Yammie C3 Joy!

Yes, "Hoot" has come home! For those of you who know what affection for a scooter or motorcycle is like, you will understand when I tell you that the little ache in my heart has been healed.

When I sold the first one is was because somehow I felt then that I could not justify owning two scooters. I have never owned two and one has always been sold to get the next one. This whole process has made for a lot of heartache over my eight years of scooter riding.

Well, no more. Now I am the proud, and satisfied, owner of TWO scooters: the Yamaha C3 ("the landing craft") and my Honda Elite 110 ("the Mothership"). These monikers attached by my partner who is a Trekkie.

"Hoot 2" aka "Hoot" (cause really, Hoot ONE is no more) is really an exact replica of "Hoot". It is a basically new one with only a little over 1200 miles on it and lovingly kept by it's previous owner who "stepped up" to a "bigger scooter".

Been there, done that!

I found Hoot on Craigslist in Fremont, Ohio, at Schiets Motorsports, a family-owned Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki dealership. We drove up there on Thursday and picked it up.

Taking her for a spin brought back all that joy and fun of riding a 49cc and a C3 scooter in particular. Sweeeeeeeeet!

I couldn't be more happy and "Hoot 2" is not going anywhere, never ever again!

So I dredged up a post from last year in her honor and to once again display her charms for anyone who is considering finding one of these awesome little scoots.

It was written right after I sadly sold my first C3 scooter:

In every area of life there are hidden gems of experience, known only to the lucky few who stumble upon them.

Such it is with the humble little Yamaha C3 scooter.

Only sold in the United States from 2007 to 2011, it still paints the scooter scene in Europe as the "Giggle" and in Japan as the "Vox".

It takes it's looks from scoots like the venerable Cushmans and the Harley Davidson Topper. It is a unique look and it is not for everyone. Some even call it "homely" and compare it to a Coleman cooler on wheels.

Like an old flop-eared mutt that nobody selects at the dog pound, it often goes unloved and unnoticed. Evidently enough so that it did not continue to sell well here in the good old USA and Yamaha pulled it from the line-up for 2012.

I feel compelled to do a little ride report of my time on the C3. I have owned and ridden two other 49cc scooters, the Honda Ruckus and the Honda Metropolitan. The C3 outshines them in some ways and is only mildly deficient in others.

Things that I liked about the C3 were plentiful. I liked it's quirky "look" which got it the nickname "Boxy" due to its huge under seat storage. I could go to the grocery on it and pretty much stuff that compartment with most of my grocery items. Even a box of pizza and a 12 pack of pop fit under that lid!

Not only that, but the seat itself was pretty darn comfortable. Much more so than the Ruckus, which was like a buckboard wagon. Not as much as the Metropolitan, which feels like an English riding saddle, contoured to the keester. But pretty comfortable and you could slide back and stretch out your legs pretty easily. I liked that.

I liked it's big, fat tires and longer-than-a-Ruckus-and-Met wheelbase. This made for a stable ride as it cruised up to it's maximum speed of 43 mph. It never felt "squirrely" going down the road and it ran quietly too.

I like a quiet ride in the country, which was the main reason I got rid of the Genuine Buddy and got the Honda Elite 110.

It had "motorcycle like" handlebars and it's controls were neat, compact, and easy to read. It also had "push to cancel" turn indicators. I liked those especially.

The C3 was a bigger scooter with a higher profile in traffic than the Met or the Ruckus. Perhaps minor to some, but it's worth mentioning. Even though it was a bit bigger, it was still easy to push around the garage and heft off and on the center stand.

A few things I did not like next. The OEM rear rack was a joke. It called for drilling holes in the top lid and I was never going to do that or let anyone else do it either.

And in photos that I saw it really was quite ugly. So I never elected to install one and I really missed that ability to put on a basket or a top case (I am a basket person) to haul cargo.

The scooter's "suspension" was worse than the Ruckus and (shock!) worse than the Met! And that means it was pretty bad.

Specs said "two inches of travel", but I think that was a real stretch of the truth. It "bottomed out" just going down the road.

Wrapping up with all the good features, the electronic fuel injection was wonderfully sweet! It started right up and Yamaha had the good sense to even put a kick starter on the scoot, though it probably would never need to be used. (Hey, Honda, why not on the Elite 110?)

