I just launched a new scooter forum last night. It\'s called the "Sharing the Ride" Scooter Board. I hope the main focus of the new board will be scooter safety, because although there are many good, safe motorcycling books, some of the problems that scooterists encounter are different than when on a motorcycle. Also, there are often different solutions for similiar problems to those encountered by motorcyclists. So really investigating and coming up with specific solutions for Scooter safety comparable to what\'s available for motorcyclists, is pretty much breaking new ground.

I\'m not looking to step on anyone\'s toes or lure away anyone\'s users. I\'m also not planning any areas for technical or repair questions, as I figure there are plenty of brand specific forums to send people to, with a number of brands covered right here at MyVento.net. I set up a section there for sharing safety tips, techniques, and personal experiences that instruct or warn of possible dangers that might encountered. There\'s also a section for reviews, and an area for true riding stories from the mundane to the most miserable, from scenic rides to cross country tours.

I have seen that for a non-technically oriented forum, it\'s important to cover several areas of interest for people to share experiences, in order to build a sense of community. So the various forums really aren\'t competing as much as they are complementing one another(with a few notable exceptions which will go unnamed).
http:// letsgoscootin.com/ forum/

The big reason for starting the Sharing the Ride board is to promote safety by providing a forum for shared experiences that will help us all be able to ride our scooters safely for many years to come.

Dennis,
Your more than welcome to post this to the Vento yahoo group, Good idea to ride as safe as one can!
Paul aka Sporty

Thanks, I will. Seems like lots of accidents with scooters in the last few months of 2006, and as we get many new riders(and I\'m sure it\'s the wave of the future), they\'ll soon learn that other motorists attitudes toward scooters are even worse than toward motorcycles. Other motorists seem to think "moped" when they are behind scooters of almost all sizes. In some parts of the country (like where I live) it\'s even worse. They think more like "if the SOB hadn\'t lost his license driving drunk, he wouldn\'t be in front of me with that damn moped."

Add to that, the fact that scooters respond more quickly to steering input and less quickly to throttle input than a motorcycle, and there are many instances where a completely different set of options is necessary for dealing with many problems.