On the Road Again, part deux

Scooters



Since being a wee young lad, I've wanted to convert a moving van into a cross country camper. An additional step with this was wanting a bus where the back door would drop as a ramp so a 4-wheeler could be driven out. I imagined anything from criminal sprees to acts of vigilantism; suppose somewhere camping may have been a thought, but who knows. With the Doghouse essentially completed, the hunt was now on for two scooters... one would work, but I wanted two so another could ride along.

Knowing that summer clothing is sold in the winter / winter clothing sold in summer... knowing that when you want something, the time to buy it is the season where you can't use it... I waited. I stalked the likes of Craigslist and Marketplace, waiting, biding my time, searching for scooters. Oh, I found a few; if I wanted something decent, I'd be looking at (on average) $650 on up for a simple 50cc. If I wanted something that needed some work, $400 to $500. A scooter for parts? $250 to $300.

But then the leaves changed color, the winds began to turn. Scooters were still within the same price range, but descriptions followed by "I have to make room in the garage before winter" started to appear. Found a scooter for $350, pictures were nice. "Runs good, need to make room for the car before winter." Checked it out: needed both front and back directional lights, both side mirrors, no battery (how can one see if it runs good if it won't start?). Pfft.

Couple weeks go by, and then I saw it. A post for two scooters at $250 each. I know, I know, that seems rather lowball. But, the description read "both run good, brand new batteries, titles. need to make room in garage before winter." Contacted the seller, said I'd be interested in both if they did in fact start and run and had titles (oh, they do they do). If so, I'd really love to see them first, is Saturday okay (I don't know, I've had people ask about one, but if you are interested in both...) I am, believe me (okay, I can hold onto them for you until then). Somehow that turned into a "how does Wednesday sound?"

Get to Green Bay with the Doghouse. Owner lifts garage door, and low-n-behold! Two scooters, intact. All lights and mirrors and pegs. Both started right up with the electric start; both also started with the kick start. Both ran and drove well. A little dirty, but it's just dirt, no biggie. $250 each? Hell, even if I didn't want them, I know I could turn around and sell these for a few hundred more than what I got them at!

So what did I land up getting? I haven't checked the titles yet for the years, but I now own a Hyosung Sense 50cc and a Tank Urban 50cc. Hyosung used to make Suzuki scooters, but then they split apart and now complete against them (so $250 for that was a steal); Tank is, well, a cheap Chinese model, with reviews that bounce all over the place... but the thing is, it runs, they've had them for a few years, and if all I plan on doing is setting up camp and using them {the scooters} for bumming around the sights, $250 is pretty good.

...

Looks like I'll be installing tie down loops in the floor of the Doghouse for these (recessed). I used rope and the etrack to secure them for the drive home and it worked, but it's so spider-webby that it'll make getting through difficult. With the recessed tie-downs, we'll at least be able to step over or scoot through a lot easier.

the details are in the details

Based off the VIN numbers, the two scooters are: a 2008 Tank Urban (matches title) and a 1999 Hyosung Sense (title says it's a 2000); difference between manufacture date and model date? *shrugs*

Either way, I've found and printed user/owner manuals for both, along with the service manuals. Good to go!