Scooter for the hills in Wellington?

[shankly]

Hi, new poster. Be kind;)

Often pondered, never committed but I think the time is upon me to grab myself a scooter, save a bit of dosh and ease up on the environment.

I live in Wellington, up the top of a big bastard hill.

My best bet would be a 125cc plus, so that means grabbing a bike licence and all the rigmarole. I am cool with that, initially riding just round the city but may at times need to go out to the Hutt on the Hutt Road. Occasionaly my wife may need to scooter just to get to work down the hill.

So my question is, buy new Lambretta, Amici or something from Scooterazi or go with a Vespa or its ilk on trade me?.
Looking at things like re-sale value, easy servicing, good on hills and I hate to sound shallow but looks the biz as well. How does buying a scooter on trade me affect the learners licence?
Hepful assistance gratefully received.
Shanks.

[FJRider]

Hi, new poster. Be kind;)

Often pondered, never committed but I think the time is upon me to grab myself a scooter, save a bit of dosh and ease up on the environment.



Welcome ...

Motorcycling is a swings and roundabouts sort of thing. What you save on fuel ... you spend on gear/bike servicing/rego(etc)/tyres ... and the list goes on.

The sort of scooter you ride on a car license is a lot less than 125. But in Wellington hills/motorways ... I wouldn't go lower. A 250 (4 stroke) would serve your need well. Many good 2nd hand ones about in your area.

[Ender EnZed]

Get a GN125: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/motorbikes/tourers/auction-572642030.htm

[shankly]

Get a GN125: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/motorbikes/tourers/auction-572642030.htm

Thanks looks great but really want a scooter.
Definitely want a 125 at least, whilst investigating further 'set up' costs are more than a car I think it is worth the investment and the ongoing costs are a lot less than a car.

Probably not much highway riding, more urban 50k type, but certainly would occasionally need a hoon out along the hutt road.

[James Deuce]

Go to Scooterazzi in Wakefield St and have a chat to Mark. He will be happy to talk, even without the prospect of a sale and as talking is his #1 hobby, you should get more information than you really need. He has a good range of scooters too, including the modern iteration of those funky '60s Lambrettas.

[shafty]

Hi Shanks

I reckon you're on to it with going for a 125'ish scoot - better performance can save your butt in some situations. We had a ball with our 125 Suzy 4 stroke.

Could be worth a look at a 110 Honda too.... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/SearchResults.aspx?searchString=Dio+NSC&rptpath=0001-&type=Search&searchType=1&generalSearch_keypresses=13&generalSearch_suggested=0

Price is great, I believe assembled in Thailand, but so are Harley's and Triumphs and still Honda warranted

Good luck - have fun

Shafty

[Akzle]

looks the biz as well....a scooter


:scratch:
. .

[Moi]

Wanting to own a scooter is a fine desire... OK, so you need something to climb a hill, get along the Hutt Rd at at least 90km/h and, possibly, be able to carry two. I would suggest you look at something bigger than 125cc for those requirements - such as a 250cc or 300cc. I know some will say 125cc will do that - yes, but does it have reserves of power - there's nothing like cubic inches. Go to a couple of the dealers, see what they have, talk to them, read a few reviews - try http://www.motorcyclenews.com. Be aware of service costs and what is required. If you go with a CVT scooter you'll need to consider replacement of drive belt and rollers at specific kilometres. Or go for the traditional Vespa two-stroke and have 4 gears.

The biased bit follows: look seriously at the products from Piaggio - they built a range from 50cc to 850cc and all are classified as scooters.

[awa355]

Go for the biggest engine you can afford. Also look at the physical proportions . My 100cc is a little rocket, but I never considered that my #9 boots would be too large for the floor pan. Shoes ok, but boots have a heavier longer sole.

Vespas are the Harleys of the scooters, traditional technology, but you pay a hellva lot for the name. $5000 for a new 50cc Vespa, About the same for a Honda PCX150.

Piaggio's seem to have a rep on scooter forums for being even more expensive than Vespas for parts and serviceing.

After doing some long 'all day' rides on 10" wheels, believe me, the larger diameter rims the better. Also the bigger scooters have far better quality suspension conponents.

A good 2nd hand big scooter will be a better buy than a smaller new scoot.

[shankly]

Go for the biggest engine you can afford. Also look at the physical proportions . My 100cc is a little rocket, but I never considered that my #9 boots would be too large for the floor pan. Shoes ok, but boots have a heavier longer sole.

Vespas are the Harleys of the scooters, traditional technology, but you pay a hellva lot for the name. $5000 for a new 50cc Vespa, About the same for a Honda PCX150.

Piaggio's seem to have a rep on scooter forums for being even more expensive than Vespas for parts and serviceing.

After doing some long 'all day' rides on 10" wheels, believe me, the larger diameter rims the better. Also the bigger scooters have far better quality suspension conponents.

A good 2nd hand big scooter will be a better buy than a smaller new scoot.

Cool thank you. Lots of great advice.

I have seen a lovely 400cc Vespa on T/M probably a bit out of my league at the moment.

I will certainly head into Scooterazi soon, I want to check out the Sachs & Kymcos before taking a Vespa for a ride from T/M.

The Vespa Belladonnas apear to be quite a few around, are they genuine Vespas or a Indian version?

[Welly-Ray]

Go for the biggest engine you can afford. Also look at the physical proportions .

Second this thought.

I'd recommend to go with no less than 250cc if that's within your shooting range, and personally I'd stick with either Japanese or Taiwanese scooters for their reliability and building quality.

I used to own a Sym Citycom 300i and commute through Ngauranga Gorge on daily basis. Had no prob with keeping up with traffic on the hill and never had any mechanical issue with it. The only cost was just maintenance.

[speedpro]

If you use it "primarily" in 50K zones and a few steepish hills I reckon a 125cc scoot would be fine. Bigger is better of course. I have a 125 Yamaha Cygnus which I managed to kill after 20,000Km with some full throttle runs down the NW motorway. I've taken it out to 203cc now and it's awesome. FYI - Yamaha scooters from my 125 up are made in Italy and generally are a nice build quality. They also have them in Taiwan as other brands so there are lots of cheap parts out of Taiwan available. Check out Taida for options.

I looked at Sym and Kymco before I bought mine and both brands looked good with good warrenties.

[spinnanz]

My Suzuki fx125 will pull 120kph and sit all day at 100kph. The down side is, that its more of a motorbike than scooter with 5 speed gearbox and no storage.

I did have an Italian Gilera DNA180, this was twist and go, looked cool and performance wise was as good as the 125cc Suzuki. The down side of it was that it was completely unreliable, used 2x the gas of the Suzuki and was in need of a cam chain/tensioner @ only 13k

[Dave Lobster]

Vespas are the Harleys of the scooters, traditional technology, but you pay a hellva lot for the name.


Rubbish. They're nothing of the sort. The indian built ones are traditional technology. The modern ones aren't old fashioned at all. They work. You pay more, yes. But they keep working. And they hold their value. They'll also whip a Harley's ass round twisty roads.

A well put together 150 or 200cc Vespa would be perfectly adequate for nipping around the hills of Wellington.

Instead of listening to half witted morons, go and see someone that knows what they're talking about. Matt Brookes (Mr Scoot) or Mike Salmon if you're in the Hutt. Both are switched on cookies, and neither of them will give you stupid advice like 'get a GN250'. FFS..