I would ask this question differently. What is the difference between a motorcycle and a scooter with the same sized engine?
I’d offer that the primary difference is transmission. Most scooters are automatic transmissions, no clutch/gear selection to worry about. I think there is also a fairly dramatic perception difference for the buyer. Buying a motorcycle invokes ideas of sport bikes or a Harley Davidson and taking to the open road. Scooters invoke the ideas of “Oh, I can just ride around my neighborhood. Do quick trips to the farmers market. Or just wear a cute half-helmet and be all zippy-beep-beep-look-I’m-on-a-scooter!” This leads me to my next point…
My word of caution is many people get scooters and really don’t quite take riding it as seriously as they would a motorcycle. I have a 150cc scooter and our state requires that if it has more than 50cc’s you have to have a motorcycle license. I took the state’s motorcycle safety course (on a motorcycle) and it really taught me a lot. Riding a scooter with 50cc, or 150cc, or more doesn’t mean you are anywhere near safer than if you were on a motorcycle. You have the exact same risks from automobiles and pedestrians, and you can make the exact same mistakes handling the scooter as a motorcycle. Both could leave you seriously injured or dead.
MeanJoe
Usually the defining difference is that scooters have floorboards. That’s obviously somewhat related to the transmission because a traditional motorcycle gearshift layout doesn’t work well if your feet are planted while you’re riding, but there have been scooters with normal sequential manual transmissions.
Somewhat complicating things, there’s underbone or step-through motorcycles (like the prolific Honda Cub) that are similar to scooters in terms of size, performance, and appearance, but are true motorcycles in terms of control layout and not having a floorboard.
One thing that makes this even more confusing is that step-through bikes like the Cub (sold as the Passport in the US) were definitely sold as motorcycles during the 60’s-80’s before motorcycles got such a stigma in the US. These days virtually identical small motorcycles (like the Cub clone Sym Symba) are marketed as “scooters.”
Dude - you have GOT to attend one of the “mods vs rockers” events around here. I had a Lambretta for a while (175tv) and I have hopes of having a scooter again some day. I look stupid on one at my age and size but they really are just a fun ride.
I used to (two years back) ride a friends 650cc now and then. The new ones are different; kinda like the new choppers are different. Better tires and frame geometry and even at highway speeds not much more hinky in a crosswind than say the average motorcycle with a windshield and fairing. With something like a 250 even going Pittsburgh to Erie and back is reasonable and you don’t feel as beat up when your done. OK - I hate the tire size and have a habit of death-gripping the bars but that’s more psychological in me than a real issue in the real world.
In a hidden corner of the attic I have a very old but NOS 750 motor and plans in my brain for an “Over-the-Topper”. All I need is the bucks, some time, and someone better at math and geometry than I am. But some day ------- 
(It’s either that or an seriously old school cafe bike – one of the two. Once the bank account says yes.)
It was awesome .
I was very nervous at first and just stuck to side roads but then I decided to be brave and go on the main roads. Downtown traffic was doing about 30km so it was no trouble keeping up. I decided to be a vehicle rather than a bike and just road in the lane, but a little to the right rather than in the middle. It was fine and because I was the same speed as the rest of the traffic nobody got impatient or jerkish.
I got lots of comments about how cool, cute, awesome it was. I put 50 kms on it running errands and just scooting around for fun. It was definitely the right choice for me as it feels really big and feels like it goes really fast. I went up to 50 kms and that felt really fast.
I hit one pothole and my phone boinged out of the little pocket thing and fell out onto the road. Cracked glass but it still works 
.
My eyes are super red and dry. I wore glasses and it has a pull down sun visor but I guess that wasn’t enough.
I’m so tired now.
Missed the edit window. I meant to say “I wore sunglasses and the helmet has a pull-down sun-visor but I guess it wasn’t enough”
Is there a windshield option for that model?
Fun!
My last three phones all succumbed to various two-wheeled incidents (although one was really just a freak thing with it getting cracked against my keys while riding my bicycle). One nice thing about purpose-made riding jackets is that they tend to have thoughtfully designed pockets that stop stuff from falling out when you’re riding.
With the eyes, having glasses or goggles with good side protection isn’t just important for safety, but also for keeping your eyeballs from drying out. I’m in mind the gap’s camp of a full face helmet no matter how dinky the bike, but barring that a cheap set of sun-tinted safety glasses are a great investment. Or (especially if you’re not constrained by prescriptions) there’s all sorts of cheap nifty retro goggles you can get.
I’m jealous. I can’t decide if I want a scooter or a snowmobile more!
No one has mentioned wheel size yet.
Although some larger scooters have wheels as large as those on motorcycles, most of the time, scooter wheels are way smaller.
