Modern Vespa

Although I passed my MSF course in Florida in early October, I have been unable to schedule my road test here. As a result, my scooter basically sits on my porch staring at me.

The young fellow who owns the only scooter rental place on the island told me I should run the scooter (on the stand) for an hour every day to:

1. Help break the engine in.
2. Keep the battery topped up.
3. To insure the gas does not get stale.

Is this true? I have a battery tender and start it up from time to time ... but should I really run it for an hour every day to help break it in?

It's bollocks. By all means use a battery tender every now and then, but a new bike should be just fine sitting unused for a couple of months with no adverse effect whatsoever - what do you think happens in the showroom?

1 - will not help the engine break in.... you need to have it under load, at varying speeds for the break in period. The heat-cycling will help, but it won't get very hot just idling.

2 - idling is not fast enough to charge the battery - barely enough to power the lights let alone charge the battery. Get a tender if you're worried about the battery.

3 - the gas will still get stale, you'll just burn it off faster. If you won't be riding it, toss some gas-storage additive in there.

Get your endorsement! Get riding!

I would just drive it!!! You only need a license if you get pulled over!!!

Thanks guys, I thought as much but as I am no mechanic, and have never owned a scooter before ... I thought I would check with those in the know.

I intend to schedule my test as soon as I can master doing a figure 8 inside an 18' space without putting my foot down. (It's not as easy as some may think!) Which would take about 15 minutes here. Small island and everyone knows everyone else ... including the police.

It's not easy at all! It's just a skill you need to develop.

Practice looking yourself around the turns (look where you want to go).

If you run the scooter on it's centerstand for an hour every day, you're likely to overheat the engine. The fellow who told you that knows NOTHING about engines. Other than a diesel, the best method of running an engine is to start it, then let it idle for 20-30 seconds and drive off without revving the engine with too many rpm's until the engine has warmed up. The method that he told you to use will do absolutely nothing to break in the engine and probably overheat the engine........and is likely to cause problems that will develop later as the engine gets more miles on it.
Just plug in the battery to a trickle charger to keep it up. That's all you need to do until you can get legal.

You dont get your motorcycle liscense automatically once you pass the MSF course in Florida?

An hour on the stand every day is ridiculously excessive, and pointless to boot. One more vote for battery tender, and occasional running.

+1
When I took mine (a few yrs ago), the test was incorporated into the course. (it was the on the 3rd/last day). We got certificates to take to the DMV to get the endorsement added on to our license.

Have the MSF courses been shortened (i.e. cutting out the test) since a course is now a requirement for the endorsement?

Wow that is some pretty awful advise. Not thinking this young fellow will be doing a hostile Vespa take-over in the USA anytime soon.

Listen to the others, and stay away from that kid, haha.

Best,
SDG

On the contrary, a very smart kid - he'll make a fortune repairing seized bikes.

Haha Jim. Me thinks you may be giving him a little too much credit, but I like your positive attitude.

SDG

Fuhgettaboutit I went outside the lines twice and got dinged a few points but you're entitled (at least in CA) to miss "x" points and still pass. My MSF instructor ensured me that he didn't see anything safety-related that would cause him concern. The figure 8 is incredibly difficult if you've never ridden before (I hadn't). After 2 months of riding, I think I could get closer to staying inside the lines.

Follow the above advice - do not let your scoot sit and run, if it does not overheat it will at least uneven heat and create issues down the road.
Don't you have at least a permit? In CA we get a permit which means we just can't ride on the freeway (not sure where you are but that is probably not an issue), can't carry a passenger or ride at night. When we pass the MSF course we are cleared for our license and don't have to take the driving test, we already did it as part of the class. Still have to go to DMV and present our certificate but no additional test.
Battery - get a trickle charger a/k/a battery tender.
As far as gas getting stale - add the preserver or, better yet, RIDE and enjoy.

very Bad IDEA to let it run like that just get a Tender Or take it off the stand and ride it around the block !!!!

OK ... I won't do what the kid told me to do. I have a battery tender and have been using that anyway. I was just checking to make sure that the battery tender was sufficient. Yes, you do. But I live in the British Virgin Islands and since I have a driver's license ... all I have to do is pass the (scooter) road test here to be licensed. Unfortunately, a U.S. MSF certificate means nothing here.

