In the interest of testing something out for someone on Beginner Bikers, I took a couple of rides trying to use only my right hand and right foot. She has no use of her left arm and leg and is looking for a way to ride; a couple of people popped up with the idea that the MP3 might be an option for her, what with the lockable front wheels and all.
It just made sense to get out there and try it rather than speculate. And it was a really good excuse to ride.
I did a 45 mile ride and a 55 mile ride, over as much differing terrain as I have available in this area--there are enough hills, curves, off camber streets, stop signs at incline and the like to be able to give it a good test. I didn't take it off road, though...I didn't think I'd enjoy that and it didn't seem pertinent anyway.
For the most part, it was easy. I just used the front brakes to stop, only put my right foot down, and I locked the wheels at stoplights to keep from tiring my leg. The placement of the headlight switch was a non-issue: I just made sure it was set where I wanted before I took off. I didn't need to use the horn, so that wasn't a problem this time...but it would need to be moved. I had plenty of stopping power with just the front brakes--but I never went over 55.
The real issues, though...it was comfortably doable only on flat streets. Once I had to stop at a light with a road surface slightly off camber, the problems surfaced. With the road leaning to the left, just putting my right foot down wasn't enough support, and while the wheel lock kept the scooter from going over, getting going again was difficult. When you've got the wheels locked off camber, you have to be seriously committed to rolling on the throttle. If you're making a tight right turn, it's not quite so easy as I would have imagined.
And the rear brake--I didn't realize how much I really needed it until I was trying to avoid using it. If you stop on an incline, you need to be able to use it; to get going you kind of need to be able to hold the rear brake while rolling on the throttle. If you just let go of the brake while rolling on the throttle, you start rolling backwards and it's not an easy start.
You might be able to hold the front brake while rolling on the throttle, but it would take a whole lot of practice. Relocating the rear brake to a foot pedal on the right side wouldn't be feasible because you need a foot down for stability on inclines because once you start rolling, the wheels automatically unlock.
Overall...not a great choice for someone with hemiplegia. A regular trike, with the wider, fixed wheelbase, and customized hand controls is probably a better ride.
I'm kind of leaning towards the latter. I'll fill up again in a few days and see. If it happens again, I'll probably not use it. What's the point?
Sweet...I found the McCuff locally, now I just need to chew off half a tank of gas so I can see how well it works. It looks like it will do the job...I have high hopes.
The dealer wants to know how it works, too; apparently this is the first one they've ever sold. So I need to ride this weekend, because people are relying on me.
Shuddup.
They are.
Finally, a break in the heat...I haven't ridden in about a week because of the 100+ temps (I'm a wimp) and because of some personal aggravation. Hot and ticked off is no way to ride...
But today...very nice temps. I needed to gas up, but I had enough to go a good 60 miles if I was so inclined, so I took the nice day and low gas tank as an excuse to go looking for a McCuff Fill Spill Protector. I hit up all the places near here that were listed on their website, but for the most part I got blank stares when I asked if they had one in. Only one guy knew what I was talking about, and he suggested I order it online.
I headed for a gas station I knew wouldn't be busy and would be on the cheaper side. I didn't want a line of cars behind me because I wanted to take my helmet off to see if I could hear the gas going in, and see if I could hear the changes in sound as it neared full.
No luck.
But...I was able to see the digital readout of how much gas was going in, stopped at 2.3, and then trickled the rest in. No spillover this time. If I don't get the McCuff, this may become my new gas station...
Before I took off I checked the air pressure in my tires (wise person warned me I might need to check the tires on the MP3 more often) and they were down several pounds. Since it felt squishy when I had the Spouse Thingy on back I decided to add a little more air than suggested for just the driver alone; I shot for getting it in between that and driver + passenger. It made for a much nicer ride--apparently my ass weighs more than driver alone PSI recommendations... ;)
A first for us...we rode 2 up the other day, and decided to try it on the MP3. Overall, the scooter handled it well; me...not as much. I could definitely feel the extra weight on the back (I didn't increase the load on the shocks...didn't occur to me until afterward) and the needed increased stopping distance bothered me a bit. I had a couple of moments of chanting "please don't change, please don't change" under my breath while approaching stoplights.
