Safety of scooter riders

[portokiwi]

Center of your lane..... safest place to be.

[MidnightMike]

The lane is yours .... in 50 km zones, straight up the middle. stay on the right hand side and some dork will try to pass on your left.

Exactly, Ive had it happen to me before by a car full of fuckwits who decided they wanted to do about 65 down the cycle lane - I was just pootling....

Then I smoked past them at 90+

Screw having a 50cc scooter TBH - Id rather ride a bicycle.

[MarkH]

Screw having a 50cc scooter TBH - Id rather ride a bicycle.

I have to agree - looking at the Suzuki prices it seems that the 125cc is not all that much dearer than the 50cc brand new. For city commuting I would rather cruise comfortably at 60kph on a 125cc than struggle to beat 40kph on a 50cc. I think it is much safer when you are able to keep up with the flow of the traffic! With various 60kph & 70kph zones around the place a 125cc has even more of an advantage over a 50cc.

My scooter is better again, but it costs a lot more than the 125cc and if you don't ride on the open road or motorway you don't really need bigger than a 125cc.

[vindy500]

my girlfriends 50cc suzuki sj-50 happily goes over 60..


but remember, its a limit not a target!

[vindy500]

I have to agree - looking at the Suzuki prices it seems that the 125cc is not all that much dearer than the 50cc brand new. .

sure but then theres the hassle of getting a whole new licence which most people who just want a scooter dont want to go through

[MarkH]

sure but then theres the hassle of getting a whole new licence which most people who just want a scooter dont want to go through

Oh yeah - for the non-bikers that just want a cheap commute without the effort of pedal power then the 50cc machines are OK. They also need no WOF and the reg is cheap as. But the 125cc machines are usable in more different speed zones - even 100kph (though I wouldn't recommend 125cc for regular open road usage).

Basically if you don't mind paying the $60 or whatever it is and doing the scratchy test to get a 6L license then the 125cc scooters will give you much more than a 50cc for bugger all more money. I think the Suzuki 50cc sell for around $2.2K and the 125cc for around $2.7K - I know which I would rather ride.

[Fatt Max]

my 2c, scooter or bike if you have a motorised two wheeler stay in the right hand side of your lane and OWN it. I hate seeing scooter riders riding down the left hand side of the lane. Its a nice place to ride through all the crap that accumulates on the road, as well as puddles of surface water in the rain leaves etc.

50cc or 2000cc, the lane is yours, if your going way to slow, pull over and let people pass or use a bicycle in the cycle lane, not like you'll be going any slower.

Great advice and attitude,

Main thing is that you are ok and avoided any damage.

I did 3 years on a CV50 before upgrading and still finding the same things. You have every right to be on the road just as long as you are safe and careful.

The cager, unfortunatley, is so typical

[McJim]

I have an AD50. When I ride to work I own my lane...in the same way I learned to own the lane for the 2 decades of city centre cycling I did in Glasgow and London. If you ride apologetically in the gutter no one will notice you and they will kill you. If you own the lane they might get a bit irritated but at least it shows that they spotted you and you get to live longer (there's also the fun bit where the aggreived driver assumes you are a spotty 15 year old and calls you out for a fight for owning your lane - the expression as the blood drains from his face as I stand up and look down on him is priceless!)

[YAMASAKI]

Being a recent scooter convert I've started noticing all the appalling habits mentioned in previous posts.... which got me wondering why is it that you can ride a scooter/moped on only a car learners license??? cars and bikes are two completely different vehicles, whether they only go 50kph or faster, there are so many more factors that the majority of scooter riders don't even take into consideration, because they haven't been tought.
Surely it makes sence to have it a requirement that you do a scooter specific course/handling certificate similar to what you do to get your bike leaners...?

[samgab]

I've been riding a Honday Today 50cc around for a few months, until getting an FXR150 a couple of days ago.
Anyway, I got sick and tired of people pulling out right in front of me on the scooter all the time; seriously, left right and centre, they were pulling out right in front of me, from driveways, roundabouts from the left, give ways, etc. This despite the hi-viz/reflective vest I always wear.

