Scooter Question (Harley, ride, drivers, bike)

[SassyGirl2]

I need guidance from the seasoned riders, please.

Vitals:

My best half - 62 years young, 6', 180 lbs, still grinding away at the slave factory and can still out work (physically as well as mentally) five 20 year olds

Myself - 53 well worn years, 5', 120 lbs, recently disabled, poor upper body strength, short (and I do mean short) legs

Both of us had bikes in our youth. However, because of the recklessness of four wheeled drivers made a conscious decision to spare life and limb in leiu of "the freedom of the road".

Hubby is now entertaining the idea of purchasing scooters. Me, I want nothing less than a 250cc because I want enough power to get the heck out of the way when necessary. However, with my physical limitations I am not sure what I can handle. I certainly cannot hold up the weight, not to mention being vertically challenged, when coming to a full stop, but that is me. For hubby, he will be driving back and forth to work. We all know about the price of gasoline.....

Our main desire is to have scooters for putting around on. Such as, weekend jaunts, driving around the neighborhood and etc. I may have to forego the idea of my own scooter and just double up with my darling, which is no problem.

I would like suggestions on which scooters you feel would be best for my hubby to consider owning. We are interested in cost (around $2K) maintenance, dependability, service, etc. We want to enjoy our golden years with just a chance to have a little wind blowing through our thinning locks. Your recommendations please - and many thanks.

[John1960]

Hi, I own a Yamaha Majesty 400cc Scooter which has automatic transmission. But my scooter costs around 5700.00 new. You can buy a used one for 3000.00.

2008 Yamaha Majesty Home, information, info

[SassyGirl2]

Originally Posted by John1960

Hi, I own a Yamaha Majesty 400cc Scooter which has automatic transmission. But my scooter costs around 5700.00 new. You can buy a used one for 3000.00.

2008 Yamaha Majesty Home, information, info

Thanks for the input. Hubby is foaming at the mouth with lust for this one. Made me print out a copy of the Majesty so now he is curled up with the pic and ready to enter dreamland.

Hubby wanted to know if Yamaha is solid with their MSRP or is there any wiggle room in their pricing on new scooters?

[John1960]

Hi, The price can be less at the right dealer. Try buying a 2007 model instead of a 2008 because the price will be lower now. I bought mine for 4500.00 in 2006 and it had only 300 miles on it. The MSRP price was 5900.00.


John

[SassyGirl2]

Originally Posted by John1960

Hi, The price can be less at the right dealer. Try buying a 2007 model instead of a 2008 because the price will be lower now. I bought mine for 4500.00 in 2006 and it had only 300 miles on it. The MSRP price was 5900.00.


John

Well, of all things, we spent the morning at our local Yamaha dealership. Hubby even had me trying some on for size. If we both are on the road, it won't be safe for anyone.

A 2007 Majesty was available at a rock bottom, bargain sale price of (hold your britches for this one) $5400. I am a seasoned wheeler and dealer so I smirked and walked away. Young salesman then said he could do no better than $4995. I asked if that would include tax, title, registration. He turned white. Explained he really, really, really needed to sell it because the 2008 models were due.

BTW, does your Majesty have ABS? Asked the little salesman if the one we were looking at had ABS and he said, no, just disc. Made me scratch my head a little. Enlighten me, please?

[John1960]

Hi, My Majesty doesn't have ABS because it's a 2005 model.


John

[SassyGirl2]

John,

Is it better, for safety reasons, to have ABS? Does ABS come with scooters that also have disc brakes? Just trying to learn more. So much has changed since we had our bikes in the early, and I do mean early, 70's.

[John1960]

I the best place I have found to ask your questions is at the site below,

MajestyUSA: Yamaha Majesty Enthusiasts Forum and website.

And another good site is below,

BurgmanUSA Forum and Website

Thanks, John

[SassyGirl2]

John,

Checked out the websites you suggested. Hubby is in hog heaven. Thanks for the info.

[Evlevo]

Originally Posted by SassyGirl2

John,

Checked out the websites you suggested. Hubby is in hog heaven. Thanks for the info.

You might enjoy a motorcycle more. I just got a new Vulcan 900 classic LT for $7,600 (way under msrp... they also gave me a discount on a helmet). It looks and rides like a Harley but is way more reliable and has a LOT more cool stuff on it...I'd list it but if you're not a bike rider it might not make sense (fork-lock, under seat tool-kit, forward controls and floorboards....see?) I used to own a Harley too (as did my dad) and have ridden about 10 different "hogs" so it is a reasonably informed comparison. I will never buy another Harley ever again... this bike is soooo much better (last month someone thought I paid about $30,000 for it) It also comes with a 2 year unlimited everything warranty (which is transferable) and for $450 more you can extend it to a total of 6 years (which is REALLY cool when you think about it!)

2007 Kawasaki Vulcan® 900 Classic LT Pictures & Specs

A friend of mine got one w/o the windshield or saddlebags new for about $6,200. You can probably find one 1-3 years old and low miles with some warranty left on craigslist for even cheaper.

There is no way a scooter can match it for power (and in my opinion looks) It can do 75 mph all day long and well over 100 mph if you want to. Since it is a very advanced engine (water cooled and fuel injected) it has almost as much power as a Harley Big Twin engine but at a fraction of the size/cost (it has about 54 hp).

I also average about 50 mpg on it in mixed driving, which is pretty close to a scooter. I don't know what size tank a scooter has, but this is a 5 gallon one which gives you a range of well over 150-200 miles/fill-up.

You also might be interested in a 500-650 cc bike. They are a little smaller (but also cheaper) and still have more h.p. than scooters.

Just another direction to go into if you hadn't thought of it