(what are people so frightened of? a little ol’ scooter?! I wish I could remember the source of this image)
Hrm… this question still prevails. I remember asking something similar back in 2005 and just when I thought everything was cool and that scooters were finally being embraced by people (specifically Americans), I see signs showing otherwise.
Personally, I’m sorta sheltered from scooter haters. I hang out with scooter people, I read scooter sites and magazines, most of my friends think they’re pretty cool. So imagine my confusion when I stopped by Motorcycle.com‘s YouTube channel today. There was the Majesty video I did some time ago. It had over 27,000 views and a 4 star rating with 30 comments. I was thinking “Wow! The scooter fans really dig this one!”, and then I read the comments. Things like:
“lol i throw a fu*king big stick in fornt of that freaking faygo haha.”
Now, I’m not sure what that means, but I’m not sure the Insane Clown Posse would appreciate your useage of profanities in the same sentence (if you can call it that) with their favorite drink.
What could be the source of the hate? Is it that people associate “Scooter Libby” with scooters? Is it that people are too insecure to ride them? Is it because Jim Belushi rides one? I thought people liked Jim Belushi. I don’t know the answer, but I do know this… SCOOTERS ROCK! :)
So, what’s your take? Why the hard feelings against scoots?
11. November 2008 at 11:49 pm
Ah, YouTube comments. Nary will you find a more wretched hive of scum an villainy.
Seriously, though, you’re talking about scraping the residue at the bottom of the lowest common denominator on the internet.
12. November 2008 at 12:45 pm
I agree with Hackett, YouTube commenters can’t see the world properly from the view from their Mom’s basement.
What more disturbs me in the scene or at least in St. Louis anyways is the hate between vintage versus modern scooter clubs. It is SO retarded.
From talking to others from other cities we are not alone with these diverse feelings.
Life is short, love everything two wheels!
12. November 2008 at 3:19 pm
I agree with Hackett and Maggie! I haven't encountered any scooter haters personally. If someone has that attitude but not the cajones to address the issue with me personally, I don't care what cowards think. That said, I have always gotten thumbs up and peace signs more often from passing motorcyclists than scooterists, and I think it has something to do with the recognition that anyone riding a two-wheeler on today's streets and highways is takin' on a significant risk of injury, because we love to ride, and there's a camaraderie in that. That oughta be the sentiment between Vintage and Modern scooterists as well, and that's what I've experienced, perhaps simply because I don't hang out with scooter snobs or cowards. I was just snickering with another 40-something scooterist about the number of young faux "Mods" and "Rude Boys" out there who cop a scooter snob attitude yet can't name the members of the Who, never heard of Paul Weller or The Specials and think Northern Soul has something to do with tundra. Blah!!
- Tom Delaney
SYM HD200 & Kawasaki Vulcan Owner/Operator
http://www.myspace.com/tomdelaneymusic
12. November 2008 at 4:12 pm
I deal with haters all the time. Hence the name of our scooter club.
http://www.AntisocialSC.com
12. November 2008 at 4:29 pm
Anyone can post just about any comment on You Tube they want, Things they would never say to your face, Just like C.B. radio, Everyone’s a bad ass until you pull up in front of their house.
12. November 2008 at 4:53 pm
Scoots are fun to ride. My buddy bought a Majesty, and I’ll sneak a ride from time to time.
I thought it would be great for around town, but not for a long trip.
He proved me wrong. We did a thousand mile road trip, and his Majesty did perfectly.
http://lcchoppers.com/michigan-trip.html
12. November 2008 at 4:55 pm
Hackett! So… They’re all from Mos Eisley? ;)
Maggie! Yeah, that one is a bit complicated. I’ve tried to look at the “classic v. plastic” argument from both sides. I can understand having classic rallies and open rallies. But, I can’t understand hatin’ on each other. I think it has something to do with possession. Like, “This is MY scene! Go away!”. The same thing some people do when their favorite “underground” artist becomes popular… you know? The old, “Dude, Vampire Weekend sux. Now I listen to Ratatat.”
Blacktop Disciple! I hear you guys have a pretty strong scooter scene in Minnesota, right? Seems like it’s the cold states that really ride with gusto when the opportunity arises. Sorry, I don’t have a cure for the Faux Mods. How do you like your HD200?
Enviromoto! Cool shirts!
Anon! I think you’re right. YouTube is like the Troll Bridge. You can cross over and watch the cool videos on the other side, but don’t look down at the trolls.
12. November 2008 at 7:22 pm
It all comes down to fear. Fear of anything. Even scooters. And i do hope Obama will teach Americans to fear less.
12. November 2008 at 8:06 pm
Always plenty of hate from motorcyclists directed at scooterists, and for the most part it’s an issue of ignorance vs education. Motorcyclists as a general population (not all, just the painting-with-broad-strokes variety) view scooterists as people who bought a scooter because they are afraid of motorcycles. Scooterists, in their opinion, don’t treat their scooter with the respect that a 2-wheeled vehicle should be treated with, can’t ride for shit, and basically bought it because it was cute and they thought they could save money and therefor didn’t see the need to become a proficient motorcyclist because a scooter is “easy.” (oh yeah, and we never ride them more than 8 miles at a time, because they are just for picking up stuff at the corner store, and not actually RIDING) This is probably redundant, I’m sure I’m not mentioning any “revelation” that hasn’t already been beaten to death. Regardless, these same people who were clueless about the scooter population at large and about the wide variety of scooters – as we know, scooter does not equal moped – but tell that to your typical Squid on a Gixxer who has never ever ridden a scooter or ridden with a scooterist in his whole 17 years of life.
Plenty of regular motorcyclists who know otherwise, of course… they just don’t post comments on Youtube.
