Weatherman wins this time...

After a week of bad predictions, I decided to take my chances on the scooter again today with a 40% chance of rain prediction.  Well, the weatherman got it right for a change, and I ended up soaked on the way home from lunch.  Soaked.  Absolutely... soaked.  And face numb from the sting of tiny raindrops.

I guess I can consider it initiation.  I knew it was bound to happen eventually if I was going to commit to really commuting daily on the scooter.  Oh well.. at least it was just rain and not hail!

First week on the scooter

Well weather has cut my first week short, so I'm back on 4 wheels today. So I thought I'd go ahead and give my first week impressions of the new scooter.

First off, I love the look of it, I think it has a definite Euro style to it that the rental scooter lacked.  I've gotten a lot of comments on it.  People want to know 2 things in general: 1) How fast will it go? and 2) What kind of gas mileage does it get?

Well I can't fully answer #1.  There is a break-in period where I'm supposed to lay off the throttle.  So I haven't fully opened it up.  Typical speed is around 35, but cruising on a flat surface has gotten me up to 40.  Downhill I buried the needle once, which tops out at 50.  Uphill, it can slow to as little as 25 depending on the length of the hill and if you got a running start or not.  I'll know better when the break-in period (about 150 miles) is done.

As for #2, I can't really answer that fully either.  The manufacturer says 75mpg, but with an engine this small, there are a lot of factors.  My weight, my terrain, my driving habits.  All play into it. I haven't gone through a tank of gas yet, so I can't say what I'm getting now.

The benefits. I've gone 60 miles on it this short week.  Based on current gas prices, that's a savings of $13 over driving my car. But more important than saving money, I feel like I'm doing my part to reduce petrol consumption.  Since I've travelled on less than one gallon of gas what would have taken me over 4 in the Saab.

The cons. The biggest complaint right now, is that it is full of this shipping oil (which will be replaced with smokeless synthetic at 300 miles) that smokes at startup like crazy.  As a result, I smell like I've been using a chainsaw when I get to work.  This will be resolved of course, after the first oil change.

Overall, I love my new scooter!

New Scooter!

Well I broke down and bought a new scooter today. I had researched all I could really, and trying to decide which one to get was starting to have a negative effect on my personality. It was driving my wife crazy. She can only take so much of my obsessing.

So I landed a Benelli Andretti m50. I thought it fitting that I buy an Italian-designed scooter, since the genesis of this obsession was my recent trip to Italy. I have only driven it the short distance from the dealership to my house. So far, I love it and it looks beautiful sitting in my driveway.

My scooter-for-the-week

Obsession advances. Today I rented a scooter from a shop in Raleigh. I have to say I'm lovin' it.

The ride home was fun. A little scary at first but after I got the hang of it, it was a blast.

I got passed once. But other than that I never felt like a hindrance.

This scooter is a SYM euro jet 50cc. Its restricted to 35 mph. I got it up to 42 downhill. Wheeee!

Getting the horse before the cart.

The obsession continues, and I came really close this week to renting a scooter. The weather is gorgeous and it would have been a perfect time to do it, but I decided to hold off until I have my own helmet.

So I did order a helmet. Nothing fancy... fairly cheap actually. When it comes to knowing how much to spend on a helmet, the adage is apparently, "well how much is your head worth?" Apparently mine is worth $39.95.

Helmets can get crazy. I saw some as high as $700. I settled on the stylish Zox Alto because it has some pretty slick front vents. Even if the scooter obsession fades and I end up not getting one, I think I'm going to wear this baby around just for general protection. Plus it'll make me look like Ponch.

Scooters

Being in Italy somewhat inspired me. Probably not the way it does most visitors. Being in Italy inspired me to get a scooter. I mean, they're everywhere there. Of course, you don't see the giant trucks and SUVs there that are everywhere here and look like giant boots waiting to squash unsuspecting scooter drivers.

My wife will attest that I've become somewhat obsessed with the idea as of late. I work less than 5 miles from my home and yet I still crank up the ol' Saab daily to make the ~8 minute drive. The temp needle barely gets to warm before I'm there. That can't be good.

So, with weather warming outside, I thought what better time to start obsessing about a scooter. We'll see what happens.

EDIT: I have to admit that I was a little freaked out by the fact that when I went to apply a label to this post, one of the example labels from Blogger was "scooters". Totally coincidental. I think.