My First Scooter

 

Many years ago when I was an evening division college student taking a marketing course, I was part of a team given the assignment to do a complete marketing plan for a product of our choosing. While researching snowmobiles, I kept running into information about minibikes and began to get more interested in them than our assignment.  Finally one day I found a Honda Mini-Trail 50 minibike in a showroom so I could actually examine one.  I fell in love with it!  It was so "practical" and relatively affordable.  The handlebars folded down so you could conveniently store and transport it.  It even fit in the back of my 1970 Toyota Corolla station wagon along with all our camping gear and two kids.  Even with our limited income, my wife graciously allowed me to buy this toy.  When I had a Saturday morning class, I would load up the minibike and head for the hills after class, often ending up in Hampden, riding on horse trails through the woods.  It was very safe because it was so small you could just stand  and hop off  if you got into an unsafe situation in the woods.  The low geared transmission gave it a lot of power so you could ride up steep hills with no problem.  When we went camping I would load it up, with hopes that  I could get permission to ride it there.

Back in those days you were not allowed to ride scooters or minibikes on the roads, so all my riding was restricted to woods, back roads, a vacant lot, or my own yard.  In the winter, after a big snow, one of my favorite things was to get on my minibike and ride  through the snow with my feet spread out to the sides like outriggers.  While my neighbors were out shovelling or snow blowing, although it sounded like I was snowblowing, it was just me gunning the engine, slipping and sliding on my minibike!

What a great little machine.  I never had a problem with it.  I never had any maintenance done on it.  In fact, at one point it had been stored in my cellar for about five years with the same gas in it.  Closing the vent on the gas tank filler cap and closing the fuel shutoff valve leading to the carburetor were the only things required for long time storage.  Even after sitting there for five years, that little Honda started on the first kick!  I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So after "outgrowing it," in a weak moment, I sold it to a friend who was buying it for his young nephew.  But by then the seed had been planted for more future two wheeled adventures in my life.
 
 That seed laid dormant for about 25 years until resurrected by serious retirement thoughts which rekindled the images of conveniently running errands around town and taking leisurely backroads scooter rides.  This, plus seeing scooter displays at our local mall, really got me seriously thinking about getting one.  Thus started my quest for a motorscooter.  And my family knows that once I start on a quest, I don't stop until I find what I am looking for.

My first scooter looked like this 150cc TGB R9 Laser.

After the intense product research for which I am known, I bought my first motorscooter, a used 150cc TGB R9 Laser bought from Scooter Centrale in Plainville, CT.  This dealership had a great selling feature; a large parking lot where you could actually ride the scooters before you bought them.  What a great concept!  Undoubtedly, the opportunity to ride in that lot, has lead to more sales than the owner could ever have envisioned. When you ride one, you want one!

So after showing my license, signing a waiver, and finding the right size helmet, I went out to the lot to try three different scooters.  I was interested but undecided about buying one until the sales girl told me that the TGB had only 400 miles on the odometer and was being sold on consignment very reasonably.  That got my attention!  Apparently the scooter's owner was not happy with a potential problem with the remote control locking device.  I realized that getting rid of the remote control (and thus never using it) would solve the problem. Who needs a remote control to lock a scooter?  I'd rather save the money on a good deal.  I became a very happy scooter owner!

Ready to ride to work for the first time.

This was a great size for a first scooter because it wasn't too heavy, was very maneuverable, was fast enough for a beginner at about 45 mph, got excellent gas mileage, and fit through the side door of my shed.  But after riding for about year,  I realized it was not powerful enough to ride on highways, and the speed would drop off when riding up big hills.  So I felt I needed to get something powerful enough to actually ride on the highway.  Not that I wanted to do a lot of highway riding, but sometimes you can't get to your destination by taking only back roads.

Next: Graduating to a brand new Piaggio BV 250......