Questions About Motor Scooters

Poststructural Pub
1

Hi. I’m looking for anyone in the pub who might have had some experience with motor scooters. My uncle is considering buying one. He is in his mid 50’s and is retired due to some health issues. A motorcycle is too expensive and larger than what he wants, and he can’t ride his bike (cycle) for any distance because of his health problems. He has up to $2,500 in his budget for the purchase. He lives in suburbia – his subdivision is like an island surrounded by corn fields and 3 miles from town via a street whose speed limit is 45 mph. He wants the scooter mostly for running errands to the bank, post office, library, gym, volunteer work, and light shopping. The fartherest distance from home that he would travel is probably about 15 miles. I don’t believe any of the roads would be considered “highway” driving. The scooters that we looked at on the internet claim 85 miles per gallon. If it gets anywhere near that, we both think the mpg would be a huge benefit considering gas prices (it’s currently $4.25/gallon). He lives in the northern midwest (USA) which means that four months out of the year (November - March) he would be driving his car, as well as on those days with heavy rain which he’s had a lot of lately.

Here are some of our questions:

  1. He’s looking at machines between 50 cc and 125 cc. Any big difference between the two sizes other than the speed? With what I’ve said above, what would you recommend? Why?

  2. Any particular brand/model you like or dislike? Why?

  3. The prices given on the internet are MSRP, which makes me think that, like with automobiles, the consumer isn’t expected to pay the full sticker price and there is going to be some haggle room present if he goes to a motorcycle/scooter dealer who lists the MSRP. Is this true?

  4. The scooters weigh approximately 300 pounds. At that weight it’s not inconceivable (to me) that a couple of guys could hoist it into the back of a pickup truck when it’s parked somewhere and drive off with it. Have you heard of this happening? What safeguards are present on scooters that might deter theft?

  5. He’s not the least bit mechanically inclined. Any maintenance, other than oil changes, would be done by the shop. What kind of routine maintenance is required? I suspect it would be minimal.

  6. Finally, he’s 6’ 4" tall and weighs 225 pounds (played fullback). He hasn’t gone to a dealer yet to try one on for size, but he doesn’t want to look like a shriner riding a mini-bike. Any tall people out there ride scooters?

Any advice, suggestions or relevent thoughts from anyone would be greatly appreciated!!! :slight_smile:

2

Slate did a consumer guide to scooters a few years ago: http://www.slate.com/id/2093169/ . It doesn’t include newer models like the Yamaha Vino, but it should give you some ideas about which direction to go in.

3

Thanks. We’ll definitely check that out!



edited for spelling errors.

4

Sorry. I don’t know a thing about motor scooters other than in the past month I’ve been seeing lots of them driven by guys here in Chicago.

I haven’t seen any driven on express ways, but what I have seen has been in heavy urban bumper to bumper traffic.

5

Thanks for asking this question. I have been saving up to buy a car for three years and can’t ever get enough money so I have recently began considering getting a scooter, too. I have a bicycle but it won’t get me to some places I need to go, especially out of town.

6

its all about the Honda Ruckus, baby…

7

Why are motorbikes too expensive? There are small ones,
125 cc, used ones. You might check small honda
motercycles. In my experience motorcycles are
safer than scooters, less likely to slide, easier to stop
and to handle. Bigger wheels, stronger gyroscopic
forces, lower center of gravity, better brakes,
much more forgiving.

By the way, more power is safer too.

8

Born to be Mild … :smiley:

djm

9

While I realize they are more expensive how about a three wheeler scooter?

10

Like this one? Hell yeah.

11

Do any of them have, like, trunks? Or storage space for groceries or clothes or shoes that you buy while out?

12

This might be of interest
Cargo Issues

13

Ooooh. Thank you! If I ever got one, I’d need a trunk because I love to shop for hours and hours at a time and sometimes I find lots of stuff (or just large stuff).

How do you deal with the cold and rain when you’re driving one of them?

14

I regularly ride a Vespa ET-4, 150cc. It cost a fortune but I absolutely love it.

A 50cc usually is a two-stroke engine and requires oil be added and tends to have a smokey exhaust. Two-stroke smoke bothers me, but some people don’t care. Bigger engines tend to be 4-stroke and don’t require oil added to the gas.

Any scooter that has a top speed around 35mph is going to be quite limiting. You’ll end up with angry drivers behind you and you’ll probably end up riding in the bike lane, which is technically not legal for you to do. This is why I prefer a bigger engine. Anything over 150cc is freeway legal. I don’t take my 150cc on the freeway but I can keep up with traffic on any street I want to ride on and I find this to be safer.

I like the Vespa because it has style and the body is metal. There are some real nice-looking Yamahas out there and I might have bought one of those if they’d had them a few years ago when I bought my Vespa. I used to have a Honda long ago and liked it very much, and before that a Yamaha which I also liked. Just get the one that feels best to you.

