I overslept today. My taskmasters at The Stranger ask me to get in at 10:00 a.m., so naturally, when I woke up at 9:30, I was a little panicked.
Not to worry! I took my time, had breakfast, listened to some of my favorite arias (I’m training to be an opera singer—seriously), and pulled my scooter out at 10:10 a.m. I like to take a different path to “work” every day, and since it was such a glorious morning, I took the extended route north on Lake Washington Boulevard starting at Seward Park. My 2009 Buddy has a 125cc engine—for reference, that means I can sometimes pull 55 miles per hour with a tailwind. Which I did, until I turned off at Yesler.
To wit: Drive a scooter if you want to feel like your commute is Mario Kart.
Do you need a motorcycle license to ride one?
Did anybody care that you were late? Was anybody actually there at 10?
@2 They’d probably care if they paid me. When I’m late I just try to stay a bit longer.
I love my Vespa LX 150. Scooting around the Iowa City on it is a joy. @1, I think you need a license if it’s 125cc and over.
Big L, you do need a motorcycle license for any scooter that is over 50cc in engine size, or that can exceed 40 mph.
To wit: drive a scooter if you want to Accidentially Masterbate or cause some new chaos and mayhem in the war on cars, or get around like a fashionable mod who don’t give a fuck…
i’m for the masterbate thang.
@5 You don’t need a motorcycle endorsement for anything registered as a moped. But actually, to be registered as a moped, it can’t exceed 30 mph, not 40 (on flat ground, with no wind).
Not that anyone ever checks. I bought my chinese 50cc brand new, and the Ballard Department of Licensing registered it as a moped at my word, with no supporting documentation at all. The top speed printed on the owners manual says “30 mph”, but it will easily hit 40.
Warning: this high lasts between May and September. The rest of the year, it’s like playing the ice-covered levels of Mario Kart.
That scooter rocks.
@8,
That is exactly why I don’t own a moped. Fun for a couple months in the summer. Sucks ass in the drippy wet winter.
@10 – I sold mine for those very reasons. Had one in LA and loved it.
Paul Holmes: the scooter is fabu, but since you’re training to be an opera singer I trust you’ll know what I’m talking about when I say SALVATORE LICITRA. Wear a helmet. Please?
@8, @10 There’s this stuff called “rain gear” and this other stuff called “fleece”. Together they work quite well to keep you warm and dry when riding your scooter in fall and winter. So does a windscreen.
@13, agreed. There are maybe two weeks a year that you can’t ride in Seattle. It’s only enjoyable May to October, but suck it up @8 and @10.
@6: Remember, you can’t spell masturbate without ‘u’.
@15: urp, thanks. is m(u)y face red.
@10
It’s not that bad in the winter. Just wear a full-face helmet, a good jacket, and a pair of leather gloves. You’re only going 30mph after all, so you really only need the same kind of weather protection you would in a stiff wind.
I commuted on my 50cc all winter long and never had any issues. You give yourself an extra margin of error on your stopping distance in the wet, but it never caused an issue for me.
I even rode it for the 2nd snow of the winter. After I couldn’t get my car (on summer tires) up the hill to my apartment, I decided it’d be safer to take a vehicle I could simply walk through any tough spots. And it worked fantastic. I just had to help it through the deep stuff with my boots, and avoid using the front brake.
tenor, baritone or bass?
I love that route. I work in Renton and live in Wedgwood, so when I take my Vespa to work, I come home along the edge of the lake.
You’re bragging about doing 55 on Lake Washington Boulevard? Do you know that you only get extra lives in Mario Kart, not in real life?
Signed,
Buddy Italia Owner
What can I say. I’m a fair weather rider. I’ve ridden motorcycles in the cold rain. Yes, I know it can be done. Rain gear and all that crap. But it’s still miserable and I don’t like it. A nice enclosed car with a heater is infinitely more comfortable. Call me a wimp if it makes you feel better. But riding in the cold rain just takes all the joy out of it.
But I can sure see the love for it on a day like today. It would have been beautiful.
I dunno. Nothing ever feels colder and more uncomfortable than getting into a car that’s been sitting outside overnight in the winter. Including riding a moped on a frosty winter morning.
Confirmed scooter-rider here. Nylon windbreaker for rainy days, $10 ski gloves. Basket on back holds groceries & small packages. Heavier/bulkier stuff on floorboard.
Is no one going to make the joke that they wished they had a blue shell while you were driving to work?
remember original public intern?
I’ve got a black and red Buddy 125 too – I’ve pegged the speedometer on it at 80 mph a couple of times when I was on the highway – but it really performs best at around 45 or 50.
Thanks a lot, jerkwad – *my* 125cc Buddy was stolen in January. I loved that little two-wheeled angel more than anything in the world for three years. I even have the toy model of it. And now it’s gone, and your picture and anecdote feel like dribbling tomato juice on a fresh scrape.
Sorry, sorry. Just bitter…
I’ve put 4000 miles on my electric scooter in Seattle. It’s modified from 48v to 60v with an extra battery which helps on the hills. Electric vehicles are a more civilized mode of transportation than internal combustion machines of any sort. Pish posh.
http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?q=evt…