Scooter girl wanting advice.

[br0kenbutterfly]

Hi, am new to driving anything with a motor (i have my car learners and i usually cycle). Wanting to buy a 50 cc scooter to get me around town (flat-ish, couple decent hills). From looking around kiwibiker and the scootling forum, it seems the way to go is 2stroke with a disc brake?
So the scoots Im looking at are:
Keeway Goccia
Yamaha Jog
Hyosung Super Cab
SYM DD50

What im wondering is - weight limits for these bikes? Im 120kg, am I going to be able to get up hills without looking incredibly silly?
The Keeway is heavy-113kg vs the others 80ish kg. Is this going to be a huge drawback? The whole bike feels bigger and more in proportion to say, the SYM. I do like the feel of the keeway, but the weight and the fact that its a chinese brand (?) put me off a bit. the jog gets glowing reviews everywhere, but ive read that it has a max weight limit of 66kg? is this true, if so, it completely rules it out for me.
Im looking at new, and all of these come from a good dealer, apart from the jog, which id have to get in dunedin. is it still worth it?

finally, are there any other models i should be looking at/things i should know/just plain recommendations?

thanks so much for any advice you can give!

[DangerMice]

Hi br0kenbutterfly, welcome to the forum.

The 66kg limit on the Jog is a bunch of crap. The Yamaha dealer told me they will comfortably carry twice that and more. If you're worried about it, you could get an uprated rear spring or something. My Jog (CV50) has been hauling my fat arse around Auckland (plenty of hills) for a over a year and hasn't skipped a beat. My weight is comparable to yours. Go the Jog, you won't be sorry. Oh, and get some decent riding gear too.

[Slunk]

Jog rulz!

If in doubt take each for a test drive, but I bet you'll go for the jog.

Try and get a newish second hand one, i got mine with 1100kms on it and saved $900 compared to new price. You lose out on the warranty but these are pretty bullet-proof.

Good luck

[DougB]

I suggest you have a look at this site. It may not answer your question but there is alot of good advice in it for a new scooterist.

http://www.scootersurvival.co.nz/index.html

[Spearfish]

+1 on DougB's post. Also do a scooter handling course if you can.

A helpful site is:
http://thescooterreview.com/reviews/comparison-tests/181-2008-50cc-super-battle
The site has gone a bit quiet but still has some interesting stuff.

I've gone over 13000kms on a 08 jog and that not that high for a jog, so second hand ones have a lot of life left, the engines are very de-rated to comply with the moped rules.

[davereid]

Avoid Chinese. Japanese and Taiwanese scooters are fine. My TGB has 44,000 km on the dial and goes just fine. There are plenty of chinese scooters written off by 440 km.

[bungbung]

Look out for a PGO pmx50 - it's a taiwanese brand, had no problem towing my 100kgs about

[The Everlasting]

Avoid Chinese. Japanese and Taiwanese scooters are fine. My TGB has 44,000 km on the dial and goes just fine. There are plenty of chinese scooters written off by 440 km.


Ah,I did 1500 on one..:p

[br0kenbutterfly]

wow, thank you everyone! the scooterreview is where i found out about the jog actually :) trouble is, closest dealer is 1 and a half hours away, whereas the other bikes are sold in my town.
The 66kg limit on the Jog is a bunch of crap. The Yamaha dealer told me they will comfortably carry twice that and more. If you're worried about it, you could get an uprated rear spring or something i just dont wanna wear it out or anything!
the guys at the dealership dont seem keen on giving me a test go (especially on 3 different bikes), so does anyone have any experience with the keeway/sym/hyosung? (so i can ride one to compare to a jog)
keeway is chinese, right? i cant seem to find a definite answer anywhere...actually i cant find anything about the keeway goccia anywhere...is that a bad thing?
thanks daveb for the scootersurvival site, it has some awesome tips!

[Spearfish]

Sym or hyo in 2 stroke should be ok
Most if not all with 4 stroke 50s regret not getting a 2 smoker.
You wont be going to the dealer much for servicing probably the first 500km then every 5-6000kms after that, or once a year.

My jog has carried my 90kg, 4l paint and thinners under the seat, a bag on the curry hook full of general painting shyt. The givi box on the back had a big roll of gib joint tape and 4ltrs of +4 plaster. To really overload the two wheeled ute, M10 had a too good to pass price on a 10kg bag of Tux dog nosh that went in the step through.

