what is a good moped/scooter to look for?
 

new or used?

my wife would like one to ride to work.

low price is important.

There's current scooter discussion in this thread:
https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?p=103521

Saying "low price is important" is almost useless and are you asking if a new one is better then a used one? where you can find a new one? I'm very confused!

I figure if you plan to use it much then it's almost worth going with new, $1,400 will get you a fine Tomos, or $2,000 will get you a Sachs, not sure what Honda's are currently running.

If I were buying, I'd look at a Yamaha Zuma. Very, very, very reliable scooter. Parts and service would be easily available when needed. I think the original design goes back to the late 80's. Used, they still will be a little expensive because they are sought after for the things I posted above.

I dig my Vino (125 cc). The engine is so basic you could take it apart and reassemble it without worry, it gets great mileage (70-80-ish mpg), goes about 55 to 55 (downhill on 55, lol), has enough carrying capacity under the seat for an 8 pack of Guiness cans PLUS a few pint bottles/wine bottles, and is a nice ride on top of all that. Got mine for about $2,400 a few years back, new, from a motorcycle dealership. Highly recommended.

You have to match your ride choice with your requirements. If you need to be able to go 55mph easily...then you need a 150cc. If you do not want to get a MC license then you will be on a 50cc. The deal is, you can always find a "cheap" ride but it will be worthless if it can't deliver your minimum needs.

In the state of GA we can ride motorcycles on a permit that has to be renewed once a year. It cost me ten bucks. The MSF class cost me three days and two hundred fifty bucks then the certificate will get me my actual license for motorcycles and I can toss the permit. I will have the license by the first week of july. I like the 49cc scoots for just running errands at 30 mph for a FE of 90-100 MPG's....Oh yeah no tag or insurance...hell I think you don't even need a license at all....That is why they call them wi-no scooters or wi-no slickers because the dui's and lack of license drive them to the scooter community lol. I just like it for the lack of insurance and tag/registration fees.
Very little money for lots of mpg's.....at 30 mph lol. Won't get me to work but fun, fun, fun to drive.
Though I purchased a 49cc chinese bike I highly recommend that you get a good brand name like vespa, honda, maybe even a kymco. Or jump directly to the Suzuki Burgman 400 also known as a maxi scooter.
Dwayne

Depending on what kind of riding your are looking to do with this scooter purchase, how much you weigh, what kind of mechanical skills and tools you have, the Chinese scooters could be a great way to save money.

I bought my 250cc Chinese scooter on eBay for $1699 delievered to my driveway. I have put over 1800 miles since late March 2008, zero problems.

I am somewhat mechanical and have most tools for working on motorcycles/bicycles in my garage. Local scooter/motorcycle ships are unlikely to help you when you have a mechanical problem with your cheap Chinese scooter, so it is somewhat important to be able or willing to work on these scooters yourself.

The oil and coolant change on my scooter takes 15-20 minutes, valve adjustments I do it in 5 minutes when the engine is at operating temperature and while it is running.

I fillup every 150-170 miles, I put in 2 gallon of 87 octane fuel; this past Friday evening, I put in only 1.6 gal. for 153 mile according to tripmeter. It seems to get better mileage as I get more usage on it.

I weigh 160lb. with my riding gear and helmet on me. 90% of my riding is 30-55 mph. I close the throttle and coast when I pass a downhill section, I stay pretty much below or around the speed limit..

ok, so ive come across a honda 50cc that has some problems. Im pretty good at fixing things, i work on my honda civic - changed the clutch, the head, timing belt, etc...

One problem that im not so sure about, the title is lost. What does it take to replace that or get a new one? Is that even important with a 50 cc scooter? I live in texas. I dont want to be driving someones stolen property.

You should be able to apply for a bonded title from the DMV. If the form is anything like it is here in Minnesota, that state will want to know the VIN, year, make, model, previous registration number (if known), detailed description of how you came to acquire the vehicle and why there is no title, and several pictures of the vehicle. After reviewing the application, the state may choose to issue a title. A bonded title can be disputed for a certain time period (possibly indefinitely?) if someone else can produce an original title in their name.

