Scooter Answers

When I was first considering buying a scooter, I needed a lot of help figuring things out. How fast could a scooter go? Would the gas mileage make the scooter a worthwhile purchase? What brands are out there, besides Vespa?

Fortunately, I had lots of help: the people at the Motorcycle Shop and the Texas Road Rats offered me lots of free advice. Thanks to their expertise, my husband and I were both very satisfied with our first scooters.

Since you may not even know of a dealership where you can ask for this sort of advice, I’ve compiled a list of the things I didn’t even know I should be considering. This should give you a starting point so you know what questions to ask.

1. Roads and traffic

First off, you need to consider where you want to ride your scooter. Do you live in a big city, with a lot of traffic? Are you used to taking the highway to work? Unless you want to invest in a larger scooter, you might need to change your commuting habits. The smallest scooters - mopeds - are great for college campuses, but they often only go 35 mph. The largest scooters - touring styles like the Suzuki Burgman - cost and weigh a lot more, but they can get up to high speeds, often in excess of 80 mph.

Lower speeds are safer, and you also have to realize that many drivers don’t see scooterists and motorcyclists, so you’ll have to be much more alert and practice good defensive driving, especially at higher speeds or in heavier traffic. Consider what alternate routes would be safer. You might realize you will have to spend an extra 15 minutes on the drive to work in order to lower your risk.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, you might live in a rural area. Gravel roads are not as safe because you lose traction, and you might end up breathing a lot of dust. Commuting for a longer distance also means you’re likely to get tired on the drive. Many people enjoy riding scooters for long distances, but it’s something to consider.

2. Weather

Across most of the U.S., it is not possible to completely replace a car with a scooter. Why? Because of the weather. It is possible to ride in the rain, but it’s uncomfortable at best, and because scooters have smaller tires than cars it’s a lot harder to brake when the pavement is wet. If you live in an area where it snows or ices, you won’t be able to ride at all during bad weather. You simply won’t be able to stop on snow or ice.

Hot weather may make it less attractive to ride your scooter, too. It is important to wear safety gear during every ride, and during the hot summer months this may make you pretty uncomfortable. If you’re planning to replace your car with a scooter, you need to have a backup plan: have your spouse drop you off at work on days when you can’t ride, or find public transportation that will get you where you need to go.

3. Affordability

In general, scooters have a low sticker price and tend to get very high gas mileage. Of course, this all depends on the brand and size of the scooter you buy. Vespas are reliable and attractive scooters, but if you’re looking at them you should realize you will be paying a lot just for the name. You can buy comparable scooters in other popular brands, such as Kymco and TNG, for thousands of dollars less.

You’ll want to research the different sizes, styles, and features of scooters in order to get a ballpark idea of how much money you are going to spend on your scooter. You’ll also want to consider whether to buy a new or used scooter, since a used scooter can give you a chance to decide whether you really like riding or not, before you invest a lot of time or money.

Sizes and features will impact your fuel mileage. If you don’t have far to drive and you choose to go with a small scooter, like the Genuine Buddy 50, you may end up getting 100 miles per gallon. If you live outside of town or plan to go on longer pleasure rides, you might end up buying a Suzuki Burgman 400, which will get a much more modest 50 miles per gallon. And just like cars, scooters come in so many brands, sizes, and styles that you could end up anywhere in between.

In general, most people choose scooters somewhere in between the Buddy and the Burgman. Scooters such as the People S 250 get a good balance of fuel mileage - 85 mpg or so - while still having enough power to get you up to highway speeds.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve considered how owning a scooter may require you to change your driving habits, the next step is to start narrowing down what kind of scooter you want to buy. Stay tuned for our upcoming series on how to choose the right scooter for you.