MetaChat - Hot or Not?

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23 April 2007

Hot or Not? →[More:]

Men on scooters? Are they sexy enough to make women’s heads turn, or do women only swoon for men on their hogs?*

I currently have a Kinetic Honda ZX which I zip around on, but am planning to buy a Bajaj Pulsar 150cc (it’s a little different to the one in the picture; it has a round headlight, and the tail light is a bit different too, not to mention the seating, but I prefer it to this one, I think) or a Yamaha RX 100.

*it's a question that I always wanted to know the answer to.

post by: hadjiboy at: 20:17 | 27 comments

It really depends on who's on the scooter.

posted by Orange Swan 23 April | 20:28

Scooters are not hot on their own, but a man confident enough in his masculinity to ride a scooter could be considered hot by default, I think. If the guy thinks that scooters are hot, he isn't, though. Hogs are hot, but most of the guys that ride them are not and putting a motorbike between their legs doesn't change that. Of course, IANAWORGSIAPBFOS.

On the other hand, women on scooters are hot, as are women riding motorbikes. Always. Its a rule.

posted by dg 23 April | 20:40

It really depends on who's on the scooter.

Yes. Yes, it does.

posted by scody 23 April | 20:52

I agree with my swan friend...Are you, by chance, the Ace Face?
≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by richat 23 April | 20:52

Gah! There's no way to answer this accurately. Most people, like Swan, will say it depends on who's on the scooter. Some folks, like dg, will say it depends if the guy is manly enough to pull it off (and I respectfully disagree about all women on motorbikes being hot. Saw one yesterday who was nowhere near hot). Some will say every man on a scooter is a dweeb.

Personally, I don't think men on motorcycles are hot. I've known several guys whose motorcycles were big and shiny and sexy to sit on, but not one of the guys themselves did *any*thing at all for me.

posted by crush-onastick 23 April | 20:54

Again, you seem a lot like a marketing researcher here.

posted by Miko 23 April | 20:57

Except for vanishingly rare exceptions, a Harley sends a clear message to anyone within hearing distance that the rider is an immense tool with crushing self-esteem issues who cares about nothing except what other people think of him. Other vehicles send this message to varying degrees, but a Harley simply has no other discernible purpose.

The only message I get from a scooter is that the rider is someone who needs to get around the city conveniently, quickly and economically.

posted by Rembrandt Q. Einstein 23 April | 20:58

I'm not a woman. But I suspect to pull off the scooter look, you have to go all the way, and do the whole Mod thing. For this you'll need Paul Weller hair, RAF roundels, and a Lambretta or Vespa.

posted by matthewr 23 April | 21:00

I guess I should add that this is not necessarily an observation that all Harley riders (a group which includes one or two friends of mine) are in fact immense tools with self-esteem issues, but it's certainly the message I get from seeing one.

posted by Rembrandt Q. Einstein 23 April | 21:02

I'll chime in about the Harley thing...It's funny, because about a year and half ago, I mentioned to mrs.richat that the company was going to be screwed soon, given that their once cool vibe had been quietly co-opted by rich white dudes with gout, bellies, and silver pony-tails.

Not exactly the epitome of cool, that.

Then, about 6 months ago I came across an article somewhere about Harley-Davidson's "branding" challenge. I got to feel all smarty-pantsie. And now, I've shared my smarty-pantsedness with you all.

Also, yes, the Mod scene is super cool. Leapers and Levis, Vespas and good music. What more could one ask for?

posted by richat 23 April | 21:49

Get a Harley.

posted by jonmc 23 April | 21:59

I think scooters are hot! Woo woo!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 23 April | 22:56

My first two wheeler was a scooter, I loved it back then but couldn't ride it now. Now I need some get up and see ya under my wrist.

And yes, I did get chicks when I had the scooter. But I was one of eight men working at a girl scout camp, I could have no jaw and still gotten chicks there. Note, I did not have any relations with campers, just the counselors. But I was very nice to the young ladies who left me presents at my cabin. Except the girl who thought ice cream was a good thing to leave on my pillow.

Rembrandt, bikers, as a rule, wave to one another on the road. Harley snobs, as a rule, do not. I'm quite surprised when one of "Teh Choosen" deigns to wave as he rumbles by (the other way since ain't no dog Harley passing me!).

posted by fenriq 24 April | 00:11

This is a culturally specific question. In the Southern U.S., scooters are not generally a masculinity enhancing accoutrement, particularly for men of drinking and voting age. At a lot of bars, parking a scooter will frequently get you a confrontation, and never gets you a beer.

