Breaking News from NPR
Yesterday on Morning Edition, NPR ran a story about a growing trend. It seems that with gas prices at all-time highs, some people are thinking about trading in their gas-guzzling SUVs in favor of....wait for it....Scooters!When a hummer drives up to NoHo Scooters in North Hollywood, Calif., owner Mike Frankovich is no longer surprised. With big jumps in gas prices, sales are skyrocketing at scooter shops around the nation. After all, a small Vespa can get as much as 90 miles per gallon.Not really to fault NPR, but it seems that everybody and their brother is writing about high gas prices and scooters. Good thing I would never stoop to something as derisive as that.
That out of the way, I have a couple of nits to pick with the story. The first is an assertion that it will take 4 years of gas savings to pay for the scooter. While this may technically be true, it does not account for other savings and benefits that make scooters more attractive. Forget for a moment about the adrenaline rush, fun, culture and environmental benefits. Also forget for a moment the risks of driving something much smaller than the tanks driven by the cell phone distracted hords on the road; instead look at it from a purely financial model.
Say your commute is 30 miles round trip and the price of gas is in the $3 per gallon range. Depending on the car you are driving you can expect a gas only savings of $1,200 - $1,700 per year. Now what if you don't need that SUV any more (perhaps you can get by on one less car), this might net you a savings of $300-$500 per month. What about insurance? Dropping a car from our policy saved around $100/mo while adding a scooter was around $30, chalk up another $70 per month. Even if you are not able to sell the second car, there are still real savings in decreased mileage, wear and tear, etc.
The second nit is related to safety and doesn't have anything to do with NPR, but rather the owner of the North Hollywood scooter dealer featured in the story, who repeated the old saw:
There are two type of motorcycle [and scooter] riders out there. Those who have crashed and those who will crash.I don't dispute the fact that the more you ride, the more opportunites you have to get into an accident (the same can be said for driving a car, taking the train or crossing the street). Rather it is the fatalistic tone and the suggestion that safety is somehow outside of our control.
Admittedly I haven't been at this scooter stuff for all that long, but in my life I have met both longtime riders who have not had an accident well as some good riders who have had several.
What do you think? Are accidents an inevitable part of riding or can care, training and luck keep the accidents at bay?
posted by mortonmanor at 2:18 PM
13 Comments:
Without qualifying the terms "crash" and "accident" I do believe it is
only a matter of time. To think, for example, that a person could own and
operate a motorcycle and never drop it, bump into anything, crash in a
corner, get hit by a car, or break off a mirror, does not ring true to me.
They don't call it an "accident" for nothing, meaning those things are not
guaranteed to happen but as humans we have a fully functional capacity for
error, and exercise it often.
Plus, if one assumes it *will* happen, I think it can make one a safer
rider.
-Mike
Yeah, I've heard that "two kinds" line before too. On the other hand, I know a couple of guys that have ridden for 40 years (no exaggeration) and have never crashed. Of course, as Mike says, y'gotta define "crash", because drops are different, and at least one of the 40-year guys has definitely scraped up a few. I, too, have hit the pavement several times, but haven't had what I'd call a "crash" yet.
Given the odds of being in a motor vehicle incident in general (very high in this country), I can't see why your odds would be any different on a motorcycle _for_any_given_individual_. However, not all drivers or riders are equally likely to crash. Those with more training and a defensive mindset are far less likely to wreck any vehicle, regardless of the number of wheels; and most motorcycle riders I know have more training and better defensive skills than most automobile drivers I know. This, in a nutshell, is why people who say "motorcycles are dangerous" p*ss me off -- if we rode our bikes like they drive their cars, yeah, they'd be "dangerous", but we don't.
That said, stuff happens, even to good drivers and riders. Dress to crash and train not to, and the odds are probably in your favor. Crash? Yeah, possibly, but the good news is that most of 'em aren't fatal, particularly those involving trained riders.
Just my $.02. -d
That reminds me of another biker's truism: "There are old bikers and bold bikers, but there are no old, bold bikers."
-d
I was thinking, Dave, after I wrote this, that I am concerned about one thing specific to scooters. I have said that I fully support scooters because their proliferation is good for all bikers. I do wonder though if, after several years of increasing scooter use, we might find scooter riders disproportionatly represented in motorcycle crashes simply because many newcomers to scooter commuting perceive them as small and easy, and do not perceive the need for the same kind of training as a motorcycle would require. Ironically, smallish step-through vehicles have even less stability at road speed compared to traditional motorcycles for several reasons, and most new riders who are attracted to scooters don't understand that.
My concern is amplified because these vehicles will be overwhelmingly used in city commutes, where the odds of a crash go way up for all vehicles.
So, what's been your experience with scooter riders and training? Do most of them perceive that as critical, or are they just hopping on and going to work?
- --
David Talkington
Folks
I just came into work on my dual/sport, following a guy -appeared to be a student- on a scooter wearing Tshirt, shorts and flip flops. I think there isn't the perception of danger associated with scooters, for whatever reason.
Art
Well, to be fair, for what it's worth, I've seen that on sport bikes too ...
- --
David Talkington
Hello all,
My name's Ellen and I've been lurking on this list for a bit. Now I'm ready
to weigh in on the scooter/safety issue, so I guess I finally have to
introduce myself. I've been riding for just 4 years, and I am strictly scooter
trash. I started with a little Honda Metro then moved up to a Malaguti Ciak
150 (which I still have) and I also have a Suzuki Burgman 400. The Malaguti
is usually my commuter, with the Burgman used for longer trips, or when I
need more storage space.
