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Post by mikestib1 on Mar 28, 2017 12:27:13 GMT -5
Aftef riding motorcycles for 50 years, I moved to a small city downtown area. At age 67 after spine surgery with nerve damage to one leg, I decided to try a scooter. I owned a Vespa 2 stroke I bought for $50 way back. As I have a motorcycle endorsement, I could have bought any size. But I bought a Bintelli 50 for its low price, warranty support and was happy with it for as long as I didn't have a hill to go up. I also thought it was so slow I was impeding traffic and being a menace. Did a 80cc BBK which made it better. I had test ridden a Genuine Rough house 50 2 stoke but didn't want to spend the extra $1000
Anyhow Bintelli scooters are well made and they make 50 thru 150 models. But if you want a 50 and have $2000 you cannot beat the Rough house. If the dealer removes the exhaust restriction and the spacer in the variator it will outperform any four stroke. No oil changed or valve adjustments, just gas in the tank and synthetic injector oil. One liter every 800 miles. The 150 Chinese scooters were OK but the Buddy 170i was quicker and fuel injected. I bought a new leftover for a good price. Sold it and got a Yamaha Smax which is a great all rounder. I've learned a lot and have sold the scooters I felt weren't the best to some buyers who are enjoying them. I worked hard for 50 years and scooters are my only vice. Even my wife believes it's money well spent because if I'm happy, she's happy for me. yeah I'm lucky
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Post by wheelbender6 on Mar 28, 2017 19:46:05 GMT -5
My wife was glad that I chose a scooter for my return to the two-wheeled world.
So glad that she bough one too.
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Post by pistonguy on Mar 28, 2017 20:36:38 GMT -5
Aftef riding motorcycles for 50 years, I moved to a small city downtown area. At age 67 after spine surgery with nerve damage to one leg, I decided to try a scooter. I owned a Vespa 2 stroke I bought for $50 way back. As I have a motorcycle endorsement, I could have bought any size. But I bought a Bintelli 50 for its low price, warranty support and was happy with it for as long as I didn't have a hill to go up. I also thought it was so slow I was impeding traffic and being a menace. Did a 80cc BBK which made it better. I had test ridden a Genuine Rough house 50 2 stoke but didn't want to spend the extra $1000 Anyhow Bintelli scooters are well made and they make 50 thru 150 models. But if you want a 50 and have $2000 you cannot beat the Rough house. If the dealer removes the exhaust restriction and the spacer in the variator it will outperform any four stroke. No oil changed or valve adjustments, just gas in the tank and synthetic injector oil. One liter every 800 miles. The 150 Chinese scooters were OK but the Buddy 170i was quicker and fuel injected. I bought a new leftover for a good price. Sold it and got a Yamaha Smax which is a great all rounder. I've learned a lot and have sold the scooters I felt weren't the best to some buyers who are enjoying them. I worked hard for 50 years and scooters are my only vice. Even my wife believes it's money well spent because if I'm happy, she's happy for me. yeah I'm lucky Great Story, thanks for sharing |
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Post by w650 on Mar 29, 2017 8:32:46 GMT -5
For all the knocks put on Chinese scooters yours is the real deal. You started out with one, enjoyed scootering and moved to something bigger and better. It shows that if scooters are going to be saved in this Country as a transportation device it will be the Chinese who do it.
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Post by spandi on Mar 29, 2017 9:31:31 GMT -5
A good, level headed, non-bias posting from a scoot enthusiast without (fortunately) the usual prejudice and rancor the comes from people that think the "only" bike that doesn't have parts dropping in the road are VeryExpensiveScootersPiaggioAssembled.
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Post by mikestib1 on Mar 29, 2017 16:56:01 GMT -5
Wish my wife would ride my 50, but I understand she's concerned about the idiot car drivers on their cell phones. Hope you and your wife enjoy the feeling only 2 wheels afford.
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Post by wheelbender6 on Mar 29, 2017 18:17:21 GMT -5
"It shows that if scooters are going to be saved in this Country as a transportation device it will be the Chinese who do it."
I agree, W650, if you include Taiwan. The fantastic scoots from Japan, Germany and Italy are priced too high to be considered as alternate transportation for most Americans, IMHO.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 29, 2017 20:19:10 GMT -5
Mikestib1,
You ARE my kind of guy... Have a bone! I'm 70, and have been riding for over 50 years. Now, arthritis keeps me from getting on and off the big bikes. So, 8 years ago I rediscovered scooters! Glad I did!
I'm incurably "old school" and put a retro spin on most any ride. I started with a Chinese 150 and learned more than I ever wanted to about fixing it... LOL! But, after working out all the Chinese bugs, I ended up with a reliable and fun little scoot.
A few years ago, our surface streets got totally redone, and local traffic began to run too fast for the 150, so I traded on a well-used 2007 Kymco Grandvista 250. I've been VERY happy with "Minnie Mouse". She's a small-wheel, short 250, very similar to many 150's so in-town riding is plenty nimble. But she'll still hit well over 70-mph so short runs on the freeway are possible.
