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True, the parking and economy are great, and true, you take a huge step down in safety. Now that I am older I dwell on how easy it would be to get killed on a 2-wheeler. I knew a guy who got killed a couple of years ago riding his Harley. A vehicle crossed the centerline and plowed into him. Not his fault at all. I don't know the details and can not even speculate whether there was anything he could have done to avoid the collision (except stay home) but in any collision I want to be surrounded by metal and strapped in.
I used to drive a moped. I took a spill at 25 mph due to a discontinuity in the road surface. Fortunately there was no one behind me. Only a little road rash but gawd did it hurt.
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Yeah, I was an idiot on my moped by idiot I wear short/slippers/t-shirt and no helmet! Sheesh... Lucky I didn't die going from one side to the other on Maui. Just another statistic I guess.
Hmmm, Still tho you have awesome stopping and maneuverability powers in your favor. And yes you do need a drivers license to ride it and I think you need a bike registration as well. Good for the life of the bike. No safety/insurance/registration/insurance to buy into! I'd like to know what scooters can be modified to do 60 MPH ... That would be great you could almost keep up with the traffic!
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Many of the "big wheel" scooters will go quite fast. The scooterts with the 10" wheels don't have the stability of the ones with 16" wheels. My wife has a SYM HD200 which will cruise at 55-65 with no problem, and it's pretty stable with the 16" wheels. The scooter is stock. It has a four valve cylinder head, a ceramic coated cylinder, and is water cooled. And it gets 65-85 mpg or so. It's really just 172 ccs-though they call it a 200. The darn thing is so fun to ride and can carry so much stuff that I ride it a lot and let my Sportster sit.
When gas prices got so high around 1980 scooters were selling like hot cakes and the dealers stocked up with all they could get. But when the gas prices went down again most of the buying stopped leaving the dealers way overstocked. Around here (western Washington State) there are, in some cases, still leftover 2008 models, and 2009, 2010. It's a buyers market for now, but with all the talk about gas prices going up again (to $4-$5 per gallon), the scootyers prices will probably go back up too, and I am seeing that happen here all ready.
jon
Jon in Puyallup, Wa.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Posts: 2,490
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If I were to get something more then a 50CC, I'd get a Yamaha Majesty 400CC or a Suzuki Burgman 400. You get about the same gas millage but 400CC's will get you to 65-70 a heck of a lot faster.
