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I only know this about Lance Znens. We had a member at Scootdawg years ago named Dorian. He owned a 2008 Lance Milan and rode it around San Francisco daily as his commuter. I spoke to the man through PM several times. He only did routine bolt tightening, oil changes and the occasional bulb. In one year he had 24,000 miles on the bike commuting with it instead of his Gold Wing. What happened to it was sad but an accident. He was out with his wife on her Buddy and came upon a huge pile of dirt. He did his best Evel Knievel impression in a huge jump. Upon landing very hard the frame broke. He still rode it home but scrapped the bike unwilling to have the frame welded or replaced but it had a very solid motor. He disappeared after that.

But 24,000 miles without a problem and no oil leaks. That problem cropped up on many scooters but rarely on the Milan. In the great rush to meet demand in 2008 in this Country quality was put aside for quantity and metal suffered.

In his defense Mike at Lance found that many of his customers were actually USING their scooters hard and depended on them for commuting. The China built Cali Classic by SYM was the answer to that and his association with SYM has served him and his customers well.

Wolf Brand scooters are by Znen now and they swear by them.

What I'd like to see is a Fury 200 with the 168cc engine. Mike at Lance has added that engine to his line. It would raise the scooters into the real commuter category and put Bintelli in the ball park with the Piaggio Fly 150, SYM and Kymco scooters. Not to mention knocking on the door of the PCX and SMax guys. I saw the Fury in the flesh. Along with the Cleveland Ace Deluxe they had there it made my wallet very nervous.

I would still look at the CVT guide bushings if the problem is only under load. A bad bearing usually makes noise regardless of load as evidenced by the Honda bearing video.

I keep hoping Justin and his crew introduces a SYM Wolf sized bike. Adding a motorcycle, to me, is a growth move.

My last really cold ride with mittens. LOL

Harley pushed for regs to have them banished on Dirt Track racing, turning the sport into a backwater class with no interest. Kawasaki finally came along with the 650 Ninja, reinvigorated the class and took the number 1 plate this year with a smaller engine smack filled with modern technology. Indian is about to add new luster with overhead cams, eight valves and fuel injection. Multi cylinder bikes have been road racing since the Honda in 1969.

Yamaha rules the class right now with the R-1. Harley became uncompetitive in Road Racing when the rules allowed all 750s to compete in 1969. The 750 Suzuki and Kawasaki two strokes, along with 350 Yamahas were beyond Milwaukee's reach. The later VR-1000 was such a debacle it's best forgotten.

I owned a 1974 H1 500e. It had received a new beefier frame that year and, with better shocks and tires, could run with anything. It never overheated, even in traffic on the Long Island Expressway, and I had 30,000 miles on it when I sold it for the 1000cc Kawasaki. The H1 was bone simple to keep up. Every year I de-coked the exhaust baffles and lubed the chain every 200 miles. With a good two stroke oil it was darn near bullet proof if ridden sensibly. No valve adjustments, no oil changes and 50 pounds lighter than a very slow 500 Honda. It took the 900cc Z-1 to overshadow the triples.

Every time I go into a dealer these days I shake my head. I can feel my back ache when I look at them. The Boy racer look might sell bikes but it does nothing for me. This Honda is my idea of a motorcycle.

First, in answer to Paul's dilemma with cold hands. Gloves are useless in cold weather unless they're electric. My Dad imparted valuable words to me years ago as a veteran of cold weather riding. "Mittens are the only thing that work. Your fingers are bunched together and share body heat instead of being in separate sections." I followed his advice and to this day have leather mittens in my repertoire. I won't say they always kept me warm but riding in the dark at 60 mph in ten degrees is an extreme test.
 
To Leo:  You see numerous really nice-looking new Chinese 250's in the $1,500 range. But posts indicate some are doing good to top 60-mph

I don't know who "They" are but most Chinese 250 scooters will run into the 70 mph speeds unless something is wrong. Here's the thing. They'll do outrageous speeds but not for very long before trouble develops. I do a lot of web surfing and a least for the CN-250 Honda replica it's heat. The small one quart oil capacity of a Chinese CN-250 isn't up to the job. It might work fine for a Honda engine but Chinese metallurgy isn't quite the same. Believe it or not the radiator isn't the problem it's the oil. Run hard and fast the engine will suffer. A 233cc air cooled Honda Rebel or Nighthawk packs two quarts.

Only once I saw 68 mph on my speedometer of the 250 CF Moto by accident. By keeping the scooter between 60 and 62 mph on the interstate I did six trips of 300 miles round trip this past summer with no trouble and have 16,000 miles so far.

As side note. There is a guy in a scooter club on Long Island who recently lamented how he blew up a 250 Kymco Xciting by "Over revving it on the Long Island Expressway". I believe that long term reliability is always in the hands of the owner.