Modern Vespa

i have a MP3 250. i'm quite fond of it. on the other hand, it's a big boy tipping the scales at 450 lbs. my wife would like to start riding but she's afraid it might be a bit much for her to handle at first and i'm not one to argue if it'll get her from the pillion into the saddle. she's 5'4" and about 125 lbs, for reference.

so eventually we'll be looking for a scooter for her. what i'd like out of it:

- reliable/has local support (ie, not off-brand chinese)
- fuel injected
- low seat height
- lightweight
- more than a 50 cc

this is what i've come up with thus far after perusing the websites. anyone have additional models to add in for consideration? again, please note that i'd like to confine this search to fuel injected models. my MP3 is on there for purposes of comparison.

I don't have any others to add to the list, but I didn't know Honda was bringing back the Elite. How fast will it go?

While I know inseam is pretty important for telling whether a bike is tall or not, I'm just an inch shorter than your wife, so I can give a little input.

My GTV, same size as the GTS, is fairly tall. What makes it really an issue, though, is that the floorboard is so wide. I cannot flat foot that bike at all, and I doubt I could even if I got a cut-down seat. I can mostly touch with the balls of my feet if I'm wearing proper shoes, and can flatfoot to one side if I lean it. Now if she can handle it well and loves it as much as I do, I say go for a Vespa 250. Just know that it is not friendly to us shorter folks.

I sat on a BV once, and couldn't touch the ground at all. But it wasn't the new Tourer model (I'm not sure if they differ much), and it was on the stand (I can toe-touch the ground with my Vespa on its stand).

Good luck with your search! There's not a ton of great bikes for shorter folks that are over 50cc and fuel-injected just yet. Hopefully that will change soon. My best advice would be to narrow it down to a few that she likes, and go sit on them, off the stand. That will tell a lot. Get a test ride if possible.

Another thing...

If you can wait until spring or so, that's when some dealers are expecting/hoping/supposedly getting the new fuel-injected Vespa LX 150. That would be a fine choice to consider. Not sure if they're going to make the S 150 or the LXV fuel-injected as well, but I wouldn't be suprized at all if they did.

Yes, same issue with my wife. Perfect fit on Yamaha Vino 50 but couldn't do MP3 250. Solution, S 150 with Pirate cut down seat. As said above, the width of the floor-board AND the seat width are critical. She wont like a bike she doesn't feel safe on. Good luck.

The Yamaha Zuma 125 can't be beat for the $$$

I had one......

Don't have details for you, but Scoot will have a review of it in their next issue. They have a photo of it in the latest issue (#51, page 14). "108cc liquid-cooled, fuel injected four stroke engine"

It's a rebadge of the model known as the Lead in the UK. May have another name in other countries.

So after 20 years of not changing the style, Honda kills the Elite. They then revive it as a rebadge? Meh.

Honda SH150: injected, 30.9" seat.
http://powersports.honda.com/2010/sh150i/specifications.aspx

My preference would be for the Honda SH150
I find them really cute & practical

But... you really should consult with your wife about this

I think some of the 2010 Taiwanese (SYM and Kymco) models may be adding fuel injection. You may want to contact a dealer and ask about this. Most scooters in Taiwan are eventually converting to FI to meet emissions regulations. There's an injected version of the Genuine Buddy in Taiwan, though we may not see it here for a couple of years.

Is fuel injected a hard-and-fast requirement? It seems like a shame to leave the Buddy off that list, as it meets several of your other requirements quite nicely.

I was thinking that, too. It's pretty freaking fast for it's size. I was suprized to learn it wasn't fuel-injected after I test rode one.

From the title of the thread I thought you were looking to swap your wife for a scooter:

"Scooter for my wife - light, fuel injected, low seat height"

Hey, it could happen.

haha

go for the s150 ie!!!

Take a look at the Genuine Buddy 150's too. They've got some pretty decent features and are nice little scooters.

There may be an injected PGO/Genuine next year. They're definitely working on a 270cc touring scooter, but there are no other specs available yet. Less likely, but still rumored: a 220cc injected version of the belated Blur.

I agree with the Honda SH150. Great scooter.

+1 She's short enough that seat height might be pretty important for her first experience. Good value for the price, too.

Something bothers me with a bike with 16" wheels and still drum brakes in the rear....

That is crazy money for a 150.

If she is a new rider and unfortunately new riders crash a bit, I would recommend starting with something a bit cheaper or used. There will be hundreds of people dumping used bikes in the next few months cheap. Find something a year or 2 old and save some $$ until she is better at riding. She can decide if riding is her thing without you dumping all that $$ on a new bike. After she is comfortable riding and a pro get her the new Vespa of her choice.

yeah, fuel injection is pretty key for us, as is Euro 3 emissions. we try to live with a low impact, and that includes driving little and picking vehicles with low smog forming emissions (not to mention mpg, which will also see a little boost with FI).

thanks for the replies, people. this wouldn't be until next spring at the earliest, anyway, so we'll see about the FI Vespa 150 and other korean? beasts that might appear in the interim.

Our Vino has been a good, reliable scoot and easily accomodates my partner (5'2"). I hear really good things about the 125 Zuma. I would strongly recommend you take a look. Good scoot. Good price. Fuel injected. Low seat. Dealers all over the place.

Personally I would much rather have a carb on a low displacement scooter. So much less to go wrong, so easy to fix if it does.

The Xciting is a fuel injected scoot on the larger end of the scale. You should be able to get some used next spring or check with the dealers in the colder sections of the country as they will be looking to move them out before snowmobile season. Seat height is pretty low for such a large scoot.



