Scooter sales skyrocket 66%

Springtime for scooters and bicycles!
Winter for GM and Ford...

naturopath yesterday. I was tempted . . .

because my commute takes me down I696 here in Michigan, but I have been riding my Ninja to work for quite some time and getting 50-55 mpg. Those scooter riders are getting 60-100 though!

Now, on 696, they may still prefer doing 75 or 80. I assume a scooter that can do 70mph sacrifices some gas mileage.

of those big 250cc scooters that can do it (Maybe a few of the smaller ones), but I agree they probably trade off a lot of the good mileage.

On 696 you're right as well. The drivers are doing 80-ish on average, and with the enclosing walls, turbulence is bad, so scooters would have a real tough time. With the smaller wheels they don't have the same stability as a full-blown motorcycle. Even on my bike the commute can be a real nail biter. I just keep reminding myself of how much gas i'm NOT using! :-)

:hi:

handle gravel roads? :)

Seriously.

On lose gravel I tend to go slower then the top speed and prepare to balance the bike by using my feet (Scooters being Continuous transmission, have only hand brakes and throttle on the one handlebars, nothing for your feet to do but hold up the bike).

Packed gravel, i.e. gravel into a hard base, not a problem except where loose gravel occurs (and it occurs regularly on most gravel roads). On Gravel the concern in NOT that gravel itself but the overall road construction. I took my scooter on a well packed gravel road, the road was of fine packed gravel and I had no problem (was almost as good as Asphalt). Thus the issue is how well is the gravel road built and how packed is the gravel. The greater the gravel is packed (Even by other vehicles) the better the scooter and other vehicles can take it. To much loose gravel, you better off going slow and being prepared to brace the bike up with your feet if the wheel slipped on the gravel.

http://www.piaggiousa.com/pScooters/MP3500.cfm

Video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2E2d-29ry8

The 500cc version is reported to get 55+ mpg and top out at close to 100 mph!

Love that 3-wheel design when it takes a corner.

Now the big bikes are still in the stores, and people are looking, but the scooters as soon as their appear disappear (Better pick one up quick if you want one, better off ordering one if you can).

I miss my Scooter, the transmission went out on it last week. AS a 80 cc it can do about 45 mph, so I do NOT take it on the interstates, but on other non-limited access highways it is ideal. I have even taken it on limited access highways, but intercity commuters parkways where the Speed limit is technically 55, but most people do less do to the volume of traffic. I have used it for about two years, gets 90mpg:



The only problem is it is in the shop, the transmission went on me. The repair shop say they took pictures, it was the worse they have ever seen, and I am hoping for picture, but for now all I have is the above.

Honda seems to have stop making the elite 80 last year, in the last few years it was only made in Mexico for the US market. Honda has some better designs but have not yet introduced them to the US market, maybe next year.

tell you that if you're serious about buying one, get the type with the larger, motorcycle-type wheels, such as Aprilia makes (and I'm sure others, just do some research), because the little doughnut-type wheels aren't as safe. I can't explain it to you because I don't know the science, but it's true. :^)

Fully electric motorcycle
Top Speed: 60-70 mph (Gearing Adjustable)
Range: 35 / 60 miles (Power / Economy)

Click on picture to go to the manufacturers web site:

One thing the article doesn't mention is that the Chinese have been building dirt cheap and uber-efficient 50cc scooters for 30 years, targeted at the Asian markets. Importers quickly realized that some of these scooters are 50 state legal in the U.S. and are now making them available here. They're not of the same quality as a Vespa or Honda (most are built to sell for under US$500 in Asia), but they do the job and are cheap enough to be disposable when the engines quit after a few years.

Importers like EvoSales are so swamped they're backordered for months on many models.

I think the big Chinese manufacturer is Lifan, and they make millions of engines a year for the Asian manufacturers besides their own lines of scooters and Honda motorcycle knock-offs. Quality is good, from what I have heard, and prices are very good. I looked at some 150cc'rs for a grand or so before deciding (after a car accident - rear ended by a driver not paying attention, would have been dead on a scooter), before deciding to buy a bike instead. Being in good shape generally, I figured why not just cut out all the unnecessaries - insurance, fossil fuels, licensing, etc.

But I have seen a big increase in scooter traffic in my own town. Three farm equipment places and a GM dealer in town are marketing them. Schwinn has a nice line of scooters too.