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Post by spandi on Jan 7, 2014 10:15:13 GMT -5
Because you meet the nicest people on a scooter!  |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 8, 2014 2:16:11 GMT -5
A stock 250 is going to give you better reliability and fuel economy at speeds over 35 than a 150 so I would just get the 250 scooter from the get go. Get a decent one and interstates are not a problem. Mine tops out just shy of 100 and keeps up with faster traffic on the interstates. Just look for fuel injection and high compression. Watch for the factory incentives too and you may find an Aprilia by Piaggio for $2,999 or less brand new on the showroom floor. If you are anywhere near enough to Seattle Moto International gets in new Aprilia Bikes that have been sitting in warehouse lots from defunct dealerships regularly and sells them at very low prices still covered with the one or two year factory parts and labor warranty and will even help pay for you to fly in and ride away on your new bike. Comfort, weather protection, ease of use, thrift, storage and my busted up left knee and ankle can't deal with a lot of city shifting on a motorcycle.
This IS some VERY good advice!
I was on a super-tight budget, so I went with a used, older-technology 250 that has nowhere near the performance of the newer fuel-injected, multi-valve versions. And, Italian scoots are excellent! The Italian scoots, as well as Kymco, SYM maybe other makes now offer 200 to 300cc scooters that have similar performance to the old 500 to 650 motorcycles of my stone-age youth. And they still handle like scooters, but can also run the highways in comfort, like a big bike.
SWEET!
Based on my own experience, anything less than a modest 250 will eventually have you moving up the displacement food-chain anyway. Might as well do it right the first time, and be done with it.
Food for thought!
Leo in Texas
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Post by rockynv on Jan 8, 2014 5:04:09 GMT -5
I keep getting tempted to move up until some kid on a 650 or 750 finally catches up with me to tell me how fast I was going and how much trouble he had catching up especailly the way I kept pulling ahead off the line. Some comment on how my turbo really seems to pull when it kicks in once the bike gets a few feet off the line. I find a bit of fun in the explanations they come up with on why my stock 250cc fuel injected scooter is giving them a run for it (must be turbo charged, running nitros oxide, Aprilia is like a Ducati, etc). 20,000 miles now and I think I will hold onto it for a while. Yet if they ever bring the 850cc Aprilia scooter to the US it might be tempting. I don't know what these kids would make of that.
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Post by nulldevice on Jan 8, 2014 15:24:23 GMT -5
A stock 250 is going to give you better reliability and fuel economy at speeds over 35 than a 150 so I would just get the 250 scooter from the get go. Get a decent one and interstates are not a problem. Mine tops out just shy of 100 and keeps up with faster traffic on the interstates. Just look for fuel injection and high compression. Watch for the factory incentives too and you may find an Aprilia by Piaggio for $2,999 or less brand new on the showroom floor. If you are anywhere near enough to Seattle Moto International gets in new Aprilia Bikes that have been sitting in warehouse lots from defunct dealerships regularly and sells them at very low prices still covered with the one or two year factory parts and labor warranty and will even help pay for you to fly in and ride away on your new bike. Comfort, weather protection, ease of use, thrift, storage and my busted up left knee and ankle can't deal with a lot of city shifting on a motorcycle. Your 250 tops out near 100 MPH? That is almost what my 500cc high compression fuel injected four valves per cylinder TMAX twin will do. I will admit I got my old 250 to go nearly 100 MPH, but that was down a 5% grade with a 30MPH tailwind. I think whatever instruments you used to measure your speed they were fibbing. |
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Post by ltdhpp on Jan 8, 2014 17:40:45 GMT -5
I quickly found that you can find a fairly new, low mileage, great looking get-on-and-ride condition large displacement scooter for much less any sport touring or dual-sport motorcycle meeting the same requirements.
And yeah... storage! I fit a full size car battery in my cargo bucket (to carry, not installed there, lol), with room for much much more.
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Post by millsc on Jan 8, 2014 17:51:35 GMT -5
My modded 150 is actually overkill for what I do almost all the roads I go on are under 40 mine will do well over 40 up steep hills. My modded 50 was sufficient but struggled to keep up on steep hills is why I got the 150. I like that I can cruise around town at very little throttle less stress on the motor where as with my modded 50 I had it wide open on any incline. If you want to go on the highway go with 250cc and bigger I have rode the highway many times on my 150 but had to have it wide open the whole way it keeps up fine in 55 zones I wouldn't attempt to take it on the 70 mph interstate.
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Post by scootnwinn on Jan 8, 2014 19:43:51 GMT -5
Because you meet the nicest people on a scooter! I'm pretty sure that ad was for a rather nice small Honda motorcycle |
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Post by scooter12 on Jan 8, 2014 20:02:40 GMT -5
Well, I am 49 years old and had a severe stroke at age 16. It for me, is the scooter is easier to handle. I own a 250cc scooter that on level ground hits 65 to 70 mph( highway speeds). Rode a lot of long distant trips- from Holts Summit, MO to Quincy IL, Holts Summit to Marshall, MO , Belle MO to Columbia.. But the main thing is having fun on your scooter or motorcycle. Automatic is basically simpler to handle. Give gas and go. No shifting gears. It allows me time to view scenery on a country highway and be more cautious in tight traffic areas.
