Asian scooters that are good?

[Pogo2]

Whenever a newbie to KB enquires about a good scooter to purchase there is always the call to avoid some asian scooters due to poor quality, reliability etc.

So... what do you scooterists consider to be a good asian brand? For the purpose of the exercise we'll ignore the Japanese variants.

I'm very happy with my PGO and I almost brought a TGB. Hyosong look to be ok as well.

Any other thoughts on good brands? Or comments on the brands above.

[scootnz]

PGO have a good reputation in my opinion. I would stick with well known Japanese brands - Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda.

[disenfranchised]

My Partner has a Sym, which has been bloody good in comparison to her first one (not sure exactly what that was)

[McJim]

Damn good job Japan is in Asia eh? All of their stuff is sound in my opinion. But a true purist should ALWAYS buy Italian.....or at least aspire to.

[MisterD]

But a true purist should ALWAYS buy Italian.....or at least aspire to.

Man from north of border, he speak truth - no forky tongue :2thumbsup

[Dave Lobster]

But a true purist should ALWAYS buy Italian.....or at least aspire to.

Italy.. the land where the expression "Start, you b@stard!" was first heard.

[NighthawkNZ]

Whenever a newbie to KB enquires about a good scooter to purchase there is always the call to avoid some asian scooters due to poor quality, reliability etc.

Mainly the Chiness stuff to avoid... most stuff out of china is usually poorly made... look at the new GN250 gone from a awesome learning commuter biker to a rust bucket I told my better half not to even try one unless we found an older Japaness model, and from what I hear the engine is not as reliable either...

Heck if they can't get it right on a the larger bike what makes you think th ey got it right on the smaller...


So... what do you scooterists consider to be a good asian brand? For the purpose of the exercise we'll ignore the Japanese variants.

Personally if I was buying a scoot then buy the standard japaness brands and would be the only asain brand I would recommend

[kaz]

I found my previous scooter, a Sym, to be great over the 14 months I had it. I rode it every day, rain or shine, and it always started first time, every time. Nothing ever went wrong on it and it performed very well. Sym is Taiwanese and has a good rep for scooters and they make quite a big range of different ones.

That good experience with a Taiwanese brand made me feel confident about buying the PGO that I now have and am very happy with. So I don't think Japan is the only good Asian maker.

[UberRhys]

Previous to my current Italian marque, I have always run Honda's and I have never ever had an issue. And in the event that I needed replacement or spare parts, there are heaps available. Even have a Honda generator which has never skipped a beat. :cool:

[Pogo2]

So would it be fair to say that (in general) Taiwanese is ok and that there are a few "chinese" brands that would be worthy of further research before parting with the readies?

Dave LOL on your comments. Is "start you bast@#d" exclusively italian or is it more generic than that!!

[UberRhys]

So would it be fair to say that (in general) Taiwanese is ok and that there are a few "chinese" brands that would be worthy of further research before parting with the readies?

I would even go as far as saying avoid any Chinese brand all together, it's just not worth the risk, both financially and mentally.

[Sidewinder]

Whenever a newbie to KB enquires about a good scooter to purchase there is always the call to avoid some asian scooters due to poor quality, reliability etc.

So... what do you scooterists consider to be a good asian brand? For the purpose of the exercise we'll ignore the Japanese variants.

I'm very happy with my PGO and I almost brought a TGB. Hyosong look to be ok as well.

Any other thoughts on good brands? Or comments on the brands above.

japs are the best dont touch any chinse shit at all tho dude. hondas your best bet

[Conquiztador]

As I was studying and the finances were tight I would buy s/h scooters, fix them up and re-sell in good working condition. Made a few $100 per scoot (not taking in to count the sometimes long hours spent working on them...)

I focused on Honda and Yamaha. Found them good and easy to fix. Heaps of parts around and also, if kept in running condition, would keep their value.

Did a few Suzukis, but not a big fan as they have strange solutions (coil and CDI in same closed package etc.)

