My scooter fascination started in 2011 after having spent a couple months on vacation touring Vietnam.
I saw 1st hand all the wild stuff those locals were hauling on theirs, so right there, I knew I had to have one. Once i got back home, I immediately went looking for a scooter. It didn't take long, a couple days really for the first one
to cross my path. So I bought that sucker.
My family thought I lost my mind when they saw it.
The only one who approved was my
dog, that cute lil' terrier mix I rescued from the shelter right before I left for Asia.
Once I started showing it off, I began to see the stigma...
Anyhow, over the years, I learned to appreciate the marvels of this 650, especially its fantastic electronic automatic transmission. You HAVE to twist the throttle on this bike for yourself to fully understand. Words just can't describe how marvelous this tranny is.
As much as it is revered as one fantastic touring machine, I used mine almost exclusively around town, and the fests and fairs.
I did take it from Austin to New Orleans for a couple Mardi Gras Festivities. Under that gigantic seat, I stored several bottles of top shelf booze, mixes, ice, everthing needed to live off the streets for 3-5 days, catching all the uptown and french quarter parades. Parking was effortless as I could cut through barricades, ride and park right next to anywhere along the parade route that I wanted to go during Mardi Gra, including deep inside the quarter. What an eye opener.
One thing I did that, if I were to do it again, would be to retain the passenger back rest and ditch the top box on the 650. The 650's a perfect 2 up toy. THere' more than enough space under the seat to swallow everything needed for say, a hill country weekend getaway.
I saw 1st hand all the wild stuff those locals were hauling on theirs, so right there, I knew I had to have one. Once i got back home, I immediately went looking for a scooter. It didn't take long, a couple days really for the first one
to cross my path. So I bought that sucker.
My family thought I lost my mind when they saw it.
The only one who approved was my
dog, that cute lil' terrier mix I rescued from the shelter right before I left for Asia.
Once I started showing it off, I began to see the stigma...
Anyhow, over the years, I learned to appreciate the marvels of this 650, especially its fantastic electronic automatic transmission. You HAVE to twist the throttle on this bike for yourself to fully understand. Words just can't describe how marvelous this tranny is.
As much as it is revered as one fantastic touring machine, I used mine almost exclusively around town, and the fests and fairs.
I did take it from Austin to New Orleans for a couple Mardi Gras Festivities. Under that gigantic seat, I stored several bottles of top shelf booze, mixes, ice, everthing needed to live off the streets for 3-5 days, catching all the uptown and french quarter parades. Parking was effortless as I could cut through barricades, ride and park right next to anywhere along the parade route that I wanted to go during Mardi Gra, including deep inside the quarter. What an eye opener.
One thing I did that, if I were to do it again, would be to retain the passenger back rest and ditch the top box on the 650. The 650's a perfect 2 up toy. THere' more than enough space under the seat to swallow everything needed for say, a hill country weekend getaway.
Last edited: