Interview: Reinaldo from Corpus Christi, Texas

Reinaldo was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1936. He went to the same high school as Farrah Fawcett--though 10 years before her. He has been riding for a very long time starting when he was stationed in Japan. I have come to know him through online maxi-scooter groups.

KSC: Reinaldo, tell me a little more about your first riding experiences.
Reinaldo: In 1956 I bought my first motorcycle, a Mizuho after a few months of being stationed in Japan. Three months later the Mizuho company went out of business. A year later I purchased a Cabton. Not long after, Cabton went out of business. After my discharge, I returned to Japan to attend a Japanese university and purchased a Pigeon scooter. Needless to say, the Pigeon company went away as well. Eventually I purchased and rode a Honda, but I was pretty worried about the effect of my purchase on the Honda company.

KSC: What was the Honda you rode while in Japan?
Reinaldo: It was a Honda 250cc--but I can't remember anything else about it. It had no fairings, but it did have a windscreen. Of course, all bikes were kickstart back then.

KSC: It seems like your curse was broken with Honda. I have yet to meet a person on a Honda scooter who is truly dissatisfied with it. What did you do after university?
Reinaldo: After graduation I came to the San Francisco area for my masters and interned as a counselor at San Quentin prison. This was followed by stints in several cities from Sao Paulo and Brasilia, Brazil to New York, Washington, Akron, OH. Completed my Ph.D. in Ohio. I returned to the San Francisco area when my wife received a job offer here. No motorcycles again until 2003, about 39 years after I left my last one behind in Japan. At that time I looked at the options and decided on a maxi-scooter. The first was a Honda Reflex, but in 2005 I moved to a Honda Silverwing.

KSC: That's a long stint of no riding, which I am seeing as common among folks your age. You rode when you were younger, then gave it up for a while, returning to it when you were older. Why do you think that is?
Reinaldo: Money. We could barely afford the $25 we paid for an old car when I first started grad school. Later, just too busy and moved around too much. Still later, I got into sailing and flying. I started riding again when I lost my flight medical clearance.

KSC: I will confess that I never heard of maxi scooters until 2006 when I started doing research on motorbikes in general. This was sparked by the gas spike at that time. Why do you think you chose a maxi-scooter in 03 instead of a traditional motorcycle?
Reinaldo:A tad more "gentile". Also easier to ride with my increasingly painful arthritis in my knees. (Since total knee replacement.)

KSC: Do you think you had brand loyalty to Honda which made you choose their products, or were you just hedging your bets against another lesser-known bike builder shutting their doors on you again?
Reinaldo: After the Cabton, Honda was the only used bike, the motorbike shop in Mitaka, Japan had in my price range. I was a student and money was a major issue. More recently, I had used Honda generators in my experience in amateur radio emergency services as well as Civil Air Patrol. They were excellent, reliable products. The Honda Reflex was the only choice. When I wanted a bigger bike, I tried the Yamaha Majesty, a Burgman 400 and a Burman 650 before settling on the Silverwing. But also the experience with Honda reliability was a factor.

KSC: With the start of riding again in 2003, what differences have you noticed between then and almost 40 years earlier?
Reinaldo: We rode with no protection in those days. No helmet. No leathers. No armor. I even rode my Cabton across the air base once when I was drunk. Couldn't remember anything the next day. I was lucky to still be alive. Wouldn't ride drunk now, but especially without protection.

KSC:I don't mind saying that from my current viewpoint, that was incredibly risky, but I have heard similar tales from every uncle I have. What sort of gear do you use today while riding?
Reinaldo:I ride with a full-face, modular helmet, a mesh jacket in the summer and a leather in the winter--both with armor and both with lots of reflective yellow striping. I use boots on long rides, but for short urban rides I just use my leather shoes. I also sometimes, but not always ride with knee armor and leather chaps. My bike has a lot of bright lighting for conspicuity.

KSC: Why do you think many riders tend more toward safety these days? I'm talking about safety courses like the MSF, gear like armored jackets and pants, and a full face helmet. Do you ride with anyone who disdains all protection? Do you tend to find yourself quietly respecting their decision or do you try to persuade them more toward safety?
Reinaldo: I do not often ride with anyone who is unprotected. I do have a woman friend who occasionally rides with me. She was wearing sandals, a beanie helmet and t-shirt the first time I saw her on a bike. I began to harangue her and she now wears a 3/4 helmet and a jacket and shoes.

KSC: What do you like best about riding on two wheels?
Reinaldo: Heightened awareness of surroundings. Not just wind and road, but every action has more consequence. Also enjoy the camaraderie of the local maxi-scooter group.

KSC: What do you feel like scooterists share in common with all riders?
Reinaldo: On a Burgman or Silverwing, there is little difference. Of course we don't blow out our mufflers.

KSC: There's not a whole lot of point in that is there? How do you feel about the people who use "loud pipes save lives" in order to subject everyone around them to that level of noise? Do you think it does the trick?
Reinaldo: If they really believe the loud pipes thing, they are simply wrong. The noise travels primarily behind them where it does no good. Some research has been done on this.

