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I really enjoy my 2016 puma 125, got it for 3k otd new. It goes 60mph with me and a passenger, but we are both like 100+150lbs together. It cant go on highway but it goes everywhere else, has a lot of trunk space and super comfortable.
These were the same questions I was asking 4 years ago. In Minnesota you don’t need a motorcycle endorsement if a scooter is less than 50cc (legally these are considered mopeds). Mopeds do not exceed 30 MPH. After doing some research I ended up deciding to go with a 150cc scooter which can go 55 MPH thinking that would be enough to get around town and occasionally commute to work. I passed the written exam to get a motorcycle permit before I made the purchase and later used the scooter to pass the driving test (test is very easy on a scooter) and obtained my endorsement.
In my case even a 150cc scooter ended up being too limited and it only took me a few months of riding to outgrow it. I also had a friend with a motorcycle and it was easy for me to see that the scooter was really my “gateway drug” into the motorcycling world. Needless to say I sold my scooter and now have a ‘real bike.’
Now in terms of which kind of scooter to buy I present to you the hierarchy of scooters:
BMW
Vespa Piaggio
Honda Suzuki Yamaha
Sym Genuine Adly Kymco
Anything made in China
Or a better way to look at it is everything made in Germany, Italy, Japan and Taiwan is good quality and anything made in China is....not so much. The price you pay for a scooter will reflect this too.
If you’re on a budget I would suggest getting a used reliable brand scooter than a new Chinese scooter. You can thank me later.
For Prestiege get a BMW, Vespa, Piaggio.
If you want reasonable operating cost
Get a Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, SYM, KYMCO, PGO.
Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda aren't rated number 1,2,3 for reliability and lower defects for nothing.
What is a real bike? Most real bikes aren't ridden.
My advice is to buy a brand that has a dealer network within reasonable distance, that way if it ever needs repair it’s not that big of a deal. Avoid those Chinese knock offs because if something breaks you won’t find anyone to fix it.
Mine is 250cc and honestly I think anything less than that would be dangerous to put on the highway. Sometimes there’s a need to accelerate out of harms way.
As a total beginner, I'm thinking I'll start out on the slow, local streets and back roads and stay off the highway, interstates and freeways for the time being, at least until I learn the ways of 'motored cycling'.
zuma is a whole lot of fun. I would see if you can find a lightly used one, I see them for sale with 20,000 miles for like 1.5-2k so they hold value, I bought mine new @ 3k so I could enjoy 20k miles trouble free. Perfect for everything except highway. 60mph and below is fine for me. I am 150lbs, but I haul around 100lb girls with me just fine @ 59-60mph
For the smaller scooters I do like the Honda PCX150. I almost bought one before buying my Kymco Xciting.
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