[Budd]

A friend of mine at work bought a scooter a couple of weeks ago. His first time riding it was home from the dealership. He figured that he would just figure it out as he went and he did for the most part. Last Wednesday, on his way home from work, he approached a stop light at about 45mph as it turned yellow. He applied the brakes gently but realized that he was still coming in too fast and he grabbed them. Up and over he went. He was wearing an armored jacket and a helmet but didn’t have on gloves or armored pants. No broken bones but he was scraped up a bit on his hands and legs. His wife is going to make him take a riding class, and he thinks that is probably a good idea.

Just goes to show that training is important, even on a scooter.

[Ben]

Ouch. It always surprises me when I see people without gloves. In my mind that is the first thing that is going to hit the pavement when I try and catch myself. Glad your friend is alright, did the scooter make it out unscathed?

Ben
~Best Beginner Motorcycles Admin

[Budd]

Two broken brake levers, bent the muffler, broke a mirror, and scratched it up pretty bad. He somehow managed to bend the key. He is going to take it back down to the scooter shop to get it fixed. It is a Genuine Buddy 125.

I am going to miss the looks it got in the parking lot being parked between my Ninja and a big yellow Harley.

“I am the best I am at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine

[Anonymous]

Scooters are so easy to jump on and off (and generally so low-powered) that most scooter riders don’t bother wearing any protective gear (other than a helmet).

We have a guy at work who bought a cute little Vespa and was commuting on it (first time rider). I ride a motorcycle and told him he should be wearing some protective gear. He said, yeah, yeah, I know…

Anyway, about 6 weeks later he came off and ended-up in hospital with broken bones and bruises. Insurance got him a new scooter and he still rides a scooter to work (kudos to him for that), except NOW he wears protective gear.

I hate to say I told you so, but…

Some folks just won’t listen to good advice.

[Andrew]

I live in a College town and the the number of scooters on the road has gone up significantly this year. Hardly any of them wear any gear though. A guy at my work commutes on a Vino 125 but only wears a helmet. Most of the college kids wear shorts, t-shirt and sandals right now. I hope they don’t all have to learn the hard way.

Andrew

[shaggles]

I never see anyone fully geared up on a small scooter. I can understand it. It can be a real pain in the butt. I’m guilty of riding without armored pants sometimes but that’s about it.

[megaspaz]

I mean it’s as if riding a scooter magically makes you impervious to getting hurt if you crash into something at 45 mph, or get asspacked, or run off the road… Didn’t make sense to me before I started riding, and doesn’t make sense to me after I started riding. Whenever I saw a scooter rider, riding with just an open faced helmet, I always thought, man it’s really gonna suck for them if they take a dive while motoring about…. I dunno, though, I’m just a product of public edumacation…

—
If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…

[Budd]

The guy brought in his gear and I saw it after work today. He did have gloves on but the were only leather on the fingers and palms and they didn’t protect the tops of his hands as he was sliding. His helmet was scraped up really bad from thin chin bar up to the top on the right side. The shield was torn off and the base for the shield was ground almost all the way down on one side. His jacket looks pretty good except for the giant hole over the armer in his shoulder and some wear on the right elbow. He said he hit the breaks and then doesn’t remember until he realized that what he was seeing was the ground moving below him. He had on leather lace up casual shoes and they held up really well with only minor scuffing.

If he would have had on anything less than a full face helmet, he probably would have broken his jaw and would have lost a lot of face, pun intended.

“I am the best I am at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine

[shaggles]

I wonder if he would gone OTB like that if he’d been on a bike instead of a scooter? I’m not trying to put down scooters but it seems like the way you’re just kind of perched on a little seat instead of gripping the bike with your legs is asking for trouble in an accident.

[acidpope]

Even though bikes have superior stopping over cars, when you’re coming up to lights you should always be expecting them to change and adjust your speed accordingly so *if* they do you can stop safely. Going 45 around lights though is a little weird. Most lights are in high traffic areas where speeds are generally 30-35. Atleast in my area.

[Andrew]

45 isn’t unusual here. Theres a 3 lane road here that goes from one end of town to the other that is a 45mph zone. It’s part of my commute so I’ll have to deal with sections of it once I’m riding.

Andrew

[Author]

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