Knew it was TOO GOOD to be TRUE

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:03 pm

I tested the accuracy of my scooters odometer today and found it to be 62.5% off...I have been counting it as MILES and it is in KILOMETERS. I am still getting a bit over 75mpg but it means I need to drive it much more to raise my combined mpg Jeep/Lambretta to 30mpg...it is now a bit over 27mpg combined.

Oh Well.

litton · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:20 pm

DarbyWalters wrote:

I tested the accuracy of my scooters odometer today and found it to be 62.5% off...I have been counting it as MILES and it is in KILOMETERS. I am still getting a bit over 75mpg but it means I need to drive it much more to raise my combined mpg Jeep/Lambretta to 30mpg...it is now a bit over 27mpg combined.

Oh Well.

As they say "Ignorance is (or at least was) bliss.

dog_party · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:13 pm

D'oh!!

What are the registration regulations for scooters like where you live. I'm evaluating alternate modes of transportation myself. It's 10 miles to work on surface streets. I have thought about re-buying my old dual-purpose bike and commuting on that. It's either that or start riding my mountain bike.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:53 pm

Build a two cylinder version of the VM 2.8 L and bolt it on a Harley Davidson.
Problem solved.

kjfishman · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:30 pm

dog_party wrote:

D'oh!!

What are the registration regulations for scooters like where you live. I'm evaluating alternate modes of transportation myself. It's 10 miles to work on surface streets. I have thought about re-buying my old dual-purpose bike and commuting on that. It's either that or start riding my mountain bike.

Ride your mountain bike it doesn't use any gas and helps you stay in good health.

cumminsmannow · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:16 pm

kjfishman wrote:

dog_party wrote:

D'oh!!

Ride your mountain bike it doesn't use any gas and helps you stay in good health.

That's way too much work!! just to get to work. No thanks!

Drewd · **Joined:** Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:24 pm **Posts:** 902

Motorized your bikcycle, I did!

www.thatsdax.com is where I buy my kits. Email me for tips to improve kit reliability. I've got thousands of miles on motorized bikes and use them for shopping and other trips in lieu of my car.

Desert_Busa · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:24 pm

Drewd wrote:

Motorized your bikcycle, I did!

www.thatsdax.com is where I buy my kits. Email me for tips to improve kit reliability. I've got thousands of miles on motorized bikes and use them for shopping and other trips in lieu of my car.

I can't wait to pass one of you guys on my fixed gear.

dog_party · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:25 pm

That bicycle motor is a really cool idea. I'll have to look into that further. I still have my old early-90s era Specialized Rockhopper Comp frame. I've been looking for something to do with it...

Uffe · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:28 am

LOL Darby - sorry for your, ehm, loss

Hope you still keep your little town traveller and enjoy it for what it was and still is.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:30 pm

I can see in a way why you're disappointed - many of the 250 cc and 400 cc large "scooters" (essentially motorcycles with a different body/frame setup) that are capable of highway cruising can kick well up into this range - Suzuki Burgmann, Yamaha Majesty, Honda Reflex, Piaggio BV250/MP3, Aprilla Atlantic, etc - even the Buell Blast is rated at 70 mpg.

Problem is, most of these larger scooters are expensive - well into the 5 to 8 grand range - 50% or better of some new econoboxes such as the Toyota Yaris. Cheapest is the Buell Blast - essentially your basic crotch rocket for the younger crowd, just a go-fast machine for recreational riding - at around 4 grand. Others seem more aimed at the older/well-to-do segment for cruising/sightseeing/genteel commuting (Suzuki Burgmann 650 is supposedly a favorite with older members of the HD crowd).

I'd contemplated at times getting one of the lower end scooters that had enough storage to throw my lunch bag and coffee cup under the seat, and using it to commute to work. But given the asking price of these, that would be 4 to 7 years worth of diesel fuel even at $4/gallon with my driving pattern.

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:39 pm

Well this scooter cost was $1995 and the mpg is for city stop n' go. This is what i expected when I bought the Lambretta...about 70-80mpg.

The Jeep is running about 18.6 cents per mile city...the Lambretta is at 4.2 cents per mile. (based on $4 Diesel and $3.20 RUG)

Riding 1000 miles a month on the scooter saves me $144.00 per month. That is $1728.00 a year...almost pays for itself in 1 year, so I am still very pleased.

KeswickDave · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:18 pm

DarbyWalters wrote:

I tested the accuracy of my scooters odometer today and found it to be 62.5% off...I have been counting it as MILES and it is in KILOMETERS. I am still getting a bit over 75mpg but it means I need to drive it much more to raise my combined mpg Jeep/Lambretta to 30mpg...it is now a bit over 27mpg combined.

