A Scooter Adventure

 

Some time ago we decided to downsize from our litre plus Long Distance Rally bikes to something smaller since we were no longer riding LD rallies or any Iron Butt cert rides.  Eric put his 2015 Super Tenere up for sale in November 2019 and surprisingly it sold within the hour!!  Nice that it went to a fellow Iron Butt rider who was looking to build a rally bike.  The Tenere had it all so he was set and Eric was without a bike.  Within two weeks of selling the Tenere, Eric purchased a Yamaha FZ 6 which is a 600 cc Sport-touring bike, about 1/2 the cc of the Tenere.  So, now Eric was set with a smaller, more nimble bike but I still had Beastie Bike, the 2016 BMS R1200 GSA.

The last few rides I'd taken on the GSA simply were not a lot of fun for me.  And, hey, if it's not fun why do it?  That really put me into a funk.  Riding had been the focal point of my life for quite a long time but I just wasn't interested.  But I was loathe to let go of the GSA.  It was my dream bike!  So, there she sits taking up valuable garage space hooked up on a lifeline to the Optimate Maintenance Charger just waiting patiently for a ride-a-bout.

I started seriously looking for a smaller bike that might work for me.  I looked hard at the BMW's but the color of my Koolaid isn't that important.  That lead me to the Honda CB500X.  Nice size, the riding position is the style I prefer and it's a Honda.  You know, reliable with a wide-spread network of dealers.  In my search I discovered several peeps I know who have the CB500X and they had absolutely nothing bad to say about it.  In fact, they love it.  In fact, my buddy who also has a GS told me he hasn't been on the GS since he bought the CB500X.  Another buddy bought one, shipped it to Africa and is using it to ride around the world.

With all that going for it we thought maybe it was time to check it out in person.  Eric found a used one at our local Tupelo Honda dealer and brought it home for me to test ride.  I didn't go far but it did put a smile on my face.  A bit tall but there are several options for lowering the bike.  Okay then, we decided to delve a bit deeper into the CB500X.  In 2019 the second generation was announced with a 19" front wheel and some other very nice options that the first generation doesn't have.  LED lights and improved dash display are just some of the upgrades on the Gen 2 bikes.

Okay, I liked the 2018 model with the 17" front wheel but would I be okay with the new generation and 19" wheel?  Guess we'll have to find one so we can actually sit on it and decide.  So that brings us to our most recent adventure.

On Tuesday, August 18, our 8th Wedding Anniversary, we were chatting about motorcycles and scooters.  Scooters came into play because we decided to attempt the 2021 Scooter Cannonball Rally which is a cross country ride on scooters!  We really wanted the Honda CT125 Hunter Cub but they are not available in the US yet and nobody knows when they might be or even if they will be available here.  That led us to looking at Honda's newest scooter model, the ADV 150.

At the end of the day, our plan was to have two sub-litre touring bikes and two scooters (preferably the Hunter Cub).  Both the CB500X and the ADV 150 are like hens teeth to find.  Apparently they are both quite popular and this is the first year for the ADV 150.  Eric undertook the task of locating a 2019 or 2020 CB500X (with ABS) within a 400 mile range of our home.  The only bike he found was in Carbondale, Illinois and that was non-ABS.  He also located a Honda ADV150 scooter in Terre Haute, Indiana.  Upon more research he found two ADV150's in Crossville, Tennessee.

A plan was hatched.  We would drive the car to Carbondale and check out the fit of the CB500X and then on to Terre Haute to check out the ADV 150.  We piled into the car early Wednesday, August 19 and headed to Carbondale, IL.  Our quest took us across Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and finally into Illinois.  We stopped somewhere along the way and did McDonald's drive-through for lunch.  I think that's the first time I've had Mickey D's in about a year.  Tasted the same as a year ago, hahaha!

