Two years ago I bought my Suzuki Burgman 400. Its still classified a scooter because its manual transmission, but its a high performance scooter. In order to legally ride one a motorcycle license is required. It goes as fast as any motorbike, which must surprise the heck out of a lot of people.
One day I was riding home from work in a two lane 30mph zone, going the speed limit in the curb lane. I'm not a speed demon and I'm not out to break the law. A small car whizzes past me with 4 teenagers inside and a new driver tag on the back. The driver, a teenage girl, signals into my lane just before coming to the red light. I'm not sure why she did that because the two lanes end just on the other side of the light and the curb lane must merge into the center lane. So I changed lanes into the passing lane and stopped beside her at the light. They were all looking at me and must have figured they'd have no trouble passing a scooter before getting to where the lanes merge. The light changed green and away I go into the 40mph zone. The teenage girl is trying her darnedest to get ahead of me. Frantically changing gears and giving it all her little car would give. She must have used a lot of gas in her sad attempt. I quickly outdistanced her to where the lanes merge and then she was stuck behind me, travelling the speed limit, for the next couple of miles until she turned off. Her teenage friends must have had a good laugh at her because her wimpy car couldn't even beat a scooter off the line.
Another time I'm in a 50mph zone on a two lane highway, stopped at a red light. Several young men on sport bikes stopped in the lane beside me. The light changed and to their great surprise I quickly outdistanced them. However as soon as I reached the speed limit they all went whipping past me.
This happens to me all the time at traffic lights. Some unsuspecting driver gets beside me thinking they'll get ahead of me no problem only to be left in the dust. However any of them who want to speed can quickly catch up and pass. There's a great victory!
The Burgman is a great scooter. It has a glove box that matches the one in my car and 2 extra smaller glove boxs beside it big enough that I can put my keys, cell phone, or glasses. Beneath the seat is a trunk large enough to hold two motorcycle helmets. I've also carried a few bags of groceries in there and one time we bought several garden hoses and brought them home in the trunk. As much as I like riding it I also like being a passenger, and the passenger seat is much more comfortable than the back of Kerry's V-Star. It has a backrest and a seat soft enough for longer rides. And the drivers in the cars beside us are amazed that a scooter, with a passenger aboard, can still beat them off the line.
No comments:
Post a Comment