This makes them more dangerous and unstable when hitting a pothole. Small wheels can dip into and get caught in even a smallish pothole, whereas a large motorcycle tire would go right over it.
Congratulations! You found out why “biker wear” has so many snaps and zippers on all the pockets!
Seriously, its one of the first things I look for. I have an old vest that I loved for years ---- until I got home to realize that my house keys were no longer in my vest pocket and my chances of finding them along my 300 mile route were basically nil. Now everything except maybe my front pants pockets seals with some sort of closure.
Well, I did brush by it somewhat but I did bring it up. The better design of the frames, as well as tire design, makes it less of an issue than it was but its still there.
But it can be almost as bad, at low/walking speed, on a big motorcycle as it is on a scooter. Catching a pothole like that one my Harleys means anything from at least a scar from the pipe burn on my leg from trying to catch it/save it to a broken leg from having 500+ pounds of bike land on it. Yes, an actual motorcycle will give you bigger tire sizes but some bad stuff like weight, higher center of balance and exposed hot surfaces can come along for the ride when you sit down and think about it. If I did more stuff just in the city I would probably add a scooter to the garage just because sometimes, in that setting, they can be the safer choice.
Its like most things; know your environment, know yourself, stay aware at all times, think ahead -------- and dress for the slide and not the ride.
Since this did bring something to the front of my brain ----- FloatyGimpy, stick to cotton especially for your legs and arms; avoid nylon and blends at all costs where they could contact bare skin. On a scooter your chances of burns are lower but not non-existent. Having melted fabric removed from basically inside or on top of a burn is seriously not fun at all. Made that mistake myself once in my rookie years. And I would rather no-one every go through it again.
Boy, have I got good news for you: some Home Depots rent Bobcats. I’m right there with you - l have yet to manufacture a decent excuse to do so, but it’s just matter of time. They look seriously fun.
Yeah I learned the hard way. Now nothing is in the front cup holder. I have a small back pack and that’s now my biker purse, everything in there but my phone which is in a pocket that zips closed.
I’m feeling more confident now and keep a sharp eye out for potholes. It’s kind of like having a puppy, everyone wants to take a look, especially women but some men like it too.
As for why I wanted a scooter rather than a motorcycle. I don’t know, really. I just have always liked scooters and have never really been interested in a motorcycle. My dream scooter has always been a Honda Silverwing drool. I like that you’re sitting up rather than leaning, I like that they’re automatic and I really like the look.
Someone told me today that you have to name your scooter. Mine is Kermit.
In that case I have even better news for both of you. Earlier this month I visited Diggerland USA and if you get there you can not only drive some small machines but full-frikkin-sized backhoes and stuff as well. If you get to the UK, they have like four of these little slices of heaven.
It is kinda geared towards kids but I was there with three other adults (no kids) and we had a fantastic time. Our only regret was that we were committed to another park that evening and had to leave around 4pm. My only gripe was food prices but with a Wendy’s about a mile away and the park allowing you to re-enter, problem solved.
A Honda Silverwing? The one in the barn is a GL500. (Googles Honda Silverwing). Oh yea, Honda reused the name on a luxury scooter. It is kind of cute at that. I just like the looks of the V-2 mounted sideways on the GL500. It looks a bit like the front of a Cyclecar.
I’m an avid motorcyclist too, but I am really starting to crave a scooter. Not one of the giant ones with motorcycle engines in them, but something like a Vespa 150.
I spent a couple of years in Europe, and came to appreciate what perfect city vehicles they are. They’re small, use very little fuel, can be parked nearly anywhere, can scoot through the worst of traffic jams, and are cleaner and offer better weather protection (when equipped with a windshield) than most motorcycles short of a Gold Wing. In the European cities I spent time in, people would equip them with hand warmers (like Hippo Hands) and lap rugs and ride them year round.
People don’t use scooters much around where I am, but if one could carry a couple bags of groceries on one, I’ve always thought that it would be the perfect thing to scoot 
down to the grocery store or local farmers’ market on.
So how much stuff can you carry on these things, if rigged properly?
I’ve seen plenty with milk crates bungied onto a rear carrier. I imagine volume rather than weight would be the barrier. I would want to lash togather someting wide that might get snagged on something going by, but you could probably fill the tallest basket you can find to lash onto the back.
A bunch of scooters have a passenger seat, and surely anything rated for another person could carry a hundred pounds or more.
100lbs of passenger and 100 lbs of cargo are not the same thing. The passenger will have some amount of weight lower than the seat in hir legs. Cargo will all be above seat level and will adversely effect handling. The passenger is self correcting, cargo is not and a shifting cargo load is bad news.