Thoughts: UZ125 vs AN125

[cruci]

Hi there, just wondering if I could pick your collective brains for a bit.

I have just got back from 3.5 years in London, where I commuted upto 10 miles each way on a 1998 Yamaha Majesty 125. I had no idea about it when I bought it for 600 pounds, but it was perfect for me: plenty fast, comfortable with a passenger, room for 2 helmets under the seat, and it had a big carrier too, so we could do the weekly shop with it.

Now I am back in Wellington, currently living in Whitby and it is taking me an hour to get to work each morning - twice as long as my longest London commute. All I have at my disposal is a Yamaha Razz 50cc which my wife has had for getting on 10 years, and barely goes 50 with my 6'1" body on it. So at the moment I am scooting to Paramata station, and then train, then a 20-25 minute walk all the way to half-way up Cuba St.

So I am looking at getting another 125 scooter that I can commute with on the motorway. We have just bought a house in Tawa, which will make things quicker anyway, but I think I could get that commute down to 20-25 mins.

Ideally I would like another scooter the size of the Majesty, but they are all out of my price range new, and seem to come up very rarely second hand.

So it currently looks like my two best options are either a AN125 (2500 +ORC) or a UZ125 (2600 +ORC). Wellington Motorcycles don't have their UZs in yet, but I got to sit on the AN. It feels a nice decent size, but not as big as the Majesty. Certainly not room for 2 helmets under the seat, but that's not a biggie.

I've read lots of raves about the UZ on here, but my concern is how good it is with a passenger on board - chances are I would end up commuting with wife in tow when she gets a job in town too.

So, does anyone here have an experience of the AN125? I know it is made in China, not Japan, but it still from the Suzi factory, so that's ok right?

Thanks.

[Del Fuego]

I can't comment on the AN but I own a UZ and it is great. no problem with motorway commuting etc. Im not sure how well it would go 2 up mainly due to seat space. I am 6'3" and 2 up is a bit pushed for seat space ok for short trips but Im not sure how well it would handle a motorway commute 2 up. Unfortunately I have yet to test the AN but most suzis are pretty capable.I would just test ride em both and see what you prefer

[cruci]

Thanks for that. Luckily my wife is only 5'2" or something ;>

What size are the wheels on the UZ? Assuming they are smaller than the AN (which I think is the case) have you had any concerns with small wheels on the motorway?

[Del Fuego]

looks like they are 10" wheels on both. Never had a problem with the wheel size really.. motorway or other. have a read of the review of the UZ on www.thescooterreview.com also have a look at the long term test entries

[cruci]

Nice self promotion there ;> Nice site too...

Maybe my sense of scale is all out, the UZ looks TINY under you! I had already read the review, and it was from there that I thought the wheels looked a bit small...

But you're right, the AN also has only 10" wheels.

From my further research, the AN weighs a bit more (110kgs) but has a larger fueltank (7.8l).

Hopefully WMC get the UZ in in the next few days so I can take them both for a spin.

[Badjelly]

It's just my opinion, but I find it hard to believe any 125 scooter is adequate for 2-up commuting on a motorway.

I've ridden a few scooters and small bikes, but I'm not familiar with modern 125 scooters. How fast do these things go? Will they do 100 km/h between Johnsonville and Tawa, and 80 km/h up Ngauranga Gorge?

What I do know is that I consider my current machine (Scorpio 225, 14 kW) about the minimum for regular motorway riding, 1-up. Of course, you might weigh a bit less than my 90 kg.

[Del Fuego]

have to self promote occasionally haha. yeah i am a giant so pretty much everything looks little under me. It will do 100 on the motorway, dunno about 2 up.. I doubt it. depends what your comute is like... I wouldn't tour on it or anything but generally if you are riding in traffic it gets along fine even on the motorway. I find everyone seems to go pretty slow... closer to 80 than a 100 most of the time and at those speeds you can keep up just fine... i find I am still pretty much passing everyone.

but yeah for a dedicated 2up motorway machine you may want to look at something a bit larger... maybe even something like the gillera runner 180 2stroke but they are pretty pricey even second hand.

let me know what you think after you ride em and i will see if I can suggest anything else.

[cruci]

Badjelly:

Define adequate? :>

I do know that my Majesty 125 would easily do 60mph with two of us onboard. And that was a 1999 I think.

I have no idea how these two (AN and UZ) perform, maybe WMC will let me take it on the motorway for a test :>

It does concern me that on scooterreview.com or whatever it was, there are always disparities between the speedo speed and actual speed. What is the point of a speedo if it is innacurate?

Del:

I'm not really looking for a dedicated 2up motorway commuter, or rather, I would love to, but my budget just wont stretch that far. I'll let you know how I get on.

[Del Fuego]

Yeah let me know...

Oh and regards the speedo accuracy... I know... it is normal for most vehicles to read a little faster than they actually go but some scooters are just miles out... hence why we test em

[Badjelly]

Badjelly: Define adequate? :>

Able to keep up with the traffic. Not blown around too much by the wind.

I do know that my Majesty 125 would easily do 60mph with two of us onboard.

That does sound adequate. Do you think it would hold 60 mph on the hills between Tawa & Johnsonville?

Apparently the Majesty 125 engine puts out 8.5 kW. That still sounds a little small to me.

By the way, I do have quite a bit of experience (admittedly a few decades ago) riding scooters and small bikes 2-up.

[cruci]

Just a thought, could it be due to the wheels being quite small, and therefore having a larger margin for error? Not sure of the mechanics of a speedo, but maybe that's a possibility?

[zooter]

What about a belladonna or vespa? You got your motorbike licence already? The sooner you start, the sooner you get off the learners restrictions.

[cruci]

If I could find a vespa for the money I have to spend, sure. My wife had a ET4 50cc in London - yeah a 4 stroke 50cc, quite strange. Would do 45mph with both of us on it...Possibly de-restricted?

I have my UK licence already, just need to do the theory test to get it turned into a NZ one. The desire for a 125 is nothing to do with restrictions, and everything to do with price.

[Socrates]

Yeah let me know...

Oh and regards the speedo accuracy... I know... it is normal for most vehicles to read a little faster than they actually go but some scooters are just miles out... hence why we test em

On my Piaggio Fly 125, when sitting idle, it's alrady indicating 8km/h. In fact when the engine is off, the needle is still not sitting against the stop. I generally aim to ride at 60km/h to do the 50km/h posted. This may be a vagary of my bike, or Piaggio's in general.

[danchop]

they are discontinuing the uz125 in nz and soley bringing in the an125 so im buying another before they run out