Hi, I'm Shellie (a.k.a. Shelmeister)!

[Shelmeister]

After wanting a scooter since I was 2 years old, finally getting my little gem has been a dream come true for me. It is a 2009 CF Moto eJewel 150 in white with automatic transmission and only 16 miles on it.

I live in the suburbs of Minnesota, and just graduated college with my BS in Criminal Justice. I work at a private country club and golf course at the moment, which keeps me out in the sun and busy. This is my first scooter ever though, so I'm taking her out tomorrow for my first tiny test-drive to get used to it.

http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo254/simbeeps/Personal/eJewel/eJewel2-1.jpg

Thanks for any welcomes; I'm glad to be here! o_o
You can call me Shellie, Shelmeister, or Shel ... whatever floats your boat!

[j~scoot]

Let us know how you like it, and welcome!

[Shelmeister]

Well I took the new scooter out tonight and tried her out...

Straight aways were pretty easy, but I'm a little unsteady with turning. It seems like every time I turn the handlebars to the right, I feel as though my right hand is going to slip back hard on the throttle and make the bike speed out from under me! I didn't want to look like a fool OR crash my bike, so I went pretty slow (almost not moving at all) with that part. Looks like I have some practicing ahead of me!

[j~scoot]

My girlfriend had a similar issue when we rented scooters in Hawaii. Because of it, everyone else turned and she kept going straight. We didn't see her for about a half hour.

[fakinventobrah]

I love watching the tourists here in Hawaii on the mopeds. They see my moped and just stare and smile, then I give a little wheelie and wave a shaka to them. I meet alot of people from all over the world that way. Good fun.

[PVPiaggio]

Well I took the new scooter out tonight and tried her out...

Straight aways were pretty easy, but I'm a little unsteady with turning. It seems like every time I turn the handlebars to the right, I feel as though my right hand is going to slip back hard on the throttle and make the bike speed out from under me! I didn't want to look like a fool OR crash my bike, so I went pretty slow (almost not moving at all) with that part. Looks like I have some practicing ahead of me!

Welcome!

Unless you are going very, very slowly, you do not want to turn the handlebars for turning. If you want to turn left, simply push forward on the left hand grip and on the right grip to turn right. It is counter-intuitive, but that's how it works.

Making slow turns is different; for those you do turn the front wheel. I took a motorcycle riding course this spring after I bought my motor scooter. For me, the most difficult thing to do was a slow, tight turn. Doing a figure eight inside a box was part of the test for getting a motorcycle endorsement on my driver's license. I did go outside the box once. I was rather nervous for that test knowing I couldn't make the turns correctly. However, I did score the 2nd highest score on the test in the class of eight students.

That maneuver is one that takes practice. While a scooter doesn't have the exact same 'friction zone' as a motorcycle does as it lacks a clutch, one can make the maneuver pretty much the same way using the brake lightly. I did discover in the class, and in daily riding, that turning the head to look at where you want to go is critical in making these turns.

Practice is the key. However, if you have a chance to take a motorcycle riding course, I'd definitely recommend it. I learned things in those two days it may have taken a long time to learn and, perhaps, I would not learn some of them at all.

Here's an excellent video on making turns and limits on leaning:

http://tinyurl.com/m75azr

One of his recent videos on the site was the technique for making slow U-turns.

Here are some other training topics on his Web site:

http://tinyurl.com/kp8mzs

Good luck and have fun!!

[Shelmeister]

Hi PVPiaggio! Thanks for the welcome and the awesomely informative post! I watched a few of the instructional videos you linked, and it gave me some really great tips.

I took the scoot out today and really pretty much have the hang of things now. I got her up to about 25 mph (just scooting around our neighborhood roads), and it felt great! Very open and free. I can't wait to get my permit and really get her going!