Now I would be insulting your intelligence to say it was a fast 30km trip home but I was still with the traffic on the flat and not quite flintstoning it up the two hills before home.



Keeway is the European-registered brand of Qianjiang Group of China. Keeway has become a multinational organization incorporating R&D, design, sale, and service of motorcycle and other mechanical products.

Hyosung seem strong in nz now so parts should be ok they were in partnership with suzuki from 1979

Sym were in partnership making engines from 50 to 150cc for Honda in 1962 they are part of the sanyang group building cars with partnership with Hyundai.

[davereid]

Keeway is the European-registered brand of Qianjiang Group of China. Keeway has become a multinational organization incorporating R&D, design, sale, and service of motorcycle and other mechanical products.

Hyosung seem strong in nz now so parts should be ok they were in partnership with suzuki from 1979

Sym were in partnership making engines from 50 to 150cc for Honda in 1962 they are part of the sanyang group building cars with partnership with Hyundai.

TGB are component manufacturers for Peugeot.

Peugeot also make a range of scooters, they are very nice bikes. I had assumed that you were looking at chinese due to budget constraints so I hadn't suggested european brands, all of which deserve consideration if you are not financially constrained.

http://www.scooterazzi.co.nz/ has a good range of bikes.

(Confession - I used to be a Peugeot and TGB dealer so I have a soft spot for them)

[br0kenbutterfly]

thanks, unfortunately i am raaather budget restrained! otherwise id be all for getting a bigger bike (or a vespa, i am a girl, i like things to look pretty) :)
yup definitely looking at a 2 stroke.
sorry if im being incredibly blonde, but are you saying keeway is a chinese/shitty brand? or is it quite reliable?
does de-restricting void warranty/make it un-insurable/make the engines run out faster? is it worth it?
spearfish, sounds like you wouldve been quite an interesting sight to see!
thanks again everyone!

[Gibbo89]

keeway is endorsed by triumph, i think they are taiwanese.

look at http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Scooters/auction-314853247.htm

its a 2 stroke suzuki.

for what its worth, i have owned a chinese scooter, did 2500 k's before i moved up to a 250.

be careful on what chinese scooters you look at though.

this scooter looks quite pretty

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Scooters/auction-316774239.htm

you mention that you are looking at scooters because of your budget, some bigger cc bikes are nearly as cheap to run as a wee scooter i.e a gn125 must not cost alot to run.
but i 1st learnt on to ride on a wee suzuki sepia and don't regret it, except that it went like 49kph!

the dealer or mechanic might de restrict teh bike for you. if so, then ride her gently to start off with.

i knew a girl that had a nifty fifty (an older scooter now), she was 120kg+ and rode it for years.

i see a big bloke here in chch on a sj50, it seems to go alright... he looks like he is nearer 150kg

150kg is normally the max weight for a rider on a scooter

it suprises me the person is a bit anti test drive though

[geoffm]

I recommend the scooterreviews site mentioned above - they are on the mark with their reviews.

I have a Keeway Flash, and before a car driver nailed it, I had a Hyosung SF50 Fast (also known as the Prima.) The Prima has the same motor as the Rally version they sell now, but has 2 small round headlights.
In both cases, a good thing they have is that the fuel filler is in the front by your feet, which means when you fill up, you won't spill it into the storage space under the seat, and a top box doesn't get in the way as in the case of the ones in the tail section
A top box is a must have I have a cheap Cnell one from Trademe - works fine and much cheaper than a Givi one Make sure your helmet fits in it.
Make sure your helmet will fit under the seat - some the storage areas are to tight or poorly shaped and they won't take a full face helmet.

The Hyo was 2nd hand and I did 4000km on it before it was totalled with 5000km on it.
The good - did around 60-65kph when you remove the black wire in the CDI which will keep up with traffic. Economy was around 30km/l. Has a pillion seat (although 2 up on a 50 would be slow). A helmet will fit under the seat but it is tight.
The bad - the Prima headlights were useless - 2 x 15w glowworms in a jar. So poor it was dangerous. I think the Rally ones are better. It didn't come standard with a carry rack but one from a Rally will fit. Fuel tank could be bigger as well.
I was going to buy another one, but no dough and the Keeway came up.
If you get one, there is some info ont he koriders.com site, and i have the workshop manual.

