January 3, 2008
Commuter stress, scooter style
Don’t give your fellow “scoommuters” a bad name!
By Aaron Dowden, Marketing, Yamaha Motor Canada
Living 17 km from my workplace – Yamaha Motor Canada in the northeast end of Toronto – definitely has its advantages, primarily that I’m able to ride my BW scooter to and from work every day. (They don’t call me BeeWeeMan for nothing!)
Not only does it save me money, scootering is also way more fun than my car to take to work. And with the increasing gas prices of late, I’ve noticed a steady increase of fellow scooter commuters (aka “scoommuters”) on the roads.
For those of you out there who are terrified of car and truck motorists (aka “cage drivers”) – don’t be. I have yet to have any serious problems with cars… Mind you, I play by the rules.
Every once and while I’ll see a fellow scooter rider weaving in and out of traffic, driving in the bicycle lanes, or cutting around cars at stop lights. Please don’t do this!! Not only are you putting yourself at risk, but you’re giving your fellow scoommuters a bad name!
Really, scooter commuters are environmentally-friendly, fun-loving, sensible folk on the whole. Automotive drivers tend to get very irritated when scooters don’t play by the rules… and for good reason.
It’s important to remember that scooters only have two wheels with a little bit of metal to hold them together. Most cars wouldn’t think twice about pulling in front of a scooter to prevent it from driving around them.
I don’t know about you, but I like having the use of all of my limbs!
I’d like to hear any experiences, or tips, that other scoommuters might have to help stay safe the cage-drivers world.
- Aaron
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Hello I just moved my 2004 Royal Star Venture and noticed some clear oil underneath where it was. It is all wet at the bottom of the suspension shock. The website I go to get a lot of info on this bike http://www.venturers.org/index.php they say this is a recurring problem with this bike and has been for years now. My question is why doesnt Yamaha come out with a shock that wont do this anymore. I only have 25000 klics on the bike. I will be bringing it in under warranty but I am told to expect that to fail in the next 15000 km.
Hi Rod, thats a heck of a big scooter you have there
. You are somewhat off-topic with this question but I have sent it over to our service guys for comment. I am not sure how factual the dealer 411 and what the shock absorber history on the Venture is, but they will know…and here is a response… cr
Hi Rod,
January 5th, 2008 at 1:33 amYamaha did investigate this problem back in 2003/2004 and found that units operated on bumpy, dusty roads, sucked the road dust inside the shock bellows cover where the dust wore against the seal and caused an oil leak. It took a while to figure this due to the length of time it takes to fail, as you point out.
The fix (for 2005 model) was to use a shock that had a (air bypass) breather tube attached to the bellows and ran much higher up the frame away from the dust.
This has been used on all units produced since then. As not all bikes are ridden in the same way or with the same loads, some will experience the problem, and others will not.
The good news is the improvement can be retrofitted by using a shock kit that comes complete with tube, clamps and instructions for your dealer technician. Kit p/n: 99999-03500 should be ordered by your dealer.
DS
Seeing as how this is the only “Scooter” related item on the Redline, I would like to add my comment about scooters.
I ride a 2005 Yamaha Majesty 400cc maxi scooter. Absolutely love it. No problems at all with the machine. I use it about 20% urban use, and 80% rural use. I have also been on three long distance 2000km+ camping tours with the Majesty and it behaved flawlessly.
However, I think that Yamaha is missing the boat in a big way, in not introducing the larger 500cc T-Max or Black Max to our shores.
Many of my fellow maxi-scooteristas are starting to switch from the 250cc and 400cc maxi scoots up to a larger version, such as the Honda Silverwing 600cc and/or the Suzuki Burgman 650cc.
These larger maxi scooters are ideal long distance touring machines and could still be used around town.
Kymco is coming out with the MyRoad 700cc super scooter, and Honda has a 750cc super scooter in the works, as does Suzuki.
Where is Yamaha in all of this? Nowhere to be found. You guys still plug ATV’s in all your advertising, but not a word on the maxi-scooters. Nothing wrong with ATV’s but they are strictly a 1-2 season vehicle, whereas the maxi scooter can be ridden all year round in some parts of the country. I ride mine all year round here on Vancouver Island.
I will be updating my Majesty in a year or so to a larger “cc” scooter for more long distance and overall general riding. You will probably lose me as a customer to either Honda or Suzuki or Kymco, because it appears that you guys at corporate Yamaha have absolutely no interests in the burgeoning maxi scooter class of riders.
Do your demographics. The “baby boomer” ages are getting into MC riding in a big way and many of them are looking at the larger cc maxi scooters as their ride of choice.
R.E.(Dick) Yates
Hi D.E., Careful you don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
We do recognize the growing scooter market and we want to keep our Yamaha customers in the fold. We are proud of the great products we produce, like the T-Max scooter which may not be the biggest maxi scooter in terms of displacement but is considered one of the absolute best for build quality, performance and reliability. We are continuing to develop our scooter “step up structure” … I can’t tell what’s coming out new this spring but we hear you loud and clear, please stay tuned… Aaron aka ‘BeeWeeMan’
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:54 pmI currently have a Majesty 400 and do want to upgrade to a larger cc motorscooter. If available, I would purchase the Yamaha Black Max ABS on the spot….no quesitons asked. Would also consider the T-Max. Why aren’t these machines available in Canada!?! Note: The Silver Wing and Piaggio models are nice but styling is not for me….but in absence of these higher cc Yamaha machines, that only leaves the Burgman 650….
Hey Patrick, hang in there, we hear you and recognize the demand for super scooters in Canada…
February 21st, 2008 at 3:25 amit is really great to become a motorcycle lover, i collect different moyorcycles from different countries.-”~
May 19th, 2010 at 11:27 pmnot really sure if this is the suitable area to inquire, nevertheless I have a couple waverunners at 800 weight each and I have a two thousand jeep cherokee sport 4. litre with out a towing package. Precisely what trailer hitch should I buy?
Thanks for the inquiry, Fred, but it’s probably best if you pose this question to your local JEEP dealer. If we were to comment, and something went wrong …. it wouldn’t bode well for anyone.
May 24th, 2010 at 9:28 pmDanBro
Hey, awesome post.
August 13th, 2010 at 12:36 am