Recommend us a scooter or motorbike please.

Armytwowheels

Armytwowheels

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After much deliberation, swinging back and forth between Smart Car, quad, motorbike and scooter, we think that maybe, just possibly we have decided on a scooter to accompany us on our travels.

Our thinking has developed this way as we want to avoid towing if we can, or extending the length of the van with a rack. After a resuffle, aka chucking a lot of old crap out, we think we have enough room and more importantly weight carrying capacity for a scooter.

We went from this-
image.jpeg


How many shoes?!
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To this. We still have to fit our two MTBs in but think with turning the handle bars we will manage this with the scooter.
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The spare wheel has been taken out and moved forward into the double floor just behind the front axle, the bracket the wheel was on weighed almost as much as the wheel it's self, so fingers crossed we have shifted enough weight off the back axle to allow for a scooter.

The big question is which scooter or small motorbike?

It will have to be second hand and over 125cc but not too beefy or we will have weight issues. We have set a budget of £1,000. Doable or not? If a motorbike it will need to be fairly low as I will be riding it also and I am a bit short in the leg department!!
 
The trouble with scooters over 125cc is the weight most are heavier than a small motorbike.
We carry a 650cc Kawasaki Versys in the garage 215kgs and keep thinking we'll change it for a scooter. If we do we'd prefer something over 125cc as well but most are very bulky and virtually the same weight.
Currently looking at Honda SH125 & SH300 but struggle to find one under £1500.00. Love the bike but a scooter would make more sense but very difficult to find one that suits our needs as we do like to tour on the bike and small scooters not very good at that.
 
Honda MSX125?

It's small enough but it's a relatively recent model so the used price is a little more than your suggested budget.

Broken Link Removed
 
bigtwin said:
Honda MSX125?

It's small enough but it's a relatively recent model so the used price is a little more than your suggested budget.

Broken Link Removed
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Like it, the weight looks promising too.

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Great 2 up,it is a bit tall though.The wee honda looks interesting but small wheels.
 
No contest - get a good Honda ANF 125 - sadly only second hand now. Light, a step through, 17" wheels, low insurance and tax and I get about 140 mg out of mine and up to 60 mph on a good day and a following wind! Two up? Dunno about that as I've never done it, but it hauls my considerable bulk around with ease!

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I have a Honda PCX 125,it is about 120kgs but will tow it on a trailer but would fit in there I reckon,before had a Dylan 125 which was brilliant,would get to 60 two up eventually with two big en's on it and Would just manage 70 with only me :D.
Fill up once a fortnight and easy maintenance Dylan may well be in your budget!good luck with whatever you choose.
 
Hi from miserable wet roadwork blocked UK

Hope all is well with you two. My fourpennorth as follows:-

While a trail bike type would ride better and cope with the roads better the limititaions tend to be the width of the handlebars ( making it more difficult to get in the garage) and the reduced stowage making it more difficult to leave your gear and get your shopping in.

I would also second the call for as big a wheel as you can find and proper suspension. We used to have a kymco 125 which was light and slim and easy to get in but had a smallish seat so could get a bit wearing on a longer journey and had small wheels so felt like a shopping trolley.

None of them ride like bikes, they all seem to have the wind up torque acceleration and you never sit on them the same so they dont handle like bikes.

Im not going to offer a suggestion as there are a lot of models out there I dont know about but I have ridden a few over the years and I think our Aprilia sportcity 300 is as good as you get for the biggest thing you can fit inside, but its heavy at 150 to 170 ( depending who you believe).

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/aprilia/sport-city-300/2008/

way too heavy but I would like to have a go on the honda invicta though because it has a dsg box.



Hope this helps

Jon

btw. I am thinking that next Morocco trip I might find a way to take a quad.

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Looks the same size as our garage in our motorhome and we carred a Honda 125 motorbike not bad two up only had to take the mirrors off, now us a trans alp 650 with a hydralift (WORKS WELL IF YOU WANT A BIGGER BIKE)lots off posts about good and bad I am well in the good camp
 
bigtree said:
Great 2 up,it is a bit tall though.The wee honda looks interesting but small wheels.
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Yes I thought the same about small wheels, but we will make an effort to see one in the flesh. The scooter recommended by SandraL has 16" wheels and gets good reviews, a bit over our budget but we might be able to stretch that a bit!
 
jonegood said:
Hi from miserable wet roadwork blocked UK

Hope all is well with you two. My fourpennorth as follows:-

While a trail bike type would ride better and cope with the roads better the limititaions tend to be the width of the handlebars ( making it more difficult to get in the garage) and the reduced stowage making it more difficult to leave your gear and get your shopping in.

