Modern Vespa

I returned a few days ago from a family holiday trip to Maui. I had done a bit of research online looking for rental scooters in Maui, but the vast majority are 50cc and not ideal for my intended use. There were a few places renting Genuine Buddy 170s, but then I found 808 Mopeds in Kaanapali (outside of Lahaina). We stayed on the southern shore in Maalea harbor.

808 Mopeds were splendid to work with and I highly recommend them. Sharon and her team were top notch and their scoots are in great shape. I arranged a 3 day rental of a SYM CityCom 300 for $286 total, which was less than the Buddy 170 rentals from other businesses. They also had a SYM Fiddle 200 if you wanted something smaller. The Citycom is a very good scooter, great brakes and a responsive, powerful engine. Comfortable, but you're pretty locked in as far as seating and foot positioning.

Riding a scooter on Maui is a tremendous experience. I was able to explore the island and experience it very differently than from in a car. We also rented a Jeep from Maui Lifted Jeeps for some off-road adventures - cheaper then the large rental companies and far more capable off-road. With wonderful views of mountains on one side and beaches/ocean on the other, maintaining focus on the road can prove difficult. I took time to pull off and take it all in much more frequently than I usually do.

I was able to do a complete loop of the western end of the island. starting in Iao Valley Park, I took Route 340 from Kahului heading west along the northern coast is challenging, but paved all the way. I got caught in a rainstorm and the mud on the road made for some slow going, but the views were amazing.

I made an attempt to go up the 10,000 foot Haleakala volcano. The road is very winding and in good shape, but the temp differential once I got to 4000 ft elevation made it too cold to finish. I wasn't properly dressed in shorts and t-shirt. I did make it to the top later in the Jeep and the temps went from 90 degrees F at sea level to 50 degrees F at the summit. When I go back, I'll be sure to have some warm clothes to do that full ride - it is an incredible stretch of road. I wound up following along the southern face of the volcano above Kihei and Wailea. this was another fantastic road that led to a starkly different landscape littered with black boulders. Along this section of road on the southern side I found a scooter graveyard. A small cluster of 6 (?) small 50cc scoots likely stolen, stripped for certain parts, and then burned - rather a sad site. This area of the island is also littered with derelict cars and trucks.

Speaking of incredible roads, the highlight of my Maui Scooter Adventure was taking the Road to Hana. From the Kahului, I headed east on the Hana Highway; it's a very winding and twisty for the last 30 miles. The pavement is in overall very good condition, but you have to pay close attention to oncoming traffic coming around blind curves and crossing over 60 1-lane bridges. I ran this road to Hana and back in a single day (60+ miles total) and it is a glorious ride! I have ridden the whole BRP, Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway and many other great roads in WVA/SE Ohio - the Road to Hana surpasses them all. Challenging curves, great pavement, tremendous views over a 30 mile stretch with waterfalls in the jungle, ocean vistas, and roadside food stands.

If you get the chance to get to Maui (or any of the other islands), be sure to carve out a few days to rent a scooter and go exploring.


West Maui Loop

Central Maui along southern slope of Haleakala volcano

Road to Hana

SYM CityCom 300 - fast with good brakes and good handling

Rental came with a nice chain, rental Jeep was the only good security option.

Iao Valley needle

Maui's North shore view

North Shore Winding roads



Out to the sea

Scooter Graveyard

Glad to see y'all had such a great experience. Looks like a fantastic place for a scoot. I rented a Harley Sportster on the big island in '19, I guess I should have spent more time on Maui, LOL. Thanks for the post, I feel a little warmer just reading it.

Nice write up on your Maui trip! How was the travel experience? Any resistance with being a tourist in this time of Covid?

Maui was an annual escape for us for about 20 years. I still think it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The road to Hana has to be experienced to appreciate the unique character of that road. We've done it by car, but never on a scooter - I'm guessing that would be big fun. When you go back next, try a sunrise at Haleakala and a bike ride down the mountain. Whoosh!

Thanks for the photo essay (and the memories) - fun!

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I was offered a boat job on Maui 10 years ago. My wife nixed that because of the 120 day quarantine they had on domestic pets at the time... no way was she going to put the sweet kitty we had then in their quarantine kennel. I was thinking: a boat job where I can wear shorts and a T-shirt instead of freezing my butt off in the Pacific Northwest... sounded pretty good to me at the time.

CrazyCarl,

Thanks for the photo adventure. That would be super on a scooter.

Rocket J
Frost Bite Falls Minnesota

When you see this, you know there's good riding ahead.
Nice ride report. I've never been to Hawaii, and clearly that was a mistake.

Great write up, CrazyCarl. Also nice to know about the Citycom, was it the newer model with the 278cc power plant or the older 263?

howdy
this does dredge up memories of '78 when i was there an rented a mazda glc which had specific language in the contract to NOT ride the loop from lahaina to the north. i was sightseeing one day and came to the top of the ridge on a gravel road not intending to go through but got too far down and couldn't back out. the road was nearly impassable and when i got down in the bottom , all i saw were jeeps and the natives just stared and shook their heads watching me wind down the dirt road tying to avoid the holes into which the car would have disappeared and never came back. i knew then why the rental company didn't want the car to go there. good memory though it could have ended badly with having to be towed out and paying damages to the car. it was a beautiful trip.
ken

Thanks for the write up and the pics. You have lifted the spirits of many of us who are waiting for the all clear before doing such an adventure.
I feel better already
Tony

This is salvage! You rode through the most treacherous roads some of which are one lane only.

I was really afraid of getting up there.

I did go zip-lining around some of that area. Visibility was really clear.

Did you get to go to Big beach and Little beach?

man, this is SUPER BALSY, in terms of waiting for HI quarantine, riding single lanes on a rental, all of it.

We have a spring break booked to Honolulu, and I'm hoping to hop over to Maui but I believe my fam's going to make me cancel if the adults don't all receive vaccines by then.

Looks super fun though, I should've totally rented a scooter instead of a car the last time there.

Max - there is one section of 340 that is very tight and when it was raining I was pretty concerned being on a strange scoot and roads I didn't know in poor conditions. But I took my time (10-15 MPH) and made my way carefully through. I did not stop at the beaches you mentioned, but several others throughout my stay.

Going to Hawaii requires a bit of pre-trip planning and execution these days - thankfully my darling wife took care of that. Fill out a few forms on the Hawaii travel website and get your Covid test no more than 72 hours prior to departure of your final flight into Hawaii. Load the results to the appropriate website and get a QR code to show at the airport when you arrive. If you need a Covid test and results in a short time, I highly recommend Walgreens - had our results in about 45 minutes and they were busy!

This trip wasn't just about scooting. Whales, beaches, turtles and the great outdoors featured heavily. Also had a bit of fun off-roading in our rental Jeep.








Cleaning Fee?!?!?

It sounds thrilling. This is me on Kuai. No quite as big but...

Loved reading this!

Awesome experience!

My dream trip! Reminds me I need to hope over to Maui one of trips to Hawaii (when they resume)!

Awesome trip but you really should have hooked up with the Scooter Guru Mitch who now lives on MAUI

https://www.instagram.com/mitchsscooterstuff/

Awwww crap! I did not know that was where he was living. I have watched a lot of his vids on YouTube - has proven very helpful in the past.