Silence is Golden

Long(er) distance transportation

It is winter here and temperatures are now in the mid fifties during the day but when I got this bike, it was still pretty warm.

" You would be surprised how many people walk out in front of you when they can't hear you coming. "

Where's the chain?

So if you were wondering where I have been, you would be right to guess that I was getting insurance, not getting a driver's license, riding everywhere on this used electric motorcycle and getting used to the messed up traffic laws. More about that later...

I know what you are going to ask about the Super Soco TC.

Range: 62 miles (100km) per battery

Batteries on board: 2

Top speed: 47 miles (75km) per hour.

Bought used with 1990 miles (3200km) on it.

I only plan to drive this short distances during the week because of the insane traffic flow here in the deep south. When I ride my S18 EUC, I can divert to bike paths or even sidewalks when people are going insane, but this motorbike has to obey all the one way streets and must be driven in the mix with cars.

Long rides are done on Saturday or Sunday mornings - some are done late at night on weekdays but only in warm weather.

At the top, I asked "Where's the chain?"

Well, you can see it in the back, locking the rear wheel to a sign post. That is the only chain this bike needs.

If you are looking for the motor, you can see it plainly in the center of the rear wheel. That is the same kind of drive mechanism as I have on my EUC. It is called a hub motor.

What looks like a gas tank is just a door that opens up the battery case. There are two batteries in there that weigh 25 lbs. (11kg) each.

The three speeds do not have anything to do with torque off the line. They limit top speed. If I drive under 30mph, the I will get the full range stated above (100km). But sometimes traffic flows much faster and I have to switch to a higher speed for safety (and to avoid people honking at me). Running in 2nd or 3rd drastically reduces the range per battery. Staying in 3rd all the time will give you 45km range, so slightly less than half. The power is satisfactory, but this is not like riding a Honda 750 like the one I had in the 80's.

This is, however, transportation without needing to register a vehicle with the bureaucracy of the era. Here, anything with a license plate gets tickets all day long. They are issued by cameras and fines are sent to your house. No way to fight them or get out of them. Though I could, I do not speed or blow red lights. I have no intention of speeding up the eventual laws that will be passed against these vehicles.

Another good thing about this vehicle is that there is no need to have a license to drive it. I have pulled up next to police bikes and passed police cars on the street without even a hint of worry. I have talked to more than thirty of them and they all agree that there will be no problems for now.

I realize that this window of opportunity, the one where there is no law on the books yet, is a limited time offer. They say they want green energy and I am sticking that in their faces. I like living outside the system and will keep doing it as long as possible.

Oh, that reminds me. I have to see if my bank account is still open.
I have not touched it in years.