Wheels, Wheels, Wheels 2008

It seems that Wheels, Wheels, Wheels is sceduled for September 13 & 14th this year. How do I know? I saw a poster for Barnstorm Weekend in the Lancaster Brewing Company. Barnstorm Weekend is an odd combination of an Art Show at Lancaster Museum of Art; movies at Binn's Park; a baseball game; events at the local Harley dealer; Wheels, Wheels, Wheels; and self-guided rides. It seems to me that if you are going to the trouble of organizing a biker's weekend, the least you could do is to organize one official, guided ride. It's also very Harley-centric, but I guess they know where the money is.

But it's good to know when Wheels, Wheel, Wheels is. My scooter will be there, representing!

Around Town Today

No story, just some scooters I saw around town today. Just because pictures are fun. Does one of these belong to you?

First Anniversary

It's been a year that this site has been in operation. What has changed? Well, gas is up another dollar, and people finally seem to be coming around to the idea that scooters are a smart way to get around. I see a lot more scooters in the City. I'm not going to take credit for that... $4 gas is the culprit, I'm sure. But it's good to see nonetheless.

I thought I would be publishing maps, leading rides and joining clubs. That turned out to be wrong. I'm not a leader or a joiner apparently. I like to do things at my own pace and on my own schedule. In addition to a full time job and the other things I do, this site is enough. I've met some great people over the last year, and hope to meet more over the next year. But it's unlikely it will be because of anything I've organized. I'd love for there to be an active scooter club in Lancaster and/or a scooter store downtown. But it will have to come from someone else. If you need some web publicity, you know how to contact me.

I went from never having ridden a motorized 2-wheeler to passing the MSF Course and getting my license. I've got 2,700 miles on the scooter. I've put similar amounts on 2 motorcycles. All said, the scooter is more fun. If my bikes were both stolen today (and they better not be), I'd probably replace them with a big scooter. Last Sunday I rode the motorcycle down to the Chesapeake Bay and hopped from Havre de Grace, to Charlestown, to Northeast and Chesapeake City. It was a wonderful day. I want a scooter that can make that trip. I recommend going to the Tidewater Grille in Havre de Grace and having their signature Copper Ale. (P.S. Stay away from Chesapeake City. You wouldn't like it. Go to Northeast. Yeah, that's it. That's more your kind of town.)

What will things be like a year from now? Will there be more dedicated motorbike parking around town? How much will gas cost? What bikes will I have? I am curious.

Looking for a scooter?

There has been some stories in the press lately that Japanese scooters are hard to find. I hate to tell you to cross the river, but I was at Action Powersports today and they had a nice selection of Hondas and Yamahas of all sizes.

Scooter Rentals

It's been pointed out that Jaboba's website no longer exists. No matter, I hear that Country Road Cycles is getting into scooter rentals with Yamaha scooters.

Question: Planning a trip...

Somebody asked about a tool to use to plan a 50cc-friendly route for a multi-State trip. Here is my how I responded:

Spend some time playing with Mapquest. When getting driving directions, there are controls on the right that you can click to avoid highways and toll roads. Unfortunately, I don't know of a tool that will plan a route on roads 40mph or under. I have access to some Mapquest-like data through my job, and everything I've looked at is not attributed finely enough to make that possible. Somebody would have note everywhere the speed limits change. And as far as I can tell, nobody has gone to that detail yet.

Also, search scooterfix.com (formerly girlbike.com). The writer of that site rode from Maryland to Vermont on a 150cc scooter.

Dear readers, if you know of such a tool, let me know.

Big News Day

Another scooter rider was hurt this morning, this time hit by a car in the City. He was wearing a helmet and riding a Yamati.

All this on a day when scooters made the front page of the morning paper! The article was about how scooters are selling so fast that dealers can't get them fast enough.

I guess we found peoples' price point: $4/gallon.

Parking A Challenge Elsewhere Too

Scooterists in Columbus, Ohio are doing something about parking, and they have started a blog to document the struggle. Let's see if you can fight City Hall...

"Scooters Have Gone Nuts This Year"

That is a quote from the service manager at B&B Yamaha. Last year I was told that my C3 was the only daily driver they knew of. All the others they sold were being used as pit bikes. But I saw 2 blues ones in on the street over the weekend. Keith at B&B said, "I have a blue one and a white one going out today!"

