Scooter
Community

Since i've decided to get a scooter i've been noticing that there are more and more on the road - which is a good thing!

Whilst i've ridden before o/s on the islands in Thailand and in Vietnam (outback), I haven't had that much experience riding amongs the thick traffic of the likes of Sydney.....

I saw a chick last night and she was definately a hazzard on the road - i doubt she was even doing the speed limit and the traffic was banked up for miles behind her, one by one they (when they could) went round her.... i felt sad for her as she looked very nervous and scared...., but on the other hand i was proud of her for getting amongst it! My thoughts where "you go girlfriend"

 I don't think i'll be like that but i can't be sure till i get out there amongst it........ sometimes i'm excited about the proposotion of getting amongst it and other times i'm nervous.... sh*t i hope that i won't be a hazzard like the girl i saw last night.... WOW!!!!!

jeeeeeeeeeeeeepers!!!

 

It's a bit hard when you see people like her.  She obviously lacks confidence, yet the cars zooming past are not a confidence booster!  At times you feel she should not be there, but hey, sometimes the cagers need to be a little more patient, and not so arrogant in their behaviour.  So I give it to her for getting out there, I mean we all started off somewhere, and we have all been nervous and scared.  But some do not take that one, and use it as adrenalin like I do!

Yeah you go girlfriend!

i just worry that whilst i think i'll be ok, as i'm quite confident - i figure if i can manage in Vietnam on the wrong side of the road on a flippen motorbike, i should be ok, but when i see people like that i have second thoughts.  I have the initial thoughts when i'm in my cage "i'll be fine" but on a bike 60-70 k's feels much faster than in a cage and hence you probably feel like your going about 100 !!!

I really wanted her to pull up next to me at the lights so that i could give her "the nod" and the thumbs up but she always stayed in the lane like the cages and never did that thing down the middle to poll position. 

In the meantime i drive in my cage and imagine that i'm on a scoot - windows down and the wind blowing in my face!

By the way, i love the term "cage" and i LOL all day when i'm driving in "my cage".... that is hilarious!!! I love it....

 

 

veggie:

definately a hazzard on the road - i doubt she was even doing the speed limit and the traffic was banked up for miles

I came across a guy on Sachs doing the same thing when I came up about 10mtrs behind him he slowed even more, pulled over more to the left with no blinker, I didn't know if he was trying to pull off the road or what. I was trying to turn left but this guy was so unpredictable I backed right off but the impatient cager behind me was tooting his horn, the poor guy on the Sachs was in a panic, by this time I was pissed off because the cager almost took me out trying to get around.

The road we were on is busy at the best of times, while I have sympathy for the guy on the Sachs, he really should not be on such a busy road until he has the riding skills and confidence to handle the traffic, as he is a danger to self and others. Rider training and lots of practice in quite streets would have enabled him to gain the skills and confidence he lacked.

When you're starting out it's good to stick to the local streets & stay at lower speeds. This way you can build your confidence up at your own pace gradually becoming increasingly adventurous.

I'm not sure how long it took me to commute to work & back on my (start) Today (arrive tomorrow) 50, but it was a fair while. I bought it, and mostly used it for, pleasure trips - to the markets for breakky & coffee, visiting friends, joy riding around the rabbit warren & 50 zone twisties of Ballajura. I'm so glad I went with the desire to ride further faster. Really glad too that I took the step of having lessons & doing the test.

The day I picked up my scoot, my sis offered to ride around town with me, so I could get comfortable in low to moderate traffic - it was a sat am. She's got about 7 yrs experience & has done a lot of riding with newbies, particularly on group rides. After several laps of the large backstreet area near the scooter shop, my sis led off at a comfortable pace, always close to the speed limit, so that I could get used to the flow of traffic. We stuck to lower speed roads, mostly 60 zones, until I was happy to go onto higher speed roads (70 & 80kph). It was a great chance to work on the techniques from the pre-Learners course - looking up, looking 5 seconds ahead, really looking around corners, head checks, mirror checks, etc. She also took me around low traffic round-a-bouts to get confidence on turns. Towards the end of the day, she let me lead the way, which also helped me gain confidence in my ability. Having her behind me also acted as a traffic buffer, while I got the confidence to go it alone. I really recommend that you try to find someone who is willing to do this with you, so that you can have the same great start to scooting that I had.

Best of luck, enjoy your scoot & stay safe. PP

 

 Your sister sounds really cool. You're very lucky to have someone like that to break you in gently when it comes to riding in traffic. Most people have to experience it on their own & learn from mistakes, which can often be frightening & painful.

The way she handled your initial ride is brilliant, we might have to incorporate something similar into the group rides for newbies. There's already talk of a 5 minute instructional & safety chat prior to the rides in order to encourage the riders to think about safety etc before heading out.

Having someone help like that makes a huge difference doesn't it? I've only had my "L's" for a week and my partner Richard rides his huge trailbike behind me. I still occasionally forget to turn off the blinker so he beeps once to remind me which is helpful and when we stop offers some tips re buffering etc too. Today someone tried to merge into me (which fortunately I noticed and I got out of the way in time), but Richard gave them an earful ( using some interesting hand movements!) and pointed to the "L" plate on my scooter. The driver looked very sheepish and dropped way behind Richard (i.e crazy guy on trailbike) and I'm watching the cars around me even more carefully than I was.

ScootaChic:

joy riding around the rabbit warren & 50 zone twisties of Ballajura.

where in ballajura are these 50 zone twisties??? I wanna go there   lol

 LOL they're not true twisties but many of the roads curve around with traffic control roundabouts etc. It's very easy to get lost there although most roads, in the older part, will lead you somewhere eventually.

OK that's not making sense even to me. Time for bed!