Gas mileage was a bit more than the Ruckus and Met, falling around 115 mpg in a 1.3 gallon tank. Pretty awesome.

With the EFI and 3 valves, the scooter could out-accelerate the Ruckus and the Met, but struggled to climb to and pin around 43 mph tops on the meter.

Still, you didn't care because it was so much fun getting there and the little scoot handled like a mini-motorcycle. 43 mph felt like 83 mph! Wheeeee!

On a whim and in need of some financial padding, I listed Hoot for sale and a fellow from North Carolina called and wanted to come and pick her up within 24 hours of my listing. He had been looking high and low for a 2011 and missed the one he sold, so was willing and ready to make the nine hour drive.

With a heavy heart, but glad she was going to someone who would love and appreciate her, I let her go. I have to say I have been sad since, but you do what you have to do.

I know that I have a thing for little 49cc scooters and I also know that one day I will have another Met, or Ruckus, or maybe even another little Yammie C3.

For some she is the "ugly duckling" of the scooter world.

For me, she was my little scooter that truly was a "hoot" to ride!

Hoot Is Coming Home!

Old is New: Stonelick Bridge

Last spring if you rode up the Stonelick-Williams Corner Road in Clermont County, Ohio, this is what you encountered:

The old 1878 Stonelick Covered bridge, the last surviving covered bridge in Clermont County, Ohio, had collapsed during renovation efforts in February, after being closed since 2010.

This is the old structure before its collapse:

(Photo courtesy of Wikepedia.)


Today I rode my scooter up to the recently re-opened and freshly renovated "new" old Stonelick bridge and it is a beauty!

Riding through its shadowed tunnel, tires gliding over smooth sweet smelling lumber was a "scooter high"!

Afterward I enjoyed a few hours of further adventure scooting through some of the county's lush green back roads in Stonelick Township.



Read more about Stonelick Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonelick_Covered_Bridge

2010 Honda Elite 110 Scooter : A Mini-Review

I remember when this scooter first came out at my local Honda Powersports store. I was riding a Ruckus at the time and had come into the shop for some farkles or something.

The shop guy said, "Hey, check out this new scooter from Honda!" and I followed him over to the red one over in the corner.

"Look at this storage space!", he said as he popped the seat cover to reveal what I later called "the cavernous underseat storage".

Now THAT was impressive, considering I like to haul my "stuff" along into the backwoods!

Then he reached over and unlocked the little glove box. It locked and I could have space for my digital camera, wallet, and other "stuff":

Yeah, THAT was cool too!

It was a "bigger scooter", but it wasn't a "maxi scooter". It was "big enough" that it could hold saddlebags and tail packs for touring:

That was a plus as I wanted a scooter that could potentially handle some longer rides that might involve overnight stays.

It has a nice, easy-to-read dash that shows turn indicators (with a push button to cease feature), fuel level, maintenance alert, bright lights, and engine temperature:

I also liked a floorboard, having hauled dog food, pop, flowerpots, and grocery bags on my little Ruckus all over the ridge and back roads, out to the Amish market and over to "Wally World". And a grocery hook too! How totally convenient!

But wait! This Honda Elite 110 is black! Isn't "Jingles" a red scooter?

Yes. The black one was my first foray into a scooter bigger than 49cc and I wound up not keeping it long. Not long at all. I had seller's remorse for my red Ruckus and so went in search of another Ruckus.

Being on a "limited income", i.e., "poor" I had to trade in order to get back on a 49cc.

What was it about the Honda Elite 110 that I did not like? Nothing. It had pep, was smooth riding, comfortable, amenities out the wazoo, easy to handle, maneuverable at low speeds, stable at high speeds. Basically the best "all around scooter", as I said in my review on one website.

But I longed for a Ruckus. Cried really. And so I sought to get one back and could not find one anywhere, new or used. That search led me into getting my Metropolitan, a "Ruckus all dressed up to go out on the town", a decision which I do not regret as I came to love my Met too!

Anyway, I digress...so I had an Elite 110 in 2012 and wound up getting another one in 2014 after trying a Genuine Buddy Psycho. I knew I had to be able to keep up with the traffic here in the burbs AND I knew that I needed more power for long hauls in the foothills if I returned to Adams County, so I sought out the Elite 110 again and found a used one locally.