And those white ones are nice. You can't tell from the picture, but it is a sort of pearlized white. And they aren't going to offer that color next year, so get 'em while they last.

Keith also told me a familiar story: existing scooter owners are saying that those who thought they were crazy last year are this year asking, "Where did you get that?"

Woman Hurt In Scooter Crash

See Lancaster Online article. Unfortunately, with the rocketing rise in scooter usage, a rise in these types of articles is likely. People: a bicycle helment is not designed for the speeds and the types of impacts you get in a scooter crash. Get yourself a DOT approved helmet.
Scooter riders traditionaly have not worn full face helmets. But I strongly suggest one. 35% of crashes impact the chin bar area. Where your teeth are. Don't become a believer after the fact...

R.I.P. Giovanni DiSomma

Giovanni DiSomma, whom I wrote about here, has succumbed to his injuries.
Let's be careful out there everyone.

Red Rose Races Defunct

If you are a fan of bicycle racing, or just liked the fact that these events were held in Lancaster, this is a sad, crazy story.

Didn't Summer 2008 Just Start?

Wow, Yamaha is on the ball. They have their 2009 Models posted already! They seem to be ready to capitalize on the growing scooter market in the USA. Next year's Zuma 125 looks like a potential hit. And look at this:
That could be my next bike!

A History Lesson

I went to an air show and a scooter rally broke out.

I went to the Mid-Atlantic Air Museam's WWII Weekend at the Reading Airport yesterday. It's more than just an air show. It's a celebration of the WWII era. And there were a lot of vehicles there from that time, including scooters.

The ones that caught my attention most were the Cushman 53's. There were at least three of them there, all in about the same condition. These were apparently used by the Airbourne, Ordinance Department.

They seem to be operated strictly with pedals, as there were 3. There was a metal tag that listed their specs:

Vehicle weight: 255 lbs.

Maximum Payload: 250 lbs.

Gross Weight: 505 lbs.

Maximum Speed: 40 mph

Gasoline Octane Rating: 68 to 80

SAE 10 Oil below 32 degrees F

SAE 30 Oil above 32 degrees F

Publications Parts List: SNL-G-683

Operators and Maintenance Manual: TM-9-876

Man, they look like fun. With those fat tires and long wheel base, I bet they ride smooth. Look at the springs under the seat. Unfortunately, I didn't see one running.

They had trailer hitches and this one was towing a gun. Wouldn't you like to have that in traffic?

The other scooter well represented was this Villiers Junior. It may not look comfortable, but after marching in combat boots I bet it looked pretty good. This fellow was riding this around, but it looked like he was having trouble keeping it running.

Here is a second one. In the background, you can see a folding pike and the Cushman trailer.

Lastly, is this boxy thing. In the background are some Whizzer bikes.

Your Green Tip of the week...

Did you know that you can ask for your Dunkin Donuts coffee in a paper cup, instead of styrofoam? You can.

Speaking of Parking...

It's coming up on a year of having dedicated scooter parking in the Prince Street garage. The Parking Authority siad it would periodicly evaluate how it was working out. So let's take a look...

Here is a Honda Metro parked in the designated spots this morning. Along with my own, it was the only other scooter there. Meanwhile, over at Central Market...





There were 2 scooters parked with the bicycles: a Stella and another Met. So what does this tell us?

Either half of the the scooter riders don't know about the other parking, or they don't care and want to park as close to their destination as possible. I can understand that. One of the points to having a scooter is to not be bound by the parking restrictions of cars. Why volunteer to be bound to a single parking garage?

I also think that the requirment that scooters be registered with the Authority to park in the garage is a discouragement to those spaces being used. "Oh, look! Free parking! Oh, the sign says you need to register... I'd better go somewhere else before they ticket me." Why can't the spaces just be free, without having to register? If you want to put restrictions on it, just post the rules on a sign. That's enough to enforce them.

Motorbike Parking Design Criteria

With the increased sales of scooters and motorcycles (referred to here for the remainder of this entry as “motorbikes“) is coming the need for dedicated motorbike parking. Providing dedicated motorbike parking spaces encourages patrons or employees to ride to your establishment. The potential benefits of this are:
· Reduced traffic
· More available parking area
· Better use of resources, both fuel and space
With this is mind, following are some guidelines for providing motorbike parking.

