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Bmw scooter

I like 'em.

I think the scooter market needs a shaking up and I believe BMW has done that.

C'mon guys, think....

This scooter isn't really for you. You have bikes, you ride 'em.... Nothing is gonna change that.

These scooters are for first-timers. People new to the concept of two wheeling and also attracted to the BMW Brand.

I think it's a brilliant move by BMW. Remember, BMW's already owns the male 45-65 market of Motorbikes. They've been trying to expand their market. They release the S1000RR. It's a huge success. It's the #1 selling bike from BMW defeating the mighty R1200 GS.

This attracted a huge group that previously wouldn't consider BMW.

With the scooter, I believe BMW will do it again.

The scooter should be taken seriously. It's not necessarily for us motorbike riders, but many of the scooter buyers may be motorbike buyers tomorrow.

Best,

Jimmy
 
OCJIMMY said:
C'mon guys, think....

This scooter isn't really for you. You have bikes, you ride 'em.... Nothing is gonna change that.

These scooters are for old farts that can't hold their bike upright any more.
Click to expand...

fixed. :ha

seriously, the people i see riding Suzuki Bergmans are almost all ex-Goldwingers.
 
I am 44 years old ( not quite a feeble old fart but getting there) and have a few medical issues. One of which is degenerative joint desease. There are days where it's all I can do to swing a leg over my R1200RT. I see the scooter as a serious contender to be a stablemate for my RT. I aim to ride as long as long as my body will let me. I will be test riding a scooter at my first opportunity. If it allows me to ride on days where I'm too stiff and creaky et on the RT then it's worth the price of admission. Also my girlfriend wants to learn to ride. The scooter would be a good thing for her to get the feel for two wheels without the complications of a clutch and foot shifter. Those skills could be added later after the basics were better understood.


P/S My orthapeadic surgeon has informed me that he has no doubt that I will need both hips and knees replaced before I'm 50.
 
OCJIMMY said:
I like 'em.

I think the scooter market needs a shaking up and I believe BMW has done that.

C'mon guys, think....

This scooter isn't really for you. You have bikes, you ride 'em.... Nothing is gonna change that.

These scooters are for first-timers. People new to the concept of two wheeling and also attracted to the BMW Brand.

I think it's a brilliant move by BMW. Remember, BMW's already owns the male 45-65 market of Motorbikes. They've been trying to expand their market. They release the S1000RR. It's a huge success. It's the #1 selling bike from BMW defeating the mighty R1200 GS.

This attracted a huge group that previously wouldn't consider BMW.

With the scooter, I believe BMW will do it again.

The scooter should be taken seriously. It's not necessarily for us motorbike riders, but many of the scooter buyers may be motorbike buyers tomorrow.

Best,

Jimmy
Click to expand...
You are obviously NOT planning for your less active senior years. That's a nice mind set but sciatica has me looking at scoots(and longing for the time to get back on a bike!) & I already had the notion of a lighter bike then later a scoot as a progression(if you can call it that?) toward less active times. I have had some fun rides on 49cc scoots and the only thing about the BMW's that turns me off is they are far too "spacy" looking vs., say a Vespa,Piaggio or Aprilla with some punch.
 
I mentioned a scooter or bicycle for a guy on here with a four mile commute and was flamed.

If I had a city commute of less that 10 miles I would buy a Yamaha Zuma 125 in a heartbeat. I think it would look just fine sitting to the row of BMWs sitting in the garage.

Scooters, bicycles.....almost anything with 2 wheels are fun.

They are not just for beginners.
 
At the beginning of this year I had made a decision to give up riding. Pulled the trigger and sold all my bikes, trailer ,and gave away some nice gear.

I was just miserable over this decision. Tried to find a sporty car to satisfy my desire to feel the breeze. Sadly nothing appealed well enough or was in a price range that fit my meager budget.

Saw a real nice 1985 R80 on line and ended up buying it.
SWMBO supported the idea !

I like this machine a lot, but in retrospect i believe I would have been happier with a Maxi Step Through.
The same physical difficulties i have that caused me to want to give up riding in the first place are ever present.

If i decide to keep on riding much longer ( I'm 67 ) I may be on a Maxi before long, and BMW is high on the list with the up coming offerings.

For those of you that make smart a**ed remarks about scooters. I suggest you come down to NC. and see the number of them flying through the curves in the mountains around here.
Yes, they are usually piloted buy some gray haired person, but I'll wager you will have to work pretty hard to keep up with them.
Believe me , I have tried , and those things are plenty quick in the right hands.
 
I followed this 80 year old guy on a 500 scoot through the 3 passes ride in the Sierra Nevadas & man, he was flyin. When I can't swing the leg over a big bike, scoot is the first step, unless I buy one now, as my wife saw them & said, "I want to test ride one of those".
 
sedanman said:
I am 44 years old ( not quite a feeble old fart but getting there) and have a few medical issues. One of which is degenerative joint desease.
Click to expand...

a good buddy of mine did the same thing. he hated giving up his GS but because of his hips he could no longer straddle a bike. his Bergy Executive let him ride with his legs together.

they need a dual sport one of these things. the fatter tires would make off-pavement riding easier.

i lust for a Honda Ruckus... not enough motor.
 
That Ruckus is sort of cute in an industrial sort of way.

I see them occasionally around here, kind of remind me of old Russian bikes.
 
i lust for a Honda Ruckus... not enough motor.
Click to expand...