TH Keeway was a replacement - $800 second hand. Chinese made, and although the paintwork and finish isn't too bad and has stood up well to 3.5 years of neglect, the details aren't as good as the hyo. The fuel cap cover is a flimsy plastic piece which doesn't fit tightly, etc. The chrome on the forks has rust spots - typical of Chinese chrome.
It has been reliable and economical, comes with a rack (that you can't fit a top box easily to without some mods) but...
It is slow, like really, really slow. For some reason the ones they brought in are restricted to 45kmh - that is low enough to be a menace. Taking the speed restriction ring out of the variator helps but not enough. Helmet doesn't fit under the seat (but will in the top box)
I would buy another Keeway - at $2k new they are good value - but only if it could be really de restricted properly.
Geoff

[Spearfish]

thanks, unfortunately i am raaather budget restrained! otherwise id be all for getting a bigger bike (or a vespa, i am a girl, i like things to look pretty) :)
yup definitely looking at a 2 stroke.
sorry if im being incredibly blonde, but are you saying keeway is a chinese/shitty brand? or is it quite reliable?
does de-restricting void warranty/make it un-insurable/make the engines run out faster? is it worth it?
spearfish, sounds like you wouldve been quite an interesting sight to see!
thanks again everyone!

I think china are in a place Taiwan were when they started to flood the world, personally I wouldnt buy a chinese scoot for anything other than a one off event.

As far as de-restricting goes my dealer did the job as part of the PDI when I brought it. (just a washer in the exhaust pipe restricting flow) so very minor work like that is fine.
So is changing the gearing, but your starting to go down a modifying path that has no end and starts a process where one part leads to another part to support the first part but it needs another part to get the best of the second part but interfears with the very first part without a fourth part .......on and on it goes.....

Standard jogs or jog type engines are around 3.5 to 4.5 hp, the top end racing scoots competing in Italy and the BSSO in England are up to 33hp (for just a few hours lifespan) so its almost endless how far you can push it.

[jack_hamma]

Hi, am new to driving anything with a motor (i have my car learners and i usually cycle). Wanting to buy a 50 cc scooter to get me around town (flat-ish, couple decent hills). From looking around kiwibiker and the scootling forum, it seems the way to go is 2stroke with a disc brake?
So the scoots Im looking at are:
Keeway Goccia
Yamaha Jog
Hyosung Super Cab
SYM DD50

What im wondering is - weight limits for these bikes? Im 120kg, am I going to be able to get up hills without looking incredibly silly?
The Keeway is heavy-113kg vs the others 80ish kg. Is this going to be a huge drawback? The whole bike feels bigger and more in proportion to say, the SYM. I do like the feel of the keeway, but the weight and the fact that its a chinese brand (?) put me off a bit. the jog gets glowing reviews everywhere, but ive read that it has a max weight limit of 66kg? is this true, if so, it completely rules it out for me.
Im looking at new, and all of these come from a good dealer, apart from the jog, which id have to get in dunedin. is it still worth it?

finally, are there any other models i should be looking at/things i should know/just plain recommendations?

thanks so much for any advice you can give!

120kg is you and the scooter?

[Jantar]

Its good that you mention your weight as it helps with the advice. As a general rule the rider shouldn't weigh more then the bike. Yes, the wee 50 cc scooters will carry your weight OK, but remember they are designed to carry much less and their handling and stopping power will be reduced if they are overloaded.

Don't worry so much about going up hill, its when you're coming down Tyne St and that idiot pulls out in front of you that want your brakes to work. If you weigh 50% more than the brakes are designed for then they won't pull you up in time.

Look for a second hand Vespa or similar instead. You'll apreciate it in the long run.

[Spearfish]

Its good that you mention your weight as it helps with the advice. As a general rule the rider shouldn't weigh more then the bike. Yes, the wee 50 cc scooters will carry your weight OK, but remember they are designed to carry much less and their handling and stopping power will be reduced if they are overloaded.


I don't think its to much of an issue most use the same engine/trans in different frames with loadings up to 150kgs but the scoot only weighing 65-75kg.