If you suspect the bike is stolen, steer clear.

Which model is it? Elite? Metropolitan? Ruckus? I loves me some Hondas. :)

Colin

For less than $300 you can put an engine on a bicycle.

Stay away from the cheap Chinese scooters. They will work fine for a while and when they break, you will have a very hard time finding parts. Even the "dealers" have trouble getting parts for them. Stick with the major brands. Vespa, Lambretta, Stella, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, etc.

Cheap and Good are mutually exclusive when dealing with a new scooter.

I've put over 3600 miles on a $1699 Chinese 250cc scooter since March 26th 2008, zero problem, great fuel economy, easy to work on, yet to break down once.

Even taken it off-roading for 30 some miles:

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...7c69ecc923.jpg

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...1af40df3df.jpg

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...855e1b1352.jpg

meangreen, if price is important, you'll want a china bike or scooter - something in $900-$1700 range.

150cc can be had for under $1K shipped if you look around
Here is an example 150cc scooter with storage trunk shipped for $888 :
https://www.atvdiscounter.com/Picture...4027&bg=000000
https://www.atvdiscounter.com/Scooter...oductInfo.aspx

One thing I'll recommend is that you research who you'll be buying from - either google or visit scooter forums. Main problems I've seen people complain about: missing MSO/paperwork/certification so can't register; drop shipping - sometime take 3-4 months to deliver; American Lifan black-listing legit Lifan VINs with DMV - can't register; shipping damage - broken fairings, missing parts (like front wheel); some vendors don't seem to care what they ship - bike can be a wrong color or even different model/type

Quality on private label brands (e.g. Roketa, Sunl, Viva, Tank etc.) can vary as they are often changing suppliers. I know Roketa outsorced some bikes from Chaunl and they were nothing but trouble - leaking fuel hoses, overheating, electrical problems, carb issues, poor casting/parts breaking (manual starter, foot pegs, engine mounts, etc). QLink is pretty good quality vise - they used to have Zongshen as their supplier and now switched to Qingqi, but their prices are astronomical.

For OEM name brands - Lifan, Zongshen, Qingqi, CF Moto are the big ones. There are many other good suppliers, and a few bad apples in between, so do you research - it's worth it, because quality on better chines brands is getting close to Japanes big four, at less then half the cost, even if you compare to used bikes.

Ross

Cat0020 - Nice pics! I was just looking at your scooter mods list, why did you take out CD and speakers? Also, any problems with overheating? I heard many 250CC water cooled scooters (e.g. Roketa Bali 250) had poor airflow around the radiator, did you have to redesign yours?

Thanks
Ross

Cat0020, Do you have a website for your scooter? If you do, i think I stumbled across it and just have to say, Breath taking photographs!

As far as scooter go, Honda is always a safe (but expensive) bet for ultra reliable, smooth runner. Mine started on the first kick after sitting for years haha.

I can't hear the radio/MP3 player/speakers at 30 mph, unless I crank the volume all the way up.. then I can't adjust the volume unless I open the seat hatch and adjust it while the engine is idling.. (but not while riding).
These scooter stator crank out very little (electrical) juice to begin with, once the radiator fan kicks on, you're limited to very little available current to power other things. I took out the radio and speakers to allow more storage room under the seat and in the front glove compartment.

After more than 3600 miles of usage, I have never had overheating problem.
The temperature guage rarely get up to 1/2 way, 90% or time the guage stays well below 1/3 hot, once the radiator fan kicks on, the temp guage drops down between 1/3 and 1/4. I changed out the OEM coolant and flushed the radiator with distilled water at 5 miles on odometer. Put in Honda coolant, distilled water and Water Wetter at 60/30/10 ratio. I think i will leave the radiator as is, seems that my opertion of this scooter is not straining the cooling system at all. If really need to, I will add an oil cooler instead of moving the radiator somewhere else.

I check the engine oil every week, usually change every 1000 mile or so.

https://s262.photobucket.com/albums/i...ter/?start=all

I put my scooter pictures in the link above

Once I worked on my scooter and realized how easy these Chinese scooters (or scooters in general) are to work on, I'm never buying another scooter over $2000.