I really don't miss the Harleys and other big bikes and am enjoying scooters. Modern scoots are LIGHTYEARS ahead of the old ones of my youth. In fact, to be brutally honest, my Taiwanese 250 is more enjoyable for overall riding than my old Harley baggers.
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
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Post by rockynv on Mar 30, 2017 5:03:30 GMT -5
A good, level headed, non-bias posting from a scoot enthusiast without (fortunately) the usual prejudice and rancor the comes from people that think the "only" bike that doesn't have parts dropping in the road are VeryExpensiveScootersPiaggioAssembled. Sorry but it goes both ways. People keep telling me this Very Expensive rumor however I find the 150,000 mile capable Itallian models at the local dealers on factory specials for only a few hundred dollars more than the Chinese counterparts. If you toss the predjudices against them and ignore the Frightfully Expensive rumors which are only true if you don't shop around then you will find them at a very reasonable price point. Local prices on Chinese 250 cc top tier scooters were at $2,599 to $2,699 while my Piaggio based 250 was only $2,999 which is the only reason I bought Itallian since the prices were too low to ignore. I am not talking about dropped shipped 50cc $299 Chinese bikes mail order but local Brick and Mortor stores selling them. When I compared Apples for Apples in physical stores in my local area the price differences were not that great. It surprised me because I knew before I walked in to the name brand store that according to the Internet Buzz those bikes would be Frightfully Expensive and who knew that the Internet MisInformation was not really 100% true. If you shop around and pound the pavement looking for factory specials and customer appreciation days you can find Frightfully Low prices on new warrantied with full dealer service name brand bikes. Don't go by just the suggested MSRP as its only a suggestion. Factories and individual dealerships have specials and unadvertized mark downs all the time and it only takes a little effort to fall into a very sweet deal. You just have to be patient. |
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Post by w650 on Mar 30, 2017 9:22:41 GMT -5
Not every one is lucky enough to procure a Piaggio product at the Clearance Price you got the Sport City. That scooter was a $4600 to $4900 MSRP at the time and very few dealers were giving them up at $2999. Aprilia doesn't sell big scooters here anymore and Piaggio and Vespas don't go cheap. The dealers over at Modern Vespa all admit that they offer little or no wiggle room on price and then sock prep and shipping on top. Plus, according to Judy, maintenance for the non-mechanically inclined isn't cheap. I will keep the LX to the end. Yeah i know i could of bought a fleet of Sprints with the money i've put into Leo but i like the looks of the LX. Made better than the newer ones IMHO.
modernvespa.com/forum/topic152658Piaggio makes a good product but the cost for the average person is quite high both in buy in and maintenance. |
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Post by spandi on Mar 30, 2017 10:14:35 GMT -5
A good, level headed, non-bias posting from a scoot enthusiast without (fortunately) the usual prejudice and rancor the comes from people that think the "only" bike that doesn't have parts dropping in the road are VeryExpensiveScootersPiaggioAssembled. Sorry but it goes both ways. People keep telling me this Very Expensive rumor however I find the 150,000 mile capable Itallian models at the local dealers on factory specials for only a few hundred dollars more than the Chinese counterparts. If you toss the predjudices against them and ignore the Frightfully Expensive rumors which are only true if you don't shop around then you will find them at a very reasonable price point. Local prices on Chinese 250 cc top tier scooters were at $2,599 to $2,699 while my Piaggio based 250 was only $2,999 which is the only reason I bought Itallian since the prices were too low to ignore. I am not talking about dropped shipped 50cc $299 Chinese bikes mail order but local Brick and Mortor stores selling them. When I compared Apples for Apples in physical stores in my local area the price differences were not that great. It surprised me because I knew before I walked in to the name brand store that according to the Internet Buzz those bikes would be Frightfully Expensive and who knew that the Internet MisInformation was not really 100% true. If you shop around and pound the pavement looking for factory specials and customer appreciation days you can find Frightfully Low prices on new warrantied with full dealer service name brand bikes. Don't go by just the suggested MSRP as its only a suggestion. Factories and individual dealerships have specials and unadvertized mark downs all the time and it only takes a little effort to fall into a very sweet deal. You just have to be patient. Again Rocky we've been all through this before (almost word-for-word from many years back) and again, as in the past I will reiterate; you cannot buy a Vespa for "a few hundred dollars" more than a Chinese scoot. If that where the case Chinese importers would have closed shop years ago, and it is stacking the deck to use the highest end Chinese machines ( The rarely purchased Linhai perhaps?) as a comparison when most will buy and use the less expensive bikes. Is the Vespa a nice machine? You bet. Is it also overpriced and costly to service? Again, affirmative. But at least the Vespa offers attitude as an option to go with the designer label saddlebags. |
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Post by rockynv on Mar 30, 2017 12:20:52 GMT -5
Spandi - I paid exactly $200 more for my Aprilia than what the Chinese 250's from Puma, Znen, Rocketa, Tank and such cost in my City. I did not bother looking at the more expensive Linhai. Aprilia pulled out of the Maxi Scooter market because people were not willing to pay the extra few hundred for a very high quality bike and most of that was because of really stupid rumors spread by those that did really vet things out about the costs being so high that nobody could afford them. I believed these dumb internet rumors until I walked into a Piaggio dealership and saw for my self what you could bargain for and walk out the door with. The small Japanese scooters were the high cost bikes compared to the Aprilia.