Oh Well.

And now you have to go faster to go as fast as you thought you were going... um, I think ;-)

chadhargis · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:22 pm

As a bit of a motorcycle fanitic, I'll have to disagree that the Buell Blast is a "crotch rocket". It has just under 500cc of displacement is is basically half of their XB9 engine. The XB9 puts out, maybe, 70hp to the rear wheel on a good day. The Blast might put down half that, or 35hp...if you're lucky.

Your basic, run of the mill, repli racer crotch rocket 600cc supersport will put a MINIMUM of 100hp to the ground in a package that weighs in around 400lbs. I have both a Buell (not a Blast, but an XB12X Ulysses) which puts down about 85hp. It gets around 45mpg. I also have a Suzuki GSX-R600 "crotch rocket" for track days. That bike, while half the displacement of my Buell, gets only about 30mpg or so. Much, much, much less when I'm hammering it on the track....down into the low 20's.

Here's me on a Buell Blast....clearly not a "crotch rocket":

Here's me on my GSX-R600....a TRUE crotch rocket:

robert46123 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:29 am

My '06 Kawasaki Ninja 250 gets an honest 65 MPG during my city commute and is a blast to ride. I bought it in the Fall of '06 with 600 miles on the clock for $2,500. If there's a better mode of transportation on two wheels for commuting I'd like to know what it is. BTW, 13,000 RPM red line and 0-60 in less than 6 seconds. Yes, people that ride "real" sport bikes don't think much of it, but I could care less. There's no better bang for the buck period.

On a side note, they've redesigned the '08. It looks great, but there's less room for rear cargo but some may like it.

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:27 pm

My Honda Silverwing is for sale, and quite a savings over the cost new. I've gotten an honest 55mpg out of it, and usually about 40-45 with my fat arse on it. It's capable of 120mph, and the 600cc engine does just fine in putting power on the road. Its not about the size of the engine, its about not wasting that power.

I'm selling it for basically straight book value, and that means I'm selling about $500 in accessories for free. Hows that for a great deal for $5000? New, these go for $9000, and you still need to get the upgrades then.

The top box holds 2 FULL helmets, as does the under-seat storage. Lost more pictures here:

http://www.maincomputer.com/bike

And Retmil, I'm willing to bring it up to you for nothing more than the cost of diesel and the one day trailer rental. Hows that for a deal? The payoff on one of these isn't just the mileage you get, its also the ability to use whichever fuel is cheaper, and combined with your KJ... You should get an easy 30-35mpg if not more. What upgrade to your Jeep can you make that will add 12-15mpg instantly? Not many, that's a TRUE +50% increase!

clackclack · **Posted:** Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:03 pm

I'm getting 47mpg on my 07 BMW R1200R... I was getting ~50mpg durring the break-in period. Strange thing is I was only getting ~37mpg on my CBR600RR. Which means with twice the displacement I'm getting 25%+ better mileage, go figure

The wifes 06 TDI Jetta is getting 46mpg. All of these nuimbers are a mix of suburban stop-and-go/hwy... the Libby is getting ~23-25mpg

Reflex · **Joined:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:48 pm **Posts:** 567

Meh, If I cared that much about the mileage I'd just spend an extra grand or two and get an older Jetta TDI.

onthehunt · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:00 pm

120 mph and a scooter picture do not belong in the same post!!

Reflex · **Joined:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:48 pm **Posts:** 567

The scooter, at 45mpg driving 12k miles/year costs $856 to operate(assuming $3.20). A CRD gettign 23mpg costs $2093/year to operate(assuming $4.00/gallon). Thats a savings of a little more than $1200/year.

At a cost of $5000, the break even point is in a little over four years. This does not factor in the cost of licensing a second vehicle, insurance, scooter maintinence, etc. Also, the fact that your unlikely to drive that many miles in a year(here in Seattle, you'd get to drive it at most half the time due to weather) could push the break even point to 8-12 years. Obviously if you lived in, say, Phoenix, you could get closer to the four year best case scenerio(probably 5 years best case with the other factors).

Whether thats worth it I couldn't say. Personally I'd rather just put that $5k towards what I owe on the Jeep and get it paid off. If I didn't have to make a car payment, I could afford a whole heck of a lot of fuel.

Edit: BTW, Darby's choice makes a heck of a lot more sense. Even in Seattle it would pay for itself in two and a half years at worst, which, incidentally, was the break even point for the diesel option in my case with the Liberty.

Knew it was TOO GOOD to be TRUE

Who is online