Modern Vespa

Ok, I'll tell you ahead of time that this post has little to do with Vespas, but it is about scooters (Has anyone considered a modern scooters bored? An all brands version of this place would be nice).

I'm prolly within a week of getitng my first scooter after a lot of research, online shopping and the like. Me and my husband will be getting a pair of Kymco Vitality scooters ifn Lucy's Joyrides still has the leftover 2004, though its been quite a few weeks (settling in to a new job and moving atop financial problems makes buying a scooter difficult). Why that choice? Relatively chep, long warranty (2 years P&L), and lots of recommendations. Really I think it might be the best choice for a scooter, not fast enough to get you in trouble, recommended for reliability with a warranty to back it up, and reasonably good looking. What do y'all think?

As to other brands, lets see, here's what I was told...
UMD, I think that was the one I was first lookintg at, the nearest dealer'd stopped carrying them, didn't think too highly of them
TnG, good quality, bit slow though compred to similar scooters
TGO, not sure of this name, Taiwanese like Kymco, also very good, but rare
Honda, Yamaha, other big names, a bit over priced and under warrantied, but good
Derbi, good, but its going botique, meaning parts are available as assemblies and everything's more expensive
Stella, very good, all steel scooter, no negatives
Bajaj, one dealer, and she's fond of them

There were prolly a few more that I forgot, but that pretty much covers it. My opinion of the various low end Chinese stuff is that its more a matter of QC, they'll sell anything they make, good in their home market perhaps, not so good here. Throw in far too many schysters in the sales chain, and what you have is an inconsistent product with no support network. Prolly a good buy ifn you're capable of dealing with any problems you might run into, but a bad choice for the newbies they appeal to.

While I am planning on getting the Vitality, I plan that as a stepping stone and am seriously considering a Stella for my next one. I like the company's enthusiasm, take a look at Genuine Scooter's site, it has a nice fun small company feel. Plus, they have the oddity of being made in India when it seems nearly every scooter regardless of brand is made in China, and I do love things that just don't conform.

My scooter wish though is for a dual sport (I think that's the right term), something with a bit more aggressive tires and more aggressive suspension, almost a necessity out here where you have to deal with either roads under construction, or desperately in need of it. That's when you're not in one of the areas not yet paved, done pizza delivery on the occasional dirt road out here (You might be a redneck if the directions to your house include 'Turn off the paved road').

So, thoughts, opinions, recommendations folks?

Oh, forgot, I's a newbie, in fact, this is my second post. I'm a coffee addict in Phoenix AZ, where nearly everyday is sunny (350+ days a year), making a scooter the perfect economy transportation solution (12 or so miles one way to work). For a laugh, my day job is as a route driver for a vending company, I drive an Isuzu NPR, one of those big ass cab over delivery trucks, a fun contrast in vehicles, no?

There is in fact an all-brands scooter board, although I personally don't think it's very much like this place. It's called ScooterBBS, but... well, most of the users here are refugees of sorts from that board.

I personally don't know much about your potential scooters, although my wife owns a Honda Metropolitan and it's a solid little scooter. Underpowered, but solid. Stellas are cool. Don't know much about the rest, but some of the other members of this forum might jump in with what they know.

Hopefully we will all be civil...

Chuckles, "Yep, that board led me here. I'm sujrprised you're not familiar with Kymco, the overwhelming preference for the brand here left me with the assumption that it was extremely well known."

If you're planning on going 50cc, and want dual-sport...look at the Piaggio Typhoon, and then kit it out to 70cc...that "rocks" !

The Kymco has to be one of the better made scooters out there and the price isn't to bad. The important thing about a scooter brand is always customer service and parts. If it breaks down is there a place for repairs. A two year warranty will not help you if there isn't a place for service. I know one of our sales reps owns a Kymco people 150 and she loves the thing, but there have been issue. The place that she bought it from has a great service department and they have taken care of the pending issue, but it has taken awhile for those repairs. Anyways that is my 2 cents. Do your research and pick the scooter that is affordable and offers great customer service for repairs, until then appy scootering and good luck, Ciao !

