MOPED/Scooter opinions

[mikebaileyvienna]

Looking for a 50cc moped/scooter. Rider is a large (6'3"+) young man. Looking at the Honda Ruckus, maybe the Yamaha Zuma or Vino. Your thoughts...?

Please spare me the usual moped jokes and the general nose snubbing of these little bikes. Thanks

 

[JSP]

Ruckus has a huge following and apparently awesome little guys. Everyone loves them. I would go that route. Tons of mod stuff out there too for them.

 

[JT]

I dont know b=much about them other than everybody loves the ruckus. talk to mistahT he has/had a few

 

[JSP]

I'd rock this bitch!

 

[MistahT]

I dont know b=much about them other than everybody loves the ruckus. talk to mistahT he has/had a few

I've had a bunch of scooters (well, and my friends don't have garages, so they kept their scooters with me. For a while I would work on and ride them all pretty much whenever I wanted )

For reliability and longevity, stay away from cheap chinese scooters. Had a few, 1 never broke down, but the rest were constantly in need of repair.

2 stroke and 4 stroke Zuma are both nice bikes and, surprisingly, the newer 50cc 4 strokes are supposed to be the same speed as the 2.

The Ruckus is a really cool bike. You name it, I've done it to my bike or someone else's. Stretched way out, huge rear tire, 150cc motor swap, etc. I used to get rolling high-fives from strangers and people hanging out of moving cars to ask what it was and tell me how cool it was. You can make or buy just about anything you can think of for it. And if you play your cards right, you can do a 150cc swap for under a grand like I did.

Down sides: Might want to look into upgraded suspension first being on the bigger/heavier side. Also, Rucks are not terribly cheap and get stolen a bunch. My buddy just got his jacked last week and now has to take the bus. Unlike the Zuma, there is ZERO storage space on the Ruckus.

Don't be disillusioned by the 50cc. They are great fun and great on gas, but sloooooooooooow. the 35-40mph top speed doesn't get you as much as the complete lack of acceleration. 150cc swap is fun, especially blasting by cars at nearly 65mph, but these can be illegal and the motors aren't as reliable as the stock honda. (In my own experience, I never had an issue with my 150cc engine, but the stock carbs for it were another issue :banghead.

I loved my Ruckus and still miss it sometimes, but it's nothing like a motorcycle. Real moto better in everyway.

 

[lukeb817]

Seems like a 50cc might be a bit small for someone that big? The Ruckus is cool and super modifiable, but I'm a big fan of the Honda PCX...cool looking and far more practical than a Ruck for actual transportation, IMO. The '11/'12 model was 125cc, and the new '13 is 150cc...you should be able to get a pretty good deal on the older 125cc models that might be sitting on a dealer's showroom floor.

 

[MistahT]

Seems like a 50cc might be a bit small for someone that big? The Ruckus is cool and super modifiable, but I'm a big fan of the Honda PCX...cool looking and far more practical than a Ruck for actual transportation, IMO. The '11/'12 model was 125cc, and the new '13 is 150cc...you should be able to get a pretty good deal on the older 125cc models that might be sitting on a dealer's showroom floor.

At least in Maryland over 50cc you need a motorcycle license... and motorcycles are cheaper than scooter used around here, so just get a motorcycle.

 

[mikebaileyvienna]

thanks everyone

thanks everynoe

 

[Anthony]

A scooter? :spank:


Why do you want a scooter?

 

[Fenixgoon]

A scooter? :spank:


Why do you want a scooter?

haha this is my thought. just rock a ninja250 or something like that. they get awesome gas mileage, and you have the ability to go places (e.g. highways) where mopeds are illegal.

i hate seeing mopeds on the shoulders of the busy streets where i travel to work (3-4 lanes, 45-60mph)

 

[JSP]

There may be license issues here which is why they may be limited to that small CC.

He asked not to hear the scooter bashing, lets stick with that please. :thumbup:

 

[MistahT]

There may be license issues here which is why they may be limited to that small CC.

A good reason to take a 50cc scooter and swap in a bigger motor. Suprisingly common in the Ruckus and Zuma crowd. I did mine for under a grand using quality parts. 4hp engine? Meh. Try 12 :thumbup:

 

[Brock Kickass]

Scooter mod community is huge. You can do a lot of cool stuff. Are you in the city? If I was riding every day in the city I'd have a good look at a scooter and mod it until you couldn't tell what it began life as. My FZ1 is surprisingly good in urban riding (especially the naked version) but that much weight and horsepower is not necessary, a total waste of fuel.

As far as scooters holding up traffic, that is an operator issue. People who bash scooters are often being narrow minded or maybe a little insecure? Every machine has a use. Sometimes it's easy to latch on to a stereotype and have a laugh (hands up if you've never, ever made a cruiser joke) but scooters are practical, and can be a lot of fun. I wouldn't be ashamed to burn one around.

I would have reservations about owning a scooter as my only 2-wheeler. It's not versatile enough. However, I would supplement bike ownership with a scooter sooner than a CBR125 or something. That's just a (insert sport bike name here) lite. It's like what you already have but not as fun. A scooter is a completely different scene. You will rarely find yourself wanting your bike when you're on your scooter or vice-versa.