Why do you keep harping on Vespa when I mostly reference Aprilia and Piaggio branded bikes? Yes the Vespa UniBody steel scooters do cost a bit more however they do not fall apart or shatter on impact or crumble to pieces if left out in the sun. They do not suffer from the issues that others Japanese, Italian and Korean ABS Plastic bikes or Tiawaniese and Chinese have with frail low grade plastics that are more prone to become a total loss in a minor mishap.
I had a 45 mph slide with my Aprilia after hitting a patch of sand on a local highway and all that broke was a turn signal lens which cost an extremely low $1.75 to replace.
Don't be a defeatest. If you keep your eyes and ears open there are still bargains out there on new bikes from Piaggio such as leftover new BV250 and the original BV350's that you can pick up for around $3,000.
I am most certainly glad I did not listen to the likes of you otherwise I never would be riding a bike as nice as my Aprilia. Kymco too has leftovers from prior model years and if you keep yourself open to the possibilites they can also be had for very reasonable prices. Sometimes even Honda during their Garage Sale events drops their prices to insanley low levels. They recently in the past 6 months had their leftover 700cc DCT Naked Cruiser Automatics down to less than $4,000 during a Garage Sale Event which is a whole lot of bike for the money.
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Post by w650 on Mar 30, 2017 15:57:04 GMT -5
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Post by spandi on Mar 30, 2017 16:47:51 GMT -5
Spandi - I paid exactly $200 more for my Aprilia than what the Chinese 250's from Puma, Znen, Rocketa, Tank and such cost in my City. I did not bother looking at the more expensive Linhai. Aprilia pulled out of the Maxi Scooter market because people were not willing to pay the extra few hundred for a very high quality bike and most of that was because of really stupid rumors spread by those that did really vet things out about the costs being so high that nobody could afford them. I believed these dumb internet rumors until I walked into a Piaggio dealership and saw for my self what you could bargain for and walk out the door with. The small Japanese scooters were the high cost bikes compared to the Aprilia. Why do you keep harping on Vespa when I mostly reference Aprilia and Piaggio branded bikes? Yes the Vespa UniBody steel scooters do cost a bit more however they do not fall apart or shatter on impact or crumble to pieces if left out in the sun. They do not suffer from the issues that others Japanese, Italian and Korean ABS Plastic bikes or Tiawaniese and Chinese have with frail low grade plastics that are more prone to become a total loss in a minor mishap. I had a 45 mph slide with my Aprilia after hitting a patch of sand on a local highway and all that broke was a turn signal lens which cost an extremely low $1.75 to replace. Don't be a defeatest. If you keep your eyes and ears open there are still bargains out there on new bikes from Piaggio such as leftover new BV250 and the original BV350's that you can pick up for around $3,000. I am most certainly glad I did not listen to the likes of you otherwise I never would be riding a bike as nice as my Aprilia. Kymco too has leftovers from prior model years and if you keep yourself open to the possibilites they can also be had for very reasonable prices. Sometimes even Honda during their Garage Sale events drops their prices to insanley low levels. They recently in the past 6 months had their leftover 700cc DCT Naked Cruiser Automatics down to less than $4,000 during a Garage Sale Event which is a whole lot of bike for the money. To quote from Paul Simon's "Love me like a rock" Who do you think you're fooling? There is NO WAY a Roketa is only going to be "a few hundred less" than your much vaunted Sport City. Even with the deal you managed to get on it at 3K (and for the love of Mike, shall we cut out the $2999.999.999 jazz?) You paid THREE GRAND for it, plus what? Another $500 in taxes and dealer prep before you were OTD? That's about $1200 more than any Roketa I ever saw, and I was in contact with dealers in Florida as well. That you enjoy your purchase and got a good deal on it is fine, but don't try to convince others that it was just a "little more" than a Chinese model, it isn't and audience you're speaking to knows better. BTW, had you listened to "the likes of me" you would have steered clear of that Lance you bought from the year of manufacturing infamy...2008 |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 30, 2017 18:24:49 GMT -5
I'm not sure about Italian scooter prices nationwide. Three seasons back, when I was looking for a 250 I found here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area clean USED Italian scoots were in the same price range as USED Japanese and Taiwanese models.
I did not look at new ones, so I don't know how they compared. I can envision getting a NEW one at clearance for not too much more than a Chinese counterpart, but you'd have to shop around. But, USED ones were incredibly affordable.
I think the geographic area, season and number of unsold units in-stock make MONUMENTAL differences in sales price. I'm sure prices may very by as much as 100% and bargains like Rockynv got are there. But you must really shop around!
I must note that Dallas is not a big scooter town. Many dealers have a glut of new, unsold rides at the end of the season. This can make a big difference.
Just what I found a few years back...
Leo in Texas
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