Scooters - Would you buy one?

[Hunter]

All this talk of fuel prices and the fact that my Falcon will happily eat $50-100 a week in fuel I've started to considering alternative forms of transportation for short trips (where the Falcon's lack of fuel efficiency is worst) - So does anyone here own a scooter? Would you buy one or are they a bit too 'feminine'? py:

How many km would the average scooter get before its motor is considered old or tired? I've seen a few 2nd hand ones for around $1000 but they have about a few thousand km on them. Any ideas/pointers?

Cheers.

[SpooN XL]

I have thought about getting one myself and would appreciate any advice.

[Mongoose]

honestly, get a proper bike or something. Scooters looks extremely queer. A proper motorbike would be far better.

[irlewy86]

You'd be better off getting a 250 road bike. Yamaha and honda have 250 commuters for about 5k brand new. You won't look as queer, and if you need to you can take it on the highway.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by irlewy86

You'd be better off getting a 250 road bike. Yamaha and honda have 250 commuters for about 5k brand new. You won't look as queer, and if you need to you can take it on the highway.

You also won't have any storage and all the 250cc roadbikes are decade old designs that really are shitful things. 250cc scooters will also generally out accelerate and even out handle some of the poxy 250cc roadbikes.

[Hunter]

Thing is, to ride a motorbike you need a license - to ride a scooter I don't think you do, all you need is a car license and you can ride most scooters (I'm trying to find out what the exact rule is right now). I only was interested for getting about the local area, if I need to drive on the highway I'd just take the Falcon .

[sgt_doofey]

I would buy one to get to the train station, but unfortunately it means having to drive along country roads and the main highway north out of Adelaide, so too dangerous with all the trucks and cars doing 110km/h where a scooter can generally only go 70km/h. Would mean I would have to get my bike license and buy something a bit quicker.
Have thought about getting one for the wife to go to work, but once again, there is a 100km/h zone in the 5 minute trip to her work and the dangers of large grape and wine bearing trucks roaring by that puts her off of it.

[Macca23]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Thing is, to ride a motorbike you need a license - to ride a scooter I don't think you do, all you need is a car license and you can ride most scooters (I'm trying to find out what the exact rule is right now). I only was interested for getting about the local area, if I need to drive on the highway I'd just take the Falcon .

You do need a license, old lady bought a bowell scooter 100cc auto, i think u can get a 20-50cc scooter and u dont need a license, but the rules are changing as theres been disqualifed drivers using this loop hole to keep traveling on the scooters

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by Macca23

You do need a license, old lady bought a bowell scooter 100cc auto, i think u can get a 20-50cc scooter and u dont need a license, but the rules are changing as theres been disqualifed drivers using this loop hole to keep traveling on the scooters

Well I just checked QLD Transport site and you can legally ride a scooter with a motor up to 50 cc on a regular 'C' class (car) license. Anything over that and yes you do need a bike license. Interesting thing to note is that most of the scooters I have seen in the paper are 49 cc

[kremmen]

No.

Get a pushbike. Scooters are made for countries without 60-100kph roads


plus they look gay :

[Nickxb]

Originally Posted by kremmen

No.

Get a pushbike. Scooters are made for countries without 60-100kph roads


plus they look gay :

And being a cyclist doesn't..... :

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by kremmen

No.

Get a pushbike. Scooters are made for countries without 60-100kph roads


plus they look gay :

I gather you havnt looked arround places like rome where they do 200clicks on the free ways theres literaly sqillians of scooters over there

I wont make referance to the scooters and fat chicks joke though, opps Ithink I just did

[merlin]

Another vote for 250 road bike - they are still quite fuel efficient (though a scooter is better) .

A scooter would only be good if you were doing inner city stuff, but dont even think of taking one over 80, the tiny wheels crash through small potholes and they have no power to get you out of trouble. That being said if you dont need to get a bike license (double check that one as im pretty sure its not the case in nsw) then it may be worth it - they do run on the smell of an oily rag and are dirt cheap to buy and maintain.

[XWGT]

Yep sure would, one a few conditions

1) One lane of the M1 freeway was dedicated to sccoters / motorbikes only in peak hour.

