Yamaha Scorpio.

[FROSTY:Me]

I took one of these lil bikes for a bit of a blat today.
BLOODY NEAT LIL BIKE.
What impressed me was the aparent build quality. How easy it was to ride,ease of use of all the controls --including the choke and YAAY its basicly dropproof.
It was grunty enough to ride--seemed to have more poke than a gn and similar handling to a FXR, The riding position is pretty neutral and its light and easy to pick up.
The gearbox was slick and easy to use --there is a heel plate for upchanges but looking at the gearshift thats easily hacksawed off
Its got a nifty lil fuel gauge
Yep--Ive found a bike Id suggest to ANY newbee rider.
EDIT--I must add having now lived with one for awhile on and off that I 100% stand behind my initial assessment of this bike.
My ONLY reservation is the utterly crappy factory front tyre. You MUST check the tyre pressures weekly they seem to go flat.
In my opinion the front tyre should be replaced almost right away as you are gonna take a fair while to wear it out.

[marty]

i took the heel changer off for a neighbour and put a shifter off (i think) a DT175 - the young guy supplied it.

took it for a good fang - heaps better than a GN - easy @ 100km/h whereas a GN struggles with me on it.

much harder to scrape the pegs......

[rainman]

... its light and easy to pick up....

I don't think you're meant to drop them...

[Big Dog]

I had a ride of the Strangers one at the AWNMR a few weeks back. I'll second frostys motion.

[Madness]

YAAY its basicly dropproof.

I have it on good authority that the forks bend easily

[klingon]

I had a ride of the Strangers one at the AWNMR a few weeks back. I'll second frostys motion.

oOoOOOOoOoOoh when my ribs are healed I'm going to have a ride on the Stranger's Scorpio. I'm looking forward to it after that rave review

[Big Dog]

I have it on good authority that the forks bend easily

While I did experience some flex out of the forks, even:
emergency braking with 150kg of rider and gear
Riding over a see saw
and other such malarky there was no sign of bending.

If you have evidence to the contrary I would be keen to see it as I know a few riders who have or want to buy one.

[Big Dog]

On a seperate note what I did like about the little commuter / learner.
Zippy engine (even with me aboard).
Handles splendidly at low speed.
A hoot a medium speed.
Stable at 100.

As a learner bike the reason I feel I could recommend it is that it does not let you cheat as readily as a GN. You have to be giving it good inputs to get good results. Very entertaining.

Although I would look goofy on one I would buy one to commute on and teach others to ride on.

[Lucy]

As a learner bike the reason I feel I could recommend it is that it does not let you cheat as readily as a GN. You have to be giving it good inputs to get good results. Very entertaining.

Although I would look goofy on one I would buy one to commute on and teach others to ride on.

What do you mean by 'cheat as readily'? Do you mean you have to actually ride it? As opposed to a GN that lets you jump on and feel like an expert straight away? I'm not taking the piss or anything, I am interested in this.

[Big Dog]

What do you mean by 'cheat as readily'? Do you mean you have to actually ride it? As opposed to a GN that lets you jump on and feel like an expert straight away? I'm not taking the piss or anything, I am interested in this.

The GN250's that I have ridden can be pointed and the bike will follow.
I have seen riders on GN250's replace tryes because they are no longer legal. even though the tyre still has chicken strips as wide as, or wider than the worn part of the tyre on each side (including the "new nobblies").

Please note this is a generalisation based on my limited experience with GN's (test riding for friends without licenses and loan bikes when mine have been at the shop) and my experience with GN riders.

I think the reason for the lesser ability to just point and shoot (direct steering at its finest) with the Scorpio Z is the SLIGHTLY steeper rake of the front end.

The result is that the Scorpio is dependent on counter steering and lean to take any turns.

The difference between the two (In my opinion) is that the GN can be ridden much faster under direct inputs than the Z. On the Z if you try direct inputs above about 40kmph and supply enough counter lean to prevent it counter steering it keeps going in a straight line.
do the same on a GN and it will go in the direction the wheel is pointed.

6 of one and a half dozen of the other as to which is better for a learner.
The GN can certainly be ridden using counter steering and can in good hands be a very effective bike. The GN is also very forgiving bike and will get you out of a lot of mischief with no more than a sinking feeling as a warning. get enough of these sinking feelings and you find you think that it is just a part of the riding experience until some one shows you what it really should feel like on their pillion seat or you push your own limits.
But I have seen a few riders climb off them and onto bigger machinery and really crap themselves (and other riders around them) because they have made it all the way to a full license having never taken a corner at a lean.

