Daughter wants a scooter, Dad hasn't got a clue

**Bassmatt** · 16th May 2015, 17:06

So, after trying in vain to get my daughter to get on the back of my bike, or learn to ride one - even a scooter, she has moved to Aus and as females frequently seem to do, changed her mind and now wants a scooter.
It will be a second hand one and I have no idea. So a few questions..
What brands to go for/stay away from?
What size engine - she probably won't be looking to go on 100k roads.
how many k's is too many for these small engines?
Things to look for when viewing second hand scooters, good and bad.
Other stuff ???

All advice/suggestions will be appreciated.
TIA

**EJK** · 16th May 2015, 17:14

Wait a few more days. She might change her mind again... To sports bikes perhaps?

On a serious note: I've heard far too many poor build quality reports from Chinese scooters. I recall an episode on Fair Go (or was it Target?) about one of customer who bought one had his handlebar snapped off and frame snapped due to poor welding.

**nodrog:Me** · 16th May 2015, 18:00

Originally Posted by EJK

Wait a few more days. She might change her mind again... To sports bikes perhaps?

On a serious note: I've heard far too many poor build quality reports from Chinese scooters. I recall an episode on Fair Go (or was it Target?) about one of customer who bought one had his handlebar snapped off and frame snapped due to poor welding.

What a racist cunt.

**awa355** · 16th May 2015, 19:18

Basically, the bigger the better and stick to a Japanese brand or next best is a Taiwanese brand eg Sym,Kymco, Pgo, Although the Jap makes are built in many 3rd world countries, the quality control is usually maintained to the Japanese levels.

My Yamaha 100 was built in China but 22,000k in 24 months, many k's on gravel roads and nothing ever broke, came loose or stopped working.

**EJK** · 16th May 2015, 19:30

Originally Posted by nodrog

What a racist cunt.

It's called stereotype. Look it up in the dictionary

**MarkH** · 17th May 2015, 07:28

What about a Suzuki AN125 in good nick, I've heard they are pretty decent.

**AGC73** · 17th May 2015, 21:50

I asked the same sort of question to a taxi driver in Bali and he said Honda all the way. Apparently the Balinese had a couple of years of buying cheap Chinese scooters but they were very unreliable and generally shit. Now they have shifted back to Honda scooters.

**AllanB** · 17th May 2015, 22:11

Piaggio make zillions of scooters and have some nice ones.

Japanese 4 of course.

**Motorcycle Recovery** · 18th May 2015, 17:22

It depends what sort of duties she'll be doing with it, her physical build and budget.

If she is only running around town, inner city etc. not many hills and not a great distance look in the 50cc bracket. If there are quite a few hills around she needs to ride over, steep driveway etc. then go for a 150cc and up.

If her budget is constrained then go for a Chinese 50cc scooter like a Vmoto Millan, Solana QT50 etc. If she has a little more of a budget look for a mainstream Japanese or Italian model like a Gillera Ice, Piaggio Zip 50, LML 50, LX 50 Vespa or Yamaha Jog. A good 2nd hand one could be had for under $1000 in good nick.

In terms of her stature, if she is quite short then don't go the Gillera or Zip way as they have quite a tall seat height and she may not be comfortable or able to hold the bike up. Instead go for a Yamaha CV50, Jog or a Honda Today etc. The Vmoto Milan or Keeway Venus has a low seat height and is relatively affordable even from new. Chinese scooters also tend to have low seat heights and can be had for less than $2000 new.

All of the scooters I mentioned are fine for a student on a low income, but the Chinese ones don't like sitting idle for too long. Stay away from anything 2nd hand that has not been started or used in 4-5 months even if the k's are low. Check out the overall condition of the bike and look for leaking oil etc. All the basic bike checks still apply when looking at used scooters. K's can vary but a good maintenance history is what you want to look for.
Hope this helps
- Kevin L.