The Dirty Sachs MadAss Scooter I never Got

$3k 11hp 56mph Max 119cc Air cooled 4speed Manual
The Sachs MadAss is an interesting oil burner 

Some part of me, one that longs for something ridiculous, really likes this bike. It is considered a city scooter, I was dissuaded from trading out my old sport bike for one by the guy selling them in Seattle.

I ended up getting a more expensive, more powerful, faster, automatic, water cooled and fuel injected Honda PCX-150. Take a close look at this one and you might appreciate why I still think of it.

The sad reality is that this one uses carburetor (dirty), and the factory jetting is apparently not ideal, and requires tunning by a bike mechanic right away. It vibrates a lot and the build quality is only ok, nothing spectacular for the $3000 price.

They claim up to 100MPG, but thats the max, not average, and it only holds 1.3gallons. That might be plenty of range given the uncomfortable seating, something they improved in 2015, but this is not a touring bike and neither is the Honda PCX-150 that meg and I ride.

Bike, Scooter, lingo the people use to tell one motorized two wheel gas burner from other, but today we have electric options too. Unfortunately the electric ones cost more than $10,000. For a rarely used fair weather only toy transportation device, that it too steep. In the future, as battery technology improves, better cheater electric vehicles of all types will become possible. Today, we are stuck with moderately expensive lithium ion batteries that fade rather quickly.

I know way too much about small engines to want to be riding around one, the ethics of tail pipe pollution restrict me to only buying or operating clean technology vehicles. To do otherwise would be to abandon my core values of sustainable living, clean technology in transportation, and environmental protection.

It they cannot sell it in California, that means the junk coming out of that cool looking stainless under-seat pipe is likely full of carcinogens that smell like an antique vehicle from 20 years ago. Speaking of antique vehicles, I just inherited a 1993 Subaru Legacy, but it is relatively clean burning, its engine having recently been given $5700 of mechanical love by my most generous childhood friend, someone I consider my brother.

I don't tool around without a destination anymore, even for fun. The reason boils down to saving time, and not wanted to needlessly create poisonous emissions that harm the lungs of other people and all living things that breath. What I really want is an electric bike with zero tail pipe emissions hat looks like this one, with at least the same kind of range  or about 100mi per charge, at about the same price, with a battery I can pull off and charge inside, or use and extension cord to charge on the bike. I would also like it to go freeway speed with Meg and I on the back, something I know this Sachs Madass could only barely pull off at 50mph or so. The legal minimum speed on the local freeways near our home is 40MPH, but even around here you will get the finger, horn and cut off repeatedly if you drive less than 45mph in light traffic. Some of my hyper-miling trips home from work in the evening have garnered these negative symbols from other drivers, nothing like Los Angeles California though!