My wife and I are contemplating getting motor scooters for tooting around back country roads, visiting local friends etc. We’re not looking for anything to take on the highways, which scares the bejeezus out of me. These would be more for fun than for practical transportation.
Anyone here have a scooter that they particularly like or dislike? The big brand name ones eg Vespa or Yamaha are too pricey for us to want to consider, but there are a lot of Chinese models out there for less than $1K.
You may also want to look into electric and electric assist bicycles. Usually a license is not needed, you don’t have to worry about storing separate fuel, much less smelly, quieter, and the over all cost is usually less than that of a scooter. The trade off is a shorter range, and a lower cruising speed.
I would strongly advise against the less than $1K new Chinese scooters. It’s not that the Chinese cannot make a good scoot, but warranty, quality and dealer support are usually non-existent for these scoots.
Most dealer won’t touch/sell anything that requires them to perform work under warranty. They’ll only sell scoots that they expect not to need warranty work (even though these are the scoots that usually give a full 1 year or 2 year parts and labor warranty). Good scoots don’t break often.
The really cheap chinese bikes often need all the hoses and wires replaced if not right away, early on. They’re very unreliable.
If you’re looking for low price and reliabe, Sym (they’ve made Honda scooters and Hyundai cars for those brands for years) makes the Symply 50 which is usually $1,400 new, and they also make the very cute (i.e. - looks like the new Vespas) Fiddle II which sells at about $1,500. Sym is Taiwanese although both these scoots are made in China (in their own factory, though, so quality control is excellent).
Another good brand is ADLY (actually Her Chee Manufacturing - they’re in Taiwan and have made parts for Arctic Cat and Bombadier for years). They make quite a few scooters that start around $1,200 and they also have a small motorcycle looking scooter (the Tracer) that’s been selling in my area for $799 or $899 recently.
If these sub $1,500 scooters are more than you want to spend, I’d go for a used Honda, Sym, Aprilia, Piaggio, Vespa, Kymco, Adly, new Lambretta (made by Adly), Yamaha or Suzuki. Used scooters from good companies run forever, mainanence is cheap, and parts are easy to find (that’s a big issue with the cheap Chinese models - also, every dealer in my area will work on Chinese scooters but the wait time is usually 2-3 months for repairs…they’re given low priority). The one Chinese scoot two of my local dealers sell is Keeway. They seem to start at about $1,200, though, so they’re not truly one of the cheaper scoots. I’ve spoken with several dealers who say the Keeway is very close to being as good as the Taiwanese scooters (most of which are on par with Japanese made scooters these days). Again, they wouldn’t sell the Keeways if they were going to cost them a bunch of free warranty work time.
I currently ride an Adly/Lambretta Due 50. Nice little scoot. I’ve had it since last July, have over $1,200 miles (I only ride in town - lots of short errands and ride to work several times per month like I did today), and it’s never had a single problem. Quality is very good - on par with my old Honda Aero 50 and Vespa 50 (OK, the Vespa was nicer, but then again it was a Vespa).
One warning though…it’s addictive!
Eric
Well - I don’t know, how busy Your roads are - but over here in Germany, Scooters are a real menace. They’re, especially on country roads, a lot slower than cars, an obstacle for traffic to flow and cause extremely dangerous situations when people loose their nerves and finally overtake them… I really hate 'em! 
I can’t take to the roads on a scooter. The local Hells Angels will laugh at me. They live right around the corner.
Actually, I’ve found the bikers and harley riders to be very friendly…the sports bike riders are the ones who have a 'tude.
Eric
SF East Bay - Kansas City
Hello? Eric?
…another well-known traffic-danger caused by scooters: motorcycle-drivers falling of their bikes for laughter about those 2-wheeled-toilets driven by “machines” sized like starters for real motorcycles… 
The latest chapter at “Stuff White People Like” --Vespa Scooters. It’s a must read. The whole blog is a must read.
Have you been to KC other than the normal tourist areas? We have our biker gangs as well, and a higher murder rate (most years) than anything on either coast except for Baltimore. Granted, St. Louis has more problems than we do, but still…
Eric
Sorry, I thought that Lance was talking about Angels…
I’m so far out in the sticks all we got are Banditos and a couple of Jokers.
Most of the Harley riders are lawyers & crooks, ah yuppies, now-a-days.
Motor scooters are more dangerous than motorcycles, IMO.
