I need a way to get to school without having to rely the bus. It takes about 2 hours to get home by bus and my parents hate driving me. I think spending 4 hours on transit is a waste of time. I’m looking for a scooter or moped to use. It’s cheap, no insurance, and less gas. Which one or what brand do you recommend?
If it takes you 2 hours to get home, then a moped is not the solution. Several mopeds go no more than 35mph. I would suggest a scooter at least 125cc. I would look at the brands known for quality and a good number of dealerships for maintenance and support: Honda, Yamaha, Vespa. Also, there are several Taiwanese brands that have been around for years in Taiwan: Kymco and SYM. (Kymco made scooter for Honda for awhile).
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It’s really a question of what brand would I not recommend.
It depends on whether you want just a basic form of transport or whether you are likely to go on to become a motorcyclist. If it’s just transport I would recommend a scooter style, You get some weather protection, usually some sort of luggage carrying capacity and an automatic transmission. You just put the key in it, press the starter and twist the throttle to go. Braking is as per a bicycle - two levers on the handlebars, right hand operates the front brake, left hand operates the rear. Once you are on one it’s exactly the same as riding a bicycle but much quicker and less effort; no pedaling.
As far as brands go it really is as much a matter of taste as anything else. There are loads to choose from and basically anything produced in Japan, France or Italy will be much the same, totally reliable and very economical.
I personally ride a Piaggio, same company who make Vespa scooters. It’s a 4 stroke, stands outside in all weathers, gets a plug clean and oil change once a year and always starts first time. Having said that, the main reason for choosing it was because I had a local dealer I would have no hesitation in recommending Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Peugeot, Gilera etc.
The one thing I would strongly advise against is anything made in China. I did own a Lifan for nearly 2 years before getting my current bike. I can honestly say that there was not one single day where everything worked correctly. They are based on a Japanese bike and look very similar but the quality control is non-existent. I had to remove some of the plastic on mine and found it held together with mild steel woodscrews !!! At half the price of a Japanese equivalent they seem very tempting but from my experience you’ll be back on the bus within a very short time.
The other point worth considering is that if you only intend to use it until you get a car is the resale potential. You will always be able to sell a Japanese/Italian scooter without any problem but you may find nobody will buy a secondhand bike made in China. Hope this helps.
References :
bitter experience
If it takes you 2 hours to get home, then a moped is not the solution. Several mopeds go no more than 35mph. I would suggest a scooter at least 125cc. I would look at the brands known for quality and a good number of dealerships for maintenance and support: Honda, Yamaha, Vespa. Also, there are several Taiwanese brands that have been around for years in Taiwan: Kymco and SYM. (Kymco made scooter for Honda for awhile).
References :