[Gibbo89]

yeah, max scooter loads are the 150kg mark

[br0kenbutterfly]

120kg is you and the scooter?
haha i wish! as i said, im kinda a big chick.

thanks geoffm for the tips, and handy reviews! are all keeways top speed 45kmh? cos that would make the keeway suckkkkkkk. and is it really important that the helmet fits under the seat? i cant seem to make it fit in any of the ones ive tried (keeway, hyo)

so, sorry, but derestricting- does it void the insurance/mean youll get pulled up and get a ticket? like not for speeding, but cos of the mods?

jantar, spearfish, gibbo? whats the final verdict-am i too heavy to have a scooter that weighs 80ish kgs? i just thought, the lighter the scooter i get, the less total weight the motor has to pull around = faster :D


you mention that you are looking at scooters because of your budget, some bigger cc bikes are nearly as cheap to run as a wee scooter i.e a gn125 must not cost alot to run.
yeahh, its more the fact that if i go over 50cc, i have to get my c6 learners + WOF + heaps more $$$ for rego. so if i did that, id prob just get a 250 bike. *no offence*


it suprises me the person is a bit anti test drive though
probly just cos its my first scoot, and i dont have protective gear etc? (though im definitely going to get some! finding a jacket could be fun for my size though :p)

once again, thanks so much for helping me out guys!

[Smifffy]

My advice:

If the dealer won't let you go for a test ride, when you're serious about buying, find another dealer. I bought my bike from ppl an hour and a half away too.

You need to ride to decide.

The guys I bought from gave us the bike and ALL of the riding gear necessary for 2 people. We signed an insurance waiver and hit the highway like battery hens.

We rode, stopped for coffee, rode some more and signed up, including paying for most of the gear.

[Jantar]

...
jantar, spearfish, gibbo? whats the final verdict-am i too heavy to have a scooter that weighs 80ish kgs? i just thought, the lighter the scooter i get, the less total weight the motor has to pull around = faster :D.....!
In my opinion you are on the heavy side, unless the scooter is rated for your weight. Back in prehistoric times when I was a Uni student I knew a young lady who rode a Honda 50 step through. She was also a bit heavy and was right on the limit for the wee Honda. It wasn't the normal riding that she had any trouble with as Salmond Hall to Uni was all flat, but when riding on some of Dunedin's steeper streets she did have to be careful with the brakes on the downhill sections.

In Oamaru, as long as most of your riding is on the flat then you should be OK, but I would be very careful on places like Tyne St, Derwent St or Eden St.

[DangerMice]

Don't worry so much about going up hill, its when you're coming down Tyne St and that idiot pulls out in front of you that want your brakes to work. If you weigh 50% more than the brakes are designed for then they won't pull you up in time.

Well I can vouch for the disc brake on the Jog, saved me a nasty crash it did..

Stop I say! Stop! (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/115534-quot-A-couple-of-seconds-from-disaster-quot)

[geoffm]

haha i wish! as i said, im kinda a big chick.

thanks geoffm for the tips, and handy reviews! are all keeways top speed 45kmh? cos that would make the keeway suckkkkkkk. and is it really important that the helmet fits under the seat? i cant seem to make it fit in any of the ones ive tried (keeway, hyo)

so, sorry, but derestricting- does it void the insurance/mean youll get pulled up and get a ticket? like not for speeding, but cos of the mods?

jantar, spearfish, gibbo? whats the final verdict-am i too heavy to have a scooter that weighs 80ish kgs? i just thought, the lighter the scooter i get, the less total weight the motor has to pull around = faster :D


yeahh, its more the fact that if i go over 50cc, i have to get my c6 learners + WOF + heaps more $$$ for rego. so if i did that, id prob just get a 250 bike. *no offence*


probly just cos its my first scoot, and i dont have protective gear etc? (though im definitely going to get some! finding a jacket could be fun for my size though :p)

once again, thanks so much for helping me out guys!

I have 3 road going "real bikes" but the 50 does more miles than any of them, putt putting to work every day rain or shine. Can't beat 30km/l and twist and go in the traffic for convenience, not to mention a disposable bike I won't cry over with the next car driver


Getting the helmet to fit under the seat isn't the end of the world, but it is nice. Most, as you notice, won't take a full face helmet, and some won't take flip front fullface ones as they are wider. I have a large Cnell top box ($75, Trademe) which could take my whole house, so the helmet sits in the corner of that :-)

Protective gear - try 1tonne or put the heat on the dealer for a package deal

As for newer Keeway restrictions - I don't know about the current lot -I would ask the question veery carefully. Get the dealer to derestrict it as part of the sale. Scootling said it was $65 for their Adly scoots.

