It has become painfully obvious that I’m not going to get the car of my dreams anytime soon (the Twike - damn DOT!). So, I’m looking at scooters as an alternative.
I need something that will get me to work and back on a regular basis (at freeway speeds, or close to it), will not require me to become somehow familiar with internal combustion engines so that I can “happily” tinker with the broken parts every weekend (I know some people like this. If you’re one of them please point me to a scooter that is so reliable that you have no use for it.), and will occasionally carry two people or a couple of bags of groceries.
Ive been seriously looking at a bajaj, Ive heard theyre reliable, faster than the claims on the website, theyre pretty well the cheapest around and the Legend has a darn cool retro look.
-PSM
Don’t know what your price range is, but there’s a new Vespa that goes up to 65 mph or so, seats 2, and runs about $4k. Looks pretty cool, too.
Anyone have opinions on the retro-looking Yamaha or Honda scooters? (Rutabeggar these are smaller than what you’re looking for, but retail for about $1700).
Bajaj is an Indian motorcycle & scooter company. And, if news footage is taken as representative, India has LOTS of scooters. I’m betting they’re not total crap…or at least easy to work on.
I took a test ride on a Kymco, and it was pretty nifty. It’s about $4K also (which is a little more than I wanted to spend) and should do highway speeds.
I’ve been thinking about getting a scooter since my S.O. is gear-shifting-impaired. He might actually ride it if he didn’t have to shift.
None of the 50 cc scoots are going to get you up to highway speeds-- most top out around 65 kmh or so.
I drive a Yamaha BWS (sporty-looking two seater), and have friends who drive the Vino and Jazz (retro styling). All are 50 cc, and pretty much the only difference is styling and seating.
For highway speeds, you’ll need something with a larger engine, and chances are you’ll need a motorcycle license as well (but in bc, at any rate, you can get a motorcycle license with a smaller engine restriction).
That being said, I love my Yamaha. MrsB does as well.
From what I understand about the Bajaj, they were under contract with vespa back in the heyday of scooters to produce them for that part of the world. Come the late Sixties/early Seventies they lost that contract and decided to use what they knew to branch out on their own. As i understand it working on one is not the same as but very very similar to working on an older Vespa. Ive heard very good things about them from a local scooter club.
-PSM
Don’t even bother lookaing at anything under 125cc. The 50-100 cc scoots are cheap, but it’s no fun getting beaten stop light to stop light by an old guy with a walker. Honda makes a good scooter, as does Aprilia. The Aprilia Scarabeo is a nice retro look with the ability to maintain highway speeds, and the 125 and up come with hard bags, good for groceries. And Aprilia makes a really solid product. The cheaper Korean brands are good, but probably won’t have the longevity you are looking for. My votes are for Honda - well known reliability; or Aprilia - Sexy, sexy Italian styling, and well known reliability.
Whiteyfoo doesn’t know what he’s talking about. My 50cc beats everything off the line at a stop light, and I keep pace with traffic in the city effortlessly.
Excellent! Thanks for the input (and the links!). There seem to be a lot of choices and it’s hard for the neophyte to figure out what it all means, so I really appreciate the pointers.
Cos I can’t drive 