I went to Florida and took the MSF course for my own education because we don't have training centers here at all. There was no other purpose other than to reap the benefit of what I could learn from the course. I am legal to drive in Florida (and in fact passed the course with a perfect score) but I haven't been able to master our requirement here which is the dreaded figure 8 inside of 18' as yet!

I can do it inside 20' but I am finding it very difficult to do inside of 18' without having to put my foot down because you have to drive sooooo slowly and the turns are sooooo tight. It is much harder than anything we had to do to pass the MSF course in Florida!

The 18', figure 8 is the only thing we have to demonstrate to get a scooter license here ... which is why we have so few scooterists in the BVI. However, I am determined to conquer it and will keep practicing until I can do it. The examiner gives no second chances and you have to wait a month between tests if you fail. You see, they really don't want scooters on the roads here ... unlike many other islands in the Caribbean where they are everywhere ... so they have made the test damned near impossible for the majority of would-be-scooterists!

I find doing a figure 8 in a 24' space is a piece of cake. 20' is pretty tough but I can do it 98 percent of the time. 18' ... well, I haven't quite mastered it yet. No, they do not give out learner's permits for scooters. You have to practice somewhere off the roads and believe me, on Tortola, it is difficult to find a place flat enough to practice. I am trying to practice on our driveway but there isn't a lot of room to do much and I can't take the scooter out on the road. Well, I could ... but if I get caught they take your scooter away!

or doing rebuilds becuase the thing is glazed up and suffering blow-by!

Here's the formula for gas addative to help keep your gas from degrading on storage: Not sure if there's much demand for the pre-packaged stuff where you are!

Regards
Harvey

Thanks Harvey. Not sure I can get any of that stuff here ... but if it looks as though stale gas is going to become an issue, I think a syphon would be the quickest and easiest solution! My lawn mower isn't that particular about what it drinks!

Madness! Idiocy! This guy runs a scooter rental? -His scoots must be in some miserable crappy shape then!
Battery tender is good tho... I ride once or twice a week, and keep my scoots on the tenders when not riding. No problems starting ever!

If you're gonna let the scoot sit for months at a time tho I would suggest getting some Stabil or Sea Foam and splashing some in with each full tankful of gas. Using this stuff will prevent your carb from getting all gummed up from sitting idle too long. It works for me for the 3~to~4 month winter season in NJ, when I don't usually ride at all...

I admire your ability to do a figure 8 of any size; the driving test I took here in Louisiana did not incorporate one of these. I am trying to imagine an 18 foot figure 8... is it squarish, meaning that you have two 9 foot circles juxtaposed?

In any case, I have never attempted a figure 8, but even so I can't see how anyone could do one in as little as 18 feet. Are you quite sure that this just isn't some exercise intended to keep two wheelers off your streets altogether?

When I moved to CA in the mid-70's, I already had a motorcycle license but at that time, CA made me take their written and driving test to receive their MC endorsement. I don't know what they require now but back then, part of the test was to ride through a long series of tightly spaced cones. At that time, over 50% of the people testing would fail this part of the test. I passed while riding a BMW R90S but it was very difficult. Judging by the riding abilities of many people that I have seen riding in CA over the 30 years that I lived there, they must have relaxed that part of the test. (if they had motorcycle endorsements)

I think I could do the cones... as long as they were spaced maybe 5 feet or more apart, AND there were no lines that I had to stay inside. I've mastered the ability to stay balanced without putting a foot down at less than 1 MPH and, in fact, I do a "rolling stop" at most stop signs so that I do not have to put a foot down, so as long as the cones would be about as far apart as the length of my scooter I'm pretty sure I could do the cones.

An 18 foot figure 8, though, means that the arc is pretty small, making the ability to maintain a low speed, and then do an almost continual series of over and under steers seems like it might be a feat for the likes of circus performers.

