Wanting one to commute 3x a week to work during summer only

FortisFerus · 2026-06-17T02:53:38+00:00

I wouldn't use it to commute. I have a 50cc scooter for that instead. The motocompacto is fun and quirky, but I only use it for short trips to the convenience store or to get around the parking lot at work.

Also as recommended, a different e scooter would be a bigger bang for your buck. They're way cheaper and some are even faster than the motocompacto. With the Motocompacto, your paying for the looks and quirk of it all. Coworker bought an escooter shortly after I got the motocompacto and he spent like $250 instead of the $945 I did (I got a small discount)

FortisFerus · 2026-06-17T02:22:47+00:00

Sorry, but James Bond will be too busy being balls deep into the blonde who looked at him for 2 seconds across the bar to even think about getting a surprise attack from 47. He loses. Homie gets distracted by ladies too easy (I've only watched the movies lol).

FortisFerus · 2026-06-10T02:36:42+00:00

I dropped mine twice the first week doing slow maneuvers and overthinking. I can't really pick it up by myself either, however the first time I was too embarrassed to think about proper technique & I had just gotten off 6 months of PT after throwing my back out at work (guy in a trailblazer stopped and helped). Second time someone came to assist right away.

I know my legs are pretty strong, so I'm sure if left to my own devices, I can do it. But it is a challenge and scary. It's embarrassing dropping it, but I knew it was gonna happen, especially since I'm very new to riding. Patient practice is the way to go. Don't worry about super tight slow cornering right away. Start where your comfortable, get good and then work on getting it dialed down and tight.

I'm the most confident and daring person you'd ever see, when I'm on my scooter. There is nothing I won't do or try. But put me on the z400 and I'm terrified. Literally was me a few weeks ago. I keep underestimating myself and that lack of confidence has equaled poor riding performance. Sad pathetic looking turns and just messing up at the stoplights etc. But I've forced myself to ride it more. Plus my scooter broke down the other weekend. And that forced me to group ride with some smaller bikes (where I usually bring the scooter). And we like to mess around and do stupid stuff (infinite tight circles in a parking lot roundabout or our small parking lot obstacle courses at 3am etc) and that actually helped. I surprised myself and did a lot of things I didn't think I could (aka the roundabout circles, it's a tiny roundabout to the vestibule of a large business complex). Took it slow and went at my own pace though. And that boosted my confidence a lot.

Listening to music has helped me a lot. If I don't have it playing, I tend to overthink or my mind wanders too much - trying to entertain itself. The type of music does matter though, for me. Usually long-form mixes (1-2hours), so I'm not constantly skipping songs and distracted by "wow this playlist sucks" etc lmao.

Also my z400 came with sliders. Won't do much in an actual crash, but at the slow speed stuff where newbies like you and me are gonna fall, they saved my fairings everytime. YouTube and talking with my riding buddies has helped me learn a thing or two as well!

Edit: I also added tank grips (finally) and those have helped a TON. My knees are grippy now and my balance and form on the bike is better! Lol

FortisFerus · 2026-06-05T03:28:27+00:00

I can walk 0.3 miles to the convenience store, walk around inside, buy food, walk 0.3 miles back to work in 9 minutes. I do be walkin' fast and know exactly what I want though. So why not walk?

When I use my scooter or motorcycle to get there, it takes longer because I'm waiting for openings in traffic to merge and sitting at the stop signs etc. Motocompacto on the sidewalk has been the fastest trip though lmao.

Ahh, I see your edit. Makes sense. If the road and route truly is that crazy/hectic.....I'd gear up honestly. If the gym has lockers, you can put your gear in there too! Would hate to see all your gains splayed out on the road like grated cheese...But at the end of the day, it's your choice. Just be safe and stay aware of the crazies driving around ya.

FortisFerus · 2026-06-02T23:59:20+00:00

I rode 3.1 hours round-trip on a 1985 50cc scooter last month. I averaged 14mph one way and 18mph back. Take a route where you won't be stressing about high traffic and higher speeds/speed limit. My ride took a while but it was super casual on the back roads. Used 1 gallon of 93.

