Do you do a long freeway commute on a scooter?  By  davidji (Read 2,858 times)

People come up with all sort of excuses for why what they did to mess up their bikes isn't their own fault trying to blame the manufacturer. On the Vespa/Piaggio, spark plug cap failures are more often from belt vibration due to lack of maintenance running the bike past the OEM belt change schedule, buying bargain old stock belts that are too old to be used, failure to keep the CVT air filter clean overheating the belt, from aftermarket brand belts or from using an impact wrench to install the variator drive face distorting it so it wobbles. I have even seen people who complain the high tension lead is too short that really have a lead that they twisted around where it didn't belong or spun it a few times making it into a curly pigs tail while attempting to verify it was tight. In any situation it most often comes down damage from a poor choice made by the operator just like the motorcycle rider who complains the manufacturer of the brand he is riding cheaped out on the chain and sprocket after it failed even though the root cause was his failure to clean, lubricate and tension the chain and sprocket properly according to the owners manuals specification.

Once you weed out the self inflicted issues you find that there are relatively few real ones where there was an actual defect and yes just like any other brand that has millions of bikes on the road there will be a limited few with legitimate issues which are most often addressed in TSB's that mechanics failed to apply. Many times when you see similar issues posted about a Vespa/Piaggio product its the same user posting in multiple forums about a poorly maintained or modified bike. Aprilia, Derby, Vespa and Piaggio all run the same Piaggio Master, Quasar and Legend series engines which if you use OEM parts and follow the maintenance schedule in the owners manual will be relatively trouble free for 50,000 to 100,000 miles. Use Walmart Automotive grade Dino oil, old stock belts, non OEM Belts (including the super abrasive kevlar belts), skip coolant/brake flushes and you will have premature failures on the bike. If you follow the maintenance schedule every 6,250 miles changing the oil, gearlube, filters using the specified synthetic motorcycle specific 4T oil and check the valve lash, change the belt along with the rollers every 12,500 miles using OEM parts along with clean the CVT air filter regularly depending on how dirty the area you ride in is (about every 3,000 miles works for me) and don't skip the brake/coolant flushes every two years on a Piaggio powered scooter 250cc and above you should get 50,000 miles from the stock clutch and variator before they need replacing and the engine will still be running like new.

A Honda CTX700N DCT with a sport fairing is what I recommended if the need was for daily interstate rides of 100+ miles for a rider who could not deal with a clutch lever. Second would be a Mana 850 automatic and third would be a BV350 or a used BV500 with low miles on it. NC700 has the foot pegs in an odd location for me so that I find them right against the back of my calves when you stop and put a foot down so I am reluctant to recommend it.

Myself I am a 61 year old disabled rider who's left leg and ankle was so badly busted up in a ladder accident that I can't deal with a pedal shifter any longer nor can I deal with a 600+ lb bike so I have my choices limited to a touring scooter or automatic motorcycle that's not so top heavy that the left leg can't keep it balanced at a stop light after a long days riding. Been riding over 40 years now and am happy that there are more choices today than there ever were for disabled riders.

David,

I have been cheating the doctors for years as they insist that I should have been wheelchair bound by the mid to late 1990's. Even dumping the bike on some sugar sand at 45 mph and having the bike slide over me a year and a half ago didn't put me there. They make fun of me for wearing my gear on the Sport City but if not for the gear (full face helmet, CE3 mesh jacket, leather/carbon fiber gloves and boots) I probably would not be talking about it now.

Play Goldilocks and get what fits you and your budget. I can only pass on my experience as a disabled senior citizen who still can find a way to keep riding. Myself the constant temptation is to pickup a White Mana 850 GT with the Touring Pack.

I tried the Burgman and found it was more than the looks that turned me away from them. They are not as agile as the 500cc Italian bikes and felt a bit top heavy. The Silver Wing by far was the worst at feeling unbalanced to be fair. To me in the Japanese bikes first to last for riding position and balance it was Majesty, Tmax, Burgman 400, Burgman 600 with the Silverwing coming in last. All are nicely built and all are CVT belt drive though the Burgman adds the extra cost of a Computer Controlled CVT (read that as expensive requiring special tools and a proprietary computer for a belt change) along with a drive extension to get power to the rear wheel.

A good quality high compression fuel injected 250 Scooter would do regardless of who makes it however yes the a 350 would give you more latitude.

On a motorcycle one would have to be more careful and aim higher as some of the 500's with low compression carbureted engines especially those with less than 6 gears will have a lower cruising and top speed than a high compression 250cc or 350cc scooter.

The Enfield Bullet 500 for example is a very low compression bike designed for areas that do not have good access to high octain fuels so compression is at 8.5 to 1 which limits hp to about 26 which is about what a lighter 250cc high compression scooter has while the 350 scooter is usually over 30 hp and still lighter and more aerodynamic than the 500cc motorcycle. Its all about compromises that one finds acceptable.

Thats if his left wing holds out. Be tough on the final 10/20 miles home to find you can't work the clutch anymore unless you take the happy pills. Constant pain can be very tiring.

howdy, the same as rocky, i have limited strength and endurance for the clutch lever so find the dct 700 honda a real sweet option after going 60,000 or so on scooters from piaggio, kymco and sym up to 500cc. i was tickled to find the dct and really have fallen for the control you can get once you figure out how to get what you want from it.

commuter wonderful.

miles and smiles to y'all
ken