What about Yamaha Scorpio Z?

[TOTO]

I'm on the market for my first bike and have been thinking of getting a Suzuki scooter 125 but just came across the Yamaha Scorpio Z. would that be a better choice?

Now I know its not the ultimate sports machine, but has anyone got experience with this bike? I know that it has a back DRUM brake , so is that a disadvantage? Is it stable for a 100kg person ? Would you say its better than getting any other bike ? I know its cheaper than other learner bikes but sometimes CHEAP, can mean expensive in the future. Any help is apprechiated.

[carbacca]

ask EJKDOORAI, he does wheelies and scrap pegs on his.... pretty much a legend on a scorpio really

[JimO]

nothing wrong with drum brakes on the back

[Storm]

Have a go on one mate and make sure it fits you and gets the smile on ya dial before you fall in love with it.
Have ridden it myself and was well impressed with it for its size and finish

[kensuem]

Re the suzuki 125 scooter,dont bother!I bought a new one a while agoand while it would be OK in town,it wasnt really up to open road use,It is quite heavy and made hard work of riding into head winds.Found I rode it flat out all the time,so fuel consumption wasnt that good.
18 months ago I changed to a GN250,and have been satisfied with it in all respects.Still not a race horse,but great value for money.I have now done 16000 klm in 18 months,with no problems,other than the speedo drive seized up.Top speed about 120,fuel consumption about 210 klm on a tank full.

[kazza_nz_05]

And absolutely love it. Great bike, reasonable price brand new, economical fuel wise $12 to fill up. Had no troubles at all.

[davereid]

nothing wrong with drum brakes on the back

Yep, drum brakes on the back are A-O-K, I like the scorpio, a good beginners choice, plus a great commuter and good for the odd longer ride too. The other thing I sometimes suggest is learners look at a chook-chaser (road legal trail bike.) You can learn a lot of really good riding skillis off road. And when you get a full licence, you can keep the chookey for fishing and commuting, and buy a full on road bike.

[Badjelly]

I've had my Scorpio for 6-7 weeks & it has 630 km on the clock. I use it commute around the southern Wellington suburbs and it's very well suited to that. I've ridden it pretty much every day since I bought it and dealt with some wet, wild & windy weather. Great bike. This is the first vehicle I have ever bought brand new in my life--probably the last--and I did so because of the price. In Aussie they sell them for AU$4500.

I find the rear brake has a soft and not very reassuring pedal feel, but I think the rear brake is perfectly adequate. Not a big issue IMHO. Front brake seems good.

Handling is very good. It likes a positive grip on the bars.

Front suspension is a bit soft with my 95 kg on board--it dives under braking a little more than I'd like--but back is about right. Lighter people may not agree.

I don't much like the handle bars: I'd like them a little lower (for leaning into the Wellington winds), maybe a little wider, and with the grips not angled back quite so much. I'm thinking of changing them.

The exhaust is surprisingly noisy. (Am I the only motorcyclist in the world who has said that?) Still, at 3000-4000 rpm it has a satisfying thumper growl and you can cruise around imagining yourself on Matchless 500. A bit misleading, really, as you need to spin in a bit faster to get any torque out of it.

It'll do motorways, but 100 km/h is ~ 6500 rpm, which seems rather busy. Still, I'm sure the engine could do this all day. If I did open road work on it I'd consider higher gearing (or a faster bike).

I think overall quality is good. Lots of plastic (headlight, seat, mud guards) but all looks suitable. Some nice touches, eg. rubber mounting of indicators & headlight/instrument cluster.

Re durability my only worry is the quality of the paint over the frame & stands. After the bike's had a thorough wetting I've found little spots of bright yellow rust here & there. A good spraying with WD40 seems to fix that.

[Joni]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=50632

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=50166

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=38976

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=41291

Search is your friend....

[TOTO]

yea , im 95 ish too , so I think if itas good for you , maybe I'll try it see how it goes. Cant be worse than the scooter I was thinking about. time will tell.

[chris]

yea , im 95 ish too , so I think if itas good for you , maybe I'll try it see how it goes. Cant be worse than the scooter I was thinking about. time will tell.

Buy one, it'll do you just fine.

[speedpro]

Mechanic here in the shop ran in our new demo Scorpio over a weekend and ordered one for himself on Monday. He has fitted slightly wider bars now and has just got the new "muffler" for it. A couple bought the last demo bike on a Saturday and rode it 2-up to Whangarei and back from Ranui on Sunday. 140kmh evidently but I'm thinking that was downhill with a good breeze as well.

[Tank]

Having looked at EJ's Its a nice learners bike - def. better than the likes of a GN250. If you are thinking you might want to move to bigger bikes at sometime its better to learn on a bike compaired to a scooter

[EJK]

Hahaha! Finally a thread about Yamaha "SX-4" Scorpio Z! MUHAHAHAHAHA
I've been riding on it for just below 4 months, done 9400 kms on the clock. I am about 90ish and not too tall.

I assume that you are looking forward to buying a "Commuter" (Scooter or Scorpio). Scooter is a good chice but when dropped, fairing costs might give a serious impact on your wallet. Also, riding on the motorway will be embarrassing.

Since you are buying a commuter, it won't matter much but I'll tell you my story anyways lol Just incase if you want to have a little fun during the weekend

Cruising on the motorway at 6,500rpm seems "struggling" at first, but I got used to it after a month.

Topspeed of 130kph seems enough but psychologically you will want MORE by time to time esp when riding with couple of friends who rides CBR250 and 400 example of my case.

Capabality:
With my Scorpio, I went down to Coromandel, Tauranga and Hamilton. Also gone to Whangarei in North (Going again tomorrow )
My plan on beginning of Dec is to go to Taupo (And I believe Scorpio is capable of it).

Fun: Yes, all bikes can do wheelies. I am not a stunter so I can't say much but I've done some "awesome" wheelies
Burnout is capable. I say almost all bikes can do burnouts lol
Stoppie is also capable. I say most bikes can do stoppies.

Belileve it or not, Scorpio is capable of leanning down till the footpeg FOLDS a bit. But I don't try to do this on high speeds because the thin rear tyre seems a bit dodgy on grips lol

You might say "I want a faster bike!" when riding in a group esp with faster 250cc bikes. Especially on the straights, you will fall behind like a turtle on a drag race. Don't worry, once you get to know the bike, you will catch them up through the corners

Reliability:
I dropped my bike twice and went over a kerb at 40kph . For that, I had bent bars, slightly twisted fork, broken break lever etc etc but it was all fixed by twistinig a wrench

Conclusion: Scorpio is a good bike, all around!

[breakaway]

Topspeed of 130kph seems enough but psychologically you will want MORE by time to time esp when riding with couple of friends who rides CBR250 and 400 example of my case.