Hey scooter fanatics!
Imagine if you will, the chance to build the scooter of your DREAMS! How would it look? What sort of displacement, tires, fuel would it have? How much would it cost? The answer to these questions and MORE are in your head. Now we just need to get them out.
Please take a few minutes to complete our very brief and tiny survey. I doubt it will take you more than 6 minutes. It will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
steve
PS> It would be REAL cool if you could ask your friends at your local newsgroup, forum or pub to participate too!
29. February 2008 at 4:34 pm
I tried to take the survey but it says the survey is closed.
29. February 2008 at 4:36 pm
yeah?
Hrm..
I’m checking into that now.
THANKS!
steve
29. February 2008 at 4:42 pm
Fixed it! I was trying to cheap out and not subscribe… but that only works for 100 surveys. :(
That’s what I get for being a cheap %&$#*@#.
29. February 2008 at 9:37 pm
Are you going to post the results?
29. February 2008 at 11:56 pm
The perfect scooter is the SuperCub. The Sonic is not bad though.
1. March 2008 at 9:01 pm
Perfect bike? I think where I would start would be to build a mock-up from existing parts; take a MadAss frame and bolt on the 500-Master engine, put the radiator up-front over top the wheels (like the big-nose Dragster), rig up a Fallbrook NuVinci transmission (or the ECVT from the GP800)… and step back. It would probably look ugly as sin but this would be your “proof of concept” and your starting point.
I would only buy a Italjet that used a Piaggio engine like Peugeot does. I wouldn’t buy an Italjet engine because it would [1] likely be Chinese [2] no service or warranty coverage [3] no parts. I would buy an Italjet if they offered a VALUE ADDED product and to me value added means a wild design, naked bike, lighter weight, taller wheels, lower seat, and a better transmission (eliminate the swingarm). I would like to see more scooter-motorcycle crossovers like the MadAss, Honda Griffon, Honda Ray. Gilera DNA.
Another concern is parts. More so than warranty coverage. If I can’t get something covered under warranty I would simply bite-the-bullet and buy the part myself assuming the part is available. Toward that end, it would be nice if there were simply less to break; seat and glovebox latches that use a simple key rather than a cable or remote control, no high-tech disabling or alarm system, no digital displays with computer chips to figure out fuel usage, no clocks and temperature displays, etc. Real basic bikes with minimal electronics and no fancy gizmos that are small, lightweight, and fast with reliable engines and superior transmissions that will burn rubber from a stoplight. Quite frankly, scooters suffer terribly in off-the-line performance due to that crappy mechanically-actuated belt-pulley CVT design. Scooters are also grossly overweight due to the tubular steel frames and have a massive amount of unsprung-weight from the goofy swingarm design. I would pay more to get a better engineered bike.
-Dudel