Reply #3: I see they claim it can go up a 15% grade [View All]

I been using a 80cc Honda for the last year. It can easily go up 12% grades (and do this for the 30-45 minutes it takes me to get over Allegheny Mountain) but if you start to go over 12% you will have problems. I have run across some side streets in Pittsburgh where I had to dismount so my Honda could make it up the street. Now these streets were in excess of 15% (I suspect 25% but I did NOT bother to use a tape measure to find out).

As to comparing it (50cc) with your friend's 150cc, that is a huge difference. 20 years ago I owned and used a 250cc motorcycle, and it took those same Pittsburgh hills with ease, but also did NOT get the gasoline mileage of my 80cc (Which gets 90mpg, not bad since I weigh almost 300 pounds and I load the bike down with about another 50 pounds of items). In the 250 I did about 60 mpg.

Second, the maker calls it an "Automatic" transmission. I would look into that. My Honda (and most other Motor Scooters) use "continuous" transmissions, which in theory are even more fuel efficient than manual transmissions (But at the cost of lost of most acceleration given the design of the Transmission). A continuous transmission has no "gears", its belt runs at a constant pitch, thus while it operates like an true "Automatic" transmission, it is NOT an "Automatic" Transmission. The Difference is in true "Automatic" transmission, the transmission has various gears that it shifts through, These can be as little as two (Mostly pre-1960 automatic transmissions), but I have seen as high as five gears (Through for decades most automatics only had three gears).

A Continuous transmission has no gears so it runs at its most efficient speed, this lack of gears is the difference between the two. I mention this is I suspect this has a continuous transmission NOT an automatic, but the maker is calling it an Automatic for, like in a true automatic, you only have an accelerator and a brake to operate, not clutch in either transmission (Manual Transmissions all have Clutches for the driver to use to help shift between the gears manually). Just an observation and a comment on the ad and to make sure you known what you are buying.