[SC]

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I was on the interstate going to work and came up on a moped doing 75-80 mph :shock:

Itty bitty wheels and a flat floorboard like a Vespa, even had a little Givi trunk

There is a whole new breed of rider out there ready to take on the road with an ultra light 2 wheeler. I could not help but laugh at 1[suP]st[/suP] then I started thinking about how the 80mph liquor sickle could take over the road if the gas prices jump back up :baffled:

What to call the new road warriors :stumped:

Eco-splats

Buz-lights

:baffled:

 

[DaveW]

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Have a friend, who's brother rode his Vespa from somewhere in Kansas, to Sturgis, a couple years ago. Said it was funny, but, maintained a good speed the entire trip. And no breakdowns. And, yea, it had like 50 mirrors on it.

 

[nobbie]

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Not sure of the regs and definitions down there but here a Moped has to have permanantly fixed pedals and a max speed of 30MPH or so. Some Vespa type scooters are more potent than they appear and will keep up on a highway.

Some Moped types also tinker a bit and squeeze a bit more out of the 49cc popper.

As an aside, when I was selling my Kawasaki Concours a guy came to see it and he was on a scooter. He joked that his ambition was to have a bike with a motor larger than his lawnmower. :cheeky1:

 

[SC]

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nobbie wrote:

He joked that his ambition was to have a bike with a motor larger than his lawnmower. :cheeky1:

Apparently less is more on the little machines, 150cc =75-80 mph :baffled:

I just wonder how they fair when passed by a big rig or when passing one :shock:

 

[nobbie]

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SC wrote:

I just wonder how they fair when passed by a big rig or when passing one :shock:

The truckers I know have a tough time getting them out of the air filters. :cheeky1:

 

[drknobs]

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nobbie wrote:

SC wrote:

I just wonder how they fair when passed by a big rig or when passing one :shock:

The truckers I know have a tough time getting them out of the air filters. :cheeky1:

:cheeky1::cheeky1::cheeky1::cheeky1::cheeky1:

 

[vabikeguy]

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This young lady has a blog about her travel across the country on a Vespa.

Click Here

 

[Bagmaster]

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Any 2-wheeler has to have a minimum of 13 braking horse power to be legal on the interstates in South Carolina. To be classified as a moped in SC it can have no larger than a 49cc engine, the pedals requirement no longer applies here as a lot of the newer mopeds sold here are scooter styles with no pedals.

 

[Biker John]

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In Michigan you need at least 125cc's to be on the freeway.

 

[77GL1]

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This one is 600cc and gets 70mpg at 70mph. Most states, the minimum is 125cc.

 

[Biker John]

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77GL1 wrote:

This one is 600cc and gets 70mpg at 70mph. Most states, the minimum is 125cc.

That thing is neat.

 

[77GL1]

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...tempting isn't it. The wheels are small and if you put much freeway on them, they'll heat up a lot...probably need new ones every year.

 

[Jluvs2dive]

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Today's class of scooters is everything from the 50cc and smaller bikes that are classed as mopeds, at least in the state of WA, to the 650cc maxi-scooter bikes like the Honda Silverwing and the Suzuki Burgman. My wife has a Burgman 400 and I have ridden it on the freeway at 70+, and it had no problem with the Seattle traffic, and was nowhere near topped out at 70. There are people touring on the maxi-scooters. We haven't had the Burgman for too long, but at this point it's a nice scooter. Here's some pictures of my wife's Burgman.

BTW, most of the 125's and 150's won't do 70, at least not for very long. You need to get into the 250cc or bigger for that. I did a lot of research on them before buying the Burgman.

John

 

[exavid]

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I'd love to have a Burgman 650 as a second bike. I took a test ride on one last summer and discovered it could easily exceed 100mph with my butt on its seat. Really a fine little machine, light, nimble and quick. A real eye opener for anyone who thinks scooters are putt putts. The Executive model even has ABS and an electrically operated windshield. From the front they look just like a sport bike but the step through frame gives them away as a scooter. The floorboards are well designed to give two foot positions, one with a position much like the Goldwing and another more like a forward control bike. That would be nice on a long ride.

 

[oldtoys1961]

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I ran into a guy traveling from state to state on a Burgman 650. Said he's on his 3rd set of tires. He also said it was very dependable with lots of cargo room and rode very smooth. He had came from Florida and was currently passing through central Mississippi headed to Tennessee and then on to some northern state)cant quite remember) but I was highly impressed. JR

 

[SC]

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What do we call these guys and gals on scooters:baffled:

Fearless is one word that comes to mind riding the little bikes at highway speed :shock:

 

[daveinozbikes]

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The secretary/treasurer of of club (West Coast Wings) sold his 1500 and bought a Suzuki Burgman 600cc. It"s got heaps of go and fairly large wheels.
Seems strange when he leads a ride,,,this scooter with 15 "wings behind him.
In fact, in May we all completed a run from Perth to Perth via Darwin and Alice Springs. Totaled 12000 kms and it never missed a beat. He also used about half the fuel we on "wings used. Mind you, we were mostly two up and pulling camper trailers.
There is only one negative...the exhaust note is really.really tinny......)

 

[kyboy67]

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Where I live,if it's called a scooter or moped it's against the law to be on the Interstate with them.......

 

[GLester]

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kyboy67 wrote:

Where I live,if it's called a scooter or moped it's against the law to be on the Interstate with them.......

The term "scooter" doesn't really apply to the +125 cc step thru motorcycles. Although they share their genes with what we used to call "scooters" , any 125cc step thru is DOT certified to ride on the highway. You have to register them just like a motorcycle, they have to meet the same safety requirements as a motorcycle, pass the same inspections, etc. We may still call them scooters, but in legal terms, they are motorcycles. Just look on the title, if it says motorcycle, (as it will on say a Burgman 400) then as far as the state is concerned, it is a motorcycle.

Gene:waving:

 

[Jluvs2dive]

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GLester wrote:

The term "scooter" doesn't really apply to the +125 cc step thru motorcycles. Although they share their genes with what we used to call "scooters" , any 125cc step thru is DOT certified to ride on the highway. You have to register them just like a motorcycle, they have to meet the same safety requirements as a motorcycle, pass the same inspections, etc. We may still call them scooters, but in legal terms, they are motorcycles. Just look on the title, if it says motorcycle, (as it will on say a Burgman 400) then as far as the state is concerned, it is a motorcycle.

Gene:waving:

This is correct, except in WA it's anything above 50cc is classified as a motorcycle and requires a motorcycle endorsment to ride it.

John