jkl@asgb.UUCP (Jennifer Longstaff) (08/16/85)
In response to the adult concerned because a 16-year-old daughter wants a scooter: I am probably in the same position as your teenage daughter (except I am 28). I have been a bicyclist for a long time and have just bought a Honda 50cc motorscooter. I had done a bit of mo-ped riding, but never a motorcycle. My scooter will go up to 35 mph. I can take it on backroads and residential streets and drive right in traffic. (this is a little risky since the scooter is much smaller than a motorcycle and sort of hard to see.) When driving on roads where the speed limit is 35-55, I am forced to ride on the shoulder so cars can pass me (much as a bicycle). Since the scooter is small, it's not a real problem for cars to pass me. However it's a much scarier experience to be crowded off the road while going 35mph rather than while riding at 15-20 on a bicycle. Your 16-year-old will be required to have a motorcycle license as well as a regular auto license to be legal on the scooter. I don't know how much harder it is for minors to be motorcycle-licensed. As for brands/types of scooters: Vespa has been making scooters forever; they are bigger than my Honda Aero-50. I know that Vespas require shifting, as opposed to the Honda line which has a centrifical clutch therefore it's like an automatic transmission. (The only controls are 2 brake levers and the throttle, plus turn signals, horn and headlight.) If you or your daughter gets a scooter, decide BEFOREHAND that you're going to accept the fact that it's dangerous. Since I've gotten mine, I've had all sorts of "knowledgeable" people tell me that they're dangerous, that I'll kill myself on it, etc. If you listen to all that, you'll talk yourself right off of the bike. It is true that the scooter wheels are so small that the center of gravity is comparably high and there's more a chance of turning it over on a curve. With a motorcycle, the wheels are larger and the rider is settled down between them, not 'way up high like a scooter rider. I DON'T think a scooter is safer than a motorcycle: a little scooter like mine is harder to see, and because it can't go as fast as cars, there's more danger of cars passing you and crowding you onto the shoulder. (Another thing is: a scooter is classified as a motorcycle thus is illegal on bike paths! You'll have to ride on the road, or on the shoulder alongside.) Jennifer Longstaff -- Burroughs DSG, Boulder CO. 303/530-6689 p.s. I tried mailing you through "cadre" but had no luck. To continue this discussion, try to find a mail path back to me at: ...ihnp4!sdcsvax!bmcg!asgb!mardee!jkl