Scooter Part 2. The 1/4 liter, is it enough?

In my earlier post I came to the conclusion that not only do the Big Boy's (400cc and up) cost more than I would like to spend they don't get the kind of gas mileage I would like to see. So that leaves me with one avenue left to explore, The 1/4 liter bikes.

The 250cc range of scooters covers a very broad spectrum, every thing from the suspiciously cheap to the extraordinarily expensive, little wheels to big wheels.

First things first. I really don't care for the large wheel scooters such as the Piaggio BV, Kymco People, and others of that style. There are a couple of reasons; 1. Visually they don't appeal to me, I know it's a bit shallow but that's how it is. 2. Because of the bigger tires and wheels there is less leg room. Basically you are in the same riding position as on a standard motorcycle, but without a tank to grip. I'm already able to do that.

That still leaves a large variety of 250cc scoots to consider.

So lets start with a Google search, go to Google and type in 250cc scooter (or just click the link) and you will get over a million hits. If you follow the first 50 links you will find brand names like CF Moto, SunL, JCL, Roketa, Tank, Lance, Linhai, Vog and the list keeps going. Welcome to the Ch The first thing to catch your eye is the prices, anywhere from $1700 to $2500 for a brand new scooter. The prices of these scooters will cause a lot of people to stop looking and get the credit card out. I was a bit skeptical and kept digging (there is some truth in "you get what you pay for"). I'm sure someone will disagree with me on this, but there are only 2 differnt 250cc scooters in that long list of brands, mechaniclly speaking. First is the clone of a cloned Honda CN250, from the Honda Helix, often refered to as the CFMoto 250. The Second is the clone of a cloned Yamaha engine, otherwise known as the Linhai 257. Of all the differnt Chinese 250cc scoots the MC-54 seires seems to be the most popular, and if I was to buy a Chinese scooter it would be one of the MC-54 variants. The MC-54 looks like a Honda Reflex on the outside, but is a completely differnt beast on the inside. The MC-54-250 typically comes with the CFMoto 250 and the MC-54B-250 ussally has the Linhai 257, but if you purchase from a drop shipper you are taking a bit of a gamble on what you will have dropped in your driveway. On the outside these bikes appear to be a good deal for about $2000, but qulity control can vary greatly on bikes coming off the same production line, and once you pay for the scooter you are on your own for service and repairs. So fi you don't have the time and skills or don't wish to learn the skills to do your own wrenching you should think long and hard before buying a Chinese scooter (of any size). One place to get more information on living with a Chinese scooter is Scootdawg Forums. I believe I have the skillset to own a Chinese Scooter, but at this point in lmy life I just don't have the time, so I will pass.

What about a Real Honda or Yamaha? For a 250cc, used is the only way. Neither Honda or Yamaha seem to think we need a 250cc scooter in the States. There are plenty of Honda Reflex's on eBay and craigslist, including everything from salvaged titles (wrecked) to less than 500 miles (expensive). Yamaha's are harder to come buy as the Morphous is the only 250cc out there and they were not a big seller. I haven't seen one on my local craigslist, but there seems to be a couple on eBay most of the time. I have to admit the first time I saw the Morphous I just wasn't sure what to think, but as time has passed I have become attracted to them. I really like the 2008 model just as it came from the factory. With the black wheels it looks like it came out of the most recent trio of Star Wars films, it just seems to float above the ground. If only I could find the right combination of price, location and color...

Suzuki doesn't import a 250 at this time. The not for the U.S. Gemma (straight our of some manga story) might grow on me if it was available here.

The Italian brothers Piaggio and Vespa offer the MP3 250 and the GTS 250ie respectivlly. The MP3 being more of what I'm looking for, but as with the bigger MP3's you pay a preimum for the extra wheel and the engineering it took to add the extra wheel. I really like the look of the Vespa GTV, a special edition of the GTS with a fender mounted headlight, exposed handle bars and faux 2 piece saddle. The physical size of the vespa makes me thank twice when considering my commute.

Finally I have to look at Taiwan scooter manufactures SYM and Kymco. SYM offers the RV250 but it feels to snug for my height. Kymco offers the Grand Vista 250 which reminds em of the SYM, not much leg room. Last but not least is the Kymco Xciting 250Ri twin of the 500Ri but with half the diplacement and valves. The only differance between the 250 & 500 is that the 500 has a parking brake and optional ABS. I really like the look and feel of the Xciting 250 (photo above), it's pretty much at the top of my list of potinel buys.

I'm still not sure a 250 is right for me. I need a test ride to get a feel for the performace and handeling of the 1/4 liter bikes. I have been riding a bike for the last 13 years that came out of the factory with 70 horsepower and 60 ft/lbs of torque. I know that I won't get the same performance out of a scooter, that's not why I'm interested in a one.

I would like to give the following scooters a test ride:
Kymco Xciting 250Ri
Yamaha Morphous
Vespa GTS 250
Piaggio MP3 250

If I get a test ride on any of those scooters you will be the first to know.

See you on the road.
Gordon

To Scoot or not to Scoot? Part 1 the big boys.

One of the reasons I started this Blog/site was to chronicle my experience buying a scooter. As I stated in the one and only previous post I have been riding motorcycles for quite a few years, but in that time I have never really been a motorcycle commuter, that is until last year. I'll admit it, I'm lazy, and commuting by motorcycle takes a lot more work(ATGATT or all the gear all the time) than does dumping your stuff in the car and leaving. So with the skyrocketing price of gas last year I came up with a system to ride to work with out getting up much earlier than if I drove the car, and it worked pretty good. The only thing that was disappointing was that I never got better than 52mpg on the bike, and that was with the bike freshly tuned (air, fuel, oil filters, plugs, oil change, adn TB sync) with the average about 47-49mpg. This was still way better than the 30 mpg I could get in the car, but I had hoped to see mpg closer to 60.

The Spark. At some point last summer I saw a Piaggio MP3 500 traveling down the road and I immediately thought that's the ticket, a Scooter! And so it started, probably my favorite hobby, Research. My situation is this; I have a 50 mile roundtrip commute, each leg starts and ends with stop and go traffic up to about 50mph. In the middle of each leg is the Interstate, in the morning 5 miles adn in the evening 10-12 miles. The speed limit on the Interstate is 60 mph but the traffic tends to run 70+ mph. So I figure I need a will cruise atleast 65 mph to survive the daily Interstate run.

The MP3 500 being what got me thinking I started with it, and it didn't take long to realize it was not a good canidate for me. Money Money Money. At almost 10k to ride off into the sunset, it would be difficult to justify. Even used ones are going for way more than I would be willing to spend.

So who else made a 500cc scooter, well Piaggio did, besides the MP3 they had the X9 500 (discontinued) and the BV 500. While both would do what I wanted, they left me uninspired. Again who makes a 500cc scooter? Yamaha has started to import the Tmax, but it is quite pricy, and it being new to the states it will be a while before any good used deals show up. Next is the Kymco Xciting 500Ri, and it looks like a winner, triple disk brakes (ABS opt), fuel injection, DOHC, 15" front / 14" rear tires and even a 12v outlet under the seat. The price is looking better also, around $7K out the door with ABS. I almost forgot it comes with a 2 year warranty. Could it be I found what I was looking for? Well it turns out no. All of the big boys those mentioned above and the Honda Silverwing and the Suzuki Burgman 650 get about the same milage as my motorcycle. Even the 400cc scooters such as the Piaggio MP3 400, Yamaha Majesty, and the Suzuki Burgman 400 only get milage in the mid 50's.

1/4 liter, is it enough? Stay tuned for the next post.

GAW