2) Parking was free

Hell I would even sign up for a "pick up from deport ride to depot trip based rental" type scheme if it existed.

Every day I sit and look at Eastlink being built, and sadly come to the conclusion that it will not do a damn thing to reduce peak hour( now 3 hours morning and night in Melbourne) congestion on Melbournes freeways. I personally think mass scooter / bike transport is the only way to go in the future to try and relieve congestion. But I couldnt see many people taking it up until at least one lane was car free and therefore the risk of being run over reduced ( not that there is much risk of a speed based accident in peak hour, but perceptions run deep with the mass public).

Having watched 6 million people get themselves all across Ho Chi Minh city with only 2 sets of traffic lights and no dead stop congestion anywhere, the answer for peak hour is becoming more and more obvious.

And as for reducing your running costs, I'm not sure what economy you would get from a 250 but I'm sure it would be damn good.

Only other question is insurance. I'm not sure how happy insurance companies are to cover road bikes as opposed to scooters?

[sfr rob]

If you want to look like a pimple on a pumpkin, then go right ahead.
Personally i think riding and 2 wheels vehicles on our roads is probably the most dangerous thing that can be done.

[Yellow_Festiva]

So you are going to buy a scooter to save money?

Calculate the cost per week of a scooter. Unless you are going to save more than that on pertol over the car than why bother?

Just say the scooter ends up costing you $50 per week. Will you be spending $50 per week to save $30 per week???

If you do get a scooter, get a 125 cc as a minimum with the big wheels.

[Hunter]

I spend, from memory of my budget spreadsheet, somewhere around $2500-3000 a year on fuel. Scooter costs about $1500 for a 2nd hand one and the fuel I would imagine be a lot less than $50 a week (my Falcon around town will be lucky to see 400 km out of 68 litres). The idea is to just not drive the Falcon unless absolutely necessary and to use the smaller more efficient vehicle for going to the video store, the shops, post office, etc.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by Hunter

I spend, from memory of my budget spreadsheet, somewhere around $2500-3000 a year on fuel. Scooter costs about $1500 for a 2nd hand one and the fuel I would imagine be a lot less than $50 a week (my Falcon around town will be lucky to see 400 km out of 68 litres). The idea is to just not drive the Falcon unless absolutely necessary and to use the smaller more efficient vehicle for going to the video store, the shops, post office, etc.

Just to clarify the costs I was talking about. Costs like rego, insurance and a service every now and again as well as an additional licence and safety gear, not the cost of the petrol.

You would be very surprised that even the basic scooter would eventually be costing you $50-70 a week.

Cost of bike $3000 for anything decent.
Safety gear $300??
Insurance $300?? pa
Rego $130?? pa
Green slip $150?? pa
2 services a year $300?? pa
New licence $40?? pa

My figures are just a guess, but I doubt they would be far from reality.

So all up an investment of $4220 give or take $500.

$4200/ 52 = approx $81pw for the first year to take into account the cost of the bike, then say $1000 a year after that for general running costs (approx $20 pw).

Spread out the costs of purchase etc, as well as depreciation, as well as costs of mechanical repairs and tyres and you will easily be looking at around $50 a week before you pump petrol in the tank.

These are the costs I was getting at.

So if you are buying a bike to save money on petrol, than you would need to be saving more than at least $50 a week to make it worth while.

From what I have seen, for the moment at least scooters seem to be bought for the fun factor. Driving one in the city (say Sydney for eg) would also save a driver a lot of money due to the parking costs involved with a car. In this case a scooter would save you a heap of money and make it worth while.

This is my opinion of course, but I hope it has cleared up what I meant

[Keepleft]

Scooters may be gay, but what the heck, for some folk in some areas it'd be a money saver.