On two wheels, men around here go either "no motor," or bigger than 500cc.

posted by paulsc 24 April | 01:01

Yep, culturally-specific question.

posted by box 24 April | 07:07

The 2 bikes are definitely cooler than the scooter linked. That is, if you lived in the UK. And you were called seanyboy. I'm not sure of the hotness value. For me, scooters occupy the same part of my brain as Juventus football tops. Fine if you're in Italy, but if I see one in the UK my heart shouts "snob".

Anyway, if you're gonna get a bike, go for the Yamaha. That's a good bike.

I suspect that culturally, both bikes and scooters have a completely different meaning in India than they have in the UK or the US. So, follow your heart on this one padawan and don't listen to us.

posted by seanyboy 24 April | 07:38

b.t.w. Yamaha may be pulling out of the Indian Market.
I don't know if that makes you want one more or not.
Personally, I'd go Honda, or if I were being safe - Bajaj.

posted by seanyboy 24 April | 07:45

I think I'll have to agree, scooters require suits, skinny ties, shiny shoes, the whole shebang. I think vespas are hot. But then, I also tend to mentally classify them as "girl motorcycles." Which isn't intentional, just how my mind works.

But, on the other hand, I go for troublemakers, which tends to be more likely to fall on the motorcycle side of the fence. And I have a lot of friends who ride motorcycles. So I am more likely to be into a guy on a motorcycle than a scooter, but a guy on a motorcycle is more likely to be the sort of heavily tattooed miscreant I chase after.

posted by kellydamnit 24 April | 08:23

although yeah, also seconding that things are most likely very differnet in the US compared to India.

posted by kellydamnit 24 April | 08:24

Motorcycles are sexy. Dangerous, but sexy. Scooters not so much, I'm afraid. But who cares. Do what works for you. (Naturally, I'm the definitive word on the subject. ; )

But no matter what your view of the riders as a group (if there is such a thing), you have to admit, unless you're goin' for crotch-rocket speed, Harleys are sweet rides. There just is nothing comparable.

posted by Pips 24 April | 10:01

At a lot of bars, parking a scooter will frequently get you a confrontation, and never gets you a beer.

Is that really true or just something people say? If so, that mentality really astounds me. What is it about my 149cc Stella that would sufficiently challenge someone else's aesthetic sensibility or masculinity as to provoke a confrontation?

As a rule, Scooters = cool + macho. Harleys = penis extension. Anyone who can ride an underpowered two wheeled vehicle in dense traffic has a lot more balls than any wannabe "rebel" Harley dude.

posted by psmealey 24 April | 10:45

From the above discussion, I gathered something that I already know--that SEXINESS, is a state of mind, and that a guy on a Harley can look every bit a dweeb if he thinks that he needs a harley to complete him, but if one's already happy with himself, then he can make-do with a scooter. Although, it would be nice to have a bike to throttle around on.

posted by hadjiboy 24 April | 11:40

psmealey: hate to go all mods and rockers on you, but it's a simple fact, a hog will always be cooler than a scooter. Brando didn't ride into town on a Vespa, neither did Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper or Sonny Barger.

posted by jonmc 24 April | 11:50

Ah, but Brando rode a Triumph in the Wild Ones, not a Harley :-).

I'm a motorcycle rider (BMW) myself, but just wanted to give a shout out to my scooter riding little brothers. I had one for a year when I lived in Chicago, and it was at times harrowing. I definitely found some respect for scooter afficionados.

posted by psmealey 24 April | 11:56

(I know, I'm just fucking around. and Barger, Fonda, and Hopper were on hogs. and there's no yearly sccoter parties where drunken scooter women flash their boobs and wrestle in coleslaw. QED.

I don't ride myself, but a lot of the guys at my corner bar do, all Harleys, not the stock garbage wagons either, choppers. Beautiful machines.)

posted by jonmc 24 April | 12:01

I know someone with a Triumph. All retro tricked out and stuff.
I swear to god it is the hottest thing I have ever seen in my life. Enough to make me weak in the knees.

supposedly he's taking me on a ride this summer. Granted, it's like, around the block. But even so!

posted by kellydamnit 24 April | 12:46

Anecdotally, I had a male coworker at the copy shop and a female coworker always referred to him (non-sarcastically) as
the hot guy on the scooter," but never just as "the hot guy."

posted by Skwirl 24 April | 19:50

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