Automatics on Motorycles

Are the new species of motorcycle-scooter hybrids fun to ride? I am
thinking of the Honda Pacific Coast, Yamaha T-Max 500, Honda Silver Wing,
and Suzuki Bergman.

Conventional motorcyclists use the gearshift for engine braking, do these
automatics provide for compression assisted deceleration or do they feel
more like cars with automatics, where you largely depend on the brakes
alone?

They also weight somewhat more than I expected for their displacement. Is
the weight carried in a low c.g. configuration so they don't feel heavy?
My experience is with large vertical twins; they leave the rider with
little doubt as to their heft.

 

I've only ever ridden one (semi) auto; the Honda CB400A.

Yes, you use the brakes a lot, no they're nothing like car auto
transmissions, and yes, they're dull.

 

Nomen Nescio wrote:

Did you post 138,000 anonymous messages all by yourself, or do you have
about
100 clown clones? What a frightening thought, 100 Nomen Nescios or
more, loose on the web, crawling around asking semi-intelligent
questions like a 17 year old kid...

I know a crazy kid you'd like to meet. You'd be best friends. I'll bet
you're a goth or a vampire, or a gothic-vampire. You're definitely Mod
material, I can tell from your posts...

Anyway, I met the Flying Saucer Kid when he butted into a biker
conversation that he was eavesdropping on. I mentioned a bunch of
conspiracy theories I'd heard and a bunch of other tinfoil hat stuff
and he told us that there really were space aliens out there in the
Pleiades, they were just waiting to contact us and guide us to our
rightful place as citizens of the galaxy...

Anyway, the Flying Saucer Kid has a lot of fun and is well on his way
to ruining his Honda Silver Wing, just like he ruined its predecessor,
whatever that big 250 cc Honda moto-couch was. He does big wheelies
with it, on a cold engine...

"Conventional motorcyclists" *do not* use the gearshift for braking,
they use *engine vacuum* for braking, by rolling off the gas.
Unconventional motorcyclists, like professional roadracers might
downshift an extra gear to break the rear tire loose, so they can
"back" their motorbike into a highspeed corner, maintaining a semblence
of control by throttle modulation...

heavy?

Heaviness is *goo-oo-oo-d* if you want comfort. Lightness is
*baa-aa-ad*...

It all has to do with spring natural frequency, but of course you knew
that, Mr. Omniscient...

Many motorscooters carry the entire *weight* of the engine and
transmission on the swing arm as *unsprung weight*. The harsh ride of a
vehicle with excess unsprung weight and a small diameter rear wheel can
be overcome by having a seat cushion that's 8 or 9 inches thick...

A Maryland State trooper caught a father and son riding their top of
the line
motorscooter/sofa on Interstate 95 near Washington DC. They were headed
for Florida at 90 mph on that 250cc scooter. The MST was laughing hard
as he warned them to slow down on that silly looking couch on wheels...

So, go over to the Mod side, sonny, get a scooter and leave us Rockers
alone...

 

the 'scooters' you mention have to be ridden to be believed.
the transmission is the thing that delivers great 'go' with a relatively
small engine. constant-variable transmissions are great.
the comfort levels are also very good on long trips.
sammmm ..........have gold wing trike, bmw r100rt,
owned helixes and ridden most of the common scooters.

 

I first became aware of variable pulley v-belt automatic transmissions
back in the early 1960's. The Dutch Gogomobile used such a
transmission.

(I found a Gogomobile in a junkyard and thought about buying it to
install an Oldsmobile V-8 with a chain coming off a Hydramatic torque
converter to the rear end. But I thought the car wasn't complete enough
to be a rolling chassis. I was wrong, somebody got it before I did...)

I think it was BRM that had a Formula II car with a variable pulley
tansmission. When crossing streams of water flowing across the track,
the transmission would shift up in the water and down on the dry
surface, looking for traction balance against engine power, so the
variable pulley transmission seems to have been a form of mechanical
traction control...

The only car I ever drove with a variable pulley transmission was one
of those
Malibu GP cars that I had to pay $1 a lap to drive. They had a 2-stroke
snowmobile engine and the track was very tight, it didn't matter that
they had no engine braking, the track was so tight that just turning
the wheels slowed the car down a lot...

The Sports Car Club of America had a Formula 440 class that used a
2-stroke snowmobile engine and a variable pulley transmission. The
announcer used to say, "Coming out next on the course is the most
shiftless bunch of drivers you ever saw..."