Space Dimensions

Scooters:
Width: 3.5 -4’
Length: 8-9’

Motorcycles:
Width: 4.5 -5’
Length: 8-9’

Slope and Surface

A motorbike parks on a stand that gives it 3 points of contact with the ground within a long, narrow envelope. This can make them prone to tipping. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the slope and surface.

Slope:

• Slope should be as close to flat as can be attained while still providing adequate drainage. Motorbikes’ brakes are not engaged while parked. The only resistance to the rolling of a scooter or motorcycle in neutral is the stand.


• Slope should be front to rear, lengthwise through the spaces. A side slope will affect the lean angle of a bike on a kickstand, making it less stable.


• Most motorbikes are powered with forward gears only. Only the giant touring bikes, like Honda Goldwings, have a reverse gear. If reversing a bike out of a parking spot is necessary, the slope should be in that direction. Trying to walk a 800lb. bike backward up even a 2% slope is a feat beyond all but the burliest of bikers. If sloping away from the exit is the only option, bikes should be required to back into spaces so they can pull out forward under power.

Surface:

• A kickstand supports a lot of weight in small area. A kickstand can sink into heated asphalt, causing bikes to fall and pavement to become riddled with dents and holes. For these reasons, macadam makes a poor surface for motorbike parking. Gravel is similarly problematic for kickstands, and is easily sprayed into other vehicles by spinning tires. Consider concrete, brick, concrete or stone pavers, or a densely packed fine stone dust.

Location

• Out of the path of other vehicles that could bump them when backing up.


• Keep clear of overhanging trees to prevent bird droppings or dripping sap.


• Avoid nearby gratings into which keys can be dropped.


• All spaces should be grouped together as a cohesive area, as opposed to sprinkled individually throughout the lot. Designers should be discouraged from utilizing “left over” space to fulfill motorbike parking needs.


• Provide architectural cover if possible.

Security

Because 2-3 people can easily and quickly lift a motorbike into a van or truck (I hear that a Honda Metropolitan fits inside a Toyota Prius!), theft is a concern. Position motorbike parking within the overall parking design as you would position easily-shoplifted product inside a store. The location of motorbike parking should have the following security features:

• Adequate lighting


• In a high traffic area to assure plenty of visibility


• Within view of security cameras


• Anchors to which a cable lock can be secured

Signage

• Clearly directing riders to parking from arriving routes


• Clearly indicating the designated area

A disincentive to providing adequate motorbike parking is that zoning ordinances may not count spaces under 180 sq. ft. toward satisfying parking requirements. This is an unfortunate and antiquated reality. An equivalency factor should be written into modern ordinances along the lines of 2-4 motorbike spaces to 1 automobile space.

The part of the equation I cannot answer is what percentage of parking should be converted to motorbike parking. There are formulas for other countries, but America is just beginning its conversion to 2 wheels. Who knows where the ratio will eventually balance out? For now, 1 space for every 20-30 automobile spaces feels right to me.

The inability to provide for 100% of these considerations should not prevent landlords, developers or designers from trying to provide some form of motorbike parking.

For some innovative ideas for providing motorbike parking, click here.

Angled Parking Experiment

Lancaster experimented with angled parking for an afternoon on June 1. At three locations around town, the City re-lined the streets with tape to see how it would work out. The reason is traffic calming; the City is looking for ways to reduce speeding.

The photos to the right are of North Plum Street. The street was re-marked to have parallel parking along the East side, two lanes of travel (one in each direction), and angled parking on the west side. Cars are meant to back into the spots and pull out head-first.

Results, in my opinion, were mixed. Traffic definitely slowed on N. Plum St., but that could be attributed to confusion and the cones. Buses had difficulty, but those problems can be worked out. The worst part was sight distance when exiting an alley in the middle of the block. And I think people were flumoxed by driving with the grain of the herringbone pattern; this is opposite to the way angled parking in works in parking lots.

There were good points, though. Because of the staggering of the cars, not only do car doors not open into the travel lane, they don't even hit other cars. And kids getting out of cars will automatically be funneled back to the sidewalk. That last point was told to me by Mayor Rick Gray who was personally checking the results on his yellow Harley. That's him, in the shadows, on the right.