Mostly for my wife I recently bought a Honda PCX150 scooter, while of course keeping my Goldwing. Most days that I go out for a ride (its nice being retired!) I take the Goldwing, like yesterday when I did a 200 mile ride on some nice roads. But a few times lately I have taken the scooter out instead, keeping to roads with no more than a 55 mph posted speed. Riding this scooter is quite a different experience from riding a motorcycle, and the fun factor is sky high. I remember once reading that riding a slow motorcycle fast is a lot more fun that riding a fast motorcycle slow, and I guess the same holds for the scooter. Top speed is about 60, and even that takes a while to get to. But the simplicity of riding a twist and go scooter, the ease with which it turns and stops, is just a real treat. The other day when I filled up the scooter at a gas station (I've only done this once so far; the PCX gets about 100 mpg) a fellow scooterist came to look at my scoot, saying he rides a Vespa 300cc scooter. He told me he has a full dress tourer as well, but lately always picks the scooter for a fun ride.
I'm not about to get rid of my motorcycle, and I don't think a scooter (unless it is a maxi scooter capable of Interstate highway speeds) could replace a motorcycle, but in its own right it really is fun. Several motorcycles waved at me, probably not aware I was on a scooter until they were passing me. If you've never ridden a scooter, the new ones now have much larger tires than the 12 inch wheels that they had a few years ago. And while you might think you will miss the shifting, its surprising how easy it is to get used to the convenience of just twisting and going, and of having both brakes controlled with hand levers.
Once my wife starts to ride regularly, and gets her license, I expect I won't have as many chances to ride the PCX as I do now, so I'm enjoying it for all its worth. Give it a try, you might surprise yourself.
I'm not about to get rid of my motorcycle, and I don't think a scooter (unless it is a maxi scooter capable of Interstate highway speeds) could replace a motorcycle, but in its own right it really is fun. Several motorcycles waved at me, probably not aware I was on a scooter until they were passing me. If you've never ridden a scooter, the new ones now have much larger tires than the 12 inch wheels that they had a few years ago. And while you might think you will miss the shifting, its surprising how easy it is to get used to the convenience of just twisting and going, and of having both brakes controlled with hand levers.
Once my wife starts to ride regularly, and gets her license, I expect I won't have as many chances to ride the PCX as I do now, so I'm enjoying it for all its worth. Give it a try, you might surprise yourself.
