And yes, I know how to spell ‘emissions’. :smack:
And, when you get into an accident, you can scream out:
“You killed my scooter!!!”
Since I’m just soliticing general information, do you know what this model is called, and what the price difference might be?
Vino Classic, perhaps? MSRP $1,849. It has a 4-stroke engine which should be much more environmentally friendly than the 2-stroke Vespa engine.
Um, I wish I didn’t see that. Another expensive toy on my wish list. :smack:
Thanks, scr4. I was just opening another browser to look up the MSRP on the Vino.
Here’s the Vespa MSRP:
So a Yamaha Vino is over a kilobuck cheaper than the least expensive Vespa.
I’m 6’2" and 235 lbs., and I ride a Vespa GT200L 'most every day to work these days, 22 miles round trip, into Manhattan. No problems.
It’s larger than most scooters so I don’t look like I’m riding a toy, yet still much more maneuverable in city traffic than a typical motorcycle with the long steering fork. At red lights, I can pick and weave through the gridlock; the automatic TnG (twist-and-go) transmission is ideally suited for running with the taxicabs on the avenues; and the smaller size lets me park it on the sidewalk without people getting mad (generally).
I’ve gotten it up to 70mph on the highway (which I don’t do often) and it is perfectly stable at that speed, with a bit more left to give. It cruises very comfortably at 60-65mph. I get about 125 miles between refills for gas, at about 1.85 gallons, with just about all the mileage in the city.
You do need a motorcycle license, and the MSRP is about $5000 new (though you can find used ones for less).
I can’t say whether it’s “sexy” or not; personally, I think it looks like a work of art. It’s cut my commute time in half, costs far less, and is a hell of a lot more fun. Just right for me.
How much ‘cargo’ can you carry with one?
I guess if you bought a dvd you could get it home but what about a gallon of milk?
You have a couple of options here.
First, the Vespas come with a ring that opens in the front panel (facing the legs) that you can use to hang grocery bags and the like. I’ve gotten up to 4 plastic supermarket bags on it, though not very easily. Other scooter makes have this as well.
In addition, all scooters have “underseat” storage, but (a) it can get pretty hot under there since it is next to the engine, so I wouldn’t go putting milk under there, and (b) most people keep riding-related stuff under there, like maps, locks and chains, extra gear, etc.
Finally, most people get either a “top case” or a fold-down luggage rack at the back of the seat. With the top case you have a bubble-like attachment that’s pretty big, and is enclosed and lockable, but (in my opinion) is ugly and ruins the lines of the vehicle. With the rack, you have to use some other container to carry stuff (like a box, crate or wire basket), then bungee or tie it down onto the rack.
I have the latter. I usually leave the rack empty, which is chrome and looks nice, but if I need to carry a lot of groceries, I tie a milk crate to it. Yes, I end up looking like a Chinese food delivery guy, but so what.
The Vino Classic is somewhat underpowered, IMHO. I’m not a big fan of 50cc scooters even for just in-town riding, unless said town is relatively uncongested. In NYC there are far too many drivers weaving around at 45mph around buses and double-parked cars for me to feel safe on a scooter that has a max speed of 35-40mph.
You can mod a 50cc scooter to the equivalent of a 70cc-ish scooter and have it be reasonably powerful, but the cost of the engine and clutch mods bring you up nearly to the cost of a 125-150cc scooter, and voids the manufacturer’s warranty besides.
Yamaha makes a nice Vino 125 that I would recommend over the Vino Classic. They have an MSRP of $2500 new and should be plenty fast enough for city use.
I think Vespas are sexy in the same way that driving a Nash Metropolitan while wearing a pork pie hat is sexy.
After looking at the Vino I checked out the Morphous.
Now that is a sexy man scooter. But over 5k? Dream on.
Insurance is probably less because you’ll do less damage to other road users when you crash into them.
Scooter riders tend to wear less protective clothing too so when they come off in town they scrape their skin off quite nicely. Would someone look as sexy on their Vespa or Honda (or any scooter) wrapped up nicely in protective clothing? I’ve seen a surprising number of scooter riders coming off their mounts in the city.
The noise scooters make is certainly less than sexy too :rolleyes:
robardin
I live in Brooklyn and have thought about getting a scooter. I have a very secure place to park at home but can you tell me about parking in Manhattan?
In a nutshell, you have to figure out your own strategy for parking in Manhattan based on where you go, what time of day you go there, and how long you plan to leave your scooter, as well as what kind of risk you feel more inclined to take.
