Don’t Commute … Scoot!

After riding our SYM RV 250 yesterday, there’s only one thing to say: if I’m going to keep riding this, I need a more aerodynamic helmet!

My experience with Chinese clone 250s, such as the Tank Touring 250 DE and the Sunl St. Croix 250, have led me to believe that you really don’t want to take one in traffic on an expressway. They just don’t handle very well at highway speeds – passing trucks will toss them all over.

Not so with the RV 250. It’s about 50 lbs. heavier than the Chinese clones, but sticks to the road much better than that. To me it seems like a true highway scooter.

More detailed observations:

Electrical

Even before turning the scooter on you know there’s something different about the RV 250. There are lots of lights!

Instead of just one or two headlights, this scooter has four, plus a unique ring of white LEDs. There is one very large (and very bright!) headlight that spreads a broad cone of light ahead of you. Switching to high beam turns it off and turns on the light inside the ring of LEDs, which sends a narrow beam up the road ahead of you. And at the base of the handlebars is a switch that turns on the two “foggy lights” (that’s what the manual calls them!) located on either side of the wheel well.

At the other end of the scoot the taillight is actually an array of 20 LEDs, each with its own reflector. It’s both big and bright, especially when the brakes are applied.

The turn signals are pretty ordinary, but the dash appears to have electroluminescent backlighting, making it easy to read both day and night. Even the SYM logo in the middle lights up!

To top off the lighting there’s a light in the storage compartment under the seat.

In addition to all the lights there’s an accessory outlet in the glove box, and I think there’s another under the seat. All of this is powered by a 12AH battery and a pretty hefty charging system.

The lights don’t wait for the engine – they come on as soon as the ignition switch is turned on. (So does an indicator on the dash warning you about excessive battery drain.) On the other hand, unlike most scooters the RV 250 doesn’t let you drain the battery by cranking when the kill switch is in the off position or the kick stand is down. Nothing will happen until the switch is turned on and the kick stand is up. Then the engine starts with just a touch.

I should also mention the dash. Instrumentation includes an electric speedometer and tach. These are programmed to sweep their needles once the engine is started, before settling down on the actual readings. I assume this means they are more accurate than the typical mechanical instruments.

In the center of the dash is an LCD screen that’s blank until the scooter’s turned on. Then it shows the fuel gauge, coolant temperature, clock, and odometer (which can be total miles or trip miles). The odometer doesn’t appear to accumulate miles unless the engine is on.

Finally, in the center of the dash around that SYM logo is a ring of indicator lights. (The turn signal indicators are at the outsides of the dash, not here.) These indicators show if the battery is discharging, the kick stand is down, the seat is unlatched, the kill switch is off, the high beam light is on, and something else I’m not remembering right now. Almost as many lights as in your car!

Seat Design

After being distracted by all the bright lights, the next thing to notice is the seat. Like the other touring scooters, the RV 250 has a stepped seat designed for two riders. The front rider gets a back support that extends up to the top of my hip bone when I’m sitting there. It also slopes down slightly to form a saddle for the rear passenger, so he or she isn’t constantly sliding towards the front.

The rear passenger also gets foot pegs that pop out when you step on them. Nice!

The floorboard is shaped so that the back is narrower than the front. This gives you plenty of room for your feet while you’re riding, but when you come to a stop you can put your feet almost straight down instead of having them stick way out like on other scooters.

All in all the seat and riding position are very comfortable.

One last comment about the seat: Like the Chinese clones, this seat is quite large. Unlike the clones, the space underneath is quite usable. I have no problem putting my helmet in there, with room for a half helmet, my rain gear, a bunch of bungee cords, and other stuff. There’s a pneumatic strut to hold the seat up when open, along with the light mentioned earlier. There’s even a liner in the bottom. This space compares favorably to the Burgman 400.

Other Design Features

The mirrors are mounted to the front fairing rather than to the handlebars, and they fold up. They are a decent size, but I wish they were a little farther out so I could see more directly behind me.

The windshield is nice and hefty. Even though I look over it when riding, it deflects most of the air flow over my head rather than in my face.

The handlebars are Y shaped rather than straight across. The knobs on the ends are weights that help dampen any vibration.

Now for the most important part:

The Ride

The RV 250 is a very quiet, solid feeling scooter. The engine just purrs under your seat. The long touring wheelbase and 13″ wheels give it a large turning radius (for a scooter), but that was expected.

The suspension was stiffer than I expected, causing bumps in the pavement to be quite noticeable. I suspect the shocks are adjustable.

My test ride was quite windy, but the RV 250 didn’t seem to notice. I encountered cross winds that tossed me around on the seat, but the scooter didn’t seem to notice at all!

