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.
It is also a giant pain in the ass. So far it's the only thing I seriously dislike about this scooter; you can't see into it as you're gassing up, so there's no telling when you're getting close to full...not until gas gushes out. There is a drain port (you can't see it in the picture...it's just a tiny hole) so area around the gas cap doesn't stay full, but still... I have yet to get gas without overfilling.
Since it's so low on the scooter, I can't even look at the meter to see how much gas I'm pumping. I tried looking up, thinking I would slow to a trickle when I hit 2.2 gallons, but it was too awkward.
There's got to be a better way, I just haven't figured it out yet.
The speedometer on the MP3 indicates it'll do 110 mph. I'm not a speed demon and I don't particularly like going much over 70, I took it out on I-505 today and ran it up to about 85 to see how it felt and how it compared to my previous rides.
I hit 85 mph and the scooter had a whole lot more to give, but I felt like my helmet was about to pop off (that short windshield puts air flow right into my head, I think) and I just wasn't enjoying that much speed. It wasn't as smooth on the Interstate as the SV was--I could hit 85 on that and not realize it--but it wasn't a jarring ride and it never felt like the scooter was straining to keep my considerable weight up at that speed. If I'd had a tank to lean on, I probably could have ducked to get the air to flow over my head, and would have been more comfortable.
Compared to the Rebel, it was a dream. I was able to get the Rebel up to an indicated 80 (it was probably closer to 72-74) and ride it at that speed for lengthy periods, but it wasn't comfortable: the high revs of the engine combined with the light weight of the bike at high speed was sometimes a slightly scary experience, especially when passed by a semi. I didn't meet up with any semis on the Interstate today (did on a road at 50...no issues with wind wake) but I did get passed by a giant SUV and didn't feel like I was being pushed around.
When I settled down to 65, the ride was very nice...65-70 seems to be my personal sweet spot, about as fast as I like to go and still feel like it's a fun ride, not work.
A few miles later I wandered into a residential area; we've all heard the saying It's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow, and having enjoyed a few low speed spins on the SV anyway, I wanted to see how the MP3 compared. The Rebel in residential areas was all right, but you still have to shift an awful lot on that on sub-40 mph speeds. The SV would tool around in first gear with ease as long as I played the clutch right. It was an ego kick to be able to crawl along at 2-3 mph on it, but it wasn't fun.
I have to admit, just putt-putting along at 20-25 was enjoyable. (I annoyed a driver behind me, but...tough for him. Posted was 25, I wanted to stick to 25, and he could have gone around me instead of riding back there turning three shades of red while wildly gesticulating...) If all a person ever wanted out of this scooter was a sub-45 mph commuter, it would still be a heck of a lot more fun than driving a car.
One thing I noticed that doesn't function as well as it should is the outside temperature sensor. When I started feeling warm I flipped over to see what the temp was and it read 103 degress F. I headed home, not wanting to over do it, checked the Weather Channel and Weather Bug, and it was actually only 90. Not sure where on the scooter the sensor is, but I'm thinking it's too close to the engine to be especially useful.
Bonus! The MP3 already has a power port.
Now all I need is a heated vest and gloves, and then bring on winter...
One drawback to the MP3: the stealth fuel access...
It's only a drawback because it's difficult to see how full it's getting, and it's easy to overfill. There is a drain spout in there, though, so if you do overfill, the gas doesn't just sit there.
Not sure I'd ever use this even if I did carry a purse...
...but at least there's a little loop for someone who wants the option.
That pesky helmet storage...the owner's manual specifies that the area under the seat is designated helmet storage. And the website claims you can get 2 full faced helmets stored in the bike (I don't think so.)
Area under the seat:
Looks like a helmet will fit in there. But I tried to stick one under there...
...with some not so terrific results. The seat wouldn't close (note the white of the helmet.)
A little help from someone at BBO who has the same scooter--turn the helmet on its side, neck facing the bump inside the storage area...
...And the seat closes.
With a little help from tbolt at Rebel250.com I think I have it set up so that the blog can be read in a feeder. Link is in the sidebar under the Thumper picture. It's set up for Atom...to get it in RSS I think you just add (without quotes) "?alt=rss" to the feed url. I hope it works...