Your forever bike! (scooter thread)

[maxredline]

Yes scooter! Got me a Yamaha smax.

   

My ride till I drop bike. The group that I ride with are getting older and have been acquiring scooters for fun.

[MrVvrroomm]

We've had scooters of some form since 2005.

We had a pair of Honda PCX150's that were a joy to ride. We've done 300 mile days on them.

Currently I ride Yamaha Xmax 300 and my wife rides Piaggio BV350.

I love the look on someone's face when they ask how fast my "moped" goes. The Piaggio will do a solid 94 mph (gps verified).

[Lee]

I like scooters. We used to have a Yamaha 180 and 200 plus a Honda 250.
Mainly used for around town stuff but big enough for the highway.

   

   

Now that's we're both retired we don't need two cars and thought about selling Deb's car and getting a scooter as the 2nd vehicle.
Debbie's not sure.
I had a car turn into the side of me when I was riding her scooter home from work. Now she tells me riding around town is too dangerous.
She's fine with going over 100 on a motorcycle but worries about me buzzing around town on a scooter

[Lee]

Currently I ride Yamaha Xmax 300 and my wife rides Piaggio BV350.

If I got another one the Yamaha Xmax 300 would be on the top of my list of scooters to try.
I would want something in the 200 to 300 size.

[Grumpy Goat]

Yes scooter! Got me a Yamaha smax.
...

Not sure what you had done to the image link but it was not displaying properly. I replaced it with one from the Total Motorcycling page, and moved the thread to the "Other Bikes" forum.

[Lee]

When the Smax came out I sat on one and found I did not have enough room for my legs.

[Lee]

The nice thing about the current scooters is all that storage under the seat.
The scooters in the 80 had no storage under the seat.

[ESquared]

I have an '18 Vespa 300GTS Super (287cc, I think), and it has a great storage bin under the seat, with a big sticker that says "Not Safe for Pets", believe it or not. On Vespa Owner's Forums, that nice, removable storage bin is referred to as (not surprisingly) the "Pet Carrier."

[Lee]

I have an '18 Vespa 300GTS Super (287cc, I think), and it has a great storage bin under the seat, with a big sticker that says "Not Safe for Pets", believe it or not. On Vespa Owner's Forums, that nice, removable storage bin is referred to as (not surprisingly) the "Pet Carrier."

I think it was Vespa I looked at online and saw when you remove the "Pet Carrier" you gained access to the engine.
Is that correct?

[maxredline]

Thanks for moving the post to the correct area and inserting a picture that works.

[Liteitup]

Not forever, but I bought an Icebear Vision last year. 150 cc, tops out near 50 mph. I bought it after I swapped bikes with a friend, he had sold his bike and was riding his Xmax. I couldn't find an Xmax for a reasonable price and I have another friend that is a dealer for Chinese scooters and 4 wheelers. I convinced him to order in some Icebear products and bought the first 150 cc he brought in. Not even close to an Xmax, but it is suitable for surface streets and is a hoot to ride. It is/was a good entry point for scooters if you want to try one without dropping $6k+. I still look for an Xmax occasionally.....

[Lee]

Not forever, but I bought an Icebear Vision last year. 150 cc, tops out near 50 mph. I bought it after I swapped bikes with a friend, he had sold his bike and was riding his Xmax. I couldn't find an Xmax for a reasonable price and I have another friend that is a dealer for Chinese scooters and 4 wheelers. I convinced him to order in some Icebear products and bought the first 150 cc he brought in. Not even close to an Xmax, but it is suitable for surface streets and is a hoot to ride. It is/was a good entry point for scooters if you want to try one without dropping $6k+. I still look for an Xmax occasionally.....

Back in the 80s scooters did not sell well in the Midwest. The dealers were tickled when we bought our scooters. I'm guessing scooter sales are better now but I still don't see any in our town.
I do see several Groms. I'd rather have a scooter because of the storage options.

[Grumpy Goat]

So there is a Kymco dealership not too far from my house, and they make inexpensive scooters that appear to be comparable to the other Asian brands. I see no one has mentioned these options thus far in the thread. Kymco is based in Taiwan. Here in Houston scooters are not so popular and it is interesting that this multi-line dealership would offer several Kymco scooters.

Kymco USA website.

They have a top-of-the-line maxi-scooter, the AK550 for just under US$10k
   

and a 300cc X-Town 300i for just under US$5k.
   

[MrVvrroomm]

We've owned 5 Kymco scooters since 2005. They are great scooters, but their dealer support is hit/miss.

There is a difference in quality between the Taiwan-built Kymco vs the Chinese-built. I would put a Taiwan-built scooter up against any Japanese-built scooter.

The Kymco 550 above is a giant. I've had a Suzuki Burgman 650. I put 25K trouble-free miles on it. My 87 year old father has logged over 130K miles between two Burgman 650s. It weighs as much as the BMW RS. The big Burgman is the Goldwing of scooters. The 550 Kymco should be similar.

All said, the Xmax is a brilliant machine available in the USA. Vespa is nice, very nice, but oh so expensive.

[Grumpy Goat]

The Kymco 550 above is a giant. I've had a Suzuki Burgman 650. I put 25K trouble-free miles on it. My 87 year old father has logged over 130K miles between two Burgman 650s. It weighs as much as the BMW RS. The big Burgman is the Goldwing of scooters. The 550 Kymco should be similar.

If the Kymco 550 is a similar size to the Burgman 650 then yes it is a beast, hence the term "maxi" I guess. Good to hear of your experiences with the Kymcos and the Burgmans.

[Liteitup]

Hmmm, wasn't aware Kymco had a 300.

I'll file that away for later research. Thanks!

[Duccrazydave]

"There is a difference in quality between the Taiwan-built Kymco vs the Chinese-built. I would put a Taiwan-built scooter up against any Japanese-built scooter."
I've found quite a few Japanese bikes built in Taiwan.

[maxredline]

De-badged the Smax and had a flat black urethane paint applied along with base coat, clear coat sliver on the grab handles. Just for shits and giggles got some BMW badges to put on.

[MrVvrroomm]

You know BMW sells scooters.....

[maxredline]

Ya, I have one now, made in Japan no less. lol.