Maybe you just haven't found the right Ruckus.. ..
icon_wink.gif


htup_1101_02_o+2004_honda_ruckus+rear_right_side_view.jpg


130_0804_02_z+honda_ruckus+burnout.jpg


Ruckus+GOkubuto.jpg


Honda%20Ruckus%20Gokubuto%20Front.jpg


<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tj8-DIn0mzs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Regarding the Burgman

The Burgman has been around since 03 I believe. I owned one for 5 years and remain convinced that is they could get people to test drive them and stop worrying about looking macho, they couldn't keep them in stock.

The seat release cable broke-that was the only issue in 5 years of ownership.
Driveability was superb from the time you touched the starter button.
 
OCJIMMY said:
I like 'em.

I think the scooter market needs a shaking up and I believe BMW has done that.

C'mon guys, think....

This scooter isn't really for you. You have bikes, you ride 'em.... Nothing is gonna change that.

These scooters are for first-timers. People new to the concept of two wheeling and also attracted to the BMW Brand.

I think it's a brilliant move by BMW. Remember, BMW's already owns the male 45-65 market of Motorbikes. They've been trying to expand their market. They release the S1000RR. It's a huge success. It's the #1 selling bike from BMW defeating the mighty R1200 GS.

This attracted a huge group that previously wouldn't consider BMW.

With the scooter, I believe BMW will do it again.

The scooter should be taken seriously. It's not necessarily for us motorbike riders, but many of the scooter buyers may be motorbike buyers tomorrow.

Best,

Jimmy
Click to expand...

Actually the people I know that are most interested in the new scooter are motorcycle riders (both BMW and others).

For some a scooter just makes more sense. Heck I have two RT's and would not hesitate to have a GT make it's way into my garage.

For urban stop and go traffic it sure beats the airhead RT (heat) and the hexhead RT (price).

Next summer will be fun.
 
Lmo1131 said:
Maybe you just haven't found the right Ruckus.. ..
icon_wink.gif


Honda%20Ruckus%20Gokubuto%20Front.jpg
Click to expand...

ok, now this one here is cool.... find some ATV tires for it and you're good to go!

but ain't there supposed to be a motor in that big open space in the middle? ;)

ian
 
The motor on the Ruckus is part of the swing arm if i am not mistaken. That's the way many of the popular scooters have been designed for years ; eg: Vespa & Lambretta. I believe that contributes to the lower cost, and some wierd handling issues aside from the tiny wheels.

The bigger Maxi's seem to be moving the motor forward and therefore reducing the ability to step through. You sort of sit on and swing a leg through , at least that's the way i got on the few i have had the opportunity to sit on.

As to the comments about us losing our Macho attitude and go ride a Maxi.
I got my Machoectomy a long time ago, don't miss it at all :blush
I think the Maxi's look macho as much as a Goldwing that has shrunk does. The connotation of "Scooter " is what turns many guys away I'll bet.
Start referring to them as "Step Through" and get over it.:clap

If I could find one to test ride, I'd be there in a heart beat :D
 
JStrube said:
I followed this 80 year old guy on a 500 scoot through the 3 passes ride in the Sierra Nevadas & man, he was flyin. When I can't swing the leg over a big bike, scoot is the first step, unless I buy one now, as my wife saw them & said, "I want to test ride one of those".
Click to expand...
Rider got blasted for writing up a CanAm as "not a bike". While I'm not flapped over what is or isn't a bike, I can relate to the above far more easily than a pricey trike type machine. Not trying to start a fight here but they just seem like massive tricycles to me w/o much in the way of 2 wheeling balance freedom. Yeh, theres wind in your face but isn't it really about more than that? That's exactly why even a small scoot is in fact , lots of fun. Same for a pizza bike.
I like that "machoectomy"! HA! When told at the neurosurgeon "do you realize that you are able to do things that no 67 yr old should be able to do"?, I replied, maybe so, "but do you realize that you are looking at what little that's left of what used to be one hell of a kid"...
Here I sit on my memory foam pillow with a McKenzie lumbar cushion behind me longing for the days of summer.
 
kantuckid said:
Rider got blasted for writing up a CanAm as "not a bike". While I'm not flapped over what is or isn't a bike, I can relate to the above far more easily than a pricey trike type machine. Not trying to start a fight here but they just seem like massive tricycles to me w/o much in the way of 2 wheeling balance freedom. Yeh, theres wind in your face but isn't it really about more than that? That's exactly why even a small scoot is in fact , lots of fun. Same for a pizza bike.
I like that "machoectomy"! HA! When told at the neurosurgeon "do you realize that you are able to do things that no 67 yr old should be able to do"?, I replied, maybe so, "but do you realize that you are looking at what little that's left of what used to be one hell of a kid"...
Here I sit on my memory foam pillow with a McKenzie lumbar cushion behind me longing for the days of summer.
Click to expand...

I just read that letter too.

I think part of that is that RIDER got squoze together with American RIDER, most of the hater letters seem to come from the people who were transferred over... I don't complain about the new chopperistic articles in RIDER, don't really care for the combo as much as the old mag, but I still dig the mag.
 
ain't there supposed to be a motor in that big open space in the middle?
Click to expand...

neah... that's where your feet go. The engine in there somewhere in the back, hidden behind the turbocharger.. ...

714447651_ZfVbL-L.jpg


With a $1,600 entry price for a beater (if you can find one) it seems like a lot of grin for the bucks. And you know when the likes of Yoshimura and Brembo are making aftermarket parts for them that there are more grins available.

Obviously, none of these are out-of-the-box products and their reliability and longevity are not to be counted on. That said, I don't suspect their owners care about that aspect too much; I doubt that any of these machines would be asked to do an LA to Phoenix round trip. (never say never). I've got to say, I still love a good surprise, and if one of these things passed me on my /5 out on the slab I'd get a good grin out of it.

index.php
 
The Ruckus riders do an invasion of the Dragon here in NC. every year. The pictures are a hoot.
 
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