Scooters

Checklist before signing the paperwork for your new Scooter:

• Visual Inspection, is this the scooter you thought you were buying?
• Check every panel for scuffs, scratches and marks.
• Start the engine.
• Check all lights, indicators, gauges and the horn. Turn the headlights on and check that they aren't pointing too high (as best you can). While you are checking the lights, ask if the replacement bulbs can be bought at a petrol station. If they can't, it's probably a good time to buy a spare set.
• Sit on the scooter and "play ride", indicating, braking etc (for as long as you can without feeling stupid). Remember stupid is a relative thing. Think how stupid you will look hitting the kill switch instead of indicating while doing an overtaking manoeuvre.
• Be aware that your tyres are likely to be brand new. Take extra care because they will not have full grip (especially in the wet) until they have been bedded in a bit. Check that they are correctly inflated.
• Spin the front wheel to see if the speedo is working.
• Good quality dealers will often clock up a couple of dozen kilometres bedding in the tyres and testing the bike on your behalf. However check the speedo, if it has what you think is excessive kilometres on the clock you should find out why. A scooter however does not have 100 Kilometres on the clock. If yours does it is not a new scooter and you should either demand a replacement or a hefty discount.
• Paperwork. You should get a owners manual and a warranty book. The warranty book should have the dealers stamp, engine, chassis and model details at the barest minimum.
• It is best to flick through the pages and insist that ALL sections are completed.
• Keys, there should be at least two sets and a note of the key number.
• Additionally, before you ride off... Have a quick read of the running in section, to start off on a good foot.
If the dealer is unwilling to do any of the above or if any of the above are faulty DONT sign the paperwork. ONCE YOU SIGN, THE SCOOTER IS YOURS AND ANY PROBLEMS WILL PROBABLY BE HANDBALLED TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT......and then you wait......and...... wait......and......wait.

If you are thinking about getting a scooter, don't believe the scooter stereotype pushed by TV and other media. The media would like you to believe that you can hop on a scooter in a suit or skirt and ride away without a care in the world... if you think that's the truth, then you are asking for trouble.

Australia is not Italy - in some parts of Italy scooters outnumber cars. In Australia they don't. Car drivers are not very aware of motorcycles and even less aware of scooters, which are smaller and their speed is harder to predict.

Just like a motorcycle - riding a scooter does not prevent you from having accidents, it does not prevent you from getting wet, and it does not prevent you hitting a collection of bugs or getting cold.

If you are buying a scooter, think about the same safety gear as you would for a motorcycle. A good waterproof jacket and pants will mean you will be able to ride more often and more comfortably. A full face helmet will also protect your face from the weather as well as road dangers.

Good gloves will keep your hands warm and protected. Should you fall, your hands will be the first things you will stick out to protect yourself. So make sure there is something protecting your hands.

Boots with ankle support are also needed. Keep you good work shoes for work and wear proper motorcycle boots for riding. Your work shoes will laster longer at work and your feet and ankles will last longer while you ride.

So you just want to commute and think the expense of good motorcycle gear is not warranted? Before going out to buy a scooter, keep a track of the weather. Note down every rainy day, as is it will be a day you would not be riding. Note every cold day, as it will also be a day you would not be riding. Then think, is it still worth buying a scooter without the gear?

Also be aware that scooters are sold as cheap commuting machines. It is sometimes good to check whether the tyres sold with the scooter are a good quality product. The wheels on scooters are smaller so good tyres are important to maintain grip with the road. If you are able to bargain with the dealer, try to get better tyres fitted as part of the sale.

In short - two wheels are two wheels. The reality of scooter riding is not the same as the stereotype... the days are not always sunny and the coffee is not always good.

I ride a 150cc motor scooter. I wear a high-visibility protective jacket and always have my headlight on. A few weeks ago, whilst riding to work, an elderly driver sitting at a stop sign failed to see me. As he pulled directly into my path, I braked hard (I was only doing 40kms/hr). The bike skidded and then fell to the road with me still in the seat. My first thought was "I'm down. I'm actually on the ground". This, I had been told by the guy who sold me the bike, was an inevitable part of riding a scooter/bike on Melbourne roads. I had been fine for 15 months, had managed to avoid trouble and ride within my ability in all weather conditions without a problem. On this day, a driver failed to give way from a side-street and my run of good luck came crashing to an end.

The result of this slow speed, low-impact accident has been more than a month of excrutiating pain with several more to come. The bike fell onto my foot. I was wearing ordinary sneakers and have suffered several broken bones and smashed joints. I spent a day in hospital having x-rays done, several more having my foot operated on and metal plates/pins inserted and am only able to get around on crutches for "who-knows" how long. I will need another operation in a year's time to have the plates and pins removed. I had just commenced a new business venture and now am unable to work for several weeks, possibly months!

My scooter was written off in the accident and I now have to seriously consider whether or not to buy another one. It will probably be a year or so before my injuries are sufficiently healed to allow me to get back into the saddle. If I had been wearing a more solid pair of shoes/boots, I doubt that I would have been injured as seriously. My wife rides a Honda 125cc scooter to commute. She also has all the high-visibility safety gear. She's started wearing Blundstone-style boots as a result of my accident.

As the guy who sold me the bike lamented: "you can be doing everything 100% correctly all the time and it only takes one idiot driver to take you out!" I really thought I would be the exception to this statement but I know now I was kidding myself - I found that out the hard (and painful) way.

[Ed's note: When buying boots, look for those specifically designed to protect a rider during an accident. Riding boots will protect the most vulnerable parts of your feet (toes, heels and shins) with reinforcement. The best boots are constructed out of the strongest grade leather or microfibre to protect your feet if they end up under a sliding bike. Unpredictable things happen on the road. The only person you can rely on is yourself.]