Tips for Giving and Getting the “Riders Wave”

It’s important to give “the wave” to other riders on the road, whether they be driving motorcycles or scooters. I have watched the behaviour of different riders on the road (based on vehicle and gender) and it’s actually quite interesting the very clear trends I can notice.

Women. – I always do, but no woman has ever given me low hand wave when she drives by.

Crotch rockets. – There has been a rare exception or two where they will wave. They give the nod mostly. Their bikes are not really designed for the wave anyways.

Harleys. – Mostly always wave, the bigger the bike and the older the person, the more likely they are to wave. Unless they are people who only ride their motorcycles to and from work.

The commuter. – People commuting to and from work don’t wave. They are grumpy.

Scooters. – They will wave if you wave at them first, especially if they are newer drivers.

When I first started getting the wave, I was not sure exactly what they were doing with their hands. You pretty much just take it and stick lower than the bars and that’s it. I used to give the dorky schoolgirl back and forth wave because I was not sure about how to do the special hand signal. But there is none.

A guy driving by on a big chopper reached out to grab my hand once. He was wearing an orange shirt and I think I fell in love with him a bit.

Scooters Are In My Blood

The first scooter was invented by George Gauthier in 1902 in Blois, France. It was called the auto-fauteuil (auto-armchair) and looks like something you would drive to a picnic. It was not popular for very long because of the state of the roads at the time.

I was pretty excited when I read about this – because, you see, the inventor of the scooter and I share a last name. Sure, in France the last name Gauthier is like Smith or Johnson, but it is still very likely that we are closely related in my opinion. This would explain why I rock the scooter and ours is a dance of swift grace.

It was not until the military needed some vehicles of war that the “vespa-style” scooter would appear, and again these would wane in popularity until Japanese companies renewed interest in the scooter by modernizing the Vespa metal clunker.

Transporting Large Items On Scooters

Scooters are great for running errands – small errands mostly. Many scooters come equipped with trunks or other storage space. But sometimes scooter drivers get pretty creative when it comes to moving larger items.

While I would not recommend moving lumber (yes, I did that once and all went well until I had to turn and realized that my scooter could not go much anywhere but in a perfectly straight, balanced line), it is possible to invent some extra space where a trunk is not big enough. Of course, this impacts greatly on safety, so I suppose it depends on how much you care about safety concerns.

1. The best thing I have found has been bungee cords. These are perfect for securing things to my footrest.
2. Keep in mind you want to try to keep the weight to the centre of your scooter, and evenly distribute weight on all sides. Your scooter is small and if you pack too much weight to the back, you could find yourself flipping backwards if the conditions permit.
3. Don’t carry more than you can handle. Be honest about your driving abilities – if you are still nervous driving don’t give yourself the added worry of whether your things will be strewn across the road.
4. Read up on how much your scooter can carry and heed this.

Always remember, your scooter was not designed to move large items. If it was they would have made it look like a pickup truck but as it is scooters are not pickup trucks. Be safe.

Porsche v. Scooter

A man in a Porsche 911 stops at a stoplight and a guy on a scooter pulls up next to him. The guy on the scooter leans over and takes an admiring look at the inside of the Porsche and tells the driver that he has a really hot car. Well, the light turned green so the driver of the Porsche decides to show off and peels out and leaves the guy on the scooter in the dust. Then, all of a sudden, he sees the scooter zip on past him. So, being a little cocky, the Porsche driver floors it again and blows past the guy on the scooter. A few seconds later, he again sees the scooter zip on past him. So now he’s a little irate as well as a little miffed that that scooter keeps passing him so he floors it until he is going over 100 mph. He thinks to himself that there would be no way that scooter could catch him now, but then looks in the rear-view mirror and sees that scooter starting to catch up. He then decides to find out what that scooter really is and slams on his brakes. Then the scooter crashes into the Porsche. After the dust settled, the Porsche driver sees the scooter driver lying in the road and goes over to him and asks how he could go as fast as the Porsche on a little scooter… The dying man replied, “I can’t really, but my suspenders were caught on your side mirror….”

Do Scooters Have An Age Limit?

The Piaggio MP3 Lincoln Highway ride ended recently – it is amazing what companies will do to sell things. Two elderly gentlemen spent 30 days driving across the United States proving that there is “No Age Limit”. Sorry guys, I took my second stage motorcycle test with a few elderly gentlemen and I don’t think that it is such a good idea to stick all the old men on scooters. Furthermore, does anybody see the irony in giving a 500cc scooter to two men in their seventies… do they really need all those cc’s?

I do not deny that there are no doubt countless older individuals who might enjoy the scooter, but to make it seem as though there is “no age limit” is quite misleading and a sure way to lead to many broken hips.

Scooter Heads: Vespa Goes Guerilla

I collected these photos of the Scooter Heads.

Creepy or cool? You decide.

Kind of funny little guerilla marketing campaign. Clever I suppose. You are your scooter… your scooter is you. But why are they all dressed the same, and why are there no girls, and what’s with the band-aid on the crotch of the last one down?

High Gas Prices: The Worst Reason to Buy a Scooter

Six years ago I bought my scooter, a 2003 Honda Jazz. The first ride was just plain funny, but immediately I knew that this was the way for me to travel. Soon it was a though the scooter was an extension of my body and it moves when I do, and I move when it does. Today, it is a part of who I am and I cannot imagine my life without it. Every ride for me is special and I delight in the time we spend together. Yes, it is my best friend and no I am not ashamed that I bought my best friend at a store for cash money. Because scooters are a girls’ best friend.

I bought my scooter for the best of reasons – true love.

Where’s the love now!? The people who buy their scooters because of the gas prices will soon find that they have put away their scooter or sold it because riding a scooter or any two wheeled vehicle is not for everybody and among the qualities required I do not believe you will find frugality. Nor do I think it is the ability to follow the trends.

Year after year I have seen new scooters appear and then they disappear the next year, never to return until I see them being sold online. So sad… I wish I could adopt them all.

So, before you buy one remember: Scooters are people too.