Do however save $6-00 for one of those fluroescent safety vests to wear:-)

[gz1]

The real answer here has to be it depends where you live.
In Sydney there is no way on earth I would get a scooter, just far too many idiots on the road.
In a different place definetly. I had one of those 50cc postie scooters for a while when I was living in north queensland, and then upgraded to a honda 175. The little 50cc scooter is just too small for anything over a couple of k's away. and the fuel usage between the 50cc and 175cc is not a lot. At the time I used the scooter/bike for commuting to work as I had a heavily modified cortina which I did not want to drive on the road too much so a second form of transport was necessary. And it was incredibly convenient for puttering down to the local shop.
After moving back to Sydney though all thoughts of any two wheel transport vanished. :

[sleekism]

SCOOTERS ARE GAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, if you want to save money and still keep your dignity AND still have fun then by a 250cc road bike or trail bike.

I have a Suzuki GN250 and I recommend them completely they use about 3L per 100 kilometres get up to about 140kays, are xtremely reliable and easy to maintain and still acceearate faster than a VL lol lol.

It's very much worth it getting your motos-sure you can ride a 50cc scooter but have you actually ridden a 50cc scooter especialy a 4 stroke!

[Neeek]

Originally Posted by sleekism

SCOOTERS ARE GAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bzzzt! Allow me to mis-quote you:

"Blokes who are of average height/size (or more) and ride scooters look bloody ridiculous" I'm 6'4", and I know I look stupid on one!

Back to the topic, my wife bought one about a year ago. She had one in London too and it was brilliant for her as a commuting tool. And she's only stopped riding it now because she's pregnant and a scooter ain't the best mode of transport if you're carrying...!

But it costs absolutely nothing to run. And I mean nothing. Sure, a service costs a bit (if you can call $150 "a bit") but tyres are cheap, $5 every two weeks on fuel, buy a leather jacket and gloves, no gears... it makes a lot of sense.

The problem I have noted (secondhand - I don't ride it for fear of looking like an idiot..!) is that car drivers are crap and don't give riders enough credit/room/thought. I have noted this as a cyclist.

Clare's scooter is a "proper" one too. 50cc scooters are dangerous because they can barely keep up with traffic, but with a Vespa ET4 150, let me assure you that although not fast, they're pretty damn nippy! Oh, and you need to take a test to ride one as well (Q-ride) - another reason to avoid a 50cc one, which you can ride on a car licence, I think.

Scooters are fine provided you've at the very least spent some time learning how to ride a bike/scooter. Which is why most 50cc scooter riders haven't got a clue, whereas those riding big scooters do.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by sleekism

SCOOTERS ARE GAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, if you want to save money and still keep your dignity AND still have fun then by a 250cc road bike or trail bike.

I have a Suzuki GN250 and I recommend them completely they use about 3L per 100 kilometres get up to about 140kays, are xtremely reliable and easy to maintain and still acceearate faster than a VL lol lol.

It's very much worth it getting your motos-sure you can ride a 50cc scooter but have you actually ridden a 50cc scooter especialy a 4 stroke!

And you will get blown off at the lights by a decent 250cc scooter. My god how could anyone that rides a GN250 call any other vehicle on the planet gay...

[john3136]

A quick 2c:
What bugs me is that *most* motorcyle riders have some comprehension of safety.
*most* scooter riders dont. They putt along in their work clothes and shoes thinking they are immune to gravel rash.
I'd hate to be the typical "helmet and gloves" scooter rider who gets T-boned by a Volvo...

[bingoTE50]

mate what price your life.. I like bikes but the amount of people getting maimed or killed in SE Qld , I would'nt risk it, unless you grew up riding them .
How heavy are you ? My mate rode a 175 trail bike once , he thought he could not get first gear ,let the clutch out and nothing happened . Well he weighs 155kgs and 6 '3 and the poor old thing could budge his big salmon . I rode it and at 113kg it struggled .

[Turbot]

Yup death on wheels waiting to happen seen people with shorts and t-shirts riding scooters asking for trouble, but as for petrol, I seen a guy come into the servo and drop $1.70 on the counter, the servo chick said $1.70 oh scooter ok she says they get em all the time $2 for fuel. Dunno how far you get for $2, but again back to the life longevity thing I used to ride a 750 and then got on a 250 and scared me how much more unstable they were in all respects incl brakes etc, I could only imagine a scooter, skateboard on wheels.