Other ones to look at: TGB101S - $2k from a deal er in Warkworth on TM ($2.4 elsewhere) with a small top box. Good scooters and anything that can handle delivering pizzas and being thrashed every night must be tuff.
Adly SF50 for Scootling. Handled well when I tested one and has 13" wheels. Nearly got one, and wihs i had instead of the Keeway (except the Keeway was $800 SH vs $2k for a new one. )At least Scootling will support scooters rather than saying you should get a "real bike.

[br0kenbutterfly]

As for newer Keeway restrictions - I don't know about the current lot -I would ask the question veery carefully
sorry, what do you mean? is derestricting a bad thing?

after lots of thinking, ive kinda decided that as much as i love the look of the $2500 goccia, im better off getting a second hand scoot and using my money for some decent gear/saving up for when i can afford a bigger bike :p

so theres an 08 jog going in dunedin atm, going to testdrive on thursday. its got 600kms on the clock, still restricted, had a panel replaced but no other damage. been in storage and rego on hold. they want $1800 ono for it, is that a good price? i dont wanna get cheeky with them, but i dont wanna pay more than its worth...

or, theres an 07 hyo supercab up for sale, bout 5000kms on it, and ive driven it, was cool. it has been "dropped" twice and had the back brake lever replaced twice, they want about $900 for it. i know this ones been ridden hard (its my ex's), but it is cheap?

so, decisions, decisions!! can you help? thanks for being patient.

[Spearfish]

sorry, what do you mean? is derestricting a bad thing?

after lots of thinking, ive kinda decided that as much as i love the look of the $2500 goccia, im better off getting a second hand scoot and using my money for some decent gear/saving up for when i can afford a bigger bike :p

so theres an 08 jog going in dunedin atm, going to testdrive on thursday. its got 600kms on the clock, still restricted, had a panel replaced but no other damage. been in storage and rego on hold. they want $1800 ono for it, is that a good price? i dont wanna get cheeky with them, but i dont wanna pay more than its worth...

or, theres an 07 hyo supercab up for sale, bout 5000kms on it, and ive driven it, was cool. it has been "dropped" twice and had the back brake lever replaced twice, they want about $900 for it. i know this ones been ridden hard (its my ex's), but it is cheap?

so, decisions, decisions!! can you help? thanks for being patient.

Compare prices on trade me taking into account the cost of transport to settle your mind on the price.
Another thing to consider is going for your 6L, big changes in the licence are on the way. Only mention it because your talking about moving up later.

de restricting the jog is fine all they do is take a washer out of the exhaust, you wont go faster but will climb hills better.

[br0kenbutterfly]

testdrove a jog today, and went to mcr in dunedin. its so cool! :D i definitely think, if i get a 50 cc (which im now debating, thanks spearfish!) ill go for a jog.
though quite seriously, i dont know how you guys do 100kph on a bike, i was scared s@#$less going 45! (yeah, it was my first time riding, apart from going 15kph on a scoot around the backyard) do you get more confident quickly? it was an adrenalin rush :D but crap i dont know why some ppl ride scooters with just a hoodie and an openface on!!

[Scouse]

Hi, am new to driving anything with a motor (i have my car learners and i usually cycle). Wanting to buy a 50 cc scooter to get me around town (flat-ish, couple decent hills). From looking around kiwibiker and the scootling forum, it seems the way to go is 2stroke with a disc brake?
So the scoots Im looking at are:
Keeway Goccia
Yamaha Jog
Hyosung Super Cab
SYM DD50

What im wondering is - weight limits for these bikes? Im 120kg, am I going to be able to get up hills without looking incredibly silly?
The Keeway is heavy-113kg vs the others 80ish kg. Is this going to be a huge drawback? The whole bike feels bigger and more in proportion to say, the SYM. I do like the feel of the keeway, but the weight and the fact that its a chinese brand (?) put me off a bit. the jog gets glowing reviews everywhere, but ive read that it has a max weight limit of 66kg? is this true, if so, it completely rules it out for me.
Im looking at new, and all of these come from a good dealer, apart from the jog, which id have to get in dunedin. is it still worth it?

finally, are there any other models i should be looking at/things i should know/just plain recommendations?

thanks so much for any advice you can give!Dont buy a scooter, Scooters are for Nana's and Homo's just ask insane1 he's a bit of both

[br0kenbutterfly]

sorry if im being rude, but um, why are you reading a scooter thread then??

