Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn scooter. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn scooter. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng

Thứ Ba, 19 tháng 8, 2014

Scooters: Riding in Seoul

I've got an hour free from the kids late this morning. It's nice because I am at the beginning of a two-week conversation exam. 2100 minutes of conversation for points! I get to speak with each of my 700 or so students for three minutes: introductions, favorites, memories, personalities. It's difficult for me because of the mind-numbing repetition. It's horrible for the kids because they are acutely aware of their below-expectations conversation skills. I hate that about school here. The students are really ground in to the locale. I'm working hard to make the three minutes as entertaining as possible; I'm only 85 students into the 700-deep kid pool and very tired indeed. In fact, soaked.

During my break. I thought I'd write a little about Spring scooting in Seoul. It's worth thinking about riding safety this month because we had a rather atypical winter. It was very wet and very cold. And winter sucks the humidity right out of Seoul. So, it's dry, too. This is not good for the scooters and the roads.

First, I think it's a good idea to get your scooter tuned after each winter. (Even better, tune it yourself.) On the newer scooters, it might not be necessary for you to change your oil. However, it's worth it to get the brakes checked and get somebody to physically inspect the bike. Also have the variator, its bearings and belt examined.

FAQ for Scooters and Motorcycles in Korea

***UPDATE: all 50cc scooters must have license plates AND insurance by July 1st.  I initially thought only license plates were required but insurance is now also required.  Again, failure to do so is a 500,000 won fine.
Since I'm on my fourth motorcycle now in Korea, I was hoping this topic could help some of you out concerning scooters and/or motorcycles in Korea.  This is up to date as of March/April, 2012.
I am fluent in Korean so all information is accurate and comes from the Korean Department of Motor Vehicles.  I've kind of gotten annoyed of other foreigners telling me what you can and can't do so I thought this thread could help some people.  So whatever you're hearing from other foreigners contrary to this thread, is wrong.
Q: I heard that under 50cc/100cc scooters don't require a Korean license?
A: A Korean license is required for ALL two wheeled vehicles exceeding 25km/h which includes 50cc scooters.  So yes, you do need a Korean driver's license to legally operate a 50cc scooter.  Failure to do so is a 1,000,000 fine and a one year suspension of operating a motor vehicle in Korea.

Q: Do I need to wear a helmet?