I have come to fall in love with this scooter and to recognize it's charms. Much moreso than I did in 2012.

It is fuel-injected so starts right up and runs smoothly and quietly every time.

I can ride it for hours and my butt does not go numb!

It's got enough wind protection with it's leg shield that you can squeeze your legs behind it during chilly rides.

A very low center of gravity, along with a gas tank that is in the floorboard, make for a very stable ride. I like to feel solid on the road riding at 53mph, the scoot's top speed, as well as while cruising the creek roads looking for deer at 5 mph.

It is "big enough, yet not too small" for me. I am 5'4" with a 29" inseam and I can sit on it and my feet touch the ground.

It is "two up" comfortably with foot pegs and a hand rail for passengers. I doubt I will ever have a passenger, but it's nice to know if I want to haul my neighbor along to the produce stand up the road that the scoot can handle it!

The scooter is under 300 lbs and I still have trouble with the center stand, but I plan to get the side stand device from Scooter Works and add it this summer.

It came with a rear rack built in and right now I am sporting my beloved basket because I find it to be the most versatile arrangement.

I also have a Tour Master tail bag and a Saddleman bag that I can add for more storage on the road. Plus my old equine saddlebags as shown on my old, now long gone, Met:

I got these at the Amish tack shop and they are absolutely fantastic for the $15 I paid for them!

There is a Honda windshield that can be installed on the scoot and I may one day order it for cool weather riding. It runs around $200.

The 12" front wheel and the 10" rear wheel do not feel "sketchy" at full throttle, which would freak me out and then some.

The front disc brake and linked brake system stop me on a dime and minimize fish tail fun.

I have to say this is a darn nice ride and could navigate a commuter through city traffic easily as well as carry a "good ol' gal" out into the back roads and foothills of the mountains with enough power, comfort, and reliability to keep her happy.

New this bike cost $2999 or about $3400 out the door. I've seen used ones, low mileage, on Scooter Finds, running as low as $1200. Why I don't know but I am guess that for many the "scooter craze" is over or they moved on to "sport scooters" or motorcycles. If you seek one out you can get a good deal on a scooter that is "small enough, big enough", and an "an all around ride".

Honda only sold this model ONE year in the USA. It is still sold worldwide as the "Lead". Go figure Honda's logic. Not.

DaBinche is a guy in LA who will lead you via his YouTube videos through all the maintenance tasks required. He has emerged as the " on-line guru" for Elite ownership to help you keep your scooter in top shape.

He has a thread running that is dedicated to the Honda Elite 110 over on Adventure Rider under Battle Scooters.

Many Met riders posted also on Urban Scootin about the Elite as well and there are other good reviews on Powersports.net and the Motor Scooter Guide.

This 2010 Honda Elite 110 can do all I need it to do and it is fun to ride, smooth, quiet, and gets over 100 mpg!

What's not to love?

Go get one!

Progress on Heading Home

Last week I went out to Adams County twice. Once to help an old neighbor do some work on her property and the other day to meet with a local realtor.

We need to see if we can qualify for financing and buy a house or if we will have to rent one in the long run.

So our next step is to apply for a mortgage approval and we will use local contacts that he provided to see what we could get. There are also some grants out there that one of our neighbors in here obtained for a down payment, so we are optimistic. I am also a veteran, so maybe the VA loan program.

Anyway, all that is going to be initiated on Monday with multiple phone calls.

If we do not get approved then we will pursue some "owner financing" avenues or maybe even "lease to own".

I will keep an update going. Meanwhile, everybody keep your fingers crossed that we get some sort of financing because ownership is vastly preferred to having the landlady ride up in "your" driveway after 7 years and want her house back!

Sunset Scoot

Jumped on scootie and took a little sunset ride down my 12 mile loop through the valley. This route has been my "ride that refreshes" since I moved back here and so I felt a bit sentimental thinking that my summer rides here will soon be my last.

There's an old log cabin near a pond that I set as my destination and here is a Canadian goose couple and their brood.

The pond is peaceful and hidden to automobile drivers who fly by daily and haven't a clue as to what surrounds them.

As the pink and purple sky darkened I could not take some of the photos that I wanted to take, so I will ride there again soon and fill in the blanks for this blog entry.

