[rustynutz]

'Twas a beautiful day in Tasmania, much too good to waste indoors so I made the decision (somewhat belatedly) to head off over to the Gordon Dam in Tassie's South West Wilderness region.....

This is one of my favourite spots in Tasmania and I was looking forward to seeing the stunning scenery again...this time though I would see things a little differently as I was making the trip on a motorcycle (scooter) instead of a car....

I was a little apprehensive about taking the scoot as I had only ridden it once and that was only around town so I was unsure how it would perform out on the open road and through the twisty curves that I would encounter.
As it turned out I needn't have worried as the 400cc single cylinder engine had plenty of power, more than enough to haul my carcass at illegal speeds if I so chose.

Not having any idea of the range I could expect from a tank of fuel (and not even knowing the tank capacity) I decided to take a 5 litre plastic drum of fuel as backup. This fitted easily in the HUGE storage compartment under the seat, along with a jumper and a couple of bottles of drink and a few other bits and pieces.

Out on the highway the scoot sipped fuel, the trip computer showing 32km/l.....
This gradually dropped during my trip and ended up showing around 29km/l by the time I arrived home....still quite impressive considering the hills and bends I negotiated.

I made a brief stop at Maydena (which is the last town with fuel).
This was just to top up the tank...total cost, a whole $4.. lol.

The trip was uneventful and other vehicles were few and far between......

All too soon it was time to make tracks back home as I was determined not to be caught out after dark with the local wildlife......

All in all I covered around 360 kilometres and thankfully the spare fuel wasn't needed..... 



My transport for the day...


Pitstop time...

(click to show/hide)

Lake Pedder...






Power Station...Most of it is underground.




Gordon Dam...











http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Dam

http://www.hydro.com.au/energy/our-power-stations/gordon-pedder

[Dazzler]

Thanks Rusty  Long time since we've been down that way 

[Doggie 1]

Spectacular scenery, thanks for the pics. 
How does to scooter go at highway speeds as far as directional stability goes, given the smaller wheels than conventional bikes?
I read a writ-up on the new BMW scooters the other day - they look to be quite impressive.
And do "real" bikers laugh at you if you're on a scooter? 

[rustynutz]

Felt reasonably stable to me, Dave.....though it did seem to get blown around a little with strong side winds.
What I did find is that it is very "chuckable" due to it's very low weight distribution.....

Never noticed any real bikers laughing.....

I reckon I was laughing though, have you seen how much luggage space these things have?

And the dash would put many cars to shame.....

It seems scooters are slowly being accepted more and more by motorcyclists and its now not uncommon to see these "maxi" scooters touring 2 up around the countryside......

Here's a bit of a review if you're interested....

http://www.mcnews.com.au/Testing/Suzuki/AN400_Burgman/page_1.htm

[Doggie 1]

Thanks Rusty, I'll have a read of that.
I grew up in England where scooters were the norm but they have been slow to be accepted in Australia.
I have to admit though, that more than once I've thought to myself I wouldn't mind one of those (as I approach my mid-fifties) but then I think to myself, why not just get a motorbike instead?
Then I think of all the visits I made as a copper to the Shenton Park Rehab to speak to (mainly middle-aged) motorcyclists who are now paras or quads and it puts me off for a while.
It seems to be those returning to motorcycling in mid life that are at greater risk than those who have always done it.
I used to ride police bikes back in the dreamtime but it's a long time since I've thrown a leg over and straddled anything that throbs as much.

[rustynutz]

I grew up in England where scooters were the norm but they have been slow to be accepted in Australia.

There's been a boom in scooters these last few years, especially when petrol was costing up around the $2.00 a litre mark....

I have to admit though, that more than once I've thought to myself I wouldn't mind one of those (as I approach my mid-fifties) but then I think to myself, why not just get a motorbike instead?
Then I think of all the visits I made as a copper to the Shenton Park Rehab to speak to (mainly middle-aged) motorcyclists who are now paras or quads and it puts me off for a while.

Can't let something like that put you off!
There are probably just as many paras and/or quads in rehab from car accidents, yet you still drive....

It seems to be those returning to motorcycling in mid life that are at greater risk than those who have always done it.

So they tell us...but is it that there are just more of these old coots out there (compared to younger riders) these days? 

I used to ride police bikes back in the dreamtime but it's a long time since I've thrown a leg over and straddled anything that throbs as much.

Why don't you hire a bike for a weekend, Dave?
That's what I do every now and then, just to get my motorcycling "fix".....admittedly it ain't cheap to do though......

Here are a couple of pics of previous bikes I've hired....

[Alasama]

love the huge scooter, looks comfortable. 

[2i30s]

loved the pics Russ.    and those scooters are like a stretch limo,huge. 

[Doggie 1]

Thanks for the extra pics, Russ.
I used to like those FJ Yammies.
I might go and have a look (purely out of interest, I'm not getting one) at some scooters and see what the different manufacturers are offering.
I still struggle to see why a scooter over a conventional motor bike though but I guess they have their better points.

[Dazzler]

Good picture on that bike Rusty (you look right at home) 

My "middle" brother who is 5 years older than me and has a great apartment in Manly (Sydney NSW) bought a small scooter last year (see the first picture - the green one) and then recently upgraded to a larger more powerful one. (the red one)

My Older Brother has a green medium sized Kawasaki Motor bike (but can't find a picture at short notice)



   

[Doggie 1]

Looking good Dazz. 

