Friday, 20 April, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 1 minutes.
Domino’s Pizza in the Netherlands were apparently worried about the issue of safety with their electric scooters being too quiet on the road.
Their solution has to be heard to be believed.
This could be a worrying trend – particularly with the questionable names of some Chinese restaurants!
Thursday, 19 April, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 5 minutes.
So, what’s all this we keep hearing about counter-steering?
It’s a buzz phrase we tend to hear often among the scooter and motorcycle community. Some riders spend their entire life riding – and have never heard of it. Some espouse the merits of active attention to it, and some claim it’s a myth!
Continue Reading...Friday, 13 April, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 6 minutes.
You can be forgiven for wondering why – in the first of my series of scooter reviews – I’m talking about a motorcycle.
There is method in my madness, however, for the little gem I’d like to talk about today carries a name that is very familiar to most scooter riders: SYM.
That’s right. SYM, the Taiwanese company famous for such well-made scooters as the Mio and the MAXSYM, have released a little motorcycle.
Continue Reading...Tuesday, 10 April, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 1 minutes.
Honda has begun the 2013 model year with the introduction of two new scooters.
Well, make that one new one and one with a facelift.
Available this summer, comes the new Honda PCX150.
It has a 150cc liquid cooled engine, with generous under-seat storage (enough for a full-face helmet).
The price is yet to be determined.
Also coming this year, is an updated classic – the Honda Metropolitan.
The 50cc Metropolitan will be available in June, and features a redesigned headlight and clock setup, new handlebars, and a new tail-light assembly.
With 22 litres of under-seat storage, a separate storage area big enough for a 1 litre bottle, and a larger bag hook, this could be the perfect thing for those round-town trips.
The MSRP is $1,999.
Monday, 9 April, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 7 minutes.
With the onset of spring, and the great riding weather we’re all looking forward to, my thoughts have turned to the many arranged group rides which will be taking place all over the world.
Riding in groups is a great way to enjoy our scooters, and I always find that the scooter community is an extremely friendly and sociable group of people. Group riding can be a lot of fun.
However, my experience has been that group riding continues to be one of the more dangerous activities we can participate in with scooters and motorcycles.
Continue Reading...Friday, 30 March, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 1 minutes.
Road racer Cameron Beaubier, who finished third in this years Daytona 200 race, today fractured his right knee and injured his wrist – requiring surgery to pin the bones in his knee together.
What was he riding when he did this? Not his Yamaha R6, but a 50cc Yamaha Zuma scooter.
Apparently, he clipped an “unseen hazard” while riding in Cyprus.
Commenting on the incident, Cameron said, “I’m so disappointed to have injured myself, and in such an odd manner. It happened so quickly, and I’m fortunate that there were no other vehicles around at the time. I’m not yet sure what my prognosis is for racing at Road Atlanta (April 20-22) in a few weeks, but I’m hopeful for a quick recovery.”
We hope you have a speedy recovery Cameron – and watch out for those scooters. They can get away from you!
Friday, 30 March, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 5 minutes.
Today, I’m going to revisit the subject of signals.
Signals can take the form of electronic turn signals fitted to vehicles, things such as headlight flashes, or arm/hand signals.
In an earlier post about turn signals and signal reinforcement, I talked about the obvious importance of giving good, early signals to other road users.
Well, it turns out that sometimes, the very best thing to do with another road user’s signal is to ignore it!
Further, there are situations where it is prudent to avoid giving a signal to another road user. Let’s look at some examples:
Continue Reading...Wednesday, 21 March, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 2 minutes.
You may remember that I recently posted about the new electric scooter rental service in San Francisco.
Well, it seems they could be scuppered by local interpretation of the law requiring scooter riders to obtain a “special license”
Coverage of the company on Fast Company’s website asserted that “riding a rented scooters (sic) doesn’t require any special certification,” a similar article on Wired’s site says that “the scooters max out at 30 mph, negating the need for a motorcycle license,” and yet another piece on GigaOm says Scoot Networks’ rides are “low-power enough that the driver doesn’t need a motorcycle license.”
Continue Reading...Wednesday, 21 March, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 1 minutes.
The Maryland senate is currently considering bill SB309, which will require that scooters with less than 2.7 horsepower, or under 50cc are titled and that the operators maintain liability insurance.
Currently, such scooters do not require a title, insurance, or a motorcycle license to operate them in Maryland.
The bill would reclassify mopeds and scooters as “S” class vehicles under MVA regulations and maintains the requirement for moped and scooter operators to possess a valid Maryland driver’s license.
It would also require the use of protective head-gear and eye protection.
While I am honestly “on the fence” about this one, this part did cause a raised eyebrow:
“Chris Shank, R-Washington, co-sponsored the bill because of numerous reports from the Hagerstown Police about a spike in use of scooters and mopeds to transport illegal drugs.”
That seems like the craziest reason to support a bill I’ve heard of yet!
Your thoughts?
Tuesday, 20 March, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 7 minutes.
Overtaking and passing. These are both terms meaning the same thing – depending on your local lexicon, but they both refer to the act of getting past a vehicle that is going slower than you intend to ride yourself.
For consistency, I will use the term “overtaking” in this article.
I have purposely left the subject of passing/overtaking until later in my series of posts.
This is because, with our (generally) lower-powered scooters, it is something that requires a lot more forethought and planning than it would, say, in a car, or on a higher powered motorcycle.
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