KSC: Is there anything you do to help draw awareness to yourself--not just audibly but visibly, etc.?
Reinaldo:I have extra lights in front, use a headlight modulator, and on the rear I have blinking brake-lights, a high turn signal pair and a "Knight Rider" scanning LED bar. I also have replaced the puny horn with an airhorn--but rarely use it, preferring to ride conservatively and stay out of trouble spots. By the time I might use the horn, I can slow down and avoid the problem more easily. (Though occasionally I will beep someone whom I'm not sure is seeing me.)

KSC: What do you feel sets us scooterists apart from other riders?
Reinaldo: Though there are some younger riders, more of us are older. One Burgman rider just quit at age 88 because his family insisted. But our Silverwing group age ranges from 23 up to 82--that I know. Because of the increased storage over conventional motorcycles, we also use our bikes to transport more things. I do the grocery shopping on my SWing. 3 bags in the underseat and 3-4 in the topcase.

KSC: That is one absolute advantage of a scooter over a motorcycle. Have you ever gotten any envious looks from someone on a "big boy bike" when they saw you loading up the Silverwing? What about a little green envy from the riding comfort or gas mileage standpoint?
Reinaldo: I've often received queries from passerby, but never from another rider.

KSC: I have to confess my love of storytelling. Reinaldo, What is one odd, interesting, or amazing thing that has occurred to you while you were riding?
Reinaldo: While in Japan, my wife rode side-saddle on the pillion. One day we were riding somewhere and a man stepped out and right into my path. There was minimal impact, but I immediately stopped and looked to see what happened. There was meat all over my wife and the street. It looked like either the man was injured badly or my wife was. No. It turned out that he was holding a package of ground beef. When he hit the bike, the package broke and the meat went all over everything. The guy himself was shaken up, but not injured. But I was freaked out and had to sit down for a few minutes.

KSC: It seems that you and your wife, as well as the pedestrian were all very lucky! Have you ever been in a similar situation where things turned out not so well?
Reinaldo:That has been my only accident. I do work in a hospital and occasionally see patients who have been badly hurt--though more often, bicycle-riders. They ride without armor. Had a woman who was coming down a mountain at about 20mph when her tire hit a rock or something. Her face was a mess, jaw had to be wired together; the fork broke and ran through her thigh and both arms were badly broken. Her bicycle helmet did prevent brain damage.

KSC: Are you involved in any scooter clubs?
Reinaldo: I was the instigator for the first maxi-scooter group rides that eventually under other leadership became the Bay Area Maxi-scooter Riders with a monthly (or more frequent) group ride.

KSC:You say instigator...I like the sound of that. Do you mind if I use that?
Reinaldo: You may use it, but what I meant is that another person, Jeff, has really put the energy into it and made it happen. So please don't say it like I could take credit. Jeff really deserves all the credit.

KSC: How many members do you have in the BAMR?
Reinaldo: It is a pretty informal group. There are 102 subscribers to the Yahoo group. Probably 8-10 show up at any given BAMR monthly ride. Sub-groups do other interest rides. For example, there are 4-5 who are doing an iron butt ride, this month and another 7 have organized a ride through Yosemite and around. There are no dues or patches or roster aside from the Yahoo group.

KSC: Riders who are older and clubs that are more informal. These also are traits that I have observed are common to groups of maxi-scooterists. Do you think the internet forums, boards, and groups do a good job as a communication hub?
Reinaldo: I do think that the Internet does well. We are not "Hells Angels" clubs who enjoy sitting around drinking and talking about our latest sexual conquests. We do enjoy the lunches on our rides and getting to know each other, but the Internet provides enough togetherness at all other times.

KSC: Do you ever have motorcycles or smaller scooters inquire? Would they be welcome?
Reinaldo: Occasionally someone brings a friend or husband/wife on a motorcycle. There is one woman on a smaller scooter who has ridden on a back-road ride last summer. Don't know whether she has done more. Some of our folk also go to rides with the SF Scootergirls, who mostly ride Vespas and other small scooters.

KSC:Since our maxi-scooters are in many ways a crossover vehicle between the traditional Vespa style scooter and a larger cc motorcycle, I see most maxi-scoot riders being more acceptable to all riders in general. Do you think this attitude is an extension of the bikes we ride, or vice versa?
Reinaldo:Not sure I can answer that. I have no valid insight on the subject. There are times, on the Internet groups when disdainful comments are made about Harley riders, but not too often. I read some comments that suggest some sense of inferiority. Many in the groups used to ride conventional motorcycles and now ride maxi-scoots because of injuries or arthritis, etc. A lot of talk about the old 1200cc BMW or XXX they used to ride. Occasionally someone will say that they are putting their Burgman or X9 up for sale and buying a Ducati (Or XXX). The responses suggest a feeling of betrayal. Of course, my comments here are just off-the-top-of-the-head impressions.

KSC: I always love hearing other peoples experiences, opinions and points of view. Reinaldo, thanks for taking the time to let me interview you.