 

Manual, mostly. Semi-automatic, a few (Mercedes). But you're taught to
shift through the gears (for example) going 1-3-5-7. Unless you're laden
and going up a hill, when you need every last little rev to stay in the
powerband.

 

Most powerful I've ridden is a 400, and I was amazed how well it went.
Dog-slow compared with a "proper" 400cc bike, but it felt swift, and
95mph is quick enough on scooter geometry and weight distribution.

 

|>Are the new species of motorcycle-scooter hybrids fun to ride? I am
|>thinking of the Honda Pacific Coast, Yamaha T-Max 500, Honda Silver Wing,
|>and Suzuki Bergman.
|>
|>Conventional motorcyclists use the gearshift for engine braking, do these
|>automatics provide for compression assisted deceleration or do they feel
|>more like cars with automatics, where you largely depend on the brakes
|>alone?
|>
|>They also weight somewhat more than I expected for their displacement. Is
|>the weight carried in a low c.g. configuration so they don't feel heavy?
|>My experience is with large vertical twins; they leave the rider with
|>little doubt as to their heft.


I bought the Majesty yp400T 2005 scooter Single 400cc, but found that
the seating height was a bit much for my 5.6ft frame. I eventually got used to
this to a degree, but my former scooters where more forgiving here.
The "Grab Rail" in conjunction with the high center stand, as usual with modern
scooters, leaves something to be desired for agility...

Overall it is an awesome scooter to drive and is a real good cruiser for
a top-heavy machine. I bought the extended warranty, but am not too sure what I
can claim on it since a dealer may thwart or shun something..after all they are
there for the money......
From all the Maxi Scooters this scooter has received the best reviews abroad,
and a bit of practice and it handles better than a bicycle in turns etc..

I would like to see a tailgate/tail bag to carry bungeed stuff on the
back safely, best ideas so far is the passenger seat backrest. So far the best
option is still to backpack it, since it eliminates theft when parked, or a big
wind-drag from the 44 liter Givi.

A lower seat would be a nice accessory, along with a cheap tailgate for
bungee packaging on the passenger seat. A factory alarm sounds good too since I
will be adding my own, probably a simple/economical Gorilla Alarm....

Altogether the Scoot is a great ride with a bit of Gradient Parking
practice....like the tip-toe reverse operations....


Have you ever noticed, that the new Scooters and Rear Turn Signals are
almost impossible to replace once you are remote from a lot of tools/space and
time to replace.

Is there a cynical reason that these fragile and most important turn
signals are out of easy reach to save your life, much the same as many cager
signals as well.

To change the ever so important rear turn signal, on the Majesty, you:

1] Place the scooter on a center stand
2] Remove Rear cowlings A and B
3] Remove the passenger bolt and seat
4] Remove the whole 4 screw bolts of the main Grab Bar
5] Remove the 3 screws of Cowling C/Side Panel
6] Remove the Socket and light counterclockwise

These are all different Allen and Phillip head sizes

........Then you re-assemble.

I would really think twice about my chances on getting home if I did
this 2 hour job or not...

I think I'll install some screw on lenses, this Japan tech is a bit
retarded and dangerous for me....

ciao

Bob


Triad Productions-Fantalla(c)~EZine~ParaNovel
National Astrophysical Assault Research
http://rlacasse.naar.be http://triad.naar.be

 

|>On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 03:09:38 -0700,
|>wrote:
|>
|>> I think I'll install some screw on lenses, this Japan tech is a bit
|>>retarded and dangerous for me....
|>
|>You're lucky. Any bike with a lot of body work requires multiple
|>panel removal to replace pretty much anything. To replace the water
|>pump on an ST1100, you remove *every* piece of body work except the
|>tail light cowling and lens.


I think all these Jap bikes were all designed basically by the same
person who rides the monorail or a Car to work....

All designs seem to be aimed that way, but it's not like I can build a
better one myself on a shoestring budget...

Still I think signal lights fail more than water pumps, but then there's
that diaphragm testing with the 500 F thermometer...Ah the good old days..lotsa
hell there too...

ciao

Bob

Your Honor,...... I always wondered,...... at what time in the morning do you have to get up to get up to get that drunk..............
(French/Yankee Jim, hung by the neck for 45 minutes for borrowing a $0.25 canoe.)
WWWeb>> http://boblacasse.topcities.com