Buying a...scooter? (Harley, ride, moped, bike)

[SpeedyAZ]

Lately I've been searching around for something inexpensive and fun to tool around in (versus driving my SUV everywhere). I've looked at motorcycles, trikes, and now...a scooter.

Basically I want something that is small, fuel-efficient, fun to drive, and cheap to buy/insure. It'll just be used to tool around town and I doubt I'll take it on the freeway (hell I'd be downright scared to). A motorcycle was the first thing that popped into my mind but after I started looking, I realized that they are most definetly NOT cheap (even older, used ones) and I really can't afford to spend a ton of $$ right now.

Would a scooter suit me?

Budget is less than $7000 but I don't want a POS either. I'd also like something with a bit of substance to it and now a rinky-dink little moped.

But I have NO knowledge of motor scooters what-so-ever, does anyone here have one or know someone that has one? Any good websites?

[Roaddog]

There are a lot of nice scooters in that price range, stick with a major manufacturer like Honda for a good quality bike, take a motorcycle safety class and wear some protective gear, a full face helmet is a must. with your price range you could pick up a nice brand new 200cc motorcycle very easily.
You can search the major manufacturers web sites for an idea of what you want and pricing, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha are a good start.
I've been riding motorcycles for 32 years, just be careful and learn to ride the scooter well before getting out on the road, practic in a large parking lot and take a class. I can't imagine being without a motorcycle, the good gas mileage is just extra on top of all the enjoyment of riding.

[AksarbeN]

Suzuki Burgman 650 & 400

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products...7/Default.aspx
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products...8/Default.aspx

An old friend of mine from high school drove from Omaha, to Phoenix and back up to Salt Lake City and over to Yellowstone and then on back to Omaha. He turned 62 and wanted to make the trip but didn’t realize that he would have trouble with other highway traffic, local traffic wasn’t too bad but he sure didn’t like the highway. He also did some camping while in route as you can see with the extra bags on the scooter.

[SpeedyAZ]

There are a lot of nice scooters in that price range, stick with a major manufacturer like Honda for a good quality bike, take a motorcycle safety class and wear some protective gear, a full face helmet is a must. with your price range you could pick up a nice brand new 200cc motorcycle very easily.
You can search the major manufacturers web sites for an idea of what you want and pricing, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha are a good start.
I've been riding motorcycles for 32 years, just be careful and learn to ride the scooter well before getting out on the road, practic in a large parking lot and take a class. I can't imagine being without a motorcycle, the good gas mileage is just extra on top of all the enjoyment of riding.

When I was a teenager I had a motorcycle and loved every minute of it. I don't think I'll have much of a problem driving it since riding a motorcycle is just like riding a bike (in the sense that you never forget how once you've learned).

Suzuki Burgman 650 & 400

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products...7/Default.aspx (broken link)
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products...8/Default.aspx (broken link)

Now THAT is something I could get used to. It has some substance, price is great, and it looks cool (reminds me of the Honda Goldwing). Might have to check into those...

[Drover]

Holy Cow... a scooter with a 650cc engine?? Maybe I just don't have much imagination, but if you're gonna have that much engine, why not just get a conventional motorcycle?? What would be the advantage of this versus a conventional motorcycle? Is it just a comfort preference or something?

[SpeedyAZ]

Holy Cow... a scooter with a 650cc engine?? Maybe I just don't have much imagination, but if you're gonna have that much engine, why not just get a conventional motorcycle?? What would be the advantage of this versus a conventional motorcycle? Is it just a comfort preference or something?

Price, comfort, and ease of use. While I was searching online I found a scooter made by Honda called the Silverwing (basically a scooter version of the luxury Goldwing). Price of the Silverwing...$8000 while the Goldwing is a whopping $20,000+.

I'd rather have a motorcycle but they are definetly an expense and it's just not in my budget at the moment.

[mountain_time_Blues]

Suzuki GS500f. A great bike for what you want. It has outstanding maneuverability, thanks to its low seat height and lightweight and is very forgivable. Comfortable seating position. It’s an excellent commuter or just around town bike. Full fairing. Gets 55+ mpg. Very affordable with a msrp of $5,199.00 for 2007 model. Only 500cc. (487cc) and insurance on it is not sky high. Like on other models. (Like CBR’s, GSX-R or those stupidly insane Hyabusa’s) Also, Scooter or Bike, take the MSF course. Definitely will come in handy.

http://www.suzukicycles.com/products...7/Default.aspx





600th post

[Drover]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

Price, comfort, and ease of use. While I was searching online I found a scooter made by Honda called the Silverwing (basically a scooter version of the luxury Goldwing). Price of the Silverwing...$8000 while the Goldwing is a whopping $20,000+.

I'd rather have a motorcycle but they are definetly an expense and it's just not in my budget at the moment.

You can hardly compare a Silverwing to a Goldwing -- they don't even pretend to vie for the same market niche, and I doubt there are a lot of people out there cross-shopping a huge long-distance touring bike and an up-market scooter. The feature content of a Goldwing is much, much higher, not to mention the Goldwing has an engine nearly four times the size. That's like saying "well, I can't afford that Freightliner cab, so I think I'll buy this Dodge Ram 2500 instead."

The more accurate comparison would be to other bikes with similar feature content and engine size, such as, say, the Honda Shadow VLX (600cc, base price $5,500) or the Suzuki posted above by MTB...

So it really appears to be more of a comfort preference than a cost-effective alternative.

[Roaddog]

You might consider a dual sport bike like a kawasaki KLR650, good for commuting, you can ride trails and go across the country if you wan't.
the kawi goes for around $5500.00

[SpeedyAZ]

I should've mentioned that I hate sport bikes, I've ridden them and they're insanely uncomfortable. My back felt like a pretzel after getting off.

You can hardly compare a Silverwing to a Goldwing

Okay that was a bad comparison but my point was that a little scooter will be cheaper than buying a touring bike.

All I want is a cheap, fun, scooter or bike to tool around on and while those sport bikes are nice, I'm more of a Harley fan.