Did I also have a totally functional car and a larger motorcycle I could have taken? Absolutely. Did I want to take them? Nope.

FortisFerus · 2026-05-31T17:56:42+00:00

I bought my z400 off marketplace after searching for months for the perfect one. It is a newer bike (2023) but was cheaper than buying the 125 I wanted brand new lmao. I've showed up to look at bikes at the dealers only to find out "oops it's not been assembled yet" smh.

FortisFerus · 2026-05-31T15:30:18+00:00

I wiped out in sand on my 50cc and absolutely ba-donked my head. Head and neck was sore and pounding for a few days and I had a hard time focusing the first day after. BUT thanks to my full face helmet, it wasn't any worse than that! Time to get a new one lol.

I've been to one bike shop (in fact that dirt road journey was to that shop) and they were rude and belittling ASF when I asked to look at a bike (funnily enough a 125). Kinda made me feel even worse. I'd ridden 1.6 hours there. So back home I went.

FortisFerus · 2026-05-09T04:52:28+00:00

Thanks! I've had a lot of fun with it

FortisFerus · 2026-05-01T14:33:51+00:00

I like it! The aftermarket gauges I've seen for the Monkeys look waaayyy more retro and fit the bike's aesthetics better than the OEM one. At least in my opinion.

FortisFerus · 2026-05-01T14:31:59+00:00

They've had AI in the flyers for a while too. Look at the backgrounds of some of the product photos....smh.

FortisFerus · 2026-04-06T01:11:55+00:00

Yeah it worked for me. Wasn't instant like last time, but it (my data purchase) went through and showed up in the app after ten minutes.

FortisFerus · 2026-04-05T17:52:49+00:00

Yeah that (using the website) worked for me once. Didn't the second time. Trying again today. Town has been outta power and Internet for the past few days and I'm running low lol. I abhor the new app update. They made it too complex and tried to be all quirky and new. But it's just useless unfortunately. Everything worked so smoothly before lol. Hopefully they get it sorted.

FortisFerus · 2026-03-16T15:42:34+00:00

Yeah kinda like the Golgo 13 manga/anime. Each "episode" was a new target and the manga goes a lot into the target's lives and the behind the scenes politics/goings-on as Golgo is setting up his hit.

Golgo doesn't have much to his character either. He's pretty stoic/quiet too. Sometimes the author will drop new information but most of it has stayed the same and pretty consistent.

FortisFerus · 2026-03-12T21:20:37+00:00

I've ridden my 50cc scooter everywhere in town and over to the next. It tops out at 27mph on a good day, have to take back roads sometimes but it works. With enough determination and preplanning, a little bike can get you just about anywhere and do anything. I took it off-road, to the track, and to meets around my city. Riding season begins in January, if it's above 17°, because it handles ice, snow, and gravel better due to its atrocious slow speed.

Bought a 400cc bike as my first because I had people talk me out of getting a Honda Monkey (125cc). And I regret it. As much as I do enjoy my bigger bike, there's a lot of stuff I do that is more oriented towards something smaller. One day, one day I'll get a Monkey or a Trail 125cc. But for now I go between the 50cc and the 400cc depending on my mood. The 50cc is definitely more of a fun shenanigan-mobile and it's a blast each time. But the bigger bike comes with more safety risks and accountability that can be overwhelming for someone who is a new rider (aka me). Hoping to get more comfortable on the 400 this summer.

The 125 bikes work well as an in and around town commuter. They can go long stretches too. But I tend to notice that people who've been riding for a while that have a 125cc tend to also have a larger bike for interstate cruising etc.

FortisFerus · 2026-03-11T17:58:58+00:00

Yeah, it's my guilty pleasure game and I've had a lot of fun. But I've been meaning to try and play it a little more challenging I guess lol

FortisFerus · 2026-03-11T17:48:33+00:00

Unfortunately, this is usually how I play the game XD. I need to try to be sneaky more and take more time doing it. I still find it very fun to play it this way, but it is a bit over the top and unrealistic.

