8 tips and tricks for riding a sports scooter
1. Safety equipment
First of all, security. We have all seen brave pilots in shorts and flip-flops. Let me tell you that the asphalt, in addition to being very hard, is abrasive and has a tendency to take your skin off. Only the helmet is mandatory, but gloves and a jacket with protection are essential. It’s amazing how many people move around the city without gloves.
You should know that when we fall, we instinctively put our hands first. With both palms scraped, can you imagine having to feed, clothe, or wipe your ass for a few weeks? Of course, nothing about going “short”. The pants, long; And if they can be specific for motorcycles with protections, the better. The same for footwear: boots that, at least, protect the ankles.
2. Driving position
Scooters usually have a shield with platforms where you can rest your feet with your legs stretched out. Forget about them in sports driving. Feet on the horizontal platform, as far back as possible, always in a comfortable position.
No couch mode: your back is straight; semi-flexed elbows and calves well supported against the central tunnel – if there is one -, to be well supported and release pressure on the upper body. This lowers your center of gravity and improves cornering control.
I have seen many force the position until they put their feet on the passenger footpegs. It’s not that either; Besides being inappropriate, it’s ridiculous.
3. Look far, far away
As on any motorcycle, when cornering you have to look far away; how much? At the end of the curve. The motorcycle always goes where you look. There is no need to look at the twenty or thirty meters immediately in front of the scooter, because you will pass over them whether you want to or not.
When you look at the end of the curve, your line converges towards that point, no matter what. At first it may be a question of faith, but as soon as you try it, you will realize that it makes the layout and driving easier. This phenomenon can be extrapolated to cars, skateboards or snowboards.
4. Learn to brake
On straight roads, it is quite common to use only the front brake, especially on scooters with combined braking or brake assistant, as is the case with the TMAX. It is also common to use both brakes at the same time. It’s not that it’s incorrect, but in sports driving, on a scooter you have to take into account that, due to its physiognomy, driving position, the weight distribution places more weight on the rear axle than on the front, the opposite of the vast majority of motorcycles.
If we press the rear brake first, we will apply load to the front axle, at which point we can start braking with the front axle. It is an organic transfer of work, you will immediately detect it and it will make your braking easier. If you have to brake on a curve, either because you are coming in behind you, because the person in front of you is braking or there is an obstacle, it is imperative to first use the rear brake.
If you use the front brake before cornering, the scooter will rise and tend to follow the tangent of the curve, that is, go away from it. Using the rear brake first, the bike decelerates and ultimately closes the line, at which point you can begin to gently apply the front brake. Test in a controlled environment, without traffic, and incorporate it naturally into your normal driving, not just in sports driving.
5. Repel gas and sweet zone
Unlike motorcycles with gear changes, when cutting gas, scooters hardly have engine braking. To avoid that feeling of “being sold”, you have to repel gas. Repelling is giving gas, a little above the intermediate point between cutting gas and full gas charge, so that the belt is in tension and you can feel the motorcycle stable.
It is advisable to keep the engine in its sweet rpm zone. In the case of the Yamaha TMAX, which delivers 48 HP at 7,000 rpm and 55 Nm at 5,250 rpm, that area is between 6,000 and 8,000 rpm, although its engine feels almost electric: it delivers its maximum power continuously from 60 km/h to its top speed, above 160 km/h.
In any case, you don’t need the technical sheet either, nor the rev counter. The sweet spot is in that rev range where it pushes the most: there is no need to look at the clocks, not even in the TMAX: it is felt.
6. Counter-handlebar
It is essential to maintain control at all times, but above all, when changing direction, because that is when you change the support of the scooter from one side to another. It will require less effort the shorter the wheelbase – and the lower the weight -. There is a really effective technique for this: the counter-handlebar.
Strictly speaking, every time you start to lean the motorcycle from the vertical, you are counter-steering, although not consciously. It is easy to check if you hold a bicycle wheel by its axle in the air, with both hands. If when you roll it, you turn the axle (as if it were a handlebar) to the left, you will see how the wheel leans to the right and vice versa.
The same thing happens while riding the scooter, but you should not exaggerate the gesture: just by slightly proposing it, magic happens. It is not only useful for changes of direction, but also for corner entry, of course.
7. Draw fluently
Weights and inertia do not work the same on a scooter as on a motorcycle and require fluid movements, even more so in models like the TMAX, which weighs 219 kilos in running order. Although it has great acceleration and braking capacity, these are reserved for lightning starts between traffic lights and recoveries when overtaking.
When facing a section of curves, it is not a friend of braking “to the kitchen” and corner exits “on fire”, but is capable of rolling faster – and safer – tracing fluidly, anticipating events. Maybe it should go to point 2 (Driving position), but it is also interesting to get your upper torso inside the curves, including your head. This way you have to lean the scooter less and we have a reserve of tire in front, to go faster or to lean more.
It is not a trivial aspect, since the vast majority of scooters have a stand that, unfortunately for us, rubs on the left, which is the direction of the roundabouts in Spain (that is, more than 50% of the curves). In the wet, it even makes more sense, although exaggerating the posture is counterproductive: everything in its proper measure.
8. Mount sports tires
It’s obvious, but to do sporty driving you have to fit sports tyres, monitor their pressures and pay attention to their wear, otherwise you’ll get scared and/or upset. In the case of the Yamaha TMAX, it is equipped with Bridgestone Battlax SC2 in sizes 120/70-15 and 160/60-15, which provide very good performance, feel and information.
Keep in mind that the tires are the contact between the scooter and the asphalt; The good performance of your motorcycle depends on them, more than the benefits it can develop.