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Post by rockynv on Jan 9, 2014 4:55:32 GMT -5
A stock 250 is going to give you better reliability and fuel economy at speeds over 35 than a 150 so I would just get the 250 scooter from the get go. Get a decent one and interstates are not a problem. Mine tops out just shy of 100 and keeps up with faster traffic on the interstates. Just look for fuel injection and high compression. Watch for the factory incentives too and you may find an Aprilia by Piaggio for $2,999 or less brand new on the showroom floor. If you are anywhere near enough to Seattle Moto International gets in new Aprilia Bikes that have been sitting in warehouse lots from defunct dealerships regularly and sells them at very low prices still covered with the one or two year factory parts and labor warranty and will even help pay for you to fly in and ride away on your new bike. Comfort, weather protection, ease of use, thrift, storage and my busted up left knee and ankle can't deal with a lot of city shifting on a motorcycle. Your 250 tops out near 100 MPH? That is almost what my 500cc high compression fuel injected four valves per cylinder TMAX twin will do. I will admit I got my old 250 to go nearly 100 MPH, but that was down a 5% grade with a 30MPH tailwind. I think whatever instruments you used to measure your speed they were fibbing. Speedo was pegged and GPS indicated a few below. Florida flat interstate on a calm day just going with the flow and won't be doing that again on purpose. Was riding ahead of a Suziki Bandit a short while ago and we were just playing leap frog motoring along however when he finally pulled beside me at a stop he couldn't believe I was on an 250cc scooter insisting at first that I had put in at least a 750. High compression 4 valve fuel injected bike with a Puig Sport Fairing the only real mod. I did treat the engine with ZMax which Carroll Shelby was endorsing but can't really say that would be the deciding factor. I am running a  in the back instead of an 80 series tire which has trued up the speedo a bit too. I can say that when I added the Puig Fairing that acceleration from above 40 mph to interstate speeds become noticably quicker and gave me a take pause moment after I first mounted it as it felt like a big hand holding the bike back had been removed. I did take the time to mount it low to cut the air with the nose pointed forward instead of high with the nose downward as some are inclined to do. You should be looking over the top of a sport fairing not through it. If you mount it flat and high then you should just get a barn door type windshield and save your money. |
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Post by incompleteangler on Jan 9, 2014 7:38:45 GMT -5
New left over Aprilia 250 for 2999? Yup, I got one here in central florida 2 years ago. List was 4699!!! All Vespa running gear. Watch Piaggio scooters for incentives and great financing. Top speed is a touch over 80mph and gas mileage is a consistent 70mpg. Over 10,000 miles without a single problem.
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Post by prodigit on Jan 10, 2014 15:38:00 GMT -5
For me, a 75cc is the absolute minimum a small person should consider when traveling mainly in the city.
When you're a bit larger in weight, 200lbs+, you should think 100-125cc minimum.
For the suburbs, with roads upto 45mph, the absolute minimum for a small person, would be 125cc, 150cc recommended. 150cc for a larger person minimum, 200cc recommended.
For occasional 5-15 minute highway rides, a 250-300cc is recommended.
Aside from what's said before, a cvt is the way to go in start-stop traffic.
Nothing more annoying than to have to shift endlessly between gears when the traffic isn't going at a steady pace.
A second reason to go scooter is the added safety when a car slams you from the side.
Most motorcycles come without crash bars, so if a car slams into you from the side, not only are your legs not crushed between car and motorcycle, but also when you come to slide, your legs have a lower chance on getting stuck between bike and asphalt while you slide.
Thirdly, a scooter protects the rider much more from rainfall, and has better storage solutions for electronic devices such as a cell phone or gps, than a motorcycle has.
Not only to protect your electronics from rain, but also from being out of view, in case you need to quickly run into the store, and don't want to bring all the gadgets in.
That being said, if you live in the suburbs, or country side, or hills or lands with large open spaces, you will benefit more from a manually geared, chain driven bike,
As with a simple $50 sprocket change, you can adjust the ride to your needs (better acceleration/performance, or better fuel economy/longer engine/transmission lifetime), which could save you precious $$$ over the course of the vehicle.
And, personally, I prefer gears, for anything but the city.
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Post by SylvreKat on Jan 11, 2014 9:27:39 GMT -5
A second reason to go scooter is the added safety when a car slams you from the side. Most motorcycles come without crash bars, so if a car slams into you from the side, not only are your legs not crushed between car and motorcycle, but also when you come to slide, your legs have a lower chance on getting stuck between bike and asphalt while you slide. Excellent point. My Harley friend broke his leg pretty badly exactly because of this. He hit sand at the entrance of the roundabout and went down. His bike broke his leg. He said if he'd had highway bars on his bike he probably wouldn't have been hurt, or at least not so badly 'cause the bar would've taken a lot of the weight. He reassured me I wouldn't have this happen 'cause there's no frame to land on my legs. Plus the front whatsit, the shield (cowling?) provides added protection. >'Kat |
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Post by Jarlaxle on Jan 12, 2014 6:52:09 GMT -5
One point I haven't seen: many big guys do not FIT on a "small" motorcycle! When I trained for my MC license, I was on a Honda Nighthawk 250, and I could barely ride it!
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in the back instead of an 80 series tire which has trued up the speedo a bit too. 
