Category: moto diaries

Sam’s finally gone. He’s all beat up, and reaching his end, especially after what happened last year. By this point of writing, he’s probably on his way to be impounded. Such a pity, as despite the exterior, he was such a reliable scooter. It has been a good run together.

Which is why I chose to have another scooter from the same maker – Kymco. Initially I really wanted the Kymco Like 200i because of how much it reminds me of my old Vespa, but it’s much competitively priced by 1k Euro.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I preferred something with bigger wheels which to me is safer and more comfortable to ride, especially on bumpy roads. So I thought a People could be a better option (Sam was a People Series)

But trying it out at the display room made me realise that it was rather big. It might not look it from the picture above, but I was quite worried that I might fall off the scooter from the weight and the size of it.

Which was why when I saw the Agility 16+ 200i, I quickly changed my mind – it fit what I needed – bigger wheels, compact size, which is perfect for manoeuvring through traffic. Plus, it made more sense price-wise – For about 2k Euro for a People 125 cc, you could get the stronger engine Agility 200 CC.

Looks wise, it’s quite rugged, but I think it’s quite cute anyways. I would get the blue or the red one, but it’s not available in Italy.  Nevertheless, I love the black matte – it’s so classy.

By the way, below isn’t a review as I literally have used the scooter for less than 24 hours but here are my quick thoughts about it :

The front of the scooter is standard – with the speedometer and the fuel gauge, the lights and whatnots. But unlike my older scooters, the front has a blue light instead of the typical yellow bulb.

We got the additional large wind-shield as it’s something good to have especially during the winter. Cold wind in your face is very uncomfortable – and I like that this one shields part of the hands too.

You fill up the fuel in front instead of under the seat which I found quite radical.

Instead of the petrol knob, the battery is inserted in the underseat. By the way, it’s inadequate to fit my regular helmet inside and I think this only fits half helmets.

Which is why it’s great that Kymco provided the box together with the scooter, although I don’t know if this is available for other countries.

The box can fit two helmets if you knew how to. It’s also big enough for a regular grocery run. What’s interesting about this is that you could detach it from the base and carry it with you – although I highly recommend that you practise putting it on and off multiple times until you get a hang of it or risk having your box fly off while you ride.

With the same key, you can open the glove compartment. I wished that it had a push button I had from my Vespa, but a really good consolation is that it has a power point! I could charge my phone with a cigarette-Lighter USB adapter. I haven’t tried this yet as mine doesn’t fit in it – I’d need a smaller one.

Although one negative point is that the size is too small to fit my phone in – too small to even fit my winter gloves in  too.

There is also the foot rest that springs out when you press the button. I haven’t had any passengers yet so I still have to find out if it bothers my ankles while I ride.

View of how big the footrest is compared to my feet. Still pretty big. The People is much much bigger compared to this – see why I changed my mind?

But the biggest change would have to be the safety device that Cart was adamant that I get. It’s really cool – with a press of a button, I can set the alarm so if there were anyone moving my scooter, there will be an obnoxiously loud siren.

There’s also the panic button (which makes siren without setting the alarm) and the alarm button which flashes the lights on the scooter even when you’re from a distance away.

This is so high tech. My scooter is like a car!

Riding wise, I’m getting used to it. I’ve been using Sam for years so it does feel different when you’re on a slightly more powerful machine.

Perhaps it’s me, but I feel a sort of drag whenever I’m going at a higher speed – as if there is more inertia. Even when I’m turning on a bend, that drag is there – like an invisible hand is pulling you down.  I guess it’s a new fangled technology using gyroscopes for safety function but it’s a rather unnerving feeling anyway.

Nevertheless, so far it has been a pleasant ride and I’ve had a really good afternoon zipping around the neighbourhood with it. It’s really lovely to be going around on a scooter again – it’s like I have my wings again! Even though I have a car driving’s license, I much prefer the two wheeler 😀

At this point of time, I’m waiting for this to come in the mail :

No need to say why 😛

I’ve had Sam the scooter since 2010.  He’s old, ugly and beat up but we’ve been fixing him up slowly – with a new wind-shield, new brake clutches, new centre cover and most recently, I bought a new box which made grocery shopping a whole lot easier.

But the most important part is that he’s been very dependable, bringing me from point A to point B most of the time and I’ve always preferred two wheelers over four on account of how it’s a lot more easier to find parking as well as the more cost effective fuel consumption.

Unfortunately, the area where we live in is very happening, especially during the summer. Once there was a burglary attempt in our apartment, then one of the mirror was stolen from Sam. Even our friend who’s living in another zone had his safe burgled from his apartment.