[Captain Stubing]

From my side, it comes down to physics.

I've ridden scooters, and a few motorcycles.. and generally the scooters feel unstable.

I think it comes down to the size of the wheels - scooters generally have smaller wheels then motorbikes. Has anyone tried the old trick of a bike wheel on a long axle, holding the axle in your hands while the wheel is spinning, and then trying to move the axle - either left to right, up or down. The larger the wheel, the harder it is.

A proper motorcycle is more predictable on the road than a small wheeled scooter.

I've also noticed a different attitude between scooter and motorcycle riders.

While the scooter rider seems happy wearing the knee-length skirt, maybe a light jacket, the motorcycle rider will be wearing a heavier reinforced jacket, more often heavier pants and boots.

I think the bitumen feels the same, when falling from either machine.

[WAXBFAR]

Scooters do need the same safety/protection gear as a full on Motorbike
Cheap head, cheap helmet.$300 min
Leather Jacket $300
leather/armour knuckle Gloves $100 min
Protective pants (leather?) $150min
scooter $1500 min
insurance, maintanance, upkeep $500 P/Y min.
2307 liters of fuel at $130/l
Never mind getting wet/cold, cannot carry more than a fart, never mind getting injured and missing running out of sickday's.
Lots to think about for those who wanna safe fuel money

[jonk]

I know of bike shops here in Adelaide that are selling over/above 50cc capacity scooters to people without bike licences because they have told me (3 shops) that scooters at 50cc are real dangerous and the laws should be changed - they also tried to make scooters here in SA bike licence only but it quietly got quashed due to bad policy/interfering with bike trade etc.

I'd only go for a second hand scooter btw, and small scooters are fine. If you can ride a bike around town then a scooter is fine.

The queer factor of riding one looks like it has run it's course. I see more blokes on them than ladies. Go figure.

There is one expensive Italian 50cc scooter that can be 'tweaked' to go up to 130km/hr, and many have basic exhaust hot up kits too which make them much more zippier.

One more thing, don't lean in hard when going fast around corner's on a scooter, the center stand always make's itself known, he he.

[robbo_yobbo]

Get one, yea they look gay, but theres so many more benifites. I got one, and Ill probably get another.
I spent a few hundred extra on it to make it hit 80kmph, and that was well worth it too.
heres a few pros and cons

CONS:
- people try to overtake you in the same lane on freeway/highways (fix: sit smak bang in the center so they cant)
- its cold in the early mornings (fix: wear warm clothes)
- its wet in bad weather (fix: get some wets and a full faced helmet)
- boot space is minimal (fix: there is some, get a backpack and a rear storage compartment)
- passengers, you can only take 1+yourself, and theres no back seat if you know what I meanm so the drivins are out - lol
- radio/phone (fix: invest in an ipod and handsfree kit)
- they look gay - okay nothing can realy fix this, but so do commodore drivers, and they dont seem to mind

PROS:
-Free Parking
-theres always parks available anywhere any time
-$5 = 150 k's travel
-1yrs rego is like 1 quaters rego or less in a car
-0-40 theyll outrun pretty much anything on 4 wheels
-cops seem to leave you alone
-whats peak hour? - what a traffic jam? cruise straight through.
-city driving you can get anywhere in less than 1/3 of the time it takes in a car
-Ive done 5000kms in 3 months, its going strong, no sign of weekness, they say tyre change every 10,000kms on skooters (coz there smaller than bike tyres, hell of alot cheaper too)
-maintinence is minimal - if any, no such thing as oil changes on a 2stroke, lol, just tyres + breaks + plug
-car liscence does the trick up to 50cc (which means no forking out for a class R) and if you need more power wack on a big bore kit, bigger back tyre or sprocket and sports exhaust, port the head, sports intake, nitrous? lol.
-if you buy secondhand, providing you keep it in reasonable codition, you wont loose ANY money on resale.
-thier only as dangerous as the idiot riding, if you ride sensibly, thier perfectly safe, alot more so than a pushbike which people generaly have no quams over saftey on.

as you can see, plenty more pros then cons and most cons can be worked around anyway