 

[MistahT]

Scooter mod community is huge. You can do a lot of cool stuff. Are you in the city? If I was riding every day in the city I'd have a good look at a scooter and mod it until you couldn't tell what it began life as. My FZ1 is surprisingly good in urban riding (especially the naked version) but that much weight and horsepower is not necessary, a total waste of fuel.

As far as scooters holding up traffic, that is an operator issue. People who bash scooters are often being narrow minded or maybe a little insecure? Every machine has a use. Sometimes it's easy to latch on to a stereotype and have a laugh (hands up if you've never, ever made a cruiser joke) but scooters are practical, and can be a lot of fun. I wouldn't be ashamed to burn one around.

I would have reservations about owning a scooter as my only 2-wheeler. It's not versatile enough. However, I would supplement bike ownership with a scooter sooner than a CBR125 or something. That's just a (insert sport bike name here) lite. It's like what you already have but not as fun. A scooter is a completely different scene. You will rarely find yourself wanting your bike when you're on your scooter or vice-versa.

Well said!

 

[DragonBlu]

My advice, same as Mr.T,,,stay away from anything made in China. I have worked on many scooters and Honda would be my first choice.

 

[BoneJj]

Scooter mod community is huge. You can do a lot of cool stuff. Are you in the city? If I was riding every day in the city I'd have a good look at a scooter and mod it until you couldn't tell what it began life as. My FZ1 is surprisingly good in urban riding (especially the naked version) but that much weight and horsepower is not necessary, a total waste of fuel.

As far as scooters holding up traffic, that is an operator issue. People who bash scooters are often being narrow minded or maybe a little insecure? Every machine has a use. Sometimes it's easy to latch on to a stereotype and have a laugh (hands up if you've never, ever made a cruiser joke) but scooters are practical, and can be a lot of fun. I wouldn't be ashamed to burn one around.

I would have reservations about owning a scooter as my only 2-wheeler. It's not versatile enough. However, I would supplement bike ownership with a scooter sooner than a CBR125 or something. That's just a (insert sport bike name here) lite. It's like what you already have but not as fun. A scooter is a completely different scene. You will rarely find yourself wanting your bike when you're on your scooter or vice-versa.

My only problem with them is the people that buy them and think they can take them on roads that are 65mph rated.... Like the road to the college I go to.... There are a couple scooters that take that road which they can't even get up past 45mph because the riders are too big to have such a small motor move them any faster. They really make for a dangerous situation. And I and the administrators at the campus have asked these people to use the other entrance to the campus that is on much slower roads, they still choose to use the more dangerous road....

other than that really big annoyance I like scooters, I think they have their place on particular roads and should be utilized regularly but the key is using the tool in the right environment for the right job.

That being said. I've kind of wanted to get a ruckus just to screw around with and tool around the neighborhood on. They can be rather fun, I helped a friend do a few mods to his a while back. We swapped it out for a modded 150 that was out to just under 200cc and had a heck of a lot more power. That thing would actually get up to about 70 with his little butt on it.

 

[MistahT]

My only problem with them is the people that buy them and think they can take them on roads that are 65mph rated.... Like the road to the college I go to.... There are a couple scooters that take that road which they can't even get up past 45mph because the riders are too big to have such a small motor move them any faster. They really make for a dangerous situation. And I and the administrators at the campus have asked these people to use the other entrance to the campus that is on much slower roads, they still choose to use the more dangerous road....

other than that really big annoyance I like scooters, I think they have their place on particular roads and should be utilized regularly but the key is using the tool in the right environment for the right job.

That being said. I've kind of wanted to get a ruckus just to screw around with and tool around the neighborhood on. They can be rather fun, I helped a friend do a few mods to his a while back. We swapped it out for a modded 150 that was out to just under 200cc and had a heck of a lot more power. That thing would actually get up to about 70 with his little butt on it.

Yeah, bone stock with a horrible untuned carb, my 150cc did 64mph. As soon as I sold mine, this huge Ruckus group started growing in my area. Now I'm there go-to mechanic, so I still get to ride them a bit.

Just be careful, when you have a Ruckus, all your money mysteriously starts disappearing...

 

[yfz6r]

I drive a china scooter. Paid $625 brand new on ebay. Arrived in great condition but I had to saw off a metal part under the seat so the seat would close.

Have driven it over 1000 miles now and spent less than $50 in repair parts (only repairs needed was kickstarter gear assembly). and a battery. The current battery is now 2 years old and still starts like a champ.

I'd go with a 50cc. They are so easy-going, light, and get over 80mpg


Another nice thing is if your pistons go out, bore kits are about $70 so you get a fresh, bigger motor.

However, if you don't like tinkering and maintaining, go with a more expensive Yamaha Zuma or Honda.

Zuma's are the sexiest scooters out there IMO

 

[MistahT]

yfz6r, good to hear you're having luck. I also had one chinese scooter (a 150cc) that had all the body pannels falling apart, but the motor started every time, even after it sat all last winter. That one bike was invincible! However, this isn't the norm.

 

[Brock Kickass]

China stuff is coming along. There is a load of crap out there, but some stuff coming from China is getting decent. Make no mistake, if you need Yamaha quality the best Chinese stuff will not do, but if you are a casual user and you shop carefully you can get a decent machine for a decent price.