There are also those Chinese knock off scooters that are so loaded with stuff and cheap (150cc for 1,000 USD) that even if it doesn't last two years it still pays for itself.

Oops, almost forgot! Rayme, that's a neat-o scooter :)

Freakin' gas hogs, all of them!

I know it wouldn't work for everybody, but I've got a 2-stroke 50cc frame mount bike kit on the way. It's supposedly good for 120-150 mpg without pedalling. ;)

back in the 70's I met someone who had a model airplane motor and propeller mounted on the back of a bicycle. I'm sure the issue was not gas, but no NC drivers license.

My Vino cost $2,400 out the door, new (2005). The same dealership offers used but good condition low mileage scooters, some that go 68mph, for $1,100 to $2,000 on a regular basis.

As with anything don't go with the first thing you see on the internet or at a dealership. Most scooters are so reasonably priced that you make up the cost with gas savings in a year, tops (weather permitting). Then it's pure gravy my friend, pure gravy.

DIY?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7wid_8k_7k

I got the same scooter, is yours a 180cc or 200cc?

I must've done a poor web search then. But yes, the ones I saw were Hondas & Vespas, I assumed they were middle-of-the-road and that's why I abandoned the search.

Hafta look into those others, they would have a lot quicker payback period...

-BC

You should check out local dealers. You might be surprised how cheap you can get a used scooter for.. craigslist is also a good place to start if you aren't worried about feeling like a cheap *** by trying to talk someone down on a price.

Overall I think motorcycle dealers are much easier to work with than car dealers.

I picked mine up for 1800$ with only 1500 KM.

These are easy to fix yourself or bring to a friend, buy those used are very different than cars. Even if the engine goes you're looking at a 200$ fix.
Tires are like 35$, etc... They're fun as hell to scoot around in the little subdivisions.

I know the mileage sucks for the engine size (The engine is around 30-36 time smaller than a small car inline-4 and only gets rougly 4x the gas mileage). But you need to keep in mind the load and almost WOT usage...also due to the CVT these little buggers almost revs in the 6000-9000 RPM, carbed. Still not too bad ;)