Gas Scooters?
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Gas Scooters on
Jan 6th, 2009 |
5 responses
I want to buy my husband a gas powered scooter for an Anniversary gift. We only live 5 miles from where he works, so I thought this would be a great way to save on gas… However I have no clue who makes scooters other then the Honda 2008 Silver Wing ($8,600)…Does anyone have any suggestions??
Vespa
Suzuki Burgmans
Yamaha
Other Honda Models
Aprillia
Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki are the best. Look for a motorcycle dealer in your area. They should carry these brands. Don’t buy the Chinese scooters that some car lot is selling. Chinese products are a waste of money.
look on craigslist for a used one
Here are some suggestions:
Think of your motor size. If you don’t plan on touring the interstates on your scooter, 150 cc should probably be fine for your 5 mile commute. In fact, you may be able to get away with a 50 cc if the speed limit is no more than 35 mph. Yeah, the label may say that the top speed on a 50 cc is 45 mph, but would you really want to “floor it” for an extended period of time? What’s great about a 50 cc is you don’t have to register them in some states.
New or vintage:
New would be more reliable. Probably harder to fix yourself with the electronics. Most new scooters have automatic transmission. Now a days, a scooter either has vintage styling like an old Vespa or has modern styling and looks like a wasp.
Vintage is fun, but unless you have a Vespa, parts are pretty hard to find. Most vintage scooters have manual shifting.
Price:
If you were to buy that $8600 Honda, it would take a very long time to recoup that price in gas savings. I don’t know what kind of car you have, but for calculations sake, a scooter holds about 2 gallons of gas and can get 40-80 mpg depending on your engine size.
Some Scooter brands:
Vespa–Probably THE name in scooters. Manufactured by Piaggio. They have many models available from a 50cc to 250cc, and range from $3000-$8000 depending on what size engine and features you want. I have an old P series Vespa. The good thing about vintage Vespas is that you can fix them yourself with some knowledge of motors and a Haynes manual. If you go vintage, however, I would stay with a P series because they have turn signals, and the parts are readily available. Of course, stay away from “Viet Bodges,” poorly restored Vietnamese Vespas that look really pretty on the internet.
I know more about Vespas, but I’ve heard some good things about other brands:
Genuine Scooters–An Indian company that produces models similar to other companies. Their Stella is an exact replica of a P series Vespa. Their parts are interchangeable. For a time, some Vespas were manufactured in India, so the design spawned many clones. Their rattler is similar to a Honda Ruckus.
Kymco–I’ve heard that these are very well made. They have a more modern look. Various size engines.
Schwinn also make scooters. I don’t know anything about them other than I’ve seen people win them as prizes on gameshows.
Tank–Chinese scooter. Really cheap in price. Probably the best way to really save in gas and recoup the cost in a short amount of time. If you go this route, be sure to buy from a store. And make sure the store has a shop in the back that will fix them when they break. The Tank scooter place in my area buys extra scooters just for the parts.
Basically, do your research, visit stores, evaluate your lifestyle. I hope this helps.
Look toward Kymco, SYM, Genuine Scooter Company, Piaggio, and Vespa. There are others that are nicely laid out in the website below.
http://www.scootforum.com
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