As someone who’s getting geared up to get into the Taiwan scooter club, I’d like to see what you guys think about putting together a “Beginner’s Checklist” for all beginners. There are a few good stickies but nothing that I’d quite be willing to call comprehensive. And let me also add that I wouldn’t even think of trying to incorporate the vast amount of material covered in every thread on these subjects; but I at least want to get people pointed in the right direction and thinking about all of these things. Especially regarding safety and traffic considerations.
For starters, I can think of the following for inclusion. Please chime in with suggestions if you see something wrong or can think of additional suggestions:
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Safety precautions
-Helmet purchasing
–What to look for/avoid
–Where to buy
-Other recommended equipment
–Where to buy
-Scooter riding do’s and don’ts
-Safety training (hopefully the program currently being discussed is successfully launched) -
Licensing Issues (mostly a rehash of information already available)
-Getting a fresh license in Taiwan
-Transferring a motorcycle license from another country -
Insurance
-Recommended/English friendly insurance carriers
-Price range expectations (broken down by engine displacement?) -
Taiwan traffic rules
-Where to find information on the net
-Dealing with “real traffic” (as opposed to what the book says) -
Recommended Scooters (always changing but could be updated maybe once a year?)
-Current popular scooters rated on price, comfort, speed, etc. (any user could add a review to a given scooter)
-Scooters to avoid (are there any?) -
Basic Mechanical considerations
-Before every ride
-Regular maintanance practices (weekly/montly/yearly)