Advice needed on purchasing first scooter!

[Scooter Girl]

Hello everyone

I'm thinking about purchasing a scooter and need some advice. I currently ride a bicycle and am looking to upgrade for those longer trips and wet days.

I don't know much about scooters, other than that you need a car license for a 50cc and a bit about 2 and 4 strokes. Can anyone give me some advice as to what would be a good scooter for a 'newbie'? What do I need to look out for when purchasing? I want something with a lot of storage space as I tend to lug around a lot of stuff. I also need something that can handle hills, as Tauranga has a fair few of them. I'm also a bit worried about having an accident or falling off, as cycling is a lot more controlled. I have a learners license, but can't drive a car. I've had some experience driving tractors and ATV's though.

Thanks for any advice anyone can offer!

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Hello everyone

I'm thinking about purchasing a scooter and need some advice. I currently ride a bicycle and am looking to upgrade for those longer trips and wet days.

I don't know much about scooters, other than that you need a car license for a 50cc and a bit about 2 and 4 strokes. Can anyone give me some advice as to what would be a good scooter for a 'newbie'? What do I need to look out for when purchasing? I want something with a lot of storage space as I tend to lug around a lot of stuff. I also need something that can handle hills, as Tauranga has a fair few of them. I'm also a bit worried about having an accident or falling off, as cycling is a lot more controlled. I have a learners license, but can't drive a car. I've had some experience driving tractors and ATV's though.

Thanks for any advice anyone can offer!

Please... Please for gawd sake stay away from the Chiness models, buy at least a Japaness Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha etc... you won't regret that bit of advise

As for falling off, ride as if nobody has seen or heard you even if they have looked you right in the eye. Ride as if every one is out to get you and think ahead .

With the scooters you probably won't be able to go over 55k's any way so speed won't be a problem, unless you are down hill with tail wind while farting for a turbo boost... then sometimes they are prone to speed wobbles but you just ride to your skill and ability and have fun and take care.

[mdooher]

Possibly get a motorcycle learners licence and a slightly larger scooter, at least 80cc. This will allow you to at least pretend to keep up with the traffic and you can even do your full licence on it in 6 months
Apart from that ..... everything NighthawkNZ said

[canarlee]

i agree, a slightly larger scooter would be better. spesh if you are going uphills! you dont want to have to push the bugger up em do ya?

[Scooter Girl]

Can't you ride in the cycle lanes though? Will a 50cc not get you up hills?

[El Dopa]

you need a car license for a 50cc :

You need a CAR LEARNER licence (the scratch and sniff test) to ride up to 50cc. You need a motorbike licence for anything bigger.

and a bit about 2 and 4 strokes.:

2-stroke motors are virtually indestructible in scooters. If you are not mechanically-inclined, a 2-stroke is recommended.

My wife had a 50cc 2-stroke Honda Pal for some years. It was left outside in the rain throughout six months of the winter one year without being ridden or started (her scoot, her problem). Come spring, I charged the battery, drained a bit of water from the carbs, et voila - started first time.

She also crashed it twice with only minor scuff damage.

So, a 50cc Honda Pal (or equivalent) is recommended. They are indestructible.

However, they will only do about 45kmh. Which is fine on the flat in the city, but will not be fine if you're intending to ride out on the open road in the country. In fact it will be actively dangerous.

But if you need more power, you will need a license.

Also, all scoots are a bit limited luggage-wise. How much do you mean by 'a lot of stuff'? A couple of steamer trunks?

[Scooter Girl]

Hi El Dopa

Well on my bike, I normally have a large backpack and one of two pannier bags. I have a learners car license, but can't drive a car. What are 4 stroke motors like? What is equivilent to a 'Honda Pal'?

[kaz]

Can't you ride in the cycle lanes though? Will a 50cc not get you up hills?

It will get you up the hills but you may hold up traffic behind you. A 2-stroke will give you more power for hills than a 4 stroke (but they smoke) so a good and well-priced 2-stroke Yamaha Jog (which I tried out once up a very big hill in Wellington) would be ok.

However if you can stretch to a slightly bigger engine, it will ensure you can keep up with traffic.

You will need proper protective gear - jacket (with armour), gloves, pants, boots, helmet. I started on a 50cc 4-stroke which I absolutely loved, then pinched my partner's Vespa 150cc, and now have a 250cc which allows me to go on the motorway very comfortably.

