This scooter purchase was supposed to keep me off CL for awhile, instead it’s done the opposite! A red Monster 1200 would look pretty good parked in front, no? Speaking of parking, a perk of my neighbor living in Arizona most of the year is having free reign to leave a bike in front of their door.
Covered parking!
I put the Miata up for sale again, and within minutes a guy asked if I’d accept trades. I said only if he had a newer Monster or a Tacoma. He offered a new Honda CBR650, which... Is actually a lot closer to what I want than I would have expected from the first random trade offer! I’m not taking him up on it, but I do find the newer CBRs quite attractive.
Starting the scooter first thing in the morning when it’s 31°F is a bit tricky, but I’m guessing that’s normal for a 2-stroke? Also seems like I need to let it idle a few minutes when the outside temperature is low otherwise it will die when I give it throttle.
I rode to work yesterday and quickly realized I don’t really have good gear for cold-weather riding. That wind finds ways through each and every little exposed flap.
Tried locking up front and rear brakes today on the wet ground just to get a better feel for how much braking power I have. The answer is plenty, as long I’m not going downhill.
There’s a series of dirt paths that connect two roads near me, and I may or may not have been using said dirt paths as shortcuts. Some of the paths go right over the crest of small hills, so it’s not impossible that if I hit them fast enough I could get some hang time....
My favorite part of the scooter so far?
Insurance.
$240 full coverage, and that’s including various add-ons. For the entire year. As a not-quite 25 year old male in a Metropolitan area, I didn’t realize rates that low were possible...
Gas mileage is over 75mpg so far, although with just 80 miles of riding (and most of it full of hooning) that number probably isn’t super accurate.
I still can’t get over how rediculous this thing sounds. Picture a bigly, older competition spec dirt bike, take that sound and stuff it in an adorable little moped.
Boom. It’s magical.
It’s also the cause of a lot of weird looks from dudes in lifted trucks. About half of them nod/smile/wave, while the other half look super confused.
Anyhoo, that’s enough rambling.
Here’s a totally unnecessary promise to myself to end things off. If the Miata sells within the week and this Monster is still for sale, I’ll go talk to the owner.