I did see 4 deer rushing alongside me in the woods and a Holstein cow gave me a leery eye as I sat outside the fence and asked her how her day had been.

She didn't answer, but reared sideways and trotted off to her left only to eyeball me again from a safer distance.

Down in "the bottom" I learned that one of the old, old houses had caught fire a few weeks ago. It was boarded up and a neighbor on the lane who was walking her dog chatted with me for a few minutes and explained what happened.

The fire started due to a space heater. No one was hurt. The fire departments had to bring in a water truck as the local water is well water. The house is historical from the 1920s and the neighbor does not know what it's future will be.

It might be torn down or it might be renovated.

I love this valley and these back roads and will miss them when leave. I never knew these roads existed when I lived here before for ten years.

I discovered them all on my scooter.

"Jingles" is a great scooter! Big enough to tackle the hills and small enough to handle easily on low speed meanderings.

She is also very stable at high speeds, is super comfortable and quiet, and hauls all my "stuff". Guess I should do a small review of her talents for this blog.

Here she is alongside the pond and the historical farm house near the log cabin.

Just a nice little ride right outside my door.

You CAN Go Home Again!

This view is one of my favorites from our time out in Adams County.

Since we returned to the suburbs of Cincinnati in September of 2012, my heart has done nothing but long for my Adams County life.

I am happy to share that in a few short months we will be returning to our country life out there! I am hoping to rent or buy a small cabin or cottage where we can spend our days surrounded by the quiet woods and our nights gazing at the brilliant stars in the sky or sitting around a bonfire with our neighbors.

We are not renewing our lease and our life will be turning around in the next few months. We don't have all the details ironed out yet, but we know enough to be able to state that we will be leaving here this summer and moving back out there.

As soon as the details are finalized I will be initiating a house search. I am excited beyond words, though a little scared because I have never bought a house and need to get educated pretty quickly. I have reliable mentors standing by, so it should be a great learning experience.

I am still delivering flowers but the business has really fallen off since Mother's Day. I accept that at some point I will be leaving that job and moving on into full-time house hunting. I am hoping to start up something of my own out there connected to flowers, plants, or dogs. Some little business that is home-based or part-time in the area. But first things first, as they say.

The search begins on Monday as I go out there and help out some old neighbors with work on their property and just spend time. I am going to do some riding around and see any properties that might be in the area where I lived before. I liked living among Amish neighbors and so that is my first preference.

Most of all I am looking forward to scooting my beloved back roads!

No Time

NOTE: Since the original posting of this blog some resolution appears to be in the works. I went to the business owner and expressed my dire need for 2 regular days off in a row AND that "I need to make more money". Well, he immediately was fine with my being off on Mondays, which was my preference! Also, he said he is working on some ideas that might give me more responsibilities on the days that I AM working, like picking up some pieces from florists on my way into the warehouse. So talking with him really was the way to go. In addition, I have resolved to get in bed by midnight, read a bit if I feel like it, and be up by between 7-8 am. I am slowly working it down to 7 am and by summer should be up by 6 am, which has always been my habit in the summer. If I stick to this schedule, I should have plenty of time to do things in the morning BEFORE I head out to pick up my flowers at 1 or even if I have to make a few stops on the way. I am really happy about this new direction and hope it works out for me.

I haven't blogged because my life has become a whirlwind of work and recovering from WORK!

Yeah, I'm loving my flower gig, but it dominates my life in ways that don't really make sense.

I feel like I am "getting ready to go to work" in the few hours I have in the morning and "relaxing after work" in the few hours in the evening.

And this is 6 days a week!

It's not hard labor, it's fun, but it is unpredictable and usually keeps me out on the road from noon to around 6pm. During this time I am picking up my flowers and then delivering them within a semi-rural area.

This is very pleasant work but pays very little. Very. I knew that going into it and at the time that was enough. It may continue to be, I don't know.

But my "life work" balance is off kilter. I am finding no time to ride the scooter, ride the bikes, hike with the dogs, and golf.

These are my few real passions and I really, really miss doing them.

Excuses? Sometimes I stay up late reading or watching TV or playing on the Kindle Fire and so I sleep in and my morning starts too late. There are dogs to feed and walk as well as myself and then I turn around and it is noon, time to leave.