The only thing I dislike about my Vespa is that it’s expensive to buy and expensive to maintain. An oil change/service is $100. Tires are $100 or more.

At the Vespa dealer there was no haggling and no test ride. I don’t know about other dealers. You can haggle for second-hand rides.

A bigger scooter will weigh more. Normally when you remove the key you turn and lock the front wheel. This makes it harder to roll away. You can always use a bicycle lock on smaller scooters.

I take mine to the dealer but all he ever does is an oil change and makes sure the signals work. I think maybe once he tweaked something to make it run better. I used to change the oil on my Honda. It was easy as pie but a pain to get rid of the used oil. I suppose it’s easier to get ride of the oil nowadays. All I had to do was drain the oil and put new oil in. There was no filter, just a little metal screen you could wipe off if needed.

I’m pretty short. The Vespa, even the smaller model like I have, is pretty high up. I can only reach with my tip-toes. If he’s that big he might consider a 250cc scooter. He’ll be able to handle it well and in my opinion, a more powerful scooter is a more pleasant and safe ride.

In general, I prefer scooters to motorcycles because they can carry more things. If you use it to run errands like I do, being able to carry your groceries home is important. I can put things under the seat, in the luggage compartment behind the seat and hanging from a hook on the seat between my legs.

My older Honda scooter had a flat platform for my feet and I could pile up large boxes and things. I used to work at an outdoor flower stand and could pile on all the flowers I needed to open my stand in the morning on the platform and in the baskets I had in front and back.

One more thought: My old Honda had a foot break and a hand break. My Vespa has two hand breaks. I preferred the foot break and hand break. I think it is safer that at least one hand is fully holding the handlebar at all times. I went 7 years without a scooter and when I got the Vespa the first thing I did was try to use the foot break. It took me a few weeks to get over the lack of a foot break!

15

http://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/DispatcherServlet?hidAction=Lookup&hidActionDetail=view_introduction&hidMSGID=11&hidMSGCode=CC125&hidMSGName=125cc&hidProductID=47&hidSelectedProductCode=CG125&hidProductName=CG125#focusHere

This, used, should be available. Possibly bigger, because people
do 50 plus on a 45 per mile per hour street. 150 ccs better.
Again, think safety. I’ve ridden both motorcycles and scooters.
I am convinced that motorcycles are more stable, less apt
to slide, and more apt to stay up in vigorous braking.
Bigger wheels, lower center of gravity, more gyroscopic
force from bigger wheels, generally better brakes.
A backpack will carry what he needs; also there are saddle
bags. If he wants groceries, take the car.

16

There is a chinese knockoff of the vespa that sells for about one third of the price. I have a friend who bought the 150 and 200 cc version of this one, and loves it. Up to 80 mph on the big one, if you are comfortable at that speed.

Sbfluter, I thought you had already taken off on your round the world walk. What happened?

17

Oh, and regarding rain and cold. Two words: layers.

Rain gear for rain. A windshield actually helps keep rain off, too.

Gloves, a scarf that covers your face and ears and multiple jackets for cold work well.

In the Vespa universe you can get something called a Termoscud. It’s an apron that fits over your lap and attaches to the scooter. I’ve never tried one or seen one but have wanted one. Maybe some day.

18

Shall I write what happened here or in a new topic?

In short, I’m taking a few days vacation from the trail. A vacation from my vacation, ha ha. I’ll be going back this weekend.

19

Bubbie,

there is some good advice above, but here are some other thoughts (my wife and I are going to buy a newer 49cc scooter soon - replacing one we sold a few years back that was 20 years old and I couldn’t find parts for anymore).

State laws differ, but in many states a 50cc or less scooter does not need a special license to ride (just a regular driver’s license works) and may not even need state registration/plates and cycle insurance (your homeowners covers it in these states).

Does your uncle have a class M/motorcycle license? If not, and if the state requires it, or if he wants anything bigger than a 50cc scooter…he will need the motorcycle license, insurance, and to plate the scooter.

Most 50cc and less scooters are restricted which will limit them to about 30 to 35 mph (unrestricted most go about 40 to 45 mph) even for a man of your uncle’s size. If he wants to go faster, again he’ll need the cycle license in most states, cycle insurance, registration, etc.

Also, many 50cc scooters these days are 4 stroke (heck, our old 1980s honda was a 4 stroke). The newer 4 strokes have much better oomph than they used to even if they are restricted to the lower speeds.

My wife and I considered getting a larger scooter (125 or 150cc), but the costs in Missouri made getting a larger scooter much less attractive. In fact, it’s cheaper for us to buy two 49cc scooters than a single larger scooter because the insurance, cycle classes/licensure, etc. really added up and essentially negated any gas savings we’d have.

One piece of advice I’ve heard from several shops in town is that Chinese (not Taiwanese) scooters often have problems with obtaining parts and can have non-standard electrical schemes…which makes repair an issue.

Eric

20

wonder where they got the idea…