We easily located the dealer, put on our Covid face masks (fucking Covid) and entered the showroom floor.  Nobody paid any attention to us at all!  We found the CB500X and both took turns sitting on it and getting a feel for the fit.  Still nobody gave us any attention.  That's okay, this bike was non-ABS and we weren't going to buy it anyway.  We just wanted to know if I could be comfy with the 19" front wheel.  I liked the bike a lot but will definitely lower it some to put me in my comfort zone.  I'm looking for a second generation ABS model and I'm sure it will turn up eventually.  Our local dealer said we could order two but who know if they are still available.  People like this bike and the dealers can't keep them on the floor long before they are sold.

Our questions about the new CB500X answered, we left the dealer and never once did anyone there say hello, kiss my ass, can I help you or go to hell.   Hahahahahahaha.  Guess I wouldn't buy from them if they can't even take the time to say hello.

Next was Terre Haute, IN to check out the all new ADV 150 scooter!  We spent the night in Marshall, IL, had Arby's drive through for dinner and the next morning headed to the dealer in Terre Haute.  They had one ADV 150 which we both took turns sitting on the checking out.  Oooooohhhhhhh, it is soooooooooo cute!  And light! And feature rich for a scooter!  BOOM!  My heart pounded, my palms got sweaty.  I needed that scooter!  But, the Terre Haute dealer only had one and couldn't get another for a few months.  Not helping them any, their pricing was on the high side, $1k over MSRP when you got down to the Out The Door price.

Pfftttt......that won't work!  We need TWO, NOW!  Eric had already found two at the Crossville, TN dealer so we called them from the Terre Haute dealer parking lot and said we wanted to buy them.  We were able to work out a deal that we felt was very reasonable and told them we were headed directly to Crossville!

Back on the highway, droning along, dodging hundreds and hundreds of semi trucks and a bunch of crazy cage drivers - it was a long haul.  We stopped at a Denny's for lunch just before the Indiana/Kentucky border.  I haven't been anywhere since mid February and the Covid outbreak and was really quite nervous and concerned about going into a restaurant for a sit down meal.  Pleasantly surprised!  Everyone was masked, good social distance between tables and the place was spotless!  The tables were bare and disinfected along with the seats.  Our menus were only a single open page and squeaky clean.  When our server took our order she was wearing a mask.  She brought us silverware that was in a paper envelope and salt & pepper shakers that were clean - no grease - no fingerprints - no sticky nastiness.  Wow!  We ordered and soon the food was delivered and another surprise, it was well prepared and tasty!  Guess without the big crowds the cooks had more time to pay attention to detail.  Condiments such as ketchup, hot sauce, and syrup were delivered in single use containers.  It was good and I was relieved.  Also, I was happy to not have another fast food drive through meal!

We realized we would not be able to make it to the Crossville dealer before they closed so Eric sent a text saying we'd be there when they open with a trailer and a check.  Tommy's Motorsports in Crossville, TN was awesome!  No deposit required.  They would have the scooters prepped and ready the next morning.  How cool is that???  Our sales dude, Kolton Gardner, was excellent and made everything seamless for us.

That night we stayed in Crossville.  While droning on the highway, Eric made an online reservation for a U-Haul trailer that would fit the two scooters and was only 1/2 mile from our hotel and 3 miles or so from Tommy's Motorsports.  Everything came together like clockwork!  We checked into our hotel and Eric took the car to Walmart to get some ratchet straps and a plug-converter for our car towing electrical hookup.  He also picked up some salads for our dinner.  

Tommy's Motorsports opened at 9:00 am.  We got up and picked up the U-Haul trailer at 8:30 am and were in Tommy's parking lot at 8:45 am.  At 9:00 am, we donned our Covid masks and went into the dealership where the two scooters were sitting right in front of the door ready for us to load up!

Aren't they cute?  I was thrilled with what I was seeing.  Yes, yes, yes!  If the CT125 Hunter Cub ever makes it to the States, we may trade these in or maybe have both or maybe just keep the ADV 150.  Dunno, don't care.  For now the ADV 150 is my bomb!

We quickly took care of the paperwork, wrote out a check and received the Manufacturer's Certificates of Origin.  Since we were out of state buyer's we didn't pay Tennessee sales tax but believe me, Mississippi will take their share!