If you use legal street parking with the cars, you are exposed to getting hit by people who “park by braille” (coming back to a knocked-over scooter with broken mirrors and a flooded fuel intake), and to motorists who will take advantage of the scooter’s small size and physically move it aside to take your spot, usually depositing the scooter somewhere illegal (like in a driveway or haphazardly on the curb) where it will get ticketed or towed.
The alternative route, taken by many, is to park it on the curb chained to a post, or to a bicycle rack against a building, and to pull the license plate to avoid getting a parking ticket by affixing it with Velcro rather than screws, and storing it under the seat when parked. This works OK most of the time, since scooters are not much bigger than bicycles and don’t impede traffic much when on the curb, unless scooters start to congregate in an area, thus drawing more attention. In addition, in some parts of town there have seen periodic “crackdowns” resulting in towed scooters, mostly in residential areas; I haven’t seen much trouble in Midtown (yet).
Check these links/sites out for more info and advice on scootering in NYC:
The I Scoot NY FAQ
The Gotham Rally Forum’s FAQ area
The Gotham Rally Forum’s Newbie area
As opposed to the amplified farts characteristic of motorcycles?
No no, as opposed to that amplified “small creature with its genitalia squished in a vice” wail. At least if its a Japanese bike, if its one of those bikes aping a bit of Americana, then yes, amplified farts.
LaurAnge you linked to an older model of the Yamaha Zuma, known in Canada as the BWS. I used to own one in silver, and it’s what got me hooked on motorcycling. Contrary to what robardin said, it does not have underseat storage, although the new model (with the bugeye lights) does. It’s a two-seater and my wife and I frequently rode together, but with only a 50 cc engine under your ass we’d top out at 60 kmh unless going downhill. Solo I could get to 65 klicks and the acceleration would be better.
There’s a world of difference in scoots depending on the size of your engine. 50cc or less and you can drive it with any license at all, but it’s strictly a city bike. Above that and you need a motorcycle license (which may be restricted based on engine size and automatic transmission), but you can get 125, 150, 250, 400 or 500 cc scoots, all of which are highway legal-- although the 125 probably has a top speed around 110 kmh.
I never did that much maintenance to my scoot. I took off the exhaust pipe and rustproofed it, then repainted it, and I changed the transmission oil a time or two, but that’s about it. And that’s pretty much all you need to do with a two-stroker, since you’re adding oil a couple times a month when you fill up.
Storage on my bike was a small rack, which couldn’t hold much (heck, the whole bike weighed about 120 lbs) so most often I wore a backpack. or my really big backpack.
Vespas in particular – I don’t like the looks, and the newest Yamaha scooters are built to look like the classic Vespa.
But I bought a Yamaha scooter in 1985, new, $600. I’m not sure what model it is, as it says “Riva” on the front and “Razz” on the side. Maybe it got caught in the factory between model changes and has parts of each.
I love it. I just filled up my car with gas for the first time in two months, since the weather has been teriffic this summer and most everywhere I go, I go by scooter. 100MPG and you can’t go wrong. And getting around small towns, it’s even better than walking; you can park anywhere – I’ve sometimes parked on sidewalks, out of the way, and have never gotten a ticket yet.
The only two accessories I recommend are a windscreen and some kind of weatherproof, closable carrier. My model has a matching hard-shell “box” mounted just behind the seat, with a lockable latch, which, alas, has broken and there are no replacements available. So I use a bungee cord to keep it closed. This carrier is big enough for small groceries and I carry pencils, paper, maps, business cards, gloves, etc. just in case.
It has about 11,500 miles on it so far, with about 1500 added this year alone. I have to replace the rear tire about every 5000 miles, the battery about every 4 years (although the kick start works well enough that I sometimes remove the battery entirely when it gets old) and it needs a carb cleanout about once a year as it seems to be subject to frequent orifice clogging. Other than that, it has been maintanence-free and cheap to fix ($50 to replace a tire, parts and labor). Other than putting “heat” in the gas tank before winter, I don’t even winterize it, just park it in the garage.
It’s got a few dings and scratches, but the fiberglass body stays sparkling and new-looking without any attention. In contrast, my 1985 Toyota car is rusting and the paint started to look dingy and oxidized a few years after I got it. I wish car body paint would hold up like the Yamaha’s has.
thanks robardin
That’s more information about scooters in the city than I thought there could be.
Wow, this brings back some memories. Reminds me of the first guy I ever really wanted to have sex with. He gave me a ride on his Vespa. I didn’t get to have sex with this fellow, but the vibrations from the Vespa were a nice consolation prize. So, in answer to “Are they cool? Sexy? Practical?” I would say “yes” to the first two, for sure. 