from him. He had said he was going through a divorce and had been having tests run at the Hospital and he was going out of town, supposedly.

So, I contacted Paypal and Ebay to get my money back. They are currently working on it, although the Ebay guy didn't sound too aware. He kept asking me if I could call him and get in touch and solve the problem. He didn't seem to hear me when I kept telling him I had called every day since the 31st and had not heard back from the Seller.

It's just a bit puzzling, this guy had a ton of good feedback and had been responsive before I sent the deposit. I don't think he took the money and ran so I guess something happened. But, unless he keeled over dead, if he was such a decent guy, wouldn't he either send an email or make a quick phone call and tell me something came up?

It's just weird. Then again, I now have a Kymco in the garage, so I'm better off. But a Helix for $1575 would have been just fine to me.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Papa's got a brand new bag...

Well, I was definitely going to buy a Bandit. But, our local shop was getting in a brand new TNG 250cc scooter. I stopped by Friday to see if it was in, and it was. It wasn't quite ready to test so I decided to return later in the day and test drive it.

When I got back, it was ready to ride. It looks really nice, shiny red in color, comfortable seat, very light feeling. It cranked right up and was really quiet. I headed out the back way, towards Park Ave. The acceleration on this scooter is very nice, on par with the higher priced scooters, in my opinion.

However, at indicated 60-65 mph, I didn't feel too secure on it. I think I'm used to larger wheels since my Piaggio has 16 inch wheels up front. The scooter did drive well and I think it is a great alternative to higher priced scooters.

So, now, I was really worried. What if the smaller wheels and lighter weight of the Bandit caused the same concern? Would I get used to the feel of the scooter at 60-65 mph?

I didn't know. It didn't help that the store was full of Kymco's. I finally got a chance to test drive the Xciting 250 and it was amazing. Fast, stable and fun. Wow, so there is a difference in scooters.

Now, I'm the first one to say that I like middle of the road items because I really think that usually there isn't enough of a difference between the slightly above average and the top of the line to warrant such a big price difference. To be honest, I am quite sure that TNG 250 is a good quality scooter with a great price. But it didn't work for me.

Well, to make this post a little shorter, after trying the free financing for 30 days (you write four post dated checks....but apparently, I don't write $900 checks frequently enough for that finance company to accept my checks) I wrote one big huge check and rode home on my band new (2 miles!!!) People 250!!

Pictures to come, I'm going to go ride!

And someone better meet me tomorrow morning for a nice ride!

Sunday, August 5, 2007

No new tale to tell...

And no new scooter, either. At this point, I'm contacting paypal tomorrow to get my deposit back and then I'll see what I can get. I'm bummed, I want a Helix.

But, I have some options. I can maybe get a Burgman, Majesty or Morphous. Add a People 250 into this list. It all depends if I want to stretch things. After looking at these scoots, I have pictures of me tearing down the interstate, but in all actuality, I really don't have any need (or desire) to get on I-10, do I? But, I also thought 55 MPH would be fast enough for me, and it quickly became evident it isn't. These scooters will definitely get me on the Interstate and keep me there but do I really need that much scooter?

The other option is this 250cc scooter or this one. Yes, they are Chinese scoots, but Bandit Motorsports has an excellent reputation and they have good quality. I have exchanged many emails with Jim, the owner of Bandit and trust that he sells decent products for the price.

So, for half of what I may be able to get a Morphous, Majesty, etc for, I could get a reliable, decently performing scooter with a full warranty. I'm going to give him a call tomorrow and see if his scoots will cruise at 70 or 75mph. If they do, I think I'll grab one of those.

I'm really thinking a closely comparable scooter for half the price is the way to go. Advice, anyone?