Rusty, I'm looking through the various usual manufacturers and I'm immediately drawn to the tourers and sports tourers, but do you have a preference from your experience for touring motorbikes?

And it occurred to me, I wonder why the South Koreans haven't entered this market to take on the Japanese when they have in so many other areas (not just cars)?

[Dazzler]

They do make a few Dave...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scooter_manufacturers

[Doggie 1]

Thanks Dazz. I wasn't aware of them in our market.
But now I know where Hyosung come from.    I've seen plenty of their motorbikes over here (but not scooters).
I'll have to check them out.
See, you do learn things on this forum.

[rustynutz]

Rusty, I'm looking through the various usual manufacturers and I'm immediately drawn to the tourers and sports tourers, but do you have a preference from your experience for touring motorbikes?

I'm into the tourer's myself, Dave.....

If I had the cash I'd probably go for something like Honda's V4 ST1300.....only thing is, it's getting a bit dated.....



But then if you're into inline 4 cylinder engines, the Yamaha FJR1300 is a very nice bike....



Apparently the new 1200cc 3 cylinder Triumph Trophy is very nice too....



And of course there's always BMW, but I've never been much of a fan..... 

[Doggie 1]

Gee, stop it Rusty. Stop it!
I'm not going there.
I'm not going there.
I'm not going there.
 
They do look nice.

[rustynutz]

Go on, you only live once....


You know you want to.....

[Dazzler]

  They even look nice to me .. A non bike person 

[AlanHo]

On the subject of motorcycles I started my engineering apprenticeship at a small company making a wide range of air compressors and small petrol engines for industrial applications.

They won a contract in 1955 or 56 to build a new motorcycle that had been designed by a man called John Wooler – a well-known eccentric in the more obscure section of the motorcycling world who had been designing some clever and some weird bikes since the 1920’s. 

The bike was a new flat 4, all aluminium, shaft drive, semi streamlined bike to take on the BMW in the British market which was to be built in small numbers for enthusiasts willing to spend more on a bike than on a new mini car. It had some strange features like just two spanner sizes to remove the wheels, engine and major parts to facilitate maintenance and cleaning. We might think it looks strange today but at the time it was the last word in bike streamlining and elegance.

My company produced many of the engine and transmission components, brought in all the other stuff form other contractors and assembled about 2 bikes a week – I guess under contract to the financial backers of John Wooler.

By that time I had progressed from my first bike – a Lambretta scooter - to a 350cc 3R AJS shared with a friend which we raced as a rank teenage amateurs. I was therefore given the privilege and pleasure of road testing the Wooler bikes as they were completed before being delivered to a proud new owner.

The fun didn’t last – the bike although revolutionary for its time, did not succeed and was plagued by engine problems which they lacked the financial resources to fully solve. The company only produced I think about 30 bikes until the contract was closed. I think the plan was to take a break to refine the design and start production again later, but John Wooler died and the bike was never produced again.
 
http://silodrome.com/wooler-motorcycles/


This video is of an earlier Wooler design using a 4 cylinder engine where the pistons are coupled to an oscillating beam then to a single crankshaft. This engine had been superceded by a conventional flat 4 by the time I was involved.

[Shambles]

^--- awesome writeup and splendid phonographic videogram

[Dazzler]

Fascinating stuff Alan..

I hate to admit it but you are a most interesting and informative Chap.. Keep up the good work 

P.S. I could imagine that bike appealing to blokes with small willies 

[AlanHo]

Fascinating stuff Alan..

I hate to admit it but you are a most interesting and informative Chap.. Keep up the good work 

P.S. I could imagine that bike appealing to blokes with small willies 

Ah - so you like hospital food..................

[rustynutz]

Very interesting, Alan....

There have certainly been some weird and wonderful motorcycles built over the years.....

[Dazzler]

Fascinating stuff Alan..

I hate to admit it but you are a most interesting and informative Chap.. Keep up the good work 

P.S. I could imagine that bike appealing to blokes with small willies 

Ah - so you like hospital food..................

I was thinking about the shape of the fuel tank 

[Alasama]

We have lots of scooters on road in Taiwan. However most of them are smaller ones. Like I said before, at the stop line of traffic light, when it turns green light, they shoot forward like arrows. But I didn't, because my bike is almost 15 years old. 

I don't know much about overseas scooter brands. But I would prefer the scooters below.

Myroad 700i by Kymco

here's the DM  http://www.kymco.com.tw/products/newProduct2010/myroad700/myroad700iDM.pdf

Xciting 250, 400 & 500 by Kymco

here's the DM http://www.kymco.com.tw/products/newProduct2010/Xciting400/201211_Xciting400iDM.pdf

Nikita 300 & 500 by Kymco


RV250 by SYM


3W Elite by AEON


TMAX 530 by Yamaha (this is imported from Japan)

[rustynutz]

My brother also owns a 125cc Kymco...it's been a fantastic little scoot...

[2i30s]

i bet one of these bikes would cost a fortune now days,with only 30 bikes built. 

[AlanHo]

I don't know exactly how many were built - my memory of it has faded and being an apprentice at the time I didn't keep a count - I just enjoyed the rides.

I do know now that whilst it was a modern bike for the time - it was dangerous compared with modern bikes. The brakes, handling and grip were far inferior as I found out one day when I dropped one on a bend. Fortunately I slid into a soft grass bank and neither I nor the bike suffered much damage. I was non too popular back at the factory - delivery to the customer was delayed whilst they got rid of the evidence........