Now it was time to load up these beauties and head home.  Again Kolton was awesome and helped get them loaded and strapped so they wouldn't move about in the trailer on the way home.

Here is Kolton, our sales dude.  Just the best service ever!  Painless, happy, wonderful.  We would definitely go to Tommy's Motorsports and work with Kolton again!

All loaded up and ready to roll.  We left by 10:00 am!

It was about 310 miles to home.  We made a stop after about 50 miles to double check straps and all was good. The first 100 miles was Interstate and I was very pleased with the way my Equinox pulled the trailer.  I didn't even know it was there.  The trailer tracked great with no sway and the Equinox had plenty of power and never slowed or bogged down.  The scooters didn't move an inch!

Upon leaving the Interstate we stopped for lunch - another Mickey D's drive through.  Oh, well, at least you know what to expect, lol.  Filled up with gas and headed for the Natchez Trace to finish our drive home.  We made a stop or two along the Trace to stretch our legs.  After all, we'd been in the darn car for 3 days straight!

From leaving home on Wednesday to arriving home on Friday afternoon (in time for cocktails) we drove approximately 1,200 miles.  I don't want to sit in the car for a while, lol.

SATURDAY - AUGUST 22, 2020

Guess what?  We have ADV 150 Scooters in the garage!!!!!  Oh yes, we're going for a ride, you betcha we are.  Can't wait to take a scooter ride :-)  

Of course we decided to ride the Natchez Trace.  Very little traffic, lots of shade, lots of scenic and historic pull-outs, what's not to like?  Earlier that morning Eric had put a tire repair kit and mounted a GPS on his scooter and put the Spot on mine with Ram mounts.  He also put our IBR plate backers on the scooters, what good fun! We packed a lunch and geared up.  It took a few minutes to figure out the start routine but before long we were both powered up and ready to scoot!  A quick ride around the neighborhood to get the feel of the scooter then to the gas station to top off the tanks.  A half mile later we were on the Natchez Trace heading south.

We both immediately recognized the need for mirror extenders.  That is definitely first on the list of farkles.  We didn't let that spoil our adventure!  We scootered on sometimes reaching the frightening speed of 58 mph.  Speed limit on the Natchez Trace is 50 mph and we usually roll about 54 mph but lots of stupid peeps like to go anywhere between 65 and 85.  Whenever we had traffic behind us that wanted to go faster we just took the next pull out and let them by.  I never did get flat out, tapped out on throttle but Eric did a few times.

Certainly not a quick off the mark ride but it picks up speed nicely, the brakes seemed to work well and it was a hoot to ride!  The dash is easy to see and read and we quickly found out how to scroll through the menu to display various information.  It has a great dash!  Lots of info and easy to use.  I was getting 84 miles per gallon!  Yup!  84 mpg!

About 30 miles or so into our ride we exited the Trace and rode to Davis Lake Recreational Area to check it out.  It's one of the few lakes near us that has swimming.  Unfortunately they wanted $5 per vehicle to use the park so we just scootered around the park and back out to the main street returning to the Trace where we stopped at Witch Dance for our picnic lunch.

After lunch we just scootered back up the Trace to home.  We rode about 70 total miles for our inaugural ADV 150 Scooter ride and it was simply delightful.  I was giggling out loud in my helmet.  I loved riding again.  I was having FUN.  I want to do more of that!  Yippee!!

So, now it's time for me to sell the Beastie Bike and replace it with the Honda CB500X or similar.  I'm good with that.  For poking around, we have the ADV 150's.  I'm so glad I found my happy again.  Who knew a scooter could make me grin and giggle like a school girl.  I'm pretty sure Eric was having as much fun as I was!

Thank you all for following along.  I know it's been quite a while since I blogged.  Hey, I was depressed, not having fun on the Beastie Bike and then Covid hit like a sledgehammer.  Not much to blog about.  Hopefully I'll be back to posting our riding adventures on a more regular basis.

Cheers!

Cletha