Androgyne Wheels: What do we drive or ride?

[Julian]

I drive a bright blue Nissan Versa hatchback named Scooter, and ride a green 70's Schwinn Varsity that doesn't have a name yet. It needs one.

[ativan]

I am driven everywhere. I can drive, like I take the Harley out. But if I am going to appointments or store, I am driven.

I like to walk, i like watching things as I slowly go past. I can walk 12-18 Hrs at a time, unless my knee gives out. Actually I don't pay much attention to where I'm going and it takes a while to find my way back. Or I call and I get a ride. GPS is such a handy thing.

Ativan

[Bombi]

I drive 2 vehicles one a 95 Ford escort which is conveniently the same color as duct tape, The other is a 95 Jeep Cherokee that I use when the roads are flooded or I have riders. The Ford gets incredible mileage for the hills and stop and go on this little island. I also ride my Gary Fisher mountain bike on weekends. 10-15% grade hills are common. I love a little dirt bike but...
When I lived in Boston, just a bike.

[tekla]

I'm very lucky to live in a place that has a very aggressive and highly militant bike population.  SF has the highest number (either actual or as a percentage) of bike commuters of any US city.  We have managed - among other things - to get bike racks on all the buses, get BART to allow bikes on the BART system, force SF to put in more miles of bike lanes per miles of road than any other US city, force the Golden Gate Bridge to allow us over it at any time of the day (they basically gave the bike commuters the west side of the bridge, leaving the east side for tourists, and it's so beautiful at 3am).  It's not perfect, and riding in downtown city traffic is still a total gestalt experience, but it's a lot better than most of the other US cities.

[Bombi]

Tekla, Honolulu was very bike friendly too, bike lanes, racks on the bus, relatively courteous drivers and the mountain biking is extreme. Boston is just chaos. here because of the narrow roads and steep hills....only the hard core ride.

[tekla]

Well Boston is a mess to drive in also.  I think you really need all four seasons to ride in for the numbers to be large enough for the government to start to care.  Though that does not work everywhere.  LA is still the worst place to ride a bike, but San Diego is nice.

[espo]

I am driven everywhere. I can drive, like I take the Harley out. But if I am going to appointments or store, I am driven.

I like to walk, i like watching things as I slowly go past. I can walk 12-18 Hrs at a time, unless my knee gives out. Actually I don't pay much attention to where I'm going and it takes a while to find my way back. Or I call and I get a ride. GPS is such a handy thing.

Ativan

I'm a walker too. I can go maybe 3hrs max then my feet get sore but I love walking as way to clear my head. I would buy one of those pink Vespas if I could, scooters are freak'n awesome!!

[ativan]

I have access to 4 different scooters and a four-wheeler w/4whldrv and one with 2whl drive. There is also a big ass lake here that I can use a pontoon boat, little fishing boat with a trolling motor and a canoe. I could spend the day taking the canoe through the outlet, into a couple small lakes and then on down to the mississipi. I was thinking of getting a kayak again to take the same trip, but frm a river that feeds into the big ass lake. I need some white water again...

Ativan

[kyle_lawrence]

When I lived in Chicago, I had a Raleigh Rush Hour fixed gear that I usually did about 20 miles a day on almost year round.  Chicago gets a lot of snow and ice, and all that snow makes roads a lot narrower in the winter, so its not very safe to be on a bike.  Biking through snow can be a lot of fun though.  So during the winter I would take the busses and trains. 

Then I moved back home to work, and got a job that was 20 miles from home each way, and there wasnt really a bus that I could easily take (unless I felt like spending an hour and a half getting to work, each way).  I pretty much had to get a car out here.  Now I drive a 94 Toyota Camry, manual transmission, with the origional cassette deck that was probably pretty high tech in 93.  Its super ugly, and I have to climb in through the back seat anytime I have to get to the trunk because the latch is broken, but it runs pretty well. 

I also have a red Paris Sport road bike from '74, and a yellow Schwinn Varsity thats probably from the early 80's,  but neither of them get nearly enough road time.

[espo]

I have access to 4 different scooters and a four-wheeler w/4whldrv and one with 2whl drive. There is also a big ass lake here that I can use a pontoon boat, little fishing boat with a trolling motor and a canoe. I could spend the day taking the canoe through the outlet, into a couple small lakes and then on down to the mississipi. I was thinking of getting a kayak again to take the same trip, but frm a river that feeds into the big ass lake. I need some white water again...

Ativan

sooooooooo jealous

[Sevan]

I have a red 2006 Chevy HHR named Henry. I LOVE him! Should I ever trade him in for another vehicle...it'd have to be a better, newer HHR...perhaps in this gorgeous purple color I've seen around. Though I'd happily settle for pretty blue.

