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Scooter Club Index for those who like scooters and want to ride with others! |
2008 Wednesday, January 9 Dear VTwin Mama, EFM Auto Clutch: EFM makes auto clutches for street bikes and dirt bikes. Their website advertises a complete assembly for Harley-Davidson bikes for $895. (A bit less expensive than the Walters Mfg. solution, no?) Rekluse Auto Clutch: Rekluse makes auto clutches for dirt bikes, but you could probably install their product in a similar supermoto (motard) or dual-purpose bike for street use. There is also this company making an add-on auto shifter: This company also makes a similar product, plus others that may be of interest: Disabled Motorcycle Riders, Inc. Hope this info helps some more people enjoy motorcycling. Cheers! CJ Dear
CJ, Wednesday, April 16 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Jamie, Wednesday, May 21 Dear VTwin Mama, Then a few years ago my wife, who had never ridden, bought a Burgman 400 which I taught her to ride in the driveway. Long story short, I road the Burg for the last 15,000 miles in all terrain and weather and must say it is a great bike. I now have a Boulevard C50T and a friend recently told me of the
Ridley, which I went and looked at. I think my wife is going to like this
one. If it is anything like the Burgman it will
be a great bike. Dear Tom, I've heard from a number of people who started on a Burgman before moving up in engine power. And I am unabashedly a fan of the Ridley series of automatic transmission motorcycles ever since I met both Clay and his son Jay on several occasions. I had a chance to ride an AutoGlide and it's power and handling lacked nothing I'd be looking for in a street bike. The low seat height makes it super attractive to shorter riders and Clay continues to work on design in both looks and functionality as any true inventor would! Take a look at the Ridley Events schedule for 2008 ... I'm hoping you might be reasonably nearby one of these so you have a chance to meet the team in person. They love talking to women because as Jay once said, women really take the time to ask lots of useful questions and they are more than happy to chat as much as needed! There are some new auto tranny models coming to the U.S. sometime this year or next and those can be found on my Auto Tranny Models page should you want to check other options. Mama Monday, June 2 Dear VTwin Mama, I ride horses and have a Ford F450 Super Duty dually, 4 Wheel drive Pick-up to pull my horse trailer with living quarters. Diesel has gone too high for me to drive it to and from work each day. I was thinking about a scooter, but then thought I would probably get run over on a scooter since I drive on the busiest highway in Alabama going to and from work. I live in Chelsea, Alabama and commute to and from Birmingham on highway 280. Do you have any motorcycle recommendations that would fit my needs? Thank you, Elizabeth Dear
Elizabeth, And, if you didn't know, some MSF schools offer scooter-specific riding courses so that you get used to handling them before getting on the road! Otherwise, in the manual tranny bikes, good candidates would those in the 650-800 cc engine size. They'll keep up with the faster running highways very nicely and can be modified with any number of options. Here I'd concentrate on the Yamaha VStar 650s and the Honda Shadow series. Good looks, decent pricing in the $6-7k range, and seat heights that make sense for your height. Add a luggage rack and lockable hard case and you should be set for carrying your business tools. Mama Thursday, June 5 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Nicholas, Monday, June 16 Dear VTwin Mama, I have a Suzuki Burgman 400. I love it, and weather permitting ride it all over. I had it up to 105 MPH a few times, but wind is bad at those speeds and can be scary. Lets say this scooter is more classified as a motorcycle in scooter clothes. I have no problem passing cars and enjoy the states from cars that a scooter is passing them. I get a lot of nods and waves. I love the trunk carrying capacity. I have packed a lot under the seat. I have to say guys use the "cute" word a lot when describing my scooter! The 400 seems heavy to me. I have dropped it and not been able to get it back up. I have also hit an oil slick and gone down. Thank God I finally got a guy to stop and help me get it back up. The fiberglass scratches well. The Burgman is made in a 250 (too light for my taste due to wind on the highway), a 400, and a 650. The 650 felt to heavy for me and awkward even though it had a reverse gear and you could switch it to manual if you wanted to shift. But really, who buys a scooter for shifting ability? The seat is set a bit high for a woman. I am 52". I am on tip toes seated on the seat at stops. Also the windshield is flimsy and flexes and shifts when you ride at higher speeds. I am pricing the Ridleys now and may have found a good deal on a used Ridley with low miles. I took the motorcycle safety class and absolutely HATE shifting. All the guys in class said I would break down and buy a real motorcycle that shifts. I have broken down and will buy a real automatic motorcycle. I am glad Ridley makes Automatics and will never ride a shift motorcycle again. Melissa Dear Melissa, Tuesday, June 24 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear GJC, I hesitate to point out age as a factor in learning two wheels as it really depends on so many other variables. If you give it a go on two wheels, but it's not clicking, then yes, there are a number of options, such as a trike and/or auto tranny motorcycle. Harley-Davidson does not make an auto tranny motorcycle ... that has to be modified with an aftermarket product like what Walters Manufacturing has designed. The odds of finding such a conversion, which is relatively new, is not going to be in your favor. You'll have a better chance of finding a trike converted H-D, but then you still have to work on your shifting. You may want to look at Ridley's Auto-Glide Trike, which is an auto tranny they introduced this year. Your other option would be to look at an auto tranny model that can be easily converted with a Voyager or Tow-Pac kit. This conversion doesn't remove the rear wheel ... it adds a wheel to each back side. So, as you can see, there are any number of pathways to explore depending on how your lessons conclude. Let us know and we'll keep noodling it out with you! Mama Tuesday, July 15 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Char, NADA is not showing information due to the rarity of these bikes. Looking at this eBay Motors/Honda/1981 page, one can see a few for sale and the pricing/mileage, etc. In order to see if there were any places more likely for a Hondamatic lover to search for availability, I typed in "CM400 for sale" in Google and found a couple of free listing sites of interest. Any Hondamatic-specific sites I knew about seem to have disappeared. Mama Wednesday, August 20 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Anon, Tuesday, October 21 Dear VTwin Mama, I also attached a picture of my new ride, a 2006 Burgman 400. At 5'3" I can easily handle the weight and stand flat-footed. My scoot is in for the winter. In the picture I had a polar fleece top, two thermal undershirts, the quilted lining in the leather jacket, a polar fleece neck warmer, polar fleece wristies for my palms, wrists, and forearms, thermal pants under the leather pants, socks and winter ski socks under my leather boots and leather gloves. It takes 15 minutes just to get all those layers on! The sad part is, I was STILL COLD riding! Best wishes, Mary, aka Pixie Dear Mary, Tuesday, October 21 Dear VTwin Mama, I also have a Ridley Auto Glide with a Tow Pac Insta Trike package with the l2 inch wheel kit and I love it. For any one that is physically challenged or anyone that doesn't like shifting gears the Ridley is great. I can ride with two wheels or with my trike kit on. Clay [owner of Ridley] does not recommend triking the Ridley, but I have to tell you it is a smooth ride and I have no problem keeping up with my husband on his HD. My husband did replace the bolts with Grade 8 because we read about the Voyager bolt problems. It is low maintenance and rides smooth. Would recommend the Ridley to anyone wanting an automatic. I am so glad to have your site to read about the other riders. Thanks a lot, Cindy in GA Dear Cindy, I'm especially glad you told us more about your Ridley that you converted with Tow Pac. Yes, Ridley was not in favor of adding kits and I appreciate your note on the bolt change. I'll simply add that Ridley did respond to the call for an auto tranny trike this year with the introduction of the Auto-Glide Trike. Mama Wednesday, October 29 CF Moto US Dear Readers,
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