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No Gravitas posted:I need at least 150cc because I will be often accompanied by a pretty heavy person on the scooter. This kinda limits my options. The Honda Helix is sort of like an elongated Elite, it has a 250 cc engine, and it has a comfortable rear seat. It was also made until 2007, I think, so you might be able to find a more recent model than for an Elite 250. It's still an older scooter, and they aren't cheap, but it might be a better 2-up commuter than an