Not sure about the cycle lanes (does someone else know?) I can't imagine that bicycles and scooters would go well together. Usually those lanes really are for cyclists and they need them coz they can't travel at the speed of the rest of the traffic or get out of your way easily (I used to cycle commute for a while). Bus lanes, yes you can travel in those (unless they are "Bus Only" bus lanes). But the appropriate way to ride is to ride in more or less the middle of your lane, as you would if you were in a car. If you hug the gutter, you will only encourage cars to treat you badly, or you will send out confusing signals about your intentions, and you will run into problems. So you need to ride like you're a vehicle that deserves to be on the road - which is why others (and I) encourage you to choose something that allows for that.

[kermit63]

I'd go for a scooter that had enough power to go a bit faster than the traffic. I see some appalling driving round Wellington with car driver either tailgating scooters, or trying to muscle them off the road. It's nice to be able to create a bit of space between yourself and whatever's behind you. I had a 50cc scooter in Dunedin a long time ago and it was pretty weak on the hills. I had to push a couple of times and even a wee scooter is pretty heavy.

Don't skimp on the protective gear either - all the stuff Kaz says. You only have to hit the road once to understand how important it is.

Whatever you get, I hope you enjoy the riding.

[Warren]

Stick to one of the better brands with reputation for reliability and proper dealers with parts that will still be there in 10 years time. If you wanted more power you could get your motorcycle learners and get a 125cc 4 stroke, they have more than enough power around town but cost a bit more to buy and need more expensive llicencing and WOF's.

[Scooter Girl]

Thanks guys. I've been reading that you can do something to the engine to make it go faster, but I also know it's illegal, cause it then has to be registered as a motorcycle, but apparently the cops aren't very up with the play about this. Could you not get a 50cc and do this instead of getting a faster engine?

[Steam]

Could you not get a 50cc and do this instead of getting a faster engine?

Yip, and it's quite easy. There are step-by-step instructions on the internet detailing how to remove the different restrictions.
And there are heaps of dorky guys out there who'd love to help a girl de-restrict her scooter.

I had a 50cc suzuki scooter in Taiwan, it had been derestricted by a previous owner, I got it up to 70 on the flat fairly regularly. And I weigh nearly 100kgs.

[Scooter Girl]

So is that just the same as getting say a 100cc engine?

[Steam]

So is that just the same as getting say a 100cc engine?

Definitely not that much.
Go for the 50cc now anyway, and you can see if you like riding, and start getting your real motorbike license while you are riding the scooter. Plenty of time for more cc's later.

[kaz]

Well on my bike, I normally have a large backpack and one of two pannier bags. I have a learners car license, but can't drive a car. What are 4 stroke motors like? What is equivilent to a 'Honda Pal'?

Hi Scooter Girl, if you carry that much stuff you'll probably need a Top Box as well as the seat compartment to fit everything. You'd easily get the contents of 1 pannier, plus a bit more into a scooter seat compartment but you would not also get your backpack's contents in unless you get a Top Box.

4 stroke motors are generally very reliable and robust and tend to last longer. You don't need to add oil when you put in petrol as you do with a 2-stroke. 2-stroke sound high pitched and whiny; 4 strokes make a lower more gruntier sound. 2 strokes put out smoke which is kind of uncool for the environment. But you get more power output from a 2 stroke for the same engine size (I won't attempt to explain the mechanics of combustion here; someone else will do a better job at that than me!)

To give you an idea of the difference when riding...
I used to have a 50cc 4-stroke Sym Mio (Sym is a well respected Taiwanese brand). Derestricted it would do 62km max on the flat and 46km up a big hill. I tried a 50cc 2stroke Yamaha Jog on the same route and it did 75km on the flat and 60km up that same hill.

A 100cc or 125cc engine would get you to a maximum of around 90km which probably sounds like too much as you might just be thinking of 50km zone travel. However when you're heading up hills, the bigger engine would mean you can easily do 50-60km, not hold up other traffic, and not feel like you're ringing the guts out of the scooter. But it would require a motorcycle learners license (you do a 1/2 day course, which is worthwhile, and a written test for this). Equally a 50cc Yamaha Jog or other 2 stroke would probably give you enough power for what you want - and they're cheap at around $2000 new.