Dumbest things said to me as a scooter rider

[Stig / Major Tom]

Two come to mind:

Climbing off of my 422lb Honda Forza 300 a guy on the sidewalk said, "That's an awfully big helmet for such a small scooter."

Sales girl, frustrated that every helmet she handed me was too small, "After all, it's only a scooter."

At 6'3"+ and 255 lbs I generally don't get much flak when riding my scooters.

Stig

[CROSSBOLT]

"How fast will it go?"
"Do you need a license to drive that?"
(legitimate question) "Does it get good mileage?"
"I used to ride a Harley but I had to lay 'er down. Haven't ridden since." (Probably good for all of us!)
"Is that electric?"

[LidoCA]

"Get a real bike!"

[AlexisStarlyn]

Not exactly related, but I was heading into McDonalds last week and a guy asked me what I ride (modular helmet, save time by just not taking it off for take-out.) and I said “Just a kymco (usually they get disinterested at this, or just curious at the brand)” he peeks out “how big is the engine?” “400.” “400?! Wow that’s big for a scooter! Didnt know they came that big!” “Yeah they do” at this point he seems legitimately curious and asks lots of questions, mpg, comfort, cost, maintenance, etc. He seems very interested the whole time. Made me feel good!

I’ve gotten the helmet question for the Agility 50 a load “it’s only a 50” (We’re in NY, helmets are MANDATORY.)
The people I bought the the Xciting from seemed incredibly worried the whole time, even marking a still very expensive icon jacket down to around 100$. Which on Revzilla still cost over 200$ and marked down a new helmet for me as well. They were amazing.
People seemed to care a lot more when I got the 400i.


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[CROSSBOLT]

Good post, Alex! Big difference when you get whuffo questions like that (whuffo = wha' fo' you ride that?). Lotsa people don't get that 50's can be a "speed bump" in traffic and you can get just as dead by falling off at 30 mph as much as a 500!

[AlexisStarlyn]

Good post, Alex! Big difference when you get whuffo questions like that (whuffo = wha' fo' you ride that?). Lotsa people don't get that 50's can be a "speed bump" in traffic and you can get just as dead by falling off at 30 mph as much as a 500!

My brother’s girlfriend got hit on her BICYCLE, and passed away (bless her)

People need to understand to ATLEAST wear a helmet. Always. No matter how short, you don’t know if in the next 100 feet the car coming behind you is checking their phone and speeding even a little.


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[Forbes1964]

Good post, Alex! Big difference when you get whuffo questions like that (whuffo = wha' fo' you ride that?). Lotsa people don't get that 50's can be a "speed bump" in traffic and you can get just as dead by falling off at 30 mph as much as a 500!

I’ll NEVER forget the exchange between my 35 year old service manager (boss) and I as I was leaving work on the Friday before my accident. “It tickles me when I see you in that helmet, jacket and gloves on a SCOOTER , hee, hee, hee,” . He stated it in front of some of the other employees as they laughed too. I remember saying something to the effect of if I’m riding at 50-60 mph and have an accident, my body won’t know if I fell off a scooter or a Harley.
Little did I know that  that would prove that fact just a day and a half later. When he heard about my accident and came to see me in the hospital, he told me that he was IMMEDIATELY glad that I was NOT intimidated by his teasing . I told him that as a 52 year old, I’d learned not to be influenced by peer pressure from  a young kid.


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[CROSSBOLT]

Yeay, Forbes!

[Forbes1964]

Yeay, Forbes!

Based on the scratches on my helmet, and the fact that it hit something hard enough to cause the chin straps to cut into my chin, I’ve determined that it was much easier to recover from a shattered leg than a shattered skull. Amputation of the head would not have been acceptable  option. They don’t make prosthetic heads yet. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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[JJJoseph]

Scooter riders also need to have a perfect squelch at the ready.  I (76 yrs old on a Kymco Sento) was asked,"Why don't you ride a Harley?".  My reply just popped out,"Because I don't want people to think I'm old!"

[Viper254]

The beautiful thing about being in Europe is that Harley culture doesn't really exist here. However, we do have problems with the BMW GS1200 brigade, who consider themselves the toughest adventurers ever due to owning a pristine $15,000 "adventure bike".

I caused great confusion by turning up at the "Overland Event" (big adventure-touring show) on my old Suzuki scooter, which was 110cc of pure CVT joy, and having a very respectable attempt at the "off road obstacle track", on which I managed a pretty respectable time due to the bike weighing nothing and the very controllable nature of the CVT in the mud!

I guess we have "adventure bike" snobbery in this country.

[jeeves]

The beautiful thing about being in Europe is that Harley culture doesn't really exist here. However, we do have problems with the BMW GS1200 brigade, who consider themselves the toughest adventurers ever due to owning a pristine $15,000 "adventure bike".

I caused great confusion by turning up at the "Overland Event" (big adventure-touring show) on my old Suzuki scooter, which was 110cc of pure CVT joy, and having a very respectable attempt at the "off road obstacle track", on which I managed a pretty respectable time due to the bike weighing nothing and the very controllable nature of the CVT in the mud!

I guess we have "adventure bike" snobbery in this country.

Blame it on Ewan and Borman. [emoji1]
The GS/GSA crowd is huge, and it's only gonna get bigger.
No brain bucket and pirate apparel, but plenty enough Rukka, Schubert, Daytona for the all thr "real" adventures that lie ahead.



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[hypophthalmus]

I've wondered about the adventure bikes. I've never ridden one, so I can't judge them from experience, but they seem rather heavy and overpowered for off-road/dirt-road use.

I considered them because I need to go on ridiculous, poorly maintained dirt roads in the mountains. But I'm thankful for the 300 pounds and low center of gravity of the bike I went with instead.

[jeeves]

I've wondered about the adventure bikes. I've never ridden one, so I can't judge them from experience, but they seem rather heavy and overpowered for off-road/dirt-road use.

I considered them because I need to go on ridiculous, poorly maintained dirt roads in the mountains. But I'm thankful for the 300 pounds and low center of gravity of the bike I went with instead.

I have a Kawasaki KLV 1000.
98hp, and 240kg.
I've ridden it on well maintained dirt and gravel roads, but never felt comfortable doing it.
It depends on a person's riding skills, and my off-road skills are quite bad.



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[JJJoseph]

The beautiful thing about being in Europe is that Harley culture doesn't really exist here.

What about the hordes of Germans on Harleys?  One sees them all over Europe, from Spain to Croatia!