Sean

My wife and I test-drove a Kymco People 150 and a Piaggio LT150 this past weekend, but I don't know if that qualifies me as knowing anything. My wife wants something with a little more oomph than her Metro, and she's got this idea in her head that she wants bigger wheels. The two likely candidates, therefore, were the People 150 and the LT150. Both scooters were not really tuned quite right, and had been sitting for a little while, so neither ran great, but I'll ignore that.

I didn't really like the LT150 -- my knees were right against the leg shield, and I'm not a tall guy. The geometry forced by the larger wheels really seems weird, and I just wasn't comfortable. The People 150 was actually quite a bit more pleasant (which surprised me) but overall didn't handle any better than a small-wheel scooter, but then it was not a very substantial test-ride either.

I like the LT150 myself. My girlfriend has one and says she like the big wheels, which I might add are a bit more stable then an ET or LX. Although I do not care for the looks of either (Kymco, LT150) it is still a nice scoot to comute on. I think the Piaggio Fly 150 is the best deal in town. Have you check it out Jess??


Sean

I've seen the Fly, but haven't ridden it. I think it's kinda cool, and I'm guessing it shares a reasonable amount with the LX? My wife hates the styling, though, and has already vetoed it.

Actually I'd meant that as a type of scooter I'd really like in the future, and not necessarily in a 50cc, the 50cc is just my first scooter.

As to tthe warranty thing, this is true, I just hope that a company with the balls to put a 2 year warranty on the table can live up to it, they're certainly more confident then the others I'd looked at.

you honestly cant go wrong with a Kymco
i have owned a People 50 (bumped up to 70cc)
& ridden my girlfriends people 150
solid scoots never any problems (even after the upgrades)

I have an ET4 with no problems whatsoever,i ridden kymco and stellas and both are real nice scoot with one been easy to handle and the other powerful on steep hills etc; as for my experience with the ET4 i have pass tru mudy&dry dirt roads no problem,good to handle in trafic & highway,
parts and service are available for all of the above depending on where you're at,good luck!

Cheers!
CUCO

TGO, not sure of this name, Taiwanese like Kymco, also very good, but rare (Check with Cobrasales.com for a dealer near you)

may be TGB? I am a new owner of a TGB 303R 50 and am very happy with it.

I too researched:

Kymco - second choice mostly because of location of dealers (none here in DE) and price a bit higher than TGB. The dealer in Ocean City MD uses Vitality as the workhorse of the rental business but cant seem to get any more of them.

Yamaha - Zuma would have been second choice but the 4.5hp rating would have pushed it into motorcycle status here in DE - this is my first 2 wheeler with a motor and a 50cc moped is all I need.

Honda - when I looked all that was left was Met II and while my wife would be happy on one I needed a little more (and room for the wife on the seat)

Tanks - no dealer network, only one shop that just started carrying Tanks (after years of carrying whatever came in the container so who knows what they'll have next year) and the concern about parts availability.

TGB topped the list for several reasons. Dealer network (with full year warrenty). Again there are no dealers in DE but several within a reasonable commute, either from home or the beach. TGB claims to manufacture engines (or parts) for Vespa and others. 12" wheels with street tires. Well proportioned and one of the largest seats in the 50cc arena (no room for a luggage rack/trunk but plenty for me and the wife). Price was definately a factor over the Kymco, as was styling when compared to the People 50.

my 10 cent worth - all the best on your new ride, whatever it is

Diversity is good.

I'm in favor of all scooter brands, capacities , and price brackets. Good luck with your first scooter purchase.

Javarod,

I'm not suggesting this to be nasty at all, but are you aware of the Kymco Scooter Forum on Yahoo? It's a very active group with a lot of folks who are truely knowledgeable about the Kymco scooters. I am a member myself. I joined because I was interested in the Kymco People 250 (I still am - I test rode one and loved it)

oh i miss the Kymco Yahoo forum i was banned for taking a negative stance on the crap scooters known as UM (UnitedMotors)

Kymco has been around for a long time now. They were at the NY Motorcycle show along with Honda, Yamaha... as was Genuine. Complete with President Phil McAleb. I have known and read of many happy Kymco owners in the NYC/LI area. They seem to be tough.

