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After a recent jaunt around Paris I was taken by the number of maxi scooters doing their rounds, and decided that it looks a great way to travel around a few cities with MrsSlim on the back.
Trouble is I have a rather nice Suzi SV1000 in the garage which would have to be sold to fund said scooter.
I love the SV and am happy to keep it, but at low speed and with a pillion its not the [i]most[/i] comfy option for city riding, not is the fuel economy exactly excellent.
So, id like to know..
what are undoubtedly the best maxi scooters out there?
is it worth considering anything under 400cc?
whats the real world fuel economy figures?
whats the pros/cons?
I like the look of those 3 wheel Piaggio jobbies, of which Paris is full of them. Looks like Yamaha have a couple of contenders too?
I also like the idea of added luggage provision/cubby holes.
Most importantly, will I look a twunt?
When I use to commute into London I looked at one (T-Max), but tbh it wasn't really any cheaper to buy/use than the zx9r I had at the time - and far, far slower (esp. acceleration).
Not sure what the big ones are like now.
Also harder to filter than a bike as you've less 'leg-down' room, based upon getting stuck behind a few in traffic.
& theres the rub, they seem massively overpriced to me (?).
The T-Max is around £8.5k new !!
My SV goes like stink, sounds and looks fab, still looks new (04 plate), and cost me £2k..
This won't be a lot of use to you but I had a test ride on a Burgman 400 a couple of years ago at a dealer open day.
I took it up on to some moors and was most impressed - a windy day and it was not upset by sidewinds. There was some rain and my jeans were still dry when I got back after 30-odd miles. Fortunately there was a stretch of private road so I was able to find out that it was still accelerating well when I had to shut off at 85 or so on the speedo.
They offered to sell me the demo but price was high and my SV 650 does everything I need to do.
I did however do some investigation and it seems that, despite being on the third incarnation of the clutch design, they still fail early on and the silencers still fall apart.
The problem seems to be that Suzuki design it for use as a Gentleman's Express for the businessman to cruise to the office on but the British use it as a touring bike ie covering distance at the speed limit and using the acceleration to keep up with traffic flow and it don't like it.
The thing about scooters is that its pointless comparing them to a motorbike. Yes, if you want you can buy a bike cheaper, and that's great but missing the point. In traffic a scooter will walk all over a bike. More manoeuvrable, no gears to faff with and significantly slimmer.
As for 'do I need one' then that's up to you but it all ties in with 'which one to get'
Short commute round town, but of shopping? 125 is all you need.
All the above plus a bit of dual carriageway and occasional 2 up, maybe 20-30 mile commute? 250cc is all you need
All that with a long commute on fast roads and motorways? Then 400cc + maybe. This is where the line between bikes and scooters becomes finer. If you prefer bikes and can't afford both then maybe a BMW f800gs is better. Doing a lot more commutting all year round then a scooter is more practical, especially in traffic.
We have a Vespa GT200 which easily whisks Mrs PP on a 40 mile round trip commute through heavy traffic and a few miles of the A329M every week, it does a true 73.2mpg, costs £54 to insure, £40 for a tyre and £30 to tax. It's smooth, reliable, practical and comfy and is even good 2 up if a bit cramped with the top box.
We bought it for £900 a couple of years ago and it would sell for the same if not more now.
Basically, it depends on want and need, which only you can work out. Some bikers scoff at scooters but that's ignorance but I wouldn't be without ours now. Too useful, and damned stylish too! 🙂
good points above, the biggest issue I have is I need a do-it-all bike of some description.
80% of its use would be a 25 mile round trip commute, but weekends, holidays etc it would be expected to go 2up and hit 70+mph with ease, whilst touring.
Perhaps ill look closer at the 200-400cc options and see if something stands out
good points above, the biggest issue I have is I need a do-it-all bike of some description.
80% of its use would be a 25 mile round trip commute, but weekends, holidays etc it would be expected to go 2up and hit 70+mph with ease, whilst touring.
25 mile round trip commute sounds like our Vespa would suit you down to the ground. You don't need a maxi scooter for that. Overkill IMO. 🙂
2 up holidays on a maxi scooter? Well, I wouldn't! (We have a Ducati ST3s as well) It would do it, yeah, but a bike wod do it better.
The trick is to find a nice secondhand scooter for not much money. And the thing is that they are in demand now, for obvious reasons. I don't intend to sell ours in the next year or two, if things stay as they are personally.