There is not really sufficient room to go into why leaning is good. There are lots of good books at the library and or threads on here about the same, but that would be a long way off topic.

Suffice to say lean is good for most if not all cornering. Direct input steering (point and shoot) fights all of the natural instincts of a bike.

Riders tend to lose fights with bikes.

The GN is not bad. It just takes a little more discipline and preferably someone with experience mentoring you to not develop some bad habits that will not be forgiven as easily on less learner oriented bikes.

[Gizzit]

i took the heel changer off for a neighbour and put a shifter off (i think) a DT175 - the young guy supplied it.

took it for a good fang - heaps better than a GN - easy @ 100km/h whereas a GN struggles with me on it.

much harder to scrape the pegs......

I just had a look at one these the other day, and yes that heel changer would be the first thing to go!

I have been looking for a new 250cc for commuting on, and the odd run out on the open road, and had seriously been looking at a GN250. I would be interested to hear from as many people as know, which is the better bike, and why. I know the GN has a large following and have been around for years, and I guess these Scorpion's are pretty new on the scene.
Any input from people who have ridden them both would be greatfuly received, as I'm about to lay down cash for one or the other, next week.

[Highlander]

I didn't ride it but sat on and looked at it struck me as a modernised, naked SRX

[Waylander]

I've seen one crash at about 60k and the forka were bent quite badly.

Great commuter though and if the rider is carefull (as a newbie shouldbe) they wont have any problems.

[Dutchee]

I've had my Z for 6 weeks or so. Bought it solely for commuting on, as wanted something low to the ground. Tyres - not good. Being skinny little wheels, when you hit a scrape mark (not sure what they're called) on the motorway, you can feel the bike flexing. Rear brakes - at the RRRS course the other week, I had all my weight on the damn thing & it only just slowed down. Mirrors - seeing multiple cars & bikes can be bloody annoying and can make it harder to decide whether to lanesplit or wait for a bike to pass.
Mileage - 35.6k/1l - finding it strange not to have to fill up a couple of times a week. About 336k I have to switch on to reserve. Reserve is easy to find & switch over. The choke is a PITA to find as it seems too far back.
The heel changer Henderson motorcycles chopped off for me at the first service. When standing up I found I hit it, didn't notice it the rest of the time.
The footpegs fold up easily, so have to ensure I've got somewhere to rest my feet before taking off. Great for when you drop the bike on the dirt, though.
Gravel - not a gravel basher, too much flex, too light.
Definitely a fun little bike. Seat gives me a sore butt after about 60k, so wouldn't want to tour on her. Haven't checked whether the suspension can be softened as you do feel every bump stock.
I hate GN's even though I've never ridden one, so can't compare the two bikes, just give you my opinion on the Z. Forks bending doesn't surprise me, they look more like matchsticks, but for the price, you can't expect an R1.

[Gizzit]

I've had my Z for 6 weeks or so. Bought it solely for commuting on, as wanted something low to the ground. Tyres - not good. Being skinny little wheels, when you hit a scrape mark (not sure what they're called) on the motorway, you can feel the bike flexing. Rear brakes - at the RRRS course the other week, I had all my weight on the damn thing & it only just slowed down. Mirrors - seeing multiple cars & bikes can be bloody annoying and can make it harder to decide whether to lanesplit or wait for a bike to pass.
Mileage - 35.6k/1l - finding it strange not to have to fill up a couple of times a week. About 336k I have to switch on to reserve. Reserve is easy to find & switch over. The choke is a PITA to find as it seems too far back.
The heel changer Henderson motorcycles chopped off for me at the first service. When standing up I found I hit it, didn't notice it the rest of the time.
The footpegs fold up easily, so have to ensure I've got somewhere to rest my feet before taking off. Great for when you drop the bike on the dirt, though.
Gravel - not a gravel basher, too much flex, too light.
Definitely a fun little bike. Seat gives me a sore butt after about 60k, so wouldn't want to tour on her. Haven't checked whether the suspension can be softened as you do feel every bump stock.
I hate GN's even though I've never ridden one, so can't compare the two bikes, just give you my opinion on the Z. Forks bending doesn't surprise me, they look more like matchsticks, but for the price, you can't expect an R1.

Interesting that you say you "hate GN's" even though you've never ridden one It's good to get your view on the Scorpion.
Thanks. I'm still working through the pros and cons of a variety of bikes, and will now probably head towards second hand mid range 500 - 650 size maybe.