I would also second the call for as big a wheel as you can find and proper suspension. We used to have a kymco 125 which was light and slim and easy to get in but had a smallish seat so could get a bit wearing on a longer journey and had small wheels so felt like a shopping trolley.

None of them ride like bikes, they all seem to have the wind up torque acceleration and you never sit on them the same so they dont handle like bikes.

Im not going to offer a suggestion as there are a lot of models out there I dont know about but I have ridden a few over the years and I think our Aprilia sportcity 300 is as good as you get for the biggest thing you can fit inside, but its heavy at 150 to 170 ( depending who you believe).

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/aprilia/sport-city-300/2008/

way too heavy but I would like to have a go on the honda invicta though because it has a dsg box.



Hope this helps

Jon have the same scooter and its brilliant. Maybe when you are around the south of UK you can look us up. I bought mine new so not sure about secondhand prices. Its every bit as good as the Honda SH300 I had before.

Colin

btw. I am thinking that next Morocco trip I might find a way to take a quad.
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I
 
Sandra and Colin,

We have just bought an almost new ex-demonstrator Suziki Address, for a bit over your budget @ £1400. It is 108cc but will carry us both at 50mph at a push, so plenty of go in it. Automatic so just twist and go. It's dry weight is 97kg and we can push it up the folding ali ramp we bought into the garage.

Very pleased with it so far.
 
Thats the beauty of the SH Hondas I mentioned both have big wheels and handle well I've ridden both.
Got my eye on a SH 125 now if I can get it I'll buy it this week. Probably sell the Versys then.
 
Armytwowheels said:
That looks good too. I am going to have a lot of bikes on my short list at this rate!!
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We had a long list too. The Honda Vision was number 1, but second hand ones are expensive. The Address was much better value and almost identical. The advantage of the Address that swayed it for us is that it has an emergency kick start as well as electric start. We thought that could be useful if we do not use the scooter for a while and the battery goes flat in the garage.
 
If you have a towbar why not get a sensible sized trike ,they can be fitted front wheel into an slot on towbar adapter and towed on they own tear wheels ,no trailer needed .most will have a big box at back to load all your wine and ginger nuts into and they are practical don't need a bike licence to ride one .and can be picked up for around £1200 . Roy
 
Khizzie said:
If you have a towbar why not get a sensible sized trike ,they can be fitted front wheel into an slot on towbar adapter and towed on they own tear wheels ,no trailer needed .most will have a big box at back to load all your wine and ginger nuts into and they are practical don't need a bike licence to ride one .and can be picked up for around £1200 . Roy
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No thanks, a trike is definitely not for us, but I do like your reasoning - room for wine and ginger nuts!

We both have full bike licences and are ex-bikers so a scooter that handles like a motorbike would be perfect, but I guess we won't know that until we try a few.
 
Hi, as you have seen i have a honda vison that fits in the garage (will it did before i droped my bed) great little bike but not too sure what it would be like with two up. let me know when you are about and give it a go.

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I rode that little Honda Vision and it was impressive, if Jax had said yes to a bike that's what I would have ended up with. Light large wheels and at 110cc enough power for a pillion if the journey is not too long.
 
Popeye said:
I rode that little Honda Vision and it was impressive, if Jax had said yes to a bike that's what I would have ended up with. Light large wheels and at 110cc enough power for a pillion if the journey is not too long.
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I yes, I've ridden a vision 110, found it nippy and easy
 
Merc0385 said:
View attachment 100707 I had new Honda vision and its was a really great bike, BUT , wheels a little smaller and a bit light on power so at just over a year old I chopped it in for a new SH 125 and its brilliant did 1k miles last year and View attachment 100707
Click to expand...

Thats the bike I'm looking at much better than most other scoots as it has the big wheels.
Have you ridden it with a pillion as thats my worry with a 125.
Ridden this and the SH300 which is a flying machine but would prefer the lighter 125 if it can perform with a pillion.
Thanks(y)
 
Some time in our murky pasts Jenny and I have hired various scooters on Greek Islands and never had one bigger than 80cc. We had a 50cc one for a day once and it lugged us about quite well, a combined 21 stones or so. (OK in all honesty non of them are going to wrench your arms ot of their sockets).

Looking at the published weights for a lot of these scooters they are at least as heavy as my Blackbird, heavier in some cases, so not a lot of weight saving to be made really. So I think that for myself to take the bike away with us I might as well buy a trailer and get a towbar fitted.

If its only to do a bit of shopping or a little local touring I don't see the need to go as far as 300+cc myself.

My grandson has a 125cc Chinese traily style bike (looks a bit like a kwacker) I keep thinking to myself that would be plenty good enough as a shopping bike for us.

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