So, I ended up riding around everywhere, all the time with the little scooter headlight set to high beam. I decided that at night if anyone flashed their lights at me I'd flick back to low beam -- but no-one ever did. I guess the scooter light on high beam isn't dazzlingly bright, but certainly are more visible in both daytime and night. I didn't seem to have the problem of being pulled out in front of once I started the high beam experiment.

Being VISIBLE is the key thing when you're on a scooter. If the other motorist has seen you and knows you're there, they won't (usually) intentionally knock you off, the near misses usually happen when they just failed to see you.

Oh, and btw, the Honda Today 50 cruises quite nicely almost everywhere at between 50 and 60 kph. I use bus lanes when they exist, and the centre of the lane when there's no bus lane and it's a 50kph zone. If I'm going 59 and it's a 50 zone and someone is impatient to get past, too bad IMHO. They can pass when it's safe to do so, just like they would if I was in a car.

[CookMySock]

I got sick and tired of people pulling out right in front of me on the scooter all the time [....] So, I ended up riding around everywhere, all the time with the little scooter headlight set to high beam. I decided that at night if anyone flashed their lights at me I'd flick back to low beam -- but no-one ever did.

How is this working out for you ?

Steve

[samgab]

How is this working out for you ?

You mean the high beam thing? Well, no one ever seemed to mind. You know how in a car if you forget your lights are on high beam oncoming vehicles flash their lights, well no-one ever did that, so I continued to leave the lights on high beam. Also, far fewer people pulled out in front of me. I concluded that it just increased my visibility, but without being a nuisance to other motorists.

Now I'm riding a "proper" motorcycle, so my riding style has changed completely. I can go with the flow of the traffic even up hills etc, so I match the speed of the other vehicles in the lane, and it's not such an issue.
I don't leave the high beam on with the FXR.
BUT I would REALLY like to get some brighter bulbs for the FXR. So if anyone knows of any??? The factory ones are 25/25W and not halogen, so not very bright...

[Badjelly]

Oh yeah - for the non-bikers that just want a cheap commute without the effort of pedal power then the 50cc machines are OK.

OK in the sense that they don't know any better. I myself would never ride one. (Well, never say never, but ..). Having commuted for a total of a couple of decades by bicycle, scooter and smallish motorbike, I have a pretty good idea of the risks.

[YAMASAKI]

yeah, coming from a biking background I think i also have a better idea of the risks involved with scooterising. But the majority of scooter riders i've seen lately treat the road the same as they would if driving a cage. I can see the registration fees going up a lot in the next couple of years thanks to the ACC fees (driven up by untrained drivers having avoidable accidents), let alone riders thinking that high heals and short skirts give adequate protection at 50kph.

[CookMySock]

You mean the high beam thing? Well, no one ever seemed to mind. You know how in a car if you forget your lights are on high beam oncoming vehicles flash their lights, well no-one ever did that, so I continued to leave the lights on high beam. Also, far fewer people pulled out in front of me. I concluded that it just increased my visibility, but without being a nuisance to other motorists.

Now I'm riding a "proper" motorcycle, so my riding style has changed completely. I can go with the flow of the traffic even up hills etc, so I match the speed of the other vehicles in the lane, and it's not such an issue.
I don't leave the high beam on with the FXR.
BUT I would REALLY like to get some brighter bulbs for the FXR. So if anyone knows of any??? The factory ones are 25/25W and not halogen, so not very bright...

I ask, as I leave my lights on fullbeam the whole time, and really have no problems with people pulling out in front of me. I'll dip them at night, or on request, but as you say - very few requests. It's pretty clear to me I am much better off with my lights up.

I would take the bulb into Repco or Supercheap, and ask them about it. Quite likely they will have all sorts of suggestions. Be careful using a much much more powerful bulb like a 55/100 as you will almost certainly damage the wiring or melt the headlamp unit. Alternatively, try to find a HID conversion for it, as the bulbs run very cool and draw only 35watts, and are MEAN bright. Just make sure theres no other electronics nearby as the HID inverters seem to EMP everything within kui of themselves - nasty.


Steve