The center of gravity is higher, the wheels are smaller,
there is less gyroscopic force, braking is more iffy,
and the result is a more unstable vehicle, a good deal
more likely to go out from under you.
If it were me I would look into a small motor cycle.
Honda used to make a 125 cc motor cycle that
was a good deal safer than a scooter. I think
scooters are the wrong design for two wheels,
and yes, I rode them a good deal.
P.S, This seems the only small motorcycle still made.
If you are going to be out on roads with cars,
it’s worth having something stable that
has power when you need it. You don’t have to drive fast,
but it’s good to have what it takes.
http://www.kawasaki.com/Products/product-details-features.aspx?autoplay=false&id=369&scid=0
That’s my kind of cycle Jim…but have you ridden a scooter lately? One of the large wheeled models with front disc brake? Or one of these (actually a flash back):
http://www.sym-usa.com/line%20up/symba/line_up_symba.html
Or this:
http://www.kymcousa.com/showroom/scooters/people150/index.html
That said, a small displacement scooter is plenty stable even with smaller wheels…I’ve been riding 50cc scooters since 1978 with no accidents (except the one time I jumped one, in my driveway, at age 14…an age when stupidity reigneth).
I do consider not having to shift a plus for 2 wheeling in traffic…the more time you can spend focusing only on the road and traffic the better off you are.
Eric
For all the wrongish kinda reasons, that is so funny.
Funny and true..
Slan,
D. 
Can all of you scooter and motorcycle heads check your driver’s licenses and make sure you’ve signed the organ donor section?
Thanks.
Happy scooting.
Gonz, yer harshin’ our mellow.
In the retirement community where I work, a resident has one of those scooters that has two wheels in the front and one in back, kind of a reverse trike. Looks funny but I guess you don’t have to mess with a kickstand. I don’t think I would want one of those…but its true that the scooters of today have bigger wheels and engines, so maybe the geometry is better.
As for a cycle, I sorta want a Triumph Bonneville, because I always wanted one as a kid and I’ve owned Japanese cars most of my life. So, even though I know darn well that a Honda would do me fine, a somewhat contrarian desire to have something non-Japanese is at work (except its probably a poor choice for commuting anyway). I can’t afford a Harley to be sure and frankly, I really don’t need that big of a bike anyway. If I had a Sportster, it would probably get swiped. I have gotten as far as looking in Craig’s List and salivatin’. I know BMW’s are great but I can’t deal with Dieter and whatever is the expensive repair procedure I would have to undergo…
But yes, I heard the crack:“you don’t want to be a donor” in response to the concept of using a bike for summer and nice weather commute. The inertia has set in about doing anything about it, because frankly, I have little patience and time for chasing a new consumer product; learning about it, making the “right” decision," getting the best price, bla-bla-bla. I’m tired of buying stuff, period, even if it’s ultimately cool stuff.
Back to day-dreamin.
I did!
Mine’s checked, too.
Weekender - I liked Triumph bike’s, too. I also have fallen in love with the Royal Enfields which are still being made in India by the same plant that made them when the English shifted production to India before WWII.
Scooter-wise, while I’ve long been happy with the smaller 50cc scooter, I’ve been longing for something more in the 200cc or 250cc range so I could do some backroad highway trips. Maybe a Sym HD200 or a Kymco People 200 or 250. Still, my heart truly prefers the vintage scooters like the Genuine Stella (150cc 2 stroke)…love that look.
Celtpastor - would you be OK with a scooter that tops out at 75 mph? What do you ride?
Eric
Used to - a 25yr old Honda CB 400 2cyl (still in my garage…). There’s something “wrong” with the exhaust-pipes, so it rather sounds like a Guzzi. Just LOOOVE any kinda 2cyls… 
However - I gave up 2yrs ago, when my daughter was born. Not only due to danger - also because of money. The decision between pipes and bike was easy…
Might pick it up again with retirement - a BSA or Norton would be a dream, but one which would be heavily customized (low, wide, black)…
A scooter going 75mph 
That’ll leave only the aesthetic problem… However - that was solved by some “punk-scooters” I saw a couple of years ago: They stripped their Vespa 200s off every part of plastic not needed, painted them black-mattee with some nice pictures on (skulls, celtic motives a.s.o.) and used them for dirttrack-racing - now, THESE were REALLY cool… 
So, Jayhawk, what is the maintenance schedule like for one of these? General tune up in spring and care free riding until fall? (Assuming you don’t drive year round.)