Yes, it is two, 9' x 9' cement squares side by side. There are very few scooters on our roads and I am trying to change that by being the second person on the island (over 50 years of age) and the only woman on a scooter. It may very well be ... but I hope to get that changed. However, in order to affect change, one must first get into the inner circle. I will do it, it will just take some time and a lot of practice. There are some kids here who have managed ... and so will I. That is precisely what it feels like and at 54, I am not as nimble or as balanced as I once was. However, it is something I intend to accomplish and it is only a matter of time and practice. I do not intend to give the examiner the pleasure of failing me ... so I plan to be pretty darned certain I can do it before going for my test.

To be very honest, our roads are what one might describe as "treacherous" at the best of times. Being able to accomplish this feat will only make me a better rider in the long run and perhaps I will stand a much better chance of not getting myself hurt. I don't think the test is fair but I do think it is a goal anyone interested in developing really good riding skills should at least try to achieve. The fact that I have to achieve it is rather daunting though! Unless I manage it, my scoot will never see the open road!

My best wishes are with you, dear lady; may the gods smile on you during your test. I have 10 years on you, though, and hadn't ridden for almost 48 years when I decided to jump start my second childhood last May.

(second childhood) Precisely my reason for doing this. I hope I can ride until the day before I die. (Don't want to die on the road!)

Nor I. My wife thinks I've lost my mind every time I don my helmet and riding boots.

Then your wife doesn't understand exactly what "living" is all about! Get your motor running, head out on the highway!

The bike will be easier to control in tight maneauvers if you drag the rear brake a bit and work the throttle together. You will have more control than just using throttle. Also, as has been already pointed out, look ahead of the turn where you want to go.

Trafficjammer is right.

There is a technique in slow riding where you squeeze on bit of rear brake and keep the throttle constant. The bike is more responsive to releasing the brake than it is to applying the throttle.
The police use this method and are able to carry out lock to lock turns on their bigger bikes. When you get this right you will be able to ride into two vacant car spaces and do a u turn. Also it looks cool to ride slow without your legs dangling out, walking along like Fred Flinstone as if you are about fall over.

btw - yes it does "wear out" your back brake but in the same way that riding wears out your petrol.

Uh, excuse me...Trafficjammer didn't write that.

Nightwing - Sorry about that, I stand corrected.

It is good to hear from someone that is familiar with the slow ride technique. Some people simply don't believe that it works or they argue saying that it will wear out the brakes and the clutch.

I noticed that when I tried this maneuver I made it harder for myself by keeping the "sides" of the figure 8 too narrow. Are there limits to how wide you can run your loops?

Yeah, you pretty much have to use the rear brake in combination with the throttle. It just can't be done otherwise. The hard part is keeping the throttle steady and playing the brake. I am not very good at that ... yet. As long as you do not go outside the 9' by 18' space and do not put your foot down, you are good to go. The problem I am having is locking the wheel on the turns. Just can't seem to get it. Tried on and off for about two hours today and am just fed up with myself at this point.

+1 on the rear brake. I discovered that during the Experienced Rider Course, for exactly this figure-8 exercise. The shifter bikes have it easier, they can play with the clutch. Ours is pretty much an on/off switch.

What will help tremendously is not only to "look through the turn" but to actually look back, over your shoulder, to make this tight turn. Also, shift your weight to the outside of the turn (slip over on your seat).

What I wonder is how tourists get to ride scooters. Can't you rent one with your FL driver license (if you have the M endorsement on it)? That way, you could legally practice outside your narrow driveway. Like, on the police's parking lot

Awesome place to live, by the way! Which island?

duplicate post. Timed out ...

I live on the island of Tortola. Unfortunately, when I went to the DMV in Florida, they said I would have to take the full driver's exam because we drive on the left here. I was leaving that afternoon and couldn't get an appointment early enough ... so I don't actually have the Florida "M class" driver's license, I only have the MSF certificate. Sigh. It would have made life much easier!

I probably wouldn't have passed the exam anyway because I don't know the Florida laws. Odd that ... considering you can rent a car without taking the exam. Go figure!

Do you need a "stinkin' license" now on Tortola?

AHHH...the good old days. About 1990, 4 of us went to the Bahamas and rented scooters for about 3 days; nobody had M endorsements. One of our group made a right turn onto the right side of the road ( which is the WRONG side in the Bahamas) and a police car ran into the ditch to avoid her. After checking her ID and license, he politely suggested she be more careful and might want to wear the helmet which was strapped to the scooter.