Pretty sure riding season is officially over now

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/11/2019 at 20:23 • Filed to: Crabby old man

He avy wet snow started coming down last night, and continued through this afternoon . Wind chill tonight is predicted to drop to -8. That’s what I get for procrastinating on getting the camper cover. Typically I doubt my snow tires on until Thanksgiving, but I damn sure would have liked to have them this morning.

This is January weather. There are still lots of leaves on the trees. I’m sick of winter already, and it doesn’t officially start for six more weeks.

DISCUSSION (24)

jminer > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 20:33

Thats what it looks like in St Louis too now. Winter came early!

shop-teacher > jminer
11/11/2019 at 20:44

Hopefully it melts by the weekend.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 20:48

You mean you cant dorifto a scooter?

vondon302 > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 20:55

I hear ya. Raking leaves Sunday shoveling snow Monday.

shop-teacher > vondon302
11/11/2019 at 21:00

Quite literally. We have to bag leaves here, and I filled nine bags yesterday. I feel bad for the guy who has to foist those heavy frozen bags into the truck all day everyday this week.

shop-teacher > nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
11/11/2019 at 21:01

Negative Ghost Rider. Pattern is full.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 21:11

Kinja'd!!!

Chuckles > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 21:37

Time for one of these:

Kinja'd!!!

shop-teacher > Chuckles
11/11/2019 at 21:42

For the longest time I had a FB marketplace post saved of an Elite 50, with a ski up front, and a track in the back. I don’t think I ever made a post about it. Missed OPPO rtunity.

Chuckles > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 21:46

I'd be willing to try such a scooter (or is it a ski-ter?) in a flatter part of the country, but the hills around here would make for some real excitement. Not a lot of stopping power. Of course folks ride snowmobiles here, but they've got a lot more weight and better traction.

shop-teacher > Chuckles
11/11/2019 at 21:48

I’d be willing to try it on a snowy flat farm fie ld, but on the street ... No way. I’m too old for that jibba-jabba.

XJDano > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 22:01

Same, took my bike out yesterday to gas station got sta-bil & last fuel up. I didn’t ride it much this year.

Chuckles > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 22:01

I'm just hoping that I'm not too old for that scooter I bought! Keep in mind I've never broken 30mph on a scooter before.

shop-teacher > Chuckles
11/11/2019 at 23:05

Nah, you'll be fine. I didn't start riding until I was 34.

Chuckles > shop-teacher
11/11/2019 at 23:17

I turn 34 in less than 2 months. I guess I’m good.

Do you find that you're now interested in motorcycles or faster scoots? A lot of people have said "you'll be buying a fast bike in no time!" And I just...don't really want to go fast. I'd like to be able to keep up with traffic, but I look at my brother's liter bike and say "that...that does not interest me."

pip bip - choose Corrour > shop-teacher
11/12/2019 at 02:53

keep riding.

what’s the worst that can happen? you fall off?

shop-teacher > XJDano
11/12/2019 at 07:14

You should ride it to Indy this year for the 500.

shop-teacher > Chuckles
11/12/2019 at 07:19

To an extent, yes. I’d really like to get a 250. I have no interest in a liter bike, or anything like that though. I’m tempted both by 250cc scooters, and Honda Rebels, but nothing is quite exactly what I want . I still absolutely love my 125 though. I put something like 2k miles on it this season.

XJDano > shop-teacher
11/12/2019 at 07:21

The thought has crossed my mind. After working in Indy for 2 months, I think I can make that ride. Although it’s still got the overheating issue, so traffic has it above 200° and in the red.

March is our 10 year anniversary and I better come up with something, if I want to do anything.

shop-teacher > pip bip - choose Corrour
11/12/2019 at 07:22

I’m pretty sure the worst that can happen, is I get deaded. Nonetheless, I don’t ride when the temperature is below 40. That’s when the pain of the cold overpowers the fun of riding. It's 8 degrees F out there right now.

shop-teacher > XJDano
11/12/2019 at 07:26

Com e the night before, so traffic in won’t be an issue. There’s plenty of room in the camper . The traffic pattern from the place we stay, you can get to the interstate in 10 minutes of traffic. If that would make it overheat, then we can hang out for a few hours while traffic clears.

And yeah, you definitely need to think of something!

Chuckles > shop-teacher
11/12/2019 at 07:38

I think that the new Rebel is a really nice looking bike. I wanted a motorcycle long before I ever wanted a scooter. I was looking at the new Rebel 500 before I realized that they also made a 300. Initially I assumed it was too slow, but over time I started to realize that it was probably fast enough for me. Then I started looking at used motorcycles, some scooters popped up, and I realized that a scooter would actually fit my needs better.

I could definitely imagine someday wanting a scooter or motorcycle with highway capabilities so I could go on longer trips, but that's about it.

shop-teacher > Chuckles
11/12/2019 at 09:36

The scooter is so freaking practical, while still being a ton of fun, that I can’t imagine giving that up. The ability to pop my lunch and a few things under the seat, and ride to school while still having a TON of fun, makes the scooter the right tool for that job. I live 4 or 5 miles from school, but when I ride to school getting there and back I’ll put on 20-30 miles each time.

I have now taken two long trips on my scooter, so I would really like to have something that could sustain 55 on the back roads we ride on ... but I REALLY enjoy doing silly things like riding hundreds of miles in a weekend on my scooter, so I’m kinda torn. If Yamaha would make this exact scooter with a 250cc engine, I’d buy it. None of the scooters that came/come with that size engine from the factory really “do it” for me, stylistically.

There’s another motorcycle I’m really digging too. The Honda CTX 700N. It’s way bigger and faster than any of the other bikes I’m interested in, but it has a scooter-like storage compartment and a DCT. This one on FB Marketplace is awfully tempting. If I was single, I may have already purchased it.

Chuckles > shop-teacher
11/12/2019 at 19:16

Someone in my office park has a CTX 700N! I like it a lot as the seat height is low.

As for bigger scoots, the Suzuki Burgman line kind of interests me. The 200cc version looks manageable and would make a decent cruiser. Or go up to a 400cc and hit the highway.