Don't disregard used scooters!!
 

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=988742

Take one used, $100 BMS scooter and a brand new Skyteam 125cc ridden by a father and son team from San Francisco to New York, and you prove these bikes aren't that bad if not ridden at full throttle for 3000 miles...

7382 feet at Echo Summit! I'm going to take the time to read that entire thread.

They make it over the Continental Divide at 8k+ feet, but I don't want to ruin it for you, LOL :)

Its a great read. They are planning a return trip next summer. This a good plug for China bikes. Almost no mechanical trouble.

I think the only issue was the starter on the used ($100)scooter! It didn't seem like it had a backup kick starter like most 50 and 150cc scooters do.

That and the lost rubber foot peg on the CT. Neither kept them from proceeding.

I just finished reading the entire rider report. Thanks for posting the link to that enjoyable thread, Culcune. :)

I forgot about that one--not as major, but it's not like those are available at the local Honda shop, so it would have made for a slightly more difficult ride without it.

I just read through the entire thread. 11000 feet was the highest point! :clap: I'm not sure that Lifanda could manage that.

I bet Lifanda could, considering that you are a competent mechanic, and know these bikes well. What I find refreshing about this ride is the time I used to spend on Horizonsunlimited and their HUBB. Being an international riding site, there were always people from Europe, Australia, or New Zealand wondering what bike they should use to get from coast to coast in the US or Canada, or both. Of course, the replies were always related to interstate travel, so the obvious choices being expensive bikes, mainly BMWs.

This ride was done on back roads on little bikes. A new BMS or SSR model of the scooter (they both sell pretty much the same Znen model) would be something like $1300 or maybe less, and I have seen the Skyteam CT clone with the 125cc engines sold as low as $900 (ask Birdmove--he knows all the places selling these ;) ), so it proves that one could replicate a long trip on back roads using low-cost bikes. I would not hesitate to do this ride on my TMEC 200 for instance (okay, I would hesitate, but I would also hesitate on a Znen 150cc scooter or Skyteam 125cc CT-clone).

Come to think of it, my choice of scooter would be the Tao Tao BWS 150cc http://www.taotao.us/index.cfm/scooters/bws-150/ since it has a back-up kick-starter and has some semblance of being dirt-road worthy, and probably my TMEC 200 or one of the Bashan enduro bikes (once they have been sorted out by the few people who bought them--otherwise, stick to the TMEC). I would still like to try the Cannonball ride (the original Cannonball ride from 1912, or as close to it as I could find on back roads, not the 1980s comedy run which some people still participate in on interstates in Ferraris or Lamborghinis and such) because it amazes me that someone so long ago on such primitive roads and machine could accomplish such as long ride in such as short time--back in the early 1900's! A Chinabike would be perfect for such as run, being close in spirit to the original bikes.

http://www.cannonballproject.com/content/history/

It surprised me at their unwillingness to travel on gravel. I rode my Honda elite on gravel and it handled just fine at lower speeds. Street tires and basic suspension.

There are gravel roads, and then there are gravel roads. ;) I am familiar with one of the 'gravel' roads they decided to skip on this trip. The initial portion of that road is filled with rock, not gravel, because the soil is so sloppy in the spring, they hauled in rock in an attempt to build a solid base. ;) Also, that 'gravel' road extends all the way to Wyoming, so I can see why they skipped it. Even if they decided they could ride slowly, it would have taken them a very long time to reach Wyoming. I love riding my Zongshen 200GY-2 all the way to Wyoming, and back, on that road, and similar roads, but I wouldn't want to ride a scooter on them. :ohno:

Sounds more like a field drive to me. That would be called a minimum maintenance road in this area. Generally used by farm equipment.

We have powdery soil in some areas, and it becomes very sloppy when the snow melts in the spring, or after a heavy rain. The 'gravel' road I mentioned is always closed in the spring, until the road graders repair all the washed out sections of the road. ;)

I have posted many photographs of the mud collected on my Zong, and the washed out roads after the spring melt. ;)

I remember those photos, Spud, and I don't think the CT-clone or the scooter would fare well with that much mud thrown about! Our sand roads here would not be fun on most anything on two wheels, unless you have a big bore two or four stroke dirt bike with a paddle tire