My advice? The Stella is your best bet. I own one, so I'm prdjudiced, I'm sure. Even though Im a well known Twist and Go boy, The oppurtunity to own a brand new, updated, traditional scooter at an affordable price was the best thing I ever bought on two wheels. The quality is amazing and it has a very solid "I know I'm getting back home" feel to it. Its the pride of my collection, even if its not the fastest or the oldest nor the most expensive.

Here is a picky of my latest scooter...

i hate to jump on the Marbles bandwagon but the Stella is my favorite scooter to ride on trips under 150 miles
....even sold off my 74 Rally200 to by a 2nd Stella

I would say to you, if it's not strictly a financial issue, go buy the scooter you want. If you like the Stella, get one. Take the MSF course and learn to ride it safely and properly and just enjoy it.

Ok, mass comment reply, Bryce gets tackled first.
Well, a part is financial, I'm brutally strapped, it took over a month to pull off a way to finance this for me and my hubby (yes, I'm that type of a man ), but a large part is a belief in starting small and safe, the Kymco looks like the perfect way to get started and learn everything including how to do at least basic repairs m'self.

Stent, I'm seriously thinking of the Stella as my second scooter, I expect they'll still be going strong. I am somewhat concerned about the comfort for a long ride. While I do rarely travel, I do sometimes like going up to Prescott, 125 to 150 miles one way, and family is back east (NJ/PA as well as CT), and I prefer driving over flying. Also as I said, I'd like to go with a dual sport most likely, though I think something with at least 150cc, Ital Desian I think it was had a nice one on the board before poofing.

Jrs Jr, thanks for the link, I'll being joining that right now, hopefully its a useful group, something that seems far too rare on Y!

Beach Buzz, you're likely right, the brand was unfamiliar to me, but my situation is basically the opposite, I can find like 3 Kymco dealers withing 10 to 15 miles of me. Have a usuable link for TGB? TGBscooters.com just brings me a blank page on Firefox. As to brands, the closest Honda dealer sucks, took around 20 minutes for them to find me a sales person when I mentioned scooters, and the sales pitch was basically 'There's what we have (off in a corner by parts/service), which one do you want?' Geee, don't go out of your way for me. The local Yamaha/Derbi and a few others dealer wasn't much better, they're also interested in selling motorcycles, and only grudginly sell scooters.

I think I got everyone, if not, I will next round.

We have 138 members in our SQREAM Scooter Club here in Denver. Next to Vespa/Piaggio scooters, the scooter with the highest satisfaction rating seems to be Kymco. The bikes run well, are reasonably priced, and are reliable. For taller people, the bigger frame is a big plus.

Nods, "I put $300 down yesterday on the scoot, an 04 Vitality left over at $2050 tax included (9.1% sales tax), so its a good price. She was the only place I could find a 50cc Kymco, one shop told me that they're out nationwide as the new emissions laws will require a new engine design for 06. The dealer I bought from was saying that she wonders what Stella is going to do about the laws since their engine doesn't comply either, and the company that manufactures their scooters doesn't make a 4 stroke (basically the only way to comply)."

I've heard that Genuine has an EPA exemption until 2008 for the Stella.

cobrasales.com or google tgb 303r. cobra sales is the importer (I believe) and they have a dealer search based on zip code.

Unfortunately, its now a web form that you submit, with a promised reply within 24 hours. Aside from the fact that I'm a bit iffy with handing out my info like that, its also a matter of having to wait for at least a day just to find out who's selling the things here. That's on top of the impression the web site makes, which really isn't favorable.

Matt you had a Rally 200?
dood...how come?

I woulda kept the Rally (i drool for one)...

what is your 2nd stella BTW..i know you have the gb.

Me and my buddy mike went scooter shopping today. After looking at some px's and then some stellas...hes going with the orange stellas. Cool scoot.