In general I can easily recommend these japanese ones as they are all built well and new and s/h parts are always available.

Have no experience fixing chinese ones, (I have had a closer look at some thou but...) but reason I stayed away from them was the problem in finding parts (new or s/h), the low re-sale value and their poor reputatioin. But this does not mean that some of them not are worth considering. But the chinese gear I have had dealings with (packaging machinery, industrial machinery) has made me biast against anything from that big country of the yellow man.

I also know ppl who have travelled to the "factories" in china where the scooters are made. Nothing like what a factory anywhere else looks like. Only a big shed with dirt floor where bits are put together. And the final check..what final check??

And the knowledge that if the chinese population all at the same time jumped 20cm up in the air and all at the same time hit the ground would cause an earthquake of such magnitude that it would blow off the richter scale makes me happy not to have anything to do with them.

Last time I commented negatively re chink scooters on here I got some red reps. But I am probably overdue for them anyhow..lol

[mbazza]

I have found my Jap Suzuki to be very good value and VERY cheap to run. Cheers. :scooter:

[avgas]

PGO seem to be the best for me as you can take those suckers off road if you wish.
However i wanted a scooter on the top of my list would be the italjet

[SpankMe]

Did someone say Asian girlie on a scooter?

[cowpoos]

Did someone say Asian girlie on a scooter?
isn't it time you up dated your avatar ash?????

[200BUSA]

Kymco are a good brand my Bug scooter i use to go to work is great,no problems at all.My father in law has just bought a new Kymco Hawk 250 and it is very good-nice to ride.
Chinese no go. -Taiwanese get one as OK.

[candyshot]

Whenever a newbie to KB enquires about a good scooter to purchase there is always the call to avoid some asian scooters due to poor quality, reliability etc.

So... what do you scooterists consider to be a good asian brand? For the purpose of the exercise we'll ignore the Japanese variants.

I'm very happy with my PGO and I almost brought a TGB. Hyosong look to be ok as well.

Any other thoughts on good brands? Or comments on the brands above.

Hi Pogo, I have an asian scooter that is made in China (Vmoto Monza). Although its only 50cc, only bought it to ride around on in the burbs. Vmoto is an Australian company who manufacture their scooters in China. The Monza is the top-selling scooter in Australia this year. I like my Monza, it is designed to have a pillion passenger on it, and the bike overall is slightly larger than retro scooters (including the wheels) so it feels somewhat safer, plus it doesn't look like an ordinary scooter. I'm not sure I agree with the 'don't buy anything made in China' crowd, I did a bit of research and read international forums before I bought it and getting parts is easy, and cheaper than the other makes around.

[Timber020]

Worked on Japanese and chinese scoots in the past, and the jap ones are at least twice as good as the chinese ones I worked on. When it came to buying my wife one, I was quite assured any money I would have saved buying a chinese scoot would have been spent soon in parts (if they could be found) or time repairing the little sod.

[Conquiztador]

Something that is worth considering (If not for everyone, then at least for the ones that have a female in their life...)

- You cut corners today and she will whinge about it for the rest of your life after it turned to shit (and it is all your fault!!)

- You pay some extra money today and she will whinge about it for a month. But when whatever you purchased keeps on going and going for years the cost will be long forgotten. (And you will be a champion)

See, years ago I took in a customers ironhead sporty motor to Doug Hayes in Akl. He refused to do a "fix up job". It was a all or nothing job. My customer was not happy. Costed him $2,5K for the motor fix alone. Did se the customer some years ago. Motor was still going and he was happy. The cost? He had forgotten re the cost... Imagine if Doug would have done the "fix up" job. The customer would have said: "That Doug did a shitty job, motor died after 5 thousand K's"....

Same with the chink scooters compared to jap ones.

[Dave Lobster]

Buy cheap, buy twice.

[Hitcher]

Any other thoughts on good brands?

On Asian scooters? Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda have been known to make some good ones.