The new scoot

[Zerker]

Congrats on the scooter.
have a quick squiz over at this site: http://www.scootling.co.nz/bb/
especially the stolen scooter section, the most often reported stolen scooter model is the jog. not sure if it's due to the model being popular to resell or just easier to steal.

chain (big thick chain, see the motorcycle anti-theft devices, not bicycle) the back wheel to something concreted to the ground, and not something like a sign post. if someone comes along on a Ute, 2 man job to get it up and over onto the back. a disk lock with an alarm would also be a good idea (loud noises could result in a witness to the theft, you do have full comprehensive insurance and have recorded your vin number right?).

keep your headlights on at all times, without it you can look like a cyclist or a pedestrian at a quick glance which is all alot of the drivers do.

wearing a high vis vest is highly recommended, bright orange thing in the middle of the road can get a second glance. gets some giggles too, but better a few laughs than going splat.

slow down as you approach any intersection, be prepared to stop/move if that dick decides it's OK to pull out (counts for parked cars indicating to pull out too). Right hand turning traffic is the biggest one, not many places for you to go when they drive straight at your side.

when your decelerating, give your rear brake a quick couple pulses to flash your brake lights, some drivers wont notice you slowing down without the flashing lights catching their attention.

if someone is driving up your ass pull over and let them pass, their manhood may be threatened by you being able to go as fast as them, even if you speed up they will stick with you, till you hit that 35km/h corner at 70 :P
( it is my personal experience that when you come across these drivers they ignore their speedo and just look out for an opportunity to pass. 70km/h in a 50 zone, they don't care. they will even put other road users in danger to get by, so just let them do it somewhere safe, and on your terms.)


and last thing I can say is, Ride like no one can see you and no one can hear you. because they can't and you are the one that will have to take action when they screw up, be prepared for it.

[DangerMice]

Congrats on the scooter.
have a quick squiz over at this site: http://www.scootling.co.nz/bb/
especially the stolen scooter section, the most often reported stolen scooter model is the jog. not sure if it's due to the model being popular to resell or just easier to steal.

Yip, already checked it out and posted a few things

chain (big thick chain, see the motorcycle anti-theft devices, not bicycle) the back wheel to something concreted to the ground, and not something like a sign post. if someone comes along on a Ute, 2 man job to get it up and over onto the back. a disk lock with an alarm would also be a good idea (loud noises could result in a witness to the theft, you do have full comprehensive insurance and have recorded your vin number right?).

Locked alarmed garage at home, semi secure garage at work. There are some nice old vespas there, so hopefully they take them first I was thinking of a disc lock as there isn't really anything to wrap a chain around. (The concrete columns are huge). Won't stop them taking it but hopefully encourage them to move on to something easier.
Yip to the insurance & vin.

keep your headlights on at all times, without it you can look like a cyclist or a pedestrian at a quick glance which is all alot of the drivers do.

No choice there, can't turn it off. (well, not without a hammer anyway )

wearing a high vis vest is highly recommended, bright orange thing in the middle of the road can get a second glance. gets some giggles too, but better a few laughs than going splat.

I do have a vest somewhere, need to dig it out. Not a highway orange one, but a very reflective silver Fox one. I would like to avoid the splattyness.

slow down as you approach any intersection, be prepared to stop/move if that dick decides it's OK to pull out (counts for parked cars indicating to pull out too). Right hand turning traffic is the biggest one, not many places for you to go when they drive straight at your side.

Yeah, amazing how much more aware you are when your skin is on the line. Already had more than a few cars/trucks/buses pull out/turn in front of me, but could see it was going to happen and have avoided them so far. Buses do seem particularly intent on killing me.

when your decelerating, give your rear brake a quick couple pulses to flash your brake lights, some drivers wont notice you slowing down without the flashing lights catching their attention.

I tend to lightly drag the rear brake when slowing, just a habit. Not really enough to brake all that much, but enough to turn the light on

and last thing I can say is, Ride like no one can see you and no one can hear you. because they can't and you are the one that will have to take action when they screw up, be prepared for it.

Amen!

[Zerker]

Good to hear it.
from what I hear auckland traffic is alot worse than Hamilton.
I'll be interested to see what difference the vest makes for you.

for me once I had the vest on I never rode without it again, it was just amazing.
I see some drivers roll forward to start turn, catch a glimpse of me and stop again. I'm allready prepared for them to pull out, and by the time I pass them I'm down to about 20km/h but tis still nice of them to abide by the road rules :P

[Ryder]

Hi Ryder, few reasons really:

I'm limited to a 50 (I don't have a bike license).
Well known brand name.
Been around for years.
Great reputation for reliablity.
It's one of the quickest.
Not overly expensive, so I thought it represented good value for money.
Some awesome reviews.
The test ride felt really good.

I'm 1.86m tall but I don't feel cramped, and my knees don't hit the bars. I do put my feet up on the 45, rather than flat, but only because I feel it's more comfortable and I find it easier to lean that way.

I do find my knees stick out the side a bit, and are only half covered by the front fairing, but I just turn my heels out a bit which naturally tucks my knees in.

Clicked over 1000kms today and really have only one complaint. The back drum brake is pretty shit, tends to get quite soft by the time I get to work (20km, 40mins), but then it is only a tiny drum, so you've kind of got to expect that. The front brake is fine, so its not really an issue.