I almost traded him in the other day because the dealership sent us a letter saying they wanted it back for really good money. I was skeptical...but decided to hear them out. They were willing to give us a nice trade in value but it wouldn't have lowered our monthly payment at all...would have raised it by more than I desire. So...meh. I've still got my awesome red HHR rather than the newer 2010 black HHR.

[justmeinoz]

Definitely major motoconfusion here.  I have a Vespa GTS300, which is a lot quicker than you'd expect, for commuting, a worked 2001 Suzuki GSX-R 1000, and a 1987 Honda City pro-T hatchback/van. That is a lightweight micro car with a 1200 Civic engine.  I think I see a pattern forming here....

Karen.

[mimpi]

Now I drive a 94 Toyota Camry, manual transmission, with the origional cassette deck that was probably pretty high tech in 93.  Its super ugly, and I have to climb in through the back seat anytime I have to get to the trunk because the latch is broken, but it runs pretty well. 

Not that ugly, there's far worse. Unusual car here in Europe, the few on the roads here seem to be 'grey imports' from Japan as they have non European shaped licence plate holders.

Real ugly is one of these which I once had the misfortune to own: http://www.pioneer-automobiles.co.uk/Resources/library/citroen%20acadiane%20main.gif

[foosnark]

I have an iZip electric scooter.  Fun, but sadly it's basically a glorified toy, not really up for commutes of any length.  I was right near its max weight rating.  When I lived one mile from the office it could handle that, but only just, because of the hills.

I bought it at a discount, and the battery had sat around in a warehouse for months without a charge.  Unfortunately, that exact type of battery -- which fit nicely under the deck of the scooter -- is no longer manufactured.  So I rigged up a couple of emergency lighting batteries with a bit more current in a box strapped to the back... which ruined the balance of the thing.  And it could still barely make it a mile, much less deal with the 15 mile distance to the newer office.

It was fun to ride though, at least on level surfaces or downhill.  I'd kinda like a real scooter, but it'd be seasonal and I'm not too trusting in the ability of St. Louis drivers not to kill me . There are two bridges I can take across the Missouri River, both of which are major highways.  Otherwise I'd be more keen on the idea.

[mimpi]

Definitely major motoconfusion here.  I have a Vespa GTS300, which is a lot quicker than you'd expect, for commuting, a worked 2001 Suzuki GSX-R 1000, and a 1987 Honda City pro-T hatchback/van. That is a lightweight micro car with a 1200 Civic engine.  I think I see a pattern forming here....

Karen.

What's the handling like on the big Vespa, they added damping weights to the bar ends which made me wonder.  My scooter's been stolen and am looking for a replacement and had considered the Vespa.  We don't get the full Piaggio range here in the UK and it seems a shame to get a third Liberty 125 (150 isn't sold here and 200 no longer produced). Was thinking of an Aprilia SportCity Cube as an alternative but they're expensive and hard to find used. Any recommendations?

[Padma]

I had an electric scooter - until some teenagers decided it made me fair game for violence, since when I've not got back on one. It was really cool sitting in traffic knowing I wasn't wasting fossil fuels by not moving .

[justmeinoz]

Hi Mimpi. The Vespa handles great, being a steel monocoque frame with good suspension.  It is basically the same as the 200GT and 250 GTS. All the Piaggio 250/300's range have the same basic engine too. The 300 is their best yet.
The bar end weights are to nreduce engine vibration by changing the resonant frequency of the bars.  I changed the bars on a Yamaha XS650 a few years ago and had to hammer lead into the bar ends to make the vibration bearable.

As for recommendations, hard to say as we don't see a lot that you get over there.  Vespas, Aprilias, and if they are part of Piaggio maybe Derbi's 250 GP. I like something that can stay ahead of the traffic. The MP3 three wheelers would be good in your winters I'd reckon.

Karen.

[mimpi]

The Piaggio MP3? Saw our local South London Police on those yesterday, it wasn't a good look at all! I've always gone with the big wheel scooters here because of the bumpy, wet and slippery roads. Big scooters and motorcycles aren't really that practical in extremely heavy traffic due to their weight, width etc. As you rightly say it has to be fast enough to get way from traffic which a 125 will do in most of London. Am thinking of buying another oldish Liberty and having the engine upgraded to 190 plus new final drive, clutch, variator, belt and exhaust as a solution. Only problem is the insurance in case of an accident or getting pulled over...

[saint]

I catch buses (and sit at the front on the top deck!)

[Pica Pica]

I sit at the top, on the right hand side (facing the front) at the beginning of the last third of the bus...

This is because you get a seat at the top, better view and less squashed.
The left hand side has a ridge that reduces leg room so on the right.
There are two windows without little ridges that is is possible to lean against, one near the front, and one in the last third of the bus, the one at the front is more likely to have a stranger sit next to you, so pick the other one.