I also had this irrational fear the Spouse Thingy was going to fly off the back of the scooter. Not sure where that came from.
I think most of my discomfort came from the unfamiliarity of riding 2 up and I can get over that with practice (presuming he'll be willing to ride as my passenger again.) I did have a little bit of trouble making right turns with him on the back--going wide--where I normally don't, and after backing out of a parking space I nearly dumped the scooter when the front wheels unlocked. The parking lot surface was not completely level, with the wheels suddenly unlocked the balance shifted, and I had to work to keep it from going over.
He complained that there's not enough space for the passenger's feet; he has size 9 shoes and the footrests look like they're made for someone with toddler size 3 feet. I didn't appreciate that much, either, since his feet kept jabbing into my calves, leaving some nice bruises. The seat seemed all right for 2 up; the grab bar is a nice touch, and while I felt like I was too far forward, I think that was because I didn't want to sit too far back. The whole him flying off and all...
(And if none of this makes sense, it's 3 a.m. and I can't sleep...)
Hopefully when people get used to see MP3 scooters on the road, they won't have the pressing need to take a good long look at it. Especially when they're driving and jockeying to get a good look in their side view mirror. I don't mind the attention since it's the scooter and not me they're trying to look at, but I do mind the erratic weaving of the car ahead as the driver tries to see what the heck that is behind him.
I've been mulling this one over for a week. Before the heat wave hit, I was out zipping around town, not headed anywhere in particular, just wracking miles up on the odometer. I was headed down a road that frequently has some light traffic, but I like it because there are some baby curves that are fun to lean in if (when I'm able to get up to speed...it also runs right by a development called "Leisure Town," where one must be 55 or older to live...traffic can be pretty slow right around there sometimes.) Ahead of me was a giant gas guzzler, and just before we hit the curves, he spotted me in his mirror.
Apparently he had a great need to figure out what that thing I was on was, because he kept swerving to the right, trying to get a good look in his side view mirror. He'd slow down, I'd slow down, he'd speed up, swerve back and forth...all while looking in that mirror.
I moved into the left lane so I wouldn't be right behind him if he hit the curb and went off the road.
Towards the end of one of the (gentle, anemic, not scrape-inducing) curves is a 3 way intersection...as soon as I could see it I started looking for left turners at the light. And sure enough, in a tuna-boat Buick was an elderly man waiting to turn left when the light went green. I slowed down, knowing that the only way to make it through before it went red for me was to gun it, and there was no way I was doing that. One, Gas Guzzler Boy was still not paying attention, and two, well, it would have been stupid.
Then the horror hit me...the SUV was not slowing down. The driver was not paying attention to what was ahead of him at all, fixated on looking at the scooter. I held my breath as I stopped, hoping that the old guy in the Buick was more attentive than the guy in the SUV.
And he was. Thank God, he didn't go when he light went green. The driver of the SUV suddenly slammed on his brakes and slid way more than halfway into the intersection. If the elderly guy had gone...I'm pretty sure he would have been hit broadside and hard enough to not survive it.
The SUV crept through the intersection and pulled over, whereupon the woman sitting next to the driver was slapping at his head with both hands, pretty pissed off, I think. The old guy in the Buick was shaking his head when he finally turned. I was about 5 kinds of annoyed and frankly, a little shaken up.
I can deal with the calls out car windows, wondering what the scooter is, when the training wheels are coming off, even the shrieks of I WANT ONE! I don't mind coming out of a store and finding scary looking Harley dudes circling it , I don't mind answering their questions. I didn't even mind coming out of a McDonald's today and finding a bike cop looking at it (although I could have lived without "What happened to your sport bike?" I did not need to know that any of the cops around here can match rider to ride...)
I have a hard time dealing with the idea that I might cause an accident. A fender bender, oh well. That would suck but it's not the end of the world. Fenders can be fixed. But if someone got hurt...
If Gas-Guzzler Boy had t-boned the Buick, the old guy would probably be dead. It wouldn't be my fault, but still...it would have happened because I was there.
So yeah, I think I'll be happier when the MP3 isn't such a novelty.