I have to say that Dave makes a good point with respect to a lot of scooter
riders and safety issues. Many riders I've met --mostly those on small
scoots, but some big ones too-- don't want to invest in protective gear and
don't feel the need to take a safety class. I agree that small size and ease
of use leads people to think there's nothing to it, and I suspect that, in
the past, they felt that the MSF class would focus too much on stuff that
doesn't apply to them. Now that MSF offers a scooter-only course, hopefully
that will change. I recently took the first Experienced Rider class for
scooters which was well attended, but except for one Aprilia Scarabeo 150,
it was all bigger bikes.
A neighbor of mine got a small scooter last year and just fell in love with
it. He rides everywhere, never uses his car anymore, and recently moved up
to a bigger bike, so now he takes his kids with him a lot too. His idea of
safety gear is a reflective vest, and it's clear from watching him he's
never taken a class - and at this point, probably never will. Very scary.
============================
Ellen Palms
I think I'd heard about that but had forgotten it. That's a good thing. Can you tell me what they teach that is specific to scooters? I had no luck finding info on their (ghastly) web site.
What bothers me the most about step-throughs is that the only way to grip the machine during sudden maneuvers or in adverse traction conditions is at the handlebars. When you're gripping the bar to stabilize _you_, you are destabilizing the _bike_ because your stiff arms are providing steering inputs that will work against you. Ergo, handling that type of vehicle under duress is very different than it would be on a motorcycle with a solid body, where you can grip with your knees, leaving your hands free to provide fine, quick control inputs to the front wheel.
Combine that with the shorter wheelbase, small wheel diameter, and sharp rake angle, and you have a very twitchy little guy that requires a lot of skill to master. Thing is, those qualities also make it extremely easy to maneuver and handle at low speed in a parking lot, giving a newbie an immediate feeling of mastery upon first mount. I think that's where the gap is, and that's why I love the idea of an MSF scooter-specific course, in principle.
- --
David Talkington
I'm going to suggest that the rake and trail, as well as wheelbase on the
larger, road going scooters, is not that different from a regular bike. As
a matter of fact, the Burgman's wheelbase is longer than my 1150R's. Which
is longer than either the Buell Blast or Firebolt, both of which have pretty
steep rake and short trail. I'm not so sure that these larger scooters are
necessarily any more twitchy than bikes of equivalent size. That said,
accommodating sudden maneuvers requires a different approach. Bracing
oneself with seat and floorboards still leaves the arms free for
maneuvering.
ron
I'm not so sure that these larger scooters are
necessarily any more twitchy than bikes of equivalent size.
That may be true. The only step-through I've ridden was a 50cc Vespa, which is quite geometrically different from a Burgman.
That said, accommodating sudden maneuvers requires a different approach. Bracing oneself with seat and floorboards still leaves the arms free for maneuvering.
I also note that the Burgman (at least the ones I've seen) has a lumbar support against which you can press with your feet. That would help a bit, I'm sure. A flat seat such as one typically finds on the 50cc bikes doesn't give you that leverage.
- --
David Talkington
David, I have to say that I never had any trouble bracing myself on my Vespa. I have two typical riding positions (one with both feet in the front and one with my knees bent and my feet towards the back). In both positions I have some seat between my knees and some places to apply pressure with my feet. It is a different experience than a step over bike, but doesn't seem lacking.
I'll likely be riding tomorrow if you want to have a test sit to see how it feels to you.
David
I remember when I took my experienced rider class. I rode up on my shiny new Vespa 150 to join a class largely made up of large 1000+cc bikes. I endured a bit of ribbing at the beginning of the class, but there I was to learn how to ride more safely. By the end of the class several of us were chatting about the advantages/disadvantages of the different types of bikes.
Despite some of the less responsible riders out there, I have been impressed by the safety concerns demonstrated by several of the local scooter dealers. I've overheard and been engaged in safety conversations with folks at Vespa of Seattle, Scooter Galley and the scooter rental place by Greenlake (Scoot About, I think it's called). When we were first shopping for scoots, virtually everyone "strongly" encouraged us to take the MSF class, even for the 50cc bikes.
Even with all of that there is a scooter culture that often runs counter to a full accompaniment of safety gear. As I thumb through a recent issue of Scoot! magazine, I notice that the majority of scooter ads show riders with little more than a helmet for protection. The articles paint a different picture with the riders in full gear. The one exception was an article on a trip to Korea to the Kymco plant. The author points out that virtually everyone is on their cell phone and the most popular "safety" gear is a light jacket worn backwards.
Welcome Ellen! Good to see that there are other scooter types out there.
David
The risk factor related to scooters and motorcycles is higher than with a four-wheeled vehicle. Can't argue the statistics. But I do not believe the risk related to riding is so much higher that it precludes it as a viable and reasonable alternative means of transportation.
Thorough training, practice, and deliberate, focused attention on the road can make riding safe. There is nothing you can do about those random acts that can occur to scooters or cars. Things like an oncoming drunk driver passes out just as you approach. Or a well timed and aimed rock is thrown into you at the precise angle and place to do you in. But those are the very rare exceptions.
I ride a lot and don't expect to crash. I am quite aware of my limitations and dangers on the road and take action to mitigate them. The "it's too dangerous" line is often tossed out without much thought.
Great post David!
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
Post a Comment
<< Home