Reintroducing my Baby G

I`m back! But still not with food to share, sooowww-rrryyy....!

I think I`m really having a crisis in my cooking department as I can`t even think a single home-made dish to blog about. And to make things worse, whatever I baked turned out to be disasters. What is happening to me?? Have you ever experienced that? 

So, while I`m crossing my fingers (again) hoping that my cooking and food-blogging days will be back soon, I`d like share some detailed pictures of my Baby G scooter I`ve written about last month.

As I`m a newborn baby in motorcycle world and this Giorno is my very first scooter, I know practically nothing about the technical matters. But as someone who now commutes on a scooter everyday, I do have some thoughts on the design as well as the featured functions that I`d like to share. This Honda Giorno is the latest version of 4-stroke 50-cc Honda scooter released in January 2011. It seems that Honda will release this Giorno under a different name in US too called Honda Metropolitan. So if you`re in US and already eyeing that, maybe these pictures can give you more previews to consider before getting one. If you`re a motorcyclist or a scooter-lover, hopefully you`ll find this post enjoyable. But if you`re not a motorcycle person at all, I still hope that this post will give you some new insight about a one-person commuter alternative with much less fuel consumption and carbon emission than an SUV.

Let`s start with the front view. 

If you`re familiar with Honda`s classic Super Cub, you`ll probably see the resemblance between the Giorno`s headlight and the Cub`s. After parking it side-by-side with my husband`s 110-cc Super Cub, I noticed that the Giorno`s headlight is bigger and rounder like a big bubble. The winker lights on the right and left also have round shapes making them look like two small bubbles. Now, if there`s only one keyword to describe Giorno`s design, it is: CURVY. Almost every part of the body is curvy and that fits me really well as I didn`t want a scooter with strong lines and pointy sides. I also love the U-shaped line on the front cover as it reminds me of my dream Volkswagen`s new Beetle.

This is the left handle where the headlight switch, winker light switch (slide right/left to turn the light on and push to turn off), and klaxon are placed near to it.

Next to the right throttle is the electric starter button. This scooter has a kick starter on its left side, but the mechanic told me to always use the electric starter and I`m more than happy to follow that. Simply hold the left brake, push the starter, and off you go!

 Another closer look of the headlight and winker light.

And this is probably the part I love the most. I wouldn`t ever guess that I could fall in love with a speedometer!  But with a speedometer as cute as this, how could not I?? The font type and color really add up the total cuteness of the scooter not to mention how BIG the whole speedometer is. I probably haven`t seen enough scooters or other 50-cc motorcycles in my life, but this speedometer is definitely the biggest one I`ve ever seen.

As in other speedometers, it shows the fuel amount (the full amount is 4.6 liters),  speed in km/h unit, overspeed indicator, and starter lamp. The manual says that the scooter runs for approximately 70 km/liter at 30 km/h speed, which is the speed limit for a 50-cc motorcycle according to Japan`s traffic regulation. But my husband said that given that the scooter doesn`t run on that speed constantly, that is sometimes at 40 km/h and sometimes stopping for a few minutes during red lights with the engine still on, it should consume slightly more fuel than what stated. He predicts that 50 km/liter seems reasonable enough and I`m still confirming on that.

As for the lamps on the lower right, the lower lamp blinks for a few seconds when the key is turned to ON position. The upper lamp is an overspeed indicator as it blinks when the scooter runs faster than 30 km/h.

The rear view. Again, everything looks round. The backlights, the seat, the rear holder, and the compartments. It`s plural?

It is! First, tadaaaa...the inner compartment where I can keep my helmet, gloves, important motorcycle-related documents, and a tire lock, which I never use. I`ll explain about this in a minute.

The second compartment is placed behind the front cover. This compartment is actually shallower than what I`ve expected, but it still comes in handy for keeping some stuff. Here I have my raincoat on the left and a 500-ml water bottle on the right. On the middle there are two connected hooks where I usually hang my hand bags. One small thing I`m not keen on these hooks is its height from the floor. I wish they were at a higher position so my long-shouldered bags don`t have to touch the floor. But hey, they are still much better than nothing at all, arent`t they?

A closer look on the key panel. Other than the engine key, handle lock, and seat lock, the panel is equipped with a key shutter, which is a common feature for motorcycles here. This key shutter is a very convenient way to lock the motorcycle, thus becomes the reason why I never use my tire lock, which I got from the shop for free.

Last, the side view.  In my opinion, there are two main things that make a two-wheeled motorized vehicle a scooter other than they have to look like Vespa or Lambretta. I`m sorry. I just feel really weird writing long post about scooter without mentioning those names. Now, which parts of Vespa and Lambretta define the scooterness? One, the design that makes the rider sits on the motorcycle as if sitting on a regular chair or a car seat where the rider`s knees don`t need to stay far apart. No fuel tank in the middle, just nothing.A good reason too why scooters are more popular among female riders compared with other motorcycles.  Two, the tires are small. Much smaller than a kid bicycle parked next to my Baby G.

I know there are other scooters with different seat design, riding position, and bigger tires, but for me, it takes me those two things above to call something a scooter.

I`m finished explaining about my Baby G, but I`m dying to show you my two dream 50-cc scooters. After having the "cute", someday I want the "bold and fun" too :)))

Like this handsomeYamaha Vox...

Or this super fun-looking Honda Zoomer (or Honda Ruckus in US).

Did I say two or three? Three, right? This is the third one. I`m still not sure about this Yamaha`s electric motorcycle EV-03, but totally curious.

Thanks for bearing with me and my scooter-talk! Enjoy your weekend, everyone!