All in all, it's a great scoot and I'm well pleased with it

awesome to hear! i cant believe you did that many k's in one go! good on you! my work mate with a jog only does about 10 mins of travel everyday so but he thinks its fantastic.

it will be nice and cheap to run as well which is an added bonus eh!

[ready4whatever]

my mate modified 1 to go on open road have no idea what he did. bigger sprocket? (take forever to reach top speed) filter,exhaust? pretty pushed to make a big difference i reckon. unless he got a piston and rings kit lol

[Zerker]

seen more than a few youtube videos of modded 50cc scooters that go over 100km/h. they tend to cost about the price of the scoot to do em up :P

[Gizzit]

So I took a lot of the advice I was given and picked myself up a new Jog on Saturday. I did about 40kms over the weekend and have been tailgated, cut off, pulled out in front off and passed in stupid places more times than I can count.

But I knew that would happen so I'm just keeping very aware of what's going on around me, trying to stay visible and sticking to the RHS of the lane. Even keeping the throttle low while running the engine in I can maintain 55kph quite comfortably.

Man that little scoot is a blast, couldn't stop smiling the whole time.

Good for you !!

I've got one for commuting, and it's great. I only have about 7 - 8 km to ride to work, and don't want to run my cruiser on a short distance like that, so the Jog suits the job really well.
Mine has only done just under 700km so far, so is getting towards it's first service.
For my approx 15km daily round trip, a tank lasts me about 2 weeks, and costs about $8 usually to fill up. That's not bad economy for a fortnights commuting !!
As it's winter .... I have no problem wearing my fluro yellow rain coat and dark leggings over my riding gear ..... staying totally dry ... and visible.
Will probably wear my Hi Vis vest in Spring/Summer.

I hope you enjoy your scoot! Jogs are great !!

[DangerMice]

Yeah, I really really really like my scoot!! Done about 3000km now, my commute was 40km a day and tank would last about 4 days which was fine. Compared to my car which would cost about $200 a month in gas, can't complain at all.

Haven't been riding it too much lately, got made redundant at the start of July, so I don't have any commute now. Well, not unless you count the 5 min ride down to the dole office...

[The Wop]

Congrats on the scooter.
have a quick squiz over at this site: http://www.scootling.co.nz/bb/
especially the stolen scooter section, the most often reported stolen scooter model is the jog. not sure if it's due to the model being popular to resell or just easier to steal.

chain (big thick chain, see the motorcycle anti-theft devices, not bicycle) the back wheel to something concreted to the ground, and not something like a sign post. if someone comes along on a Ute, 2 man job to get it up and over onto the back. a disk lock with an alarm would also be a good idea (loud noises could result in a witness to the theft, you do have full comprehensive insurance and have recorded your vin number right?).

keep your headlights on at all times, without it you can look like a cyclist or a pedestrian at a quick glance which is all alot of the drivers do.

wearing a high vis vest is highly recommended, bright orange thing in the middle of the road can get a second glance. gets some giggles too, but better a few laughs than going splat.

slow down as you approach any intersection, be prepared to stop/move if that dick decides it's OK to pull out (counts for parked cars indicating to pull out too). Right hand turning traffic is the biggest one, not many places for you to go when they drive straight at your side.

when your decelerating, give your rear brake a quick couple pulses to flash your brake lights, some drivers wont notice you slowing down without the flashing lights catching their attention.

if someone is driving up your ass pull over and let them pass, their manhood may be threatened by you being able to go as fast as them, even if you speed up they will stick with you, till you hit that 35km/h corner at 70 :P
( it is my personal experience that when you come across these drivers they ignore their speedo and just look out for an opportunity to pass. 70km/h in a 50 zone, they don't care. they will even put other road users in danger to get by, so just let them do it somewhere safe, and on your terms.)


and last thing I can say is, Ride like no one can see you and no one can hear you. because they can't and you are the one that will have to take action when they screw up, be prepared for it.

One final piece of advice to add to this good posting. Always look at the drivers of cars that are coming out of side roads or driveways. Look them in the eye. They are more likely to see you if they are being looked at. This is true. Apparently people have an unconscious awareness of being stared at and are more likely to be alert. It has saved my skin a few times.

[Fatt Max]

I had a Jog for 3 years. Great piece of kit even for a person of a 'Fuller Figure' like myself.

And in a shamless act of self promotion, I even wrote and recorded a song about it called 'Tale of the Two Stroke Cowboy'.

Check it out here:

http://www.amplifier.co.nz/track/496...ke-cowboy.html

Seriously though, major good buy, cheap as chips and a great runner.
I bought it new for $1,800 and sold it 3 years on for $ 1,000. NOt bad in today's climate.

Enjoy....

[DangerMice]

ha ha, that track is awesome

[Gizzit]

I had a Jog for 3 years. Great piece of kit even for a person of a 'Fuller Figure' like myself.

....... SNIP ...........

Seriously though, major good buy, cheap as chips and a great runner.
I bought it new for $1,800 and sold it 3 years on for $ 1,000. NOt bad in today's climate.

Enjoy....

Good song Max. I enjoyed it !!

As for the Jog ...... they are a great little ride. I enjoy riding mine to work and back during the week. It's a blast.
You did well on the cost and sale of your Jog. It's probably still stacking up the KM's .... and will do for a long time !

[ICE180]

love the lyrics had to use a shop scoot for a day it was a 50cc and I am sure it "felt like a hippo had excaped for the local zoo"