advanced scooter riding techniques?

[mugget]

hey all,

i am just wondering... what do you do as far as advanced riding techniques go on the scooter??

it just got me thinking since i've eventually come to the realization that if you plant both feet solidly on the footboards it effectively does the same thing as when you put the majority of the weight on the footpegs on a motorcycle. it soaks up bumps without transferring through your bum and making the whole thing wobble around so much.

so - anything else?

i've found it hard to do the same thing in corners... you kinda have to sit on the seat, even though you can shift from side to side a little bit.

[Luke]

Like this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgTGim5QYus

Or this...

[mugget]

well, not quite - i still want to sit on the seat, also the work scooter (Pugeot Blaster) has a raised section in the middle of the footboard, so not much room to move your feet, and i don't wear knee sliders on my trousers at work.

[tones]

I wouldn't mind knee sliders on my trousers for some scooter action. I reckon I am more chance of getting my knee down on my BeeWee than the VFR.

I will be interested to see what tips come out on this thread Mugget. I am really enjoying commuting on my scooter. The damn thing is just so fricken easy to ride that on days like today where it was raining on and off, the VFR would have been in the too hard basket and I would have driven. Not with the BeeWee. I would be disappointed to drive to work.

On the flipside, I am pushing a bit on the BeeWee. There is probably some false comfort in how slow it is coupled with cornering speeds that probably feel fast, but aren't really. I haven't felt that I have pushed the envelope yet, but give me some knee sliders and who knows

Felt too cool for school tonight. Rain starting coming down on the commute home. No problem, pulled into the side street and came to a stop with a sideways skid. It is like being on a pushy. I might have to start keeping an eye out for jumps.

[geezus]

Not a riding technique but I'd be taking the center stand off. It's not much fun when it touches down and pops you across into the next lane.

[Sizzler]

One of the big downsides to scooter handling is the lack of somewhere to support your knees. Without this, we tend to put too much input into the 'bars on a bike that is already fairly sensitve in the front.

Try sliding right forward in the seat, so that your knees are wedged against the front boards. This helps by-
* moving the weight forward, loading up the front tyre
* moving your weight over your feet, giving you more control through the floorboards
* putting a big bend in your elbows, so that inputs to the 'bars are more relaxed and controlled

The downside is that it is rather uncomfortable. That is the price you pay for perfomance. Save this for manouvering in traffic, or passing sportsbikes in the twisties.

[manch]

Thanks for the tips. I am new to scooters and it certainly feels very diff to normal bikes...but i am enjoying it. Your tips make sense and I know what u mean re 'inputs to the bars'..i sometimes find myself too tensed up in the arms..i guess thru the lack of normal bike feel thru legs/knees. Still on L's but have ridden dirt bikes heaps in younger days. I had been riding my wifes recently purchased chinese german sachs dash 150 - seemed to me like what i expected scooters/mopeds to be...it not bad but certianly no WOW factor. i was thinking getting a yamaha beewee 100 as always liked 2 strokes for the buzz. He thought Gilera 180 runner 2 stroke is most exciting one etc but they only in aust like 1998-2001 or something. He has had one before and said it will be his next one too...but they hard to get.

Any thghts on say a 1999 gilera 180 2 stroke? ..

[unco]

Without having a sports bike for about ten weeks, I was reduced to taking my scooter up the Old Road on occasions for a bit of fun. However, the handling is quite different:
You just don't have the top end speed on a scooter (120 tops on mine); unless you have a 500 or 600 machine.
The suspension is much softer (and there is no reason to change it). This tends to produce 'wobbles', or instability through a corner (the scooter will sit down, then rebound, half way through the corner). But it's still a lot of fun. If you were really keen, you could take the centre stand off; because that's what hits the surface when the scooter bottoms out (but again; there's no real point).
You won't 'scrape the pegs' on a scooter; but it doesn't take much lean angle to squash your foot between the fairing and the road surface (as I've found out, even at low commuting speeds)
On my scooter (a 250 Forza); I just didn't have the acceleration through a corner (especially uphill) as on a sports bike (even a 250); but it's a lot of fun downhill; when you can keep up with the bikes; because of the scooter's steering geometry (different rake angle; but beware of that suspension rebound).
You certainly do miss the ability to grip with the knees on a scooter; which can be quite disconcerting.
But basically, it's horses for courses; and scooters are just not designed to be ridden on fast, twisty roads. But then again, try to keep up with one weaving through city traffic; or carrying the week's shopping home under the seat.