That experience with the cross winds gave me the courage to try the RV 250 on the expressway. My experience with other 250cc scooters hasn’t been all that favorable – while they may be able to go faster than 70 mph, their response to turbulence caused by passing trucks has led me to believe that a 250 is still too small for real expressway use.

The RV 250 is different. Even though it’s heavier than other 250s, it’s significantly faster. At one point I had it going more than 80 mph, with a little more throttle left in reserve. It felt like it could cruise at 65 mph forever!

And then there’s that “stickiness”. Even when riding on the expressway in traffic I never had the feeling that the RV 250 was being blown around. This is truly the first 250cc scooter that I’ve ridden that I consider to be highway capable.

Only two problems, and neither is with the scoot. First, I have to be really careful when coming off the expressway. My speed perceptions need to adjust so I don’t find myself making turns at too high a speed.

The other problem is with my helmet. I’m pretty good about doing head checks before changing lanes. Unfortunately when I do them at 60+ mph the wind grabs the face shield on my 3/4 helmet and tries to jerk my head around! I have got to get a better skid lid!

Bottom line is that the RV 250 is one great, highway capable scooter!

Yesterday I had my first opportunity to take a Buddy 125 for a spin. Between an initial test ride and the Negative Image Scooter Club’s weekly ride I put 42 miles on it. Some observations:

Seat Design

A few things stood out just looking it over in the shop. First, the Buddy is somewhat small. People as short as 5′2″ were able to place their feet flat on the floor while sitting on the seat. This is due to the way the seat tapers in the front.

I wasn’t truly able to see how well it would fit someone as tall as I am (6′1″) until I got it on the road. The seat is fairly flat on top, so it was easy for me to slide back far enough to keep my knees out of the handlebars. It’s also rather cushy, so the 30 mile club ride was no problem.

Design for Maintenance

My mechanic, John, pointed out a few items that got him excited. First off, there are four bolts that hold the bucket and seat in place. Remove those and it’s a clear shot to working on anything on the top of the engine, including the carburetor and the electrical components. No more groping up under body panels or around frame members.

Removing one other screw allows a large panel to be removed, exposing the cylinder head. It appears that valve adjustments and possibly even a top end replacement can be done without dropping the engine or removing any other panels. Great!

The air box is partially tucked up under the left side body panel. On Chinese scooters this can make it difficult to remove the screws so that you can check and clean the air filter, but on the Buddy there’s only one hidden screw, and the panel over it has a hole allowing screwdriver access. Another nice change!

Electrical

One of the first things I noticed when I started up the Buddy is the headlight – it throws a LOT of light! The taillight (which is actually an array of LEDs) is also pretty bright, and gets REALLY bright when you hit the brakes.

Another little feature I noticed is the accessory outlet located on the back of the front fairing. It has a weather-proof cover, and is positioned so you can plug in your cell phone and drop it into the “dashboard tray” so that it charges while you ride. (I suppose you could plug in your radar detector, too, but do you really need one when riding on a scooter?)

The Ride

Enough of the stuff you can see in pictures! How does it ride?

I started out with a little run around the neighborhood to just stretch its legs. Everything feels tight – no slop. The mirrors don’t go bouncing around and have just a touch of vibration when sitting at a light. The turn signal switch is crisp, with good tactile feedback when you cancel it. The blinker relay is easy to hear over engine and road noise without being obnoxious.

Handling is what you’d expect from small wheels and a short wheelbase. The cushy seat means your hands and feet may notice ripples in the pavement, but your body doesn’t.

Part of this trip took me on a long straightaway, where I was able to get the indicated speed to be just over 60 mph. When you consider that most stock 150’s won’t do that, this is an amazing little 125! There’s certainly enough power to carry my 230 lb. carcass over the hills around here.

Probably the only downside I noticed was a “hot plastic” smell during this trip. I’m guessing there was some packing material that didn’t get cleaned off the muffler. Whatever it was, I didn’t notice it when I went on the club ride in the evening.

Speaking of the club ride, the NISC was kind enough to gather at the shop before heading out. The initial destination was Shoen Place in Pittsford, and then we proceeded to Abbott’s in Bushnell’s Basin. Along the way we used the Mitchell Road bridge over the Erie Canal. That’s a steel decked bridge, and the Buddy’s tires did NOT like it! That was one of the scariest bridge crossings I’ve done.

Most of the way the speed was around 45 mph, which the Buddy handled without any problems. Not many twisties.

There was one notable difference from the Chinese scoots I’m used to – the sound. Even though the Buddy 125 is a four stroke, it sounds a bit like a two stroke. At least to my ears.

All in all I was very Impressed with the Buddy. I can see why it’s “America’s Favorite Scooter!”