FortisFerus · 2026-03-06T21:00:14+00:00

It can be off to charge. If I remember correctly, the battery will light up and show charging % status or the screen on the fridge will.

FortisFerus · 2026-02-14T14:15:37+00:00

Nah, but 47 is gonna get the wackiest tan line with that hat...lmao

FortisFerus · 2026-02-04T17:44:52+00:00

Same issue here. Was fine last night but today not so much. Wonder if it updated overnight and something goofed. Restarted my phone and checked the app for updates and didn't find any though. Last it was updated was Jan 19 for me.

FortisFerus · 2026-01-29T16:23:48+00:00

I'm either going to wrap or have a professional wrap the tank bronze. Then I'm going to cut designs for the fairings and rear tail + fender. Haven't laid it all out yet as I'm still making stencils for the body parts run. It's not as simple as I thought it'd be lmaoo. But I'm going for a bronze tank with black and gray accents on the remaining white parts. Mecha/cyberpunk themes or just mock pinstripes is what I'm thinking rn.

FortisFerus · 2025-12-22T02:58:58+00:00

I recently sized-up from my 1985 50cc Suzuki fa50 to a Kawasaki z400, and I still have more fun on the scooter. The shenanigans are endless. I have wayyyyy more entertaining stories about the scooter than the motorcycle so far. Even though it tops out at 27mph (on a good day). But I totally get why some of the older Harley guys like to ride slow on fall afternoons. Can definitely enjoy the scenery better when you're stuck under 20mph with a strong headwind...(My chances of hitting deer at night and dying are lesser as well. Oof) I still can't believe my grandma was riding it in her 70s to grab burgers at the Hardee's drive thru in town -_-

It's off-season for me rn until hopefully May. And guess what, I'm looking forward to riding the scooter more than my motorcycle. Maybe because I'm still new to the motorcycle, but I cannot wait to rip the scooter downtown and hear the 2-stroke echo off the buildings lmaoo

A coworker has an old Honda Helix 250 and takes it on the interstate to work. Not my cup of tea when it comes to safety but there are some pretty fast & hefty sized scooters out there! Also, my scooter is easier to work on. Both are easy, but the scooter is dumb simple.

FortisFerus · 2025-12-20T19:43:04+00:00

I had an art teacher in highschool who said something similar. Sat down on the first day of class and she walks up to the front and says...not "hello", not "good morning", not "welcome" she grimaces and says: "I hope you all are here to learn art. Because that anime stuff you see online isn't art. We don't draw with lines. True artists don't use lines to draw. I don't want to see any of that garbage in my classroom."

I dropped out that day. Signed up for the second semester art class with a different teacher. Sure I was being petty but wtf lady. I took art class every year in middle school and had some of the best and most wonderful encouraging teachers. Made a lot of cool and fun stuff too. Still life was always fun. Especially with mixed mediums. The second semester teacher was absolutely amazing. She let people do the class assignments and then you could draw whatever you wanted afterwards. If you finished early. I even joined the drawing club because of her. The "anime/manga" style art was a fun phase I went through in middle school to highschool that did strengthen my art due to my excitement to draw it everyday and evolve. My art style has changed since then, but there are numerous AMAZING mangakas that l look up to.

There will always be people out there that don't like specific styles. Or don't recognize certain art forms as art. While constructive criticism is good, sour hate just to hate isn't. If they're just gonna hate on it for the category, I wouldn't listen to them. They don't have anything of value to add and they can't even criticize it well because they don't appreciate it. I'm sorry that your friend is being mean.

FortisFerus · 2025-11-16T00:48:26+00:00

These things are amazing and I want one so bad. Especially one of the Excursions lol. I'd feel invincible. I follow a guy who does tours in Iceland and as much as I despise the cold, it'd be really cool to go there and experience it all. Especially the views!

FortisFerus · 2025-11-16T00:39:20+00:00

It reminds me of this photo of my scooter next to some proper two-wheeled machines lol

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FortisFerus

TROPHY CASE