I can get back home anywhere from 3:30 to 9:30pm, depending on how many orders I have and then that is unpredictable. Easter was very busy, Mother's Day will be the busiest of all.

"Busy" means more money and did I mention that this gig that I love does not pay that well? Yes, I did.

When I work Monday through Saturday with Sunday as my only day off, how do I get to: 1. relax 2. do errands 3. do chores 4. ride 5. anything else.

It doesn't happen.

Add in rain, cold weather that seems to never end, and the guilt of missing a day because someone else has to deliver all my orders now that I am not there and it all adds up to frustration.

So I am frustrated, tired, agitated, and starving for a few days for myself just to enjoy the time away from work doing things I want to do.

I am not sure what the solution is for me, but I am working on one.

Getting up earlier, cutting back to 5 days and "be damned let them figure it out" come into my mind as first steps.

Looking for another job is also crossing my mind ever so slightly.

Meanwhile I struggle with the sense of "no time" and the scooter and bikes gather dust.

My dogs get no outings and get stressed and depressed. They mirror my mood.

I feel like I spend a lot of time here...

And, yes, I'll take some cheese with that whine...

End of rant...for now!

Easter Buds

Today was a splendid spring day, an "Easter Eve", if you will.

The sun was shining through a crisp, dry 60 degree atmosphere that dazzled the eye and lifted the long dormant spirit within!

Yes, I delivered some flowers today and brought along my camera and my "co-pilot" Maxi.

It was raining floral color and the car was filled with the scents of lillies, roses, and tulips among others.

Enjoy...

Lest we not forget, it is the weekend of the "Final Four" and if you don't know what that means, then well...

Let this final image leave no doubt as to which team we are rooting for!

Anyway, Happy Easter to you and yours!

Spectrum of Riders

I've been spending my days riding around in my Honda CRV delivering flowers, plants, and dog food amid blizzards and floods for the past month. Thank the Snow Gods that the worst of winter is over!

When you're out on the road like this you spend a lot of time reflecting on this and that. A lot of the time is spent fantasizing about riding again in spring and seeing new routes and making a note of them amid the flurry of traveling to and fro.

I had lots of blog ideas that never got written down and saw lots of interesting sights that never got photographed because I've been "too busy". Yep, and that is not the way I like to live my lifestyle: being "too busy".

But it happened and now it is slowing down a bit because I am now no longer doing a courier route in addition to my flower "giggin'". So I have my mornings back to relax and blog a bit.

More and more my thoughts are on getting out on the scooter and bikes or just hiking the park trails with my dogs. I've been thinking about how I got into riding a scooter in the first place.

This was in 2007 and we had been out "on the farm" for about a year. My 78 year old neighbor lady was riding up to our door on her Chinese ATV and sitting and talking with me out on the porch, most every evening in the spring.

I envied her mobility and her chanting, "Well, I'm off to enjoy my evening out on the road for a bit before I head home for my 7:30 cup of coffee and "Jeopardy"!

She went on to tell me how she loves to ride on her ATV around the rural roads up on our ridge. Just time to get out in nature and enjoy the sights and smells and totally unwind.

Wow! I wanted THAT too!

At that time I was driving to a job that carried me through a little tiny village in a valley. I mean "tiny". No stop lights and you were through it in the blink of an eye.

Right there in the heart of the village sat a Honda Power sports dealership! It was small too and family-owned. Just a building, a barn, and a gravel parking lot. I decided that I was going to stop in and look at an ATV for myself. Maybe even test ride one.

So one day I did and discovered scooters! I had no clue about this world of scooters beforehand. I had ridden a Honda motorcycle in the 1980s, but scooters? No idea.

There sat this little gunmetal gray one with a camo casing and big fat tires. I thought it was pretty cute and cool and the "100 mpg" sticker blew my mind as well.

Within a week the notion of an ATV was out of my head and I was taking delivery of my 2006 Honda Ruckus 49cc, water-cooled, 4 stroke scooter!

No scooter was ever loved more than that scooter! I called it "Scootie" and rode it everywhere. Pretty soon my neighbor and I were traveling the ridge on summer evenings and chatting up the Amish neighbors and drinking coffee under the moonlight of the gazebo in her front yard.

I rode my scooter in the woods on trails, across the fields to vegetable gardens to collect tomatoes, herding Holstein cattle up the road, to the flea markets, and to the library and grocery store.


