The Great Motor Scooter Debate

I have loved riding on two wheels since I was young. Dad had a Honda 90 step-through that was kept at "the lake place" near Church Lake. Dad acquired the property from his long-time business associate and dear friend, Tim McCartney, and used it as a recreational getaway for the family. It was mostly my brother and me who rode it, but I remember one time when my younger sister rode it. She knew how to make it go, but she didn't know how to make it stop. She ran it into a fence that we had to rebuild before we could ride it again that day. 

Even though my brother and I were upset for her not knowing how to stop, I now recognize that one of the hardest lessons we learn when we ride motorbikes is how to stop on them. My own first experience riding a scooter with a clutch was on Uncle Rudy's Lambretta 125. He told me how to let the clutch out and how to shift the gears, which was done by a slight twist on the clutch handle. The ride went really well, but the bike started jerking on me as I came back to where my uncle was. They didn't tell me that I needed to pull the clutch back in or to be in neutral when I stopped. 

Erin inherited the motorcycling gene that I must have inherited from my paternal grandfather, Aden Koecke. She has always been athletically gifted having rode her first two-wheel bicycle on the same day as Candace, who is three-and-a-half years older. She got a moped when we lived next door to Mom. She had all the instructions, and I assured her that I would do my best to keep up with her. I kept up with her for about 50 feet and she was gone. By the time she was back down the alley by our garage, she laid it down because she forgot to let go of the throttle which overrode the brakes. 

I have owned many motorcycles as an adult. Three of the last five have been cruisers that I rode on trips with friends and to visit friends who lived in different areas. I put a lot of miles on the three cruisers, which was the reason I got them when I did.

Of the two that weren't cruisers, one was a Honda 700 that I bought from a neighbor, and the other was a Kawasaki 550 that I picked up as part of a trade. The Honda was much easier to use as a commuter to and from work in Kent than my cruiser, and the Kawasaki was much easier to get out and use around town. The two bikes became what I had to ride when the Goldwing developed problems that I never got repaired. 

I eventually replaced the Goldwing with a Suzuki Boulevard C90, which is slightly larger than 1500 cubic centimeters. I traded it for an enclosed trailer that I needed more than a motorcycle four years ago. I haven't owned a bike nor ridden much since then.

Enough about that. I am a person of practicality even when it comes to unnecessary luxuries. 

I still have friends who live far away that I might visit. However, if I do so, I will be driving my Mercedes. I can't imagine a scenario where I travel long distance on a bike, but I can see myself enjoying short trips on back roads. I often rode my cruisers on the back roads if I were out for a ride, but I could also ride on the freeways for those long trips I would now take in my Mercedes.

I was telling a friend that I was considering a scooter as the most practical option for me to get two-wheeled transportation to enjoy. They are so much lighter than motorcycles, have storage that motorcycles don't have, and are just twist-and-go. I could go for short errands and to visit friends around town on one, and I could go for scooter rides to further places if it was what they call a maxi-scooter, which is one large enough to do freeway speeds without significant strain. 

He thought it was a bad idea to get a scooter. He would get a motorcycle. His reason, though, is that he would personally be embarrassed to ride a scooter. 

This sparked the great motor scooter debate that included two more friends!

My second friend said I shouldn't buy a scooter and that I also should not buy a motorcycle. He still owns both motorcycles that he's put many miles on. One of his bikes doesn't run, and he has no time to ride the one that does run. He personally doesn't get much use from his bikes, and, having known me for three years, he wonders why I have the sudden urge to do something I've done for more than fifty years.

My third friend said I should not buy a scooter because riding anything on two wheels seems really dangerous to him. Even though he has taken his 24-foot boat several miles out into the Pacific Ocean for many years, he personally finds something I've done for more than fifty years to be unsafe.

We took a vote. It was 3-1 that I should not get a scooter. 

I personally don't care how others personally feel, and I bought a 2005 Suzuki 400 Burgman scooter last evening! I picked it up in Lynnwood and rode it down Hwy 99 to Portland Ave. The Burgman ran perfectly, but there was a chill in the air that reminded me that I am now a fair-weather rider, too! 

You may see me scooting around town or down some back roads on my small two-wheeler when the weather gets warmer. However, if I am on the freeway on a long trip, you will still want to look out for me in my Mercedes.