ok, after cruising around koh samui on a scooter i've decided that i really want one bad. i assumed vespa would be a good call but i'm sure there are some out there that are just as good and cheaper. who has one? what should i consider? 50cc v. 150cc? auto v. manual? and so on and so forth. . .

c.

Vespas are tres cool, but pricey and fussier than japanese knockoffs. Look for the honda and yamaha versions if that vespa look is what you're after. 50cc will do fine for sub-45mph trips, but if you need to hit 55 or 60, think bigger. You're also gonna get wicked-good gas mileage, like close to 100mpg depending on what you find. And if there is like here, you can park 'em on bike racks.

i guess it depends on how you'd use it. i know some people who use their scooters as their main vehicle and others that just, like, ride to shows or rallies. if you'd be using it pretty regularly, i'd probably go with the 150cc. i think vespas are a great option because their shops are everywhere and they're pretty easy to fix when something little goes wrong.

There are also some affordable older Hondas that'll do like 80 or 85 mph, which is faster than my 300cc motorcycle. But they look "80's Ghey as hell."

i suppose i was asking, given my lack of scooter-type experience, if you think i'd need to break 45 very much.

. . . and c'mon, deep down you know that the "legend of billie jean" special in candy apple red would pretty much rule.

c.

I want one too. Honda came out with one recently that looked pretty cool, but it was style much more ruggedly than everything else out there.

Well, see, there's the thing. If you're 100% in the city, where nobody ever gets a chance to hit 55, then you're just fine. But if you go on roads where the *average* speed is 55, then you're screwed on the tiny ones, and it should not be attempted. My bike is like this, but the magic number is maybe 60, 65. I can hit 80 if I'm being chased by Lucifer, but the bike will not be happy about about it for more than 30 seconds or so. Cruising speed is what matters, and the small scooters usually cruise at 40, 45.

my wife won't let me get one - damnit. she sees to much bad shit in the hospital that freaks her out.

isn't wicked scary on a little scooter at 60? i'm having visions of skateboard-esque "speed wobbles". i suppose i'm answering my own question here on whether i want the bigger engine, huh?

any thoughts on 4-stroke v. 2-stroke?

c.

code for "you'd embarrass the shit out of me"

On newer ones, designed for that speed, it's moderately intimidating, and that fades after about 3 or 4 hours experience at speed. Now on old-school vespas, it's scary as all get-out. Here's why: the rake. Rake is the term for the angle that the front fork is at compared to level ground. The more slanted it is, the more stable it is, but the wider the turn radius. Some genius in italy once decided to equip Vespas with like an 88 degree rake (almost perfectly vertical) with a 50cc 2-stroke engine that would hit 70. It's not unlike trying to pilot a shopping cart down the freeway.

Wear a helmet, and pants / jacket whenever remotely possible, ie, less than 90 degrees out. I wear carhardts and denim (75-90 degrees) or leather jacket (sub-75). It's hot, but nowhere near as hot as road rash.

2 stroke is more speed for the cc's, but less reliability, worse polution, mixing oil with the gas, louder, etc. You'll find 4-strokes as bigger engines and with higher prices, but usually totally worth it.

i do that all the time

cool. i'll go test out a few this weekend. in the meantime, i'll continue to pester you with questions. . .

oh, and big wheels v. smaller diameter? i noticed the piaggio scooters have bicycle-size wheels.

Bigger wheels are better over bumps, better at higher speeds, etc... all the obvious stuff. But they're also... bigger. Otherwise no real difference that matters. Smaller is more common.

I wrecked one sorta like that when I was 16. Still have scars on my shoulder and scalp.

I was pretty shocked when I found out Vespa's can do like 75-80 mph. The only scooter I've ever been on topped out at like 35.

They's some crazy-ass Dave Gahan types zipping around Europe on those Vespas, leaving stylish and asexual damage in their wake. Can't imagine going 80 on those things.

you should have seen the scooter carnage I saw in Italy. One poor fucker drove head on into a truck and was lying dead on the highway that runs along the Amalfi coast bleeding all over the place through his helmet - looked like the guy was trying to pass in absolutely insane traffic on a tremendously curvy road with like a 700 foot cliff down to the ocean.

Saw another crash in Rome where 2 scooters had crashed into each other and both parties were lying on the ground with paramedics tending to them.

those guys are insane and mostly drive around in linen suits.

scooters serve nature's plan of weeding out the stupid.

When I was in Cambridge UK, I spent most of the time cruising around on a Vespa 200. It's a great ride and really takes off on the highway, hitting about 80-85 mph.

i really don't know much about the scooter thing but there's certainly a revival going on with Vespa's NEW scooters. They're certainly much more powerful. They used to be a big city thing, i'd only see them around when we'd be in Toronto.

I live in the Niagara Region, which is an area of a few fair sized cities with some distance in between. (say 10 - 20 kms.) Some nice back roads / two lane hwy / farm roads which i commute on has speed limits of 80kms. And well i'm starting to see NEW VESPAS cruising on these.. so they can certainly keep up on these roads... although i'm not sure if i would go THAT fast....

I was this close to buying one about a year ago...it never happened, and I have still never been on one.

Scooters are pretty gay. You'd do better to just buy a real motorcycle.

If you're gonna get one though, there's no better deal than the Kymco Super 9.


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