I loved it so much that I just got a thrill of joy gazing at it under its blanket out in the garage in the dead of winter when riding was out of the question.


Life was sweet. Everyone now seemed to be interested in scooters as the gas prices soared from 2007-2008. When the BIG recession hit in late 2008 I began to fear the loss of my job and we began to worry about making financial ends meet out on the farm.


In February 2009 I lost my job and panic set in about paying the bills. In heart wrenching desperation I put Scootie up for sale on Craigslist. Not long after that I got a response and two students from Akron came in a pick-up truck and hauled Scootie away. I cried as the truck drove off the property and almost chased it down.


It is one of the biggest scooter-related regrets I ever experienced, losing my first scooter love. If there was a way to track it down I would. I watched the Akron Craigslist for a while, hoping to see her for sale, but finally accepted that she was gone forever.


I went without a job for 3 years and without a scooter for 1.5 years and swore that no matter how bad times got I would never be scooter-less again if I became unemployed again. Scooting gives me so much joy, so much freedom, and so much happiness.


Fast forward to the topic at hand which is "spectrum of riders". What I've come to realize is that there is a "spectrum" of 2-wheeled riders. The spectrum runs from bicycle to scooter to motorcycle, the way I see it.


Many scooterists started out as bicycle riders. Many motorcyclists started out as scooter riders. These would be the major patterns. Some continue to ride 2 or 3 or just one exclusively. Then some people go back and forth. Or just go back.


BICYCLE >>>>>>> SCOOTER >>>>>>>> MOTORCYCLE


I always rode bicycles, from age 4 onward. That became my main focus through the past 10 years of my life here in SW Ohio. We have an extensive network of rail trails and some awesome places to ride. Places far out into nature and woodlands, free from cars and noise and crowds. Those are the places I gravitated to on my road bike, mountain bike, and even a few recumbent bikes and trikes.


I rode to get away from cars and people and to get lost out on the trail along the river where the only "din" was the sounds of birds and the chatter of squirrels.


And so my scooter riding started out with the same goals in mind way out there in the country up on that ridge. As time went on I "thought" that I "should" want more power on a scooter and tried to move up out of the 49cc models. That didn't work out there because the 49cc models were so much fun to ride and I "rode it like a bicycle" and went anywhere I damn well pleased on the Ruckus and the Met anyway!


I moved to the burbs out of "financial necessity" aka "need a job" in the fall of 2012 and found myself now dealing with traffic all along my rides, all the time. I hated it, but tried to adapt, and eventually found some tolerable back roads that led me out into the countryside for my scooter adventures.


Never commuted, though I thought I would. Never rode out on all day long rides, though I thought I would. Did do little evening neighborhood rides and grocery runs. Talked myself into more power and went up to 125cc and 108cc and still loved the little 49cc Yammie C3 that I owned and sold like an idiot. THIRD biggest seller's regret...

Bottom line is that I was a hard head all along, did a lot of "shoulds and oughts" and did stupid trading, buying, and selling and I am still a scooter rider who likes to "ride it like a bicycle" and that is where I fall on the spectrum.


I am never going to go "up" to the level of motorcycle riding because I hate riding in traffic. I hate the anxiety and exhaustion that it brings and besides, I drive all day as it is IN TRAFFIC delivering flowers. Why would I want to "play" in traffic on a motorcycle and/or larger scooter? I wouldn't.


Last year I bought 2 new bicycles, end of season, and plan to get back into riding on our wonderful, quiet, car-free rail trails and parks around here. A Fuji flat bar road bike and an Electra Townie 21D (Thank you for the inspiration, Sonya!).


I have not taken either one out yet, but am eagerly looking forward to doing so.

In thinking through this "spectrum" concept I have freed myself from the pressure or expectation or whatever one calls it of riding among cars on a fast moving scooter or motorcycle as a form of entertainment. For me it is not, and I am done experimenting with the idea.


I will be on the rail trail or quiet village streets or park trails on my bike or out on my little scooter, decked out in obnoxious hi viz yellow, flying an obnoxious hi viz flag, sporting a big ol' cautionary hi viz yellow reflective triangle on the back.


Yep, "riding it like a bike" on the back roads and quiet streets, among as few cars as possible.