The last time when I used Sam was on Saturday. I did a quick grocery shopping to get some ingredients to make some apple crumble for a BBQ meet later in the evening. When we reached back home, it was pretty late so we didn’t notice anything amiss.

It was only in the late morning when Cart peeked out of the window and asked me, “Where’s Sam?“. Alarmed, I quickly rushed down to search for him. He wasn’t there. I looked all around the vicinity. Still not there and no trace of him. Someone actually took the effort to carry him off? Someone actually stole my old, ugly beat up scooter? Cart hypothesised that Sam, being an old scooter, tend to be used for snatch thieves and then discarded somewhere else.

So we made a police statement soon after that so we’d be in the clear should there be any traces of crime. We were lucky that there was someone serving us, considering how a lot of things are closed in August. The whole day, I guess I was either in a state of shock or my brain was still trying to process what was going on but I didn’t feel much. When we recounted our story to my in laws, my MIL thinks that it could be abandoned in the area, but I wasn’t feeling very hopeful.

The next day, I heard the intercom buzz and a kind neighbour said that she found a blue scooter next to the church. A little bit hopeful, I quickly rushed down to investigate. Sam was there, right where she said. But he was in such a bad condition – his seat was broken, the FR panel was ripped apart and the neck of the scooter was broken – I couldn’t put my key in the ignition so I couldn’t tell if the engine was still working or not. As bad as how Sam looked before, I just couldn’t bear to see him now.

In fact, it’s Cart who snapped these pictures. Not me.

No idea the reason this part was broken for. 

The hinge was forced open.

The strange part is, the riding gloves which I left in the scooter was still there, as well as the chain and lock. These combined, costs quite a bit. However, they took my straw hat which costs around 10 euro. I don’t understand why?

So if you ever see a guy in Rome wearing a straw hat with a pink band on it …

Cart’s advising me to to get Sam fixed while we transition on getting a new one. I don’t know, it seems like a waste of money. Moreover with my mechanic coming back from his vacation in September, seems like a waste of time too.

The P or ‘principiante’ sign is a sticker that new drivers put on their car. I finally took out the P-sign off my car last weekend. It was such a peculiar feeling for me, like pulling off a band-aid.

It’s been about 2 years since I’ve passed my driver’s license so that’s something that should have been done a long time ago.  It’s just that I feel ‘safer’ with it somewhat as in my mind, I think that with the P-sign, other drivers will tend to avoid me.

At the same time though, regardless with or without the P-sign, there are a number of reckless drivers on the road.

The most dangerous would be those who just cut you off, even when you have the right of way, without signalling and you’re going at a high speed. Why is why I never take chances, and am always alert at all times when I drive.

But once you’ve experienced driving in Rome, I think you’ll have the skills to drive practically everywhere else in the world. Especially when parking in Rome, where it’s notoriously difficult to find any empty slots so one is forced to manoeuvre in that teeny tiny little spot.

Look at how Cart parked his car one time :

There is no space at all between his and the other cars. How on earth did he do that? Did he learn Shaolin?

I still have a long way to go before I could do something similar. In fact, I don’t think I will ever have even 1/10th of Cart’s skills.

Having a car in Rome is useful, and I feel grateful during the days when I have to travel around, especially during Winter or when it’s raining. But there are days when I wonder if it was worth buying my car.

Owning a car in Rome isn’t as expensive as compared to in Singapore. Nevertheless, it still quite a yearly expenditure as insurance is about 500 euro a year and road tax is about 120 euro. Not forgetting the rising fuel prices.

The things is, Cart has his own car while I have my own. So that expense is doubled. We also have a scooter, but it costs significantly less to keep a two wheeler.

It seems like such a waste somewhat that I only use my car 2 or 3 times a week and Cart drives to work and leaves his car at the office the entire day. There has got to be a more efficient way.

Despite the issues of driving in Rome, I’m still glad that I learnt how to drive as I think that it’s a useful skill to have – especially when faced with the frequent transport strikes in Rome. How does one deal with having to go commute or sending their kids to school then?

There was a time when my vehicle wasn’t working, and got caught in a transport strike. At least 5 hours of my life wasted. It was a nightmare! I really don’t want to go through that again.

 

Sometimes when I’m in my neighbourhood, I’d come across this car :

Instead of fixing the damages, the owner just duct-tapes it over. I’ve seen other cars with tapes over them, but not till this extent! I believe that the car is still functional as I see it parked in different places.

Cost effective I suppose …