12. November 2008 at 10:19 pm
It’s just flamewad comments – Don’t feed the Trolls!
12. November 2008 at 11:54 pm
Pete Townsend
Keith Moon
John Entwistle
Rodger Daltry
King of the Mods
A message to you Rudy…”Stop your messin’ around”
Northern Soul would come from Northern England, i.e. not London(this is the only one i’m not 100% sure on)
BTW I’m twenty somethin and did not use google does this make me a real “mod” now?
People always hate on whatever is NOT their idea of “conventional”….when has that ever changed?
13. November 2008 at 1:04 am
So now that I’ve cheated and looked I’ve found I confused Paul Weller w/ Peter Meadon, I’ve misspelled almost all of the Who’s names, “a message to you” was not actualy written by the specials and northern soul was popularized in northern england but not originating from…..do I still get partial credit?
On a serious note I think the fact that scooters are enjoyed by young and old speaks to their permanent “cool” status…..haters are just jealous.
13. November 2008 at 2:43 am
In the USA, scooters are ridiculed because the general configuration follows that of a girl’s bicycle (a step-through design to allow for the wearing of a dress or skirt). Because the basic design is intended to allow for the wearing of a skirt, scooters are considered “feminine” and if a guy is riding the scooter he is considered effeminate and thus gay. The solution is pretty simple; for the USA market manufacturers should offer small automatic motorcycles (e.g., Honda C200) rather than girl step-through scooters. Unless of course, you are a manly-man who wears a utilikilt.
http://www.utilikilts.com
- dudel
13. November 2008 at 4:48 am
Utilikilt dude pretty much hit it nail met head.
We flounce about waving stuff about how we're all "progressive" and "advanced" because of the things we've overcome because of our diverse population but alot of the old stuff is still hanging in there and mucking things up.
I'd think that since because, basically, everyone in the world gets the good scooters but us those who aren't scooterists/scooter fans put a subconscious concept of, "If we don't have it, we're not really missing out on anything 'cuz we only get the good stuff in Amurica" which gets amplified with whatever other stereotypes we have about a country that has a good attitude towards scooters.
The U.K.? Hurr, we kicked them out back in 1776!
Asia? Hurr, the place that made instant noodles that poor college kids eat like water? Pffft!
South America, Middle East etc.? Ah durr hurr wuuuuuuut?
Maybe not as contrived as all that, but some thinking and insightful analysis pretty much comes up with that and everyone else's concensus.
But I still do hate the fact we can't get the cool scooters like the Forza or the Choinori. :<
13. November 2008 at 9:34 am
Some motorcyclists buy vehicles to impress other people and project a conformist image that marks them as part of a social cohort.
It’s certainly true of some cruiser and sportbike owners (who actually have clubs built on these conformist images), and I would even say it was true of a minority of vintage scooter owners.
So if you choose to ride something different that does not fit into any recognized cohort, these insecure individuals believe you are attacking or insulting their social cohort.
13. November 2008 at 6:15 pm
Wait, if I ride a scooter that means I’m gay?!?! So THAT’S my problem! That explains why I think Brad Pitt is so cute! Thanks!!
14. November 2008 at 6:09 pm
Brent, I’d say you’re a real “Neo-Mod.”
16. November 2008 at 1:33 pm
It was Bertrand Russell who said,
“Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd.”
Personally, I take pride in standing apart from the herd.
“To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.”
~Sun Tzu~
17. November 2008 at 12:21 pm
I can tell you the source of the hate, at least in the UK.
In the UK, you can start riding 50cc scooters a year before you can start driving a car. Because of this, the roads are awash with young kids on scooters who are riding them not out of love of the two-wheeled life, but because it’s the only thing available to them until they’re old enough to swap for four wheels.
So they don’t care for their vehicles, don’t ride safely, don’t wear the right protective gear, and get into a disproportionate nubmer of accidents.
If you’ve heard of the UK term “chav”, you’ll understand why scooters are so villified here, because teenage chavs and scooters with leaner plates go hand in hand here, and serious scooter riders like yourself are going to get a lot of flack by simple association, I’m afraid to say.
18. November 2008 at 6:21 pm
YouTube, Mos Eisley, there’s a difference?! Although I’ve occasionally run into scooter-haters who are operating on ignorance, (i.e. the stupid MSF instructor who claimed scooters were inherently dangerous because “They have inadequate brakes and don’t have the power to get out of their own way!”) in general, most people seem to be intrigued. I’m sure there are real scooter-snobs out there. But at a rally recently, a person who was a total classic scooter purista said, “Yeah, I guess I prefer the classics, and I’ll admit to occasionally lookin’ down on plastic scooters. But, hey! Anything on two wheels beats anything on four wheels in my book! And by the way, your scooter rocks!”
My scooter? A Kymco Xciting 500!
1. December 2008 at 7:40 pm
I found some studies around the phenomenon:
http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html
6. January 2009 at 3:10 pm
I don’t see the “hating on scooters” thing here in Austin, Texas much. The occasional laugh from a cager is about as I get, and it’s usually from a young guy riding in the back seat.
If I feel like it, I’ll point out the fact that I do own a vehicle of my own. That usually gives the driver/cage owner a big laugh and stops the comments.
As for the “classic v. plastic” thing I don’t see that here either. I ride my Vino occasionally with a group of vintage Vespa folks and they’re great!
OldGuy
9. November 2009 at 8:47 am
i have a hells angel friend who lives in arizona, he was always hacking on my scooter, and kind of puting it down, but one day he e mailed me and said David, i understand what your talking about now, a friend of mine bought a scooter and let me ride it as you know i own two harleys and retired from the angels now, my friend alowed me to try his scooter out well dave i own a scooter now i just had to buy one after i rode his, and i must say wow is it fun, i havent rode my harleys sence i bought the scooter,