Scooter!

This is just a quick note to let you know that Urban Village Scooters is now an authorized dealer for the Genuine Scooter Company. We received our first shipment from them yesterday.

Stop by the showroom to see Buddy 50 and 125 scooters up close and personal!

Also in the shipment was a Rattler 110. That is one impressive scooter! (They’re all pretty impressive, but the Rattler stands out.) I can hardly wait to take it for a spin, or should I say sprint!

The Urban Village Scooters service department is now better than ever! John Mooney has joined us as a Service Tech, and we’ve expanded our shop with a second service bay in anticipation of the coming spring riding season.

Bring your scoot in before the rush and get it ready to ride!

Tank has published its 2008 catalog of Tank products. Most significant (to me) is what’s happened to their scooter lineup. It’s shrunk!

All that’s left are the Urban 50, both sized of the Classic, both sizes of the Viaggio, both sizes of the Sporty, the Touring 150 DE, and the Racer DS.

The thing I’m most surprised about is that the touring 250 (both versions) is gone. I’m bummed! What about you?

On the way back from my second trip to Home Depot yesterday my front brake went out.

I was riding on Brighton Henrietta Town Line Rd. at about 40 when the light ahead of me changed. I pressed firmly on both brakes when “FSSSTTT”, the front brake handle came all the way into the throttle grip. I gripped the rear even tighter, and wound up stopping part way into the intersection.

Fortunately it was a T intersection, and I was in the right lane crossing the T, so I wasn’t in the path of any traffic. While I waited for the light to change I tested the front brake. It seemed to work, but much softer than before.

After evaluating my options - how far to the shop, how far home, and the fact that the van with the carrier on it was parked in my garage at home - I decided to proceed cautiously back to the shop. The route back was all along South Clinton Ave., which is mostly four lanes, lightly travelled at this time of day, and only has two serious intersections to worry about, so it was a safe bet.

All the way back I kept testing the front brake. It felt like it was gripping, but wouldn’t stop the bike.

As I brought the scooter into the service area I told Gary about my problem. One look at the scooter revealed the cause - the right side of the front tire was covered in brake fluid. Looking up under the fender we could see that the brake line had gotten between the tire and the fork, and the tire had rubbed a hole in it.

How did it get loose? Well, it turns out that there’s no hose guide on the front brake, nor was there one on a customer’s Roketa that we just happened to be working on. We checked our Tank Viaggios and discovered they ALL had them. (The Viaggio is the same body style as the Roketa Sicily.)

I just checked ALL the scooters in the shop, whether ours or a customer’s, and they ALL have a guide of some sort to prevent the front brake hose from coming into contact with the front tire. All EXCEPT the Roketas.

Just something to think about the next time you’re shopping for a new ride!

I went out for lunch yesterday, around 2:00 as usual. It’s tough to get away from the store during the middle of the day - that’s when lots of people like to come in and shop. Anyway, I headed towards Home Depot to pick up some things, and tried to decide where to get lunch.

I finally thought about DiBella’s - a sub was SO appealing. I said to myself “Mm mm mm mm mm - tasty!” and just as I said “tasty” there was a loud SMACK as a honeybee hit my face shield. If the plastic hadn’t been there it would have hit square in my open mouth!

When I turned my head most of the carcass slid off in the wind, but there was still a smear that stayed there until I got to Home Depot and could wipe it off. I guess RainX works for bugs almost as well as rain!

I sell 1/2 and 3/4 helmets. I also have face shields that fit the 3/4s. People can buy whichever helmet they choose, but when they ask I always recommend a 3/4 with a face shield as the minimum to get (full faces are even better, if you can find one that fits you well.) That honeybee just drove home the point for me!

I just received the latest issue of Scoot! Magazine (aka Scoot Quarterly) which has their 2007 Scooter Buyer’s Guide. Come in and pick one up!

All of the Tank scooters we’ve received so far have come equiped with a remote controlled alarm system. The instructions are written in hard-to-decipher “Chinglish”.

I recently found Chinese motor scooter alarm system instructions which demystify how to properly use the remote control features. I was especially impressed by the ability to adjust the sensitivity of the alarm. If you’ve ever been repeatedly interrupted in a meeting by the alarm on your bike reacting to a gust of wind, you need to read this!

Safety first!

With that thought in mind, I’m happy to announce that the first product line we are carrying is AeroLife, a line of “personal illumination” products. Their AeroLight™ Guardian 2™ Belt in particular is a natural fit for scooter riders. It provide both retro-reflective and active illumination across the wearer’s shoulder and back, making him or her much more visible to other motorists at night. When not in use it rolls up and fits easily under your seat.

Ride safe!