What is the best motorcycle/scooter for commuting?

[ldjessee00]

Need a magnet that trips the traffic light detector.

Something like this:

The Green Light Trigger

LDJ

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by bike4miles

I put 15,000 miles on my Reflex in just over a year before I sold it. I would have kept it till about 50k but my wife told me it was too dangerous to ride all those miles so now I am trying to get more out of my pickup.

Who wears the pants??? I'd say when she buys the gas she can dictate what you drive! Pickup commuting? Seriously?

As far as ultimate commuter bike, I like the old Honda Super Cubs. I still don't know why the rest of the world gets them but not us (U.S.).

As far as not tripping traffic lights, in MN the law was recently changed to say that if the light won't change for a motorcyclist, they can stop then proceed through on a red if it's clear of traffic. Check the laws in your state.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by Clev

LOL, had the same problem with the Helix. I found that staying slightly in the left or right part of the lane improves the chances of tripping the loop. I've heard of also tapping the ground with the centerstand, but I think that's an old wives' tale.

In the end, I just learned which lights on my commute were the most problematic, and found a way to avoid them. (Go straight through and make a U-turn followed by a right turn, or otherwise come at the intersection from a different direction so I could avoid the problem.)

I've read somewhere that you can glue a couple of largish rare earth magnets to the underside of your bike, you'll induce a bigger signal in the sensor loop. The guy that wrote it was doing most of his commuting on a 50cc bike, not a lot of metal going on. That's worth a go.

[edit] Oops, ldjessee00 beat me to it.

[ecofreak]

Honda helix, it's so damn reliable and fares well in clear conditions.

[gasstingy]

My Kawasaki Ninja 250 only got about 62 mpg. It had a large fuel tank and I could go a week before refueling, about 240 miles. It was plenty powerful for me and my wife to ride anywhere. On one occasion, we passed a car on a two lane highway and cleared 85 mph before slowing back down. I estimated it's top speed to be about 105 mph. OTOH, I had a perpetually sore neck from straining to keep my head up, even after I bought and installed riser extensions. That's the reason I no longer have it.

[kurtis1971]

i would love to have a one too i will have to see whats in the area

[kawboyCAFE]

kawasaki eliminator 125 is an excellent and cheap on gas bike for anything under 55-60 mph. gets 80-90 mpg. getting one myself in the spring.

i am in the same boat as FRANK LEE, here in arkansas they passed a law saying that if your bike or scooter wont trip the stop light sensors, then you can treat it like a stop sign if the traffic is clear. i actually had a cop pull up to me one day and tell me this after setting at a light for about 10 minutes.

[Clev]

Originally Posted by kawboyCAFE

i am in the same boat as FRANK LEE, here in arkansas they passed a law saying that if your bike or scooter wont trip the stop light sensors, then you can treat it like a stop sign if the traffic is clear. i actually had a cop pull up to me one day and tell me this after setting at a light for about 10 minutes.

That's awesome; that was the most annoying part of commuting on a 250cc plastic scooter.

[kawboyCAFE]

yeah, it was annoying to me too. i had a 125 scooter, and you could set at a light all day and it never change. sometimes i got lucky and a car would be behind me to trip the sensor. but not always.

[vinny1989]

I recently bought a suzuki GS500e (1997), its averaging 50mpg over the last 4 tanks.
I can squeeze about 150miles per tank, and thats including lots of travelling at 70mph+, and short runs into town at 30mph.
(Ive hit a max of 90mph, and a max of 55mpg. Somehow on the same tank!)