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PostPosted: May 24, 2017, 10:33 am 
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Joined: September 22, 2005, 10:29 am
Posts: 599
Well there's the weather to consider, then there's the lack of impact protection and that fuel tank hanging off the bum for all the world to bump into. Then there's the constant attention.....

A Locost is like a four-wheeled superbike. It's insane fun in the back country, but it's simply not made for the city. So a lot of how much one uses it has to do with where you live. The other factor is one's relation to discomfort. I found a couple of hours in the car to be pretty tiring, whereas a subsequent owner of the car would do a six-or-seven hour drive in the thing on a lark.


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PostPosted: May 24, 2017, 1:10 pm 
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Mid-Engined Maniac

Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
Posts: 6410
Location: SoCal
I work 25 miles from home and everyday it takes nearly an hour to get home. Driving a Locost in that wouldn't qualify as "fun" - never mind in the summer when it's above 90 regularly.

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PostPosted: May 24, 2017, 2:21 pm 
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Joined: July 17, 2008, 9:11 am
Posts: 6414
Location: West Chicago,IL
I did the 1hr + commute for about 25 years. I quickly traded in the manual shift for auto and A/C. Getting to work in sweaty clothes just wasn't going to cut it. I couldn't imagine doing that in the Locost. But not everyone live or works in the same place so...... maybe if I had a 1 or 2 mile commute. Wait, that would mean I'm be back working again. No thanks!

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“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766


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PostPosted: May 24, 2017, 4:55 pm 
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Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
Posts: 1617
Location: No. Nevada
I have carefully constructed my life for the least possible hassle.
Single, self employed with no commute, and live in a rural area.
Except for the truck every vehicle I have is sporty, the Dio will just be a more extreme version of what I already drive every day.
I do not own any vehicles with an automatic transmission.
Some folk think I'm a bit "Unusual", often expressed as "You have a bad attitude", LOL.

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PostPosted: May 26, 2017, 5:07 pm 
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Joined: July 4, 2006, 5:40 pm
Posts: 1994
Location: Novato, CA
Every chance to be out driving is a gift. Sure, some drives are better than others, but I've been commuting for 40 years and in every commute there have always been at least a few fun parts. I try not to waste any drive by riding in a heavy, insulated, stone quiet, no-fun appliance that most cars are these days. IMO there is nothing like the Locost Lifestyle, at least on four wheels.


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PostPosted: May 29, 2017, 2:52 pm 
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Joined: September 15, 2014, 8:13 pm
Posts: 162
I'm with Nick. I started riding motorcycles at a relatively advanced age in upstate NY. But I got into it in a big way. In about a decade of riding, I put up something like 200K miles. That means if it was above ~20 degrees and there was no risk of ice or snow, I was riding to work. If I didn't have to carry anything my saddle bags wouldn't fit, I was riding. I gave that up when I had to begin taking my then 18 month old daughter to daycare in the morning and back home in the evening. It turns out, she would not fit in the saddle bags, or reliably on the seat, so I got back into cars. Stayed that way because she (and her new sister) need a dad, but the outdoor experience of motoring is something I want to get back.

Assuming I get anything approximating reliability, I plan to be driving the Bauhaus any time they will not be tossing down liquid rust onto the road (or the solid stuff either). I figure it will be a three season room for traveling, but I plan a few things to help make this all a bit more palatable: Use of the Miata donor seats, rather than poorly padded race units, use of a wrap-around windshield vs. the buffet-monster flat one, significant luggage space (what are side-pods for, after all?), and electric plug ins for heated jackets. Rain gear will obviously be in the car at all times...

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PostPosted: June 2, 2017, 3:29 pm 
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Joined: July 29, 2006, 9:10 pm
Posts: 3160
Location: Oregon, usually
Ditto Nick and Omterry. Like Nick, I'm a west coast guy (Oregon) and they don't salt the roads, but I'd sure feel different about winter driving if we had a corrosion season like they do back east. But at my age and infirmity, nowadays if it's a short trip, I take another car when it's raining. If it's a long trip, I take my Triumph rainsuit, just in case. A motorcycle with four wheels is an apt description, and if you're a motorcycle daily driver kinda guy, you're probably a Locost daily driver kinda guy.

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PostPosted: June 3, 2017, 8:58 am 
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Joined: March 30, 2011, 7:18 am
Posts: 1615
Location: central Arkansas
kreb wrote:
simply not made for the city


I just remembered one of the annoyances of my Spitfire in city traffic. "Exhaust-pipe-to-the-face." (the 7 version of "boot-to-the-head")

The lifted Diesel trucks the wannabe-rednecks drove often had exhausts just perfect for stinking you out while they were sitting in the other lane...


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