You can thank Honda for that, since your bike appears to be a Reflex knockoff. ;)

Colin, that plot is a bit deeper. Most mainland china scoots copy their 250cc engine designs from CF Moto and Linhai. Where Linhai was a derivative of a Yamaha, and CF Moto based on Honda Helix. So there you have it - a copy of a copy, but most of them do pretty well from what I've heard.
Ross

I'd imagine so. When you don't have to engineer your own product, half the battle is already won. It comes down to metallurgy and tolerances.

I'm not sure how the 250cc stuff compares, but most of those 150cc GY6-engine scooters have crappy welds all over the frames and the kind of wiring quality that could make a Best Buy "crimp-and-pray" stereo installer cry. Engines are fine, though. In fact, my Ruckus is getting a 187cc 4 valve GY6 this winter. :)

Colin

Colin, I never heard of a weld failure on a scooter, and only a few incidents on dirt-bikes and owners admitted that they were jumped.

I agree that with some brands, wiring and and general assembly can be problematic - loose or cross-threaded bolts, no grease in joints, bad crimp joints, improper vacuum/fuel line routing, bad hoses and connections, air bubbles in brakes and coolant, etc.

Your experience will depends on the brand and who you are buying from, but most major Chines OEMs have pretty good QC and components (CFMoto, JMStar, Linhali, Lifan, Zongshen, QingQi, Shinray, etc). The problem is private label importer - they seem to have zero interest in preserving they reputation and always go to the lowest bidder, specing bottom-end compomnents. The only exception for private label that I know of is Qlink.

Ross

I have an 07 Lifan 200cc dual sport bike that I bought new. It now has 8700 km on the clock and runs great. It did have a few minor assembly glitches that I discovered when setting it up from the shipping crate. Nearly no grease in the wheel bearings and suspension pivots. No oil on the foam air filter. Noisy front brake pads. Misrouted wiring. All easily fixed but it shows poor quality control at the assembly stage.

Overall I really like the bike and have no doubt it will last many years. I paid less than 1/3 the cost of a similar new Japanese bike.

Q

Here's a good article on scooter cost relating the cost of name brands to chinese brands and whether or not the gas savings will actually pay for the cost of the scooter.

Some China bikes are good, others are troublesome. Here is a god resource on the China bike situation, though it doesn't really cover scooters specifically.

MyChinaMoto

Scooters are getting more and more popular. I purchased a 2005 Tank Touring Deluxe 150cc for $800 with only 85 miles. I spent less than $40 in maintenance in a litte over a year. Insurance was about $92 a year and I spent about $8 a week on gas.

I only had one small electrical problem which was my own fault. I tightened the mirrors too tight without moving the mirrors away from the wires. Other than that it didn't give me any other problems. I saved time everywhere I went because I could just cut to the front of the line at stop lights. I also added an MP3 CD player with Ipod plug in, and some HID headlights to be seen better at night. It was definitely a comfortable ride.

I sold it a couple weeks for $1200 with about 5K miles and I bought myself a sportier 2007 Tank 150cc with 16" wheels for $1300. Although it's faster than my old 150, I want a 250cc Reflex clone like Cat's for freeway use, so my 150 is now up for sale.

I believe that if you keep a "cheap Chinese scooter" well maintained, it will last a long time. There are some on Scootdawg forums that have well over 10K miles on their Chinese scooters and their still running strong.

Honda Ruckus looks the coolest.The ones with all the plastic look like they're trying too hard to be touring motorcycles IMO

https://www.evworld.com/press/honda_ruckus.jpg

The last Italian vehicle I owned was a Fiat 128. An execrable P.O.S. that cost me a fortune in repairs, and nearly killed me by running out of gas prematurely. The primary carb throat iced up, made the car only run on the rich secondary, and stranded me west of Ottawa one frigind January night.

But I have to admit that I'm fascinated with Aprillia's fuel injected two stroke 50 cc scooters. They time the injection so there is no smoke and much better FE than any carburetted two stroke.