Engine Type

4-stroke EFI water-cooled SOHC
Displacement

249.1cc
Bore/Stroke

72.7x60mm
Cooling System

Liquid
Ignition

Electric
Gearbox

Automatic CVT
Chassis

Steel
Front Suspension

Telescopic forks
Rear Suspension

Adjustable hydraulic shocks
Front Brake

Dual discs with dual piston calipers
Rear Brake

Single disc with dual piston calipers
Front Wheel/Tire

120/70-15
Rear Wheel/Tire

150/70-14
Seat Height

30.25 in.
Wheelbase

61.8 in.
Fuel Capacity/MPG

3.38 gals./ Estimated 61
Weight

407 lbs.
Available Colors

Blue, Charcoal
MSRP

$5,249

If an MP3 250 is too large and too heavy to fill the bill, it does not seem that a 407 lb, 62 in wheelbase Xciting would do any better.

My wife is 5'2" and under 110. She rides the same MP3 250 as you. My wife and I both took the MSF class before getting on a bike, though. That made all the difference in the world, IMO.

Yes fuel injection means less fuel stench in the garage
Cleaner smoother running engine
Quieter
More economical
Fewer service intervals
no throttle starting/no cold start sluggish take offs
More HP
More torque.


I have just purchased the new LX150ie and it is leaps and bounds ahead of my old carburetted LX125.

good point. she's planning on the MSF course in the spring, and i kind of hope that she'll come around after the course and hop on my MP3 250 without a second thought. we'll see, i suppose, but in case she does want to start on something smaller then i'll have my research done.

I had a Yamaha Majesty 250, that had a low seat height but was not injected.
The later ones may be?
Not sure if it would be known as a Majesty in the states?
It's model name/number is YP250, might be worth a look.

I was wondering why you would consider putting your wife on a 150 and you would ride a 250 or bigger. Wouldnt that create a problem with her keeping up? ( I blew up a scooter doing just that).
I would worry more about seat height and weight of the bike instead of worrying if its fuel injected. If you'd do that youd have more choices. Honda reflex , Kymco grand vista, even the Burgmans and the Yamaha Majesty sit rather low.
Maybe once she takes the MSF class she will have more confidence and experience to choose a scooter thats a little beyond a learners bike. (Not tha these arent good bikes). It could save you some $$$ in the long run if you wait and see how well she rides and what SHE likes.

Just MHO not wanting to step on anybodys toes!

like the others, I recommend the Buddy 125-150

If you could give up fuel injection, the Buddy gets excellent gas milage-mine just kept getting better and better-when I last checked it was over 100 country-90's city.
It is faster than anything else that size. Reliable too. I have a shother inseam and the seat height is great. I manage on the GTS, but am thankful I got a lot of experience on something more managable.

Of course it is!, but I really don't think the carb has much to do with it.

It will be your scooter so the choice is yours, however I disagree with your rationalizations regarding FI.

Carbs are a closed system, odors generally come from the tank vent

A cleaner smoother running engine is debatable, other factors are more important than FI or carb

I think FI is much less economical, generally your paying more at the front end for it, your mileage is going to depend much more on tire pressure, belt wear, roller wear etc. If service is needed on the fuel system FI is much more difficult...and costly..to have repaired.

If yout scooter sits for a while and the fuel system gums up its quite easy to clean the carb, not so much the injector


Service intervals are going to be the same, your oil, belts, rollers valves etc don't talk to the fuel delivery system.

FI or carb has nothing to do with cold performance, any motor should be warmed up, fuel delivery system has nothing to do with it.

More HP and torque? I have no idea where this information comes from. You can do alot more to tweek a carb system than an FI system to obtain increased performance.

If your set on FI that is your choice. However I think you are eliminating many excellent scooters!

Let us know what you decide on!

The secret to a tranquil marriage...
She gets what SHE wants

Trust me on this


(And, just a thought:
You might want to save your concerns about fuel injection
until she's ready for a scooter that can keep up with yours)

+1. While I'm personally a big fan of FI, seat height and bike weight are far more important for a new rider than FI.

And as others have said, it's not like the Buddy treads heavily on resources -- 80 to 100 MPG. Buying an FI bike that gets any less MPG than the Buddy just in the name of FI is clearly a false economy.

I just feel like you're doing your wife a disservice by insisting on FI in this case. The other requirements you've listed, and the reasons for listing them, indicate that FI should probably be the very last thing on your list -- a "nice to have", not a "must have".

So true!


If mamas unhappy...nobodys happy!
If mamas happy...everyone is happy!

if there are otherwise more or less equivalent options that only differ in price and whether they have FI then i see no reason not to go for FI. headaches are worth money to me.

i agree that weight and seat height are the big factors, and if there weren't FI options that met those two big criteria then i wouldn't insist on it. as there are, however, i see no reason to consider the Buddy and other similar carbed bikes unless they offer some other incredibly compelling advantage.

i don't think she'll be spending too much time on the expressways. she's not much of a fan of them, bike speed entirely aside. aside from the 55+ mph range i don't see why a 150 wouldn't be able to keep up with a 250 ridden sanely, far from the limits of its capability, especially given how light she is.

The GTS 250 might be too tall and heavy for her. I get the balls of my feet on the ground now. I am getting a lowered seat from Pirate soon. I am 5'3" with a 28.5" inseam. I way a little bit less. I am fine on most roads and have no problem when moving. However, I have to really work to park it, because I have to push it. I cannot back it up while sitting on it. Does your wife have strong arms? Have her try to push one around when you go test drive one. See if it's an issue. Good luck.

This actually shouldn't be much of an issue, if the less experienced rider is leading
(as is often recommended)