Thinking of scootering | GTAMotorcycle.com

Thinking of scootering

S

smc

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Seeing if I can get some advice, I'm thinking of buying a scooter. Mainly to go camping with, either by itself or loading into my pickup. My dinosaur of a bike is totally undependable outside the city and it's too heavy for me to load/unload myself.

I can't afford much over $1000 which is why I'm looking at scooters since any bikes in this range are broken hulks.

After perusing Kijiji I've come up with these options:

- Yamaha Vino 125 $1000-$1300 (lightweight, fast enough, expensive)
- Kymco Bet & Win 150 $750 (cheap, heavy (water-cooled), fast)
- Yamaha BWS 50 $800-$1000 (very light, only 50cc will need mods)
- Old Honda Elites 150 or 250 (old, floor brake (bad), fast, light-ish)

I'm leaning toward the Vino as the best all-rounder. I would look at a Zuma 125 but can't find any. The Kymco is the cheapest but I'm concerned about the cheapness. I list the BWS 50 because modding a little 2 stroke is for some reason appealing to me. The old elites are known to be dependable, but I now really worry about anything 80's.

I'd be willing to trade my Shadow if anyone has a scooter they want gone. Everything on it works, but it will need engine work over the winter.
 
bet the BMW50 and put in the simple DIY kit that makes it 80-90cc...it will move.
It have bigger tires and better brakes than a Vino.
 
I had a BW50....awesome and sturdy, lots and lots of mods available.
 
This is great. I saw a vid of Jerry Seinfeld's coffee cars comedians where he mentioned the hungry years as the best of his life, in retrospect. Starting on the ground with a BW50 would certainly give the greatest chance of contrast and best case scenario for memories. I think a 90cc kit would ruin that. .02
 
inreb said:
This is great. I saw a vid of Jerry Seinfeld's coffee cars comedians where he mentioned the hungry years as the best of his life, in retrospect. Starting on the ground with a BW50 would certainly give the greatest chance of contrast and best case scenario for memories. I think a 90cc kit would ruin that. .02
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weight for it
 
Don't be afraid of the Kymco. Rock solid scoots, much better performance than your other choices. Check it out first for cosmetics and other factors.
 
@smc iirc someone in here posted a bws50 for $900

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Joe Bass said:
@smc iirc someone in here posted a bws50 for $900

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That leaves $100 for the big bore kit. I love it when a plan comes together.
 
DoubleJ said:
Don't be afraid of the Kymco. Rock solid scoots, much better performance than your other choices. Check it out first for cosmetics and other factors.
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It would have the best performance, but the added weight bothers me. There doesn't seem to be much of an English speaking community around it either. I really think I'd rather pay a couple hundred extra for a Yamaha.

Joe Bass said:
@smc iirc someone in here posted a bws50 for $900
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Thanks, I'll PM the seller eshum about it.
 
-D- said:
Hannibal
is that you?
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More like Murdock....

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Wife had a 125 vino for three yrs, sold it to a nice fellow on this site. It was quite fun and had no issues during our ownership. Well she did 400kms a year so........I really liked the styling and it rode well for what it was.
 
My wife has a SYM HD200 and loves it. 173cc, liquid cooled, and full sized tires. SYM used to make some scoots for Honda, and my wife's has been rock solid.
 
Kid started on a BW50 to get that first year of insurance and it was fun and kept up in city traffic okay. Had good road presence with the dual headlights. Zuma is excellent but hard to find.
You will find an insurance break if you go with the 50 cc then boost it to 90 with a kit.

125cc and up cost more for insurance....sigh...Ontario.

BTW there is a 125 2008 CBR125 in Chatsworth on Kiji asking $1800 - offer $1500....
 
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What you think 260 bucks to cover insurance expensive? Kymco also made motors etc for Honda for years. There is a following in Ontario. Check Studio Cycle on Bloor. I have had a 250 since 2005,
other than tires,oil and fluid changes have had no issues. Parts are cheap if you drop it.... The 250 weighs in at about 360 pounds, no big deal getting into back of pickup probably the Yamaha is in the range of 260 pounds and being a 2 stroke you better know how to tune it properly once you put a kit on it. Reliability goes down hill fast. Also insurance will not honour your policy if they know it is kitted. As a side note as of July 1st any kitted or modified bike,even a pipe will not get certified in Ontario. Best keep all the OEM parts if you ever want to sell and convert it back. One giant pain in the ***** and a new grab from the Liberals in Queens Park. Have a nice day.....
 
First does anyone know of another way to contact eshum? He's not answering my PM and I have several Kijiji viewings booked, but I like his BW50 the best.

DoubleJ, I know Kymco's history and I would consider buying one, just not the Bet&Win 150. It's 100lbs more then the other scooters (BW50 = 200lbs) and this is a big issue to me. If I saw one of their newer air-cooled machines I would go for it. The BW50 I see more as a toy. I may commute on it since I'm only 10km from my workplace, but for longer rides I'll still be looking at a 125cc+ 4-stroke.
 
Paging @eshum, @smc is interested in yer scoot

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crankcall said:
Wife had a 125 vino for three yrs, sold it to a nice fellow on this site. It was quite fun and had no issues during our ownership. Well she did 400kms a year so........I really liked the styling and it rode well for what it was.
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I started with a Vino 125 and it was a great starter scoot. 5K+ a year almost indestructible
At 175 lbs. it was a struggle for me to get it over 90 kph on the flat. Depending on your camping gear (mine is approx 85l.) Algonquin Park and plenty of other Prov. Park are in range for a weekend trip.
 
I started with a Yamaha Riva and then a Honda Elite... loved em both... you'll be good with whatever decision you make, they are just fun machines!
 
Went to visit a BW50 today. Looked alright, but the mud flap at the back was broken (seems common) and the electric start didn't work. There were some confusing bits though.

1. It had a green plate. The owner said that's what scooters get? I was hoping to just transfer my motorcycle plate.

2. I was under the impression that when off the throttle scooters just went into neutral, yet after only releasing the back brake from starting it quickly accelerates. Is the only way to move it when it's off?

3. The turn signals only worked when I released the brake.

It did have 16000km which for one of these is a lot, but I didn't hear any engine noise. Forgot to ask why they were selling it.
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