[skinman]

I started on a 50 & if was doing it again would get L (its easy) and ride a 125 or 250 either scoot or M-bike. They probably wont cost any more & will be able to leave cars off the mark (very important) maybe not to you now but in a very short time as you get used to it you will want to filter to the front and then do 100km, go on trips etc
By the way
welcome to riding
good on ya

[Dutchee]

I started riding a 50 scooter back when I was a teen. i'm unco as, wanted a VT250 (bike) but found it scared the beeejebus outta me (arm reach was the problem) and ended up with a 250 scooter. I had the 50 for about a year before moving up.

Being unco, it meant I didn't have any licence, and as I couldn't get a car licence on a scooter, it forced me to get my bike licence. I sat my full on the 50 (automatic), I argued the point with the traffic cops' receptionist, and ended up with a full bike licence, unable to ride a bike. Funny as hell really. When, 20 or so years later, I started riding a bike on the road (had a few years' offroad experience by then), the first time a cop pulled me up he commented I should've known better as I'd had my licence forever. I had to mention the fact I'd only been riding a few months lol

Back to the subject at hand. The 50 scooter was light enough to pick up when I dropped it (often), the 250 I don't think I ever picked it up by myself (actually maybe once when in a bike park the whole lot toppled over, but who knows, too long ago).

It gave me confidence to start riding, was a pretty flat ride to work (very important with 50's) and saved me heaps in bus fares. I also occasionally rode it on the motorway (scarey as hell being that slow) but it had to be when it was almost empty and get off as quick as possible (about an extra half-one hour if I was avoiding it).

Basically, those are considerations: terrain, roads likely to be travelled and speed of cars passing you. A 50 is scarey slow.

If you're looking at buying from a shop, talk to them about what they can offer you for protective gear. It doesn't have to be the most expensive/fashionable, but needs to be comfortable and should be better than jeans/skirt/jandals/shoes. Make sure you get gloves, I know I ripped my hands open a time or two when I fell off hehehe.

I have no idea what modern scooters are like (I don't think they've really changed that much in around 25 years - especially the 50's), but at least you can usually get decent tyres now (believe me, I tried to find some but had no luck and that was often the reason I dumped it).

I'd be saying (oh, I am) if you're looking at a cheap scooter, you'll want to upgrade soon enough, if you're looking at more expensive, you need to look at bigger than 50. My MIL has a 125 chinese thing and is happy with that (okay, it's 2k to her work and not used much).

The other thing is, not sure how big the petrol tanks are these days, but I know when I worked about 20k from home, I had to fill up every 2nd-3rd day (PITA big time), but it was only a few litres.

Any questions, PM/email me (I don't often pop into here, as I don't ride scooters any more).
Hope that helps and not confuses the hell outta you.
Michelle

[vindy500]

Whats the deal with scooter rego these days? Does it fall in the 0-60cc petrol driven motorbike category? i.e costing pretty much the same as anything under 600cc

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/registration-licensing/fees.html

[Antonio]

Whatever u get don't get chinese shit.

[skinman]

If you do get a scoot with a small tank what I did was got a 10L petrol can (mitre 10 etc) that would do me for about 3-4 weeks. better than going onto gas station & it taking longer for the pump to start than it did to fill the tank also the min delivery is 2L and it comes out in a hell of a hurry when the tanks only 3L. Number of times I baptised the scoot before I gave up filling it at stations.

[Gibbo89]

so, sorry, but derestricting- does it void the insurance/mean youll get pulled up and get a ticket? like not for speeding, but cos of the mods?

jantar, spearfish, gibbo? whats the final verdict-am i too heavy to have a scooter that weighs 80ish kgs? i just thought, the lighter the scooter i get, the less total weight the motor has to pull around = faster :D

if you got pulled over on a scooter for speeding, the cop would be a bit of a dick to be honest. derestricting a scooter lets you sit at the same speed as traffic. i.e you can go 55 in a 50 (like every other car in oamaru will). You wont be too heavy for the bike. the performance won't be as good as you are not some 50kg skinny girl, but that isn't everyone is it...

the jog sounds like your kinda thing and no 1 will say to not get a yamaha jog. i'm sure it's a fun wee ride. (seeing as you got a buzz from going 45). I kinda remember enjoying my 1st few rides on my old scooter, it was pretty sweet.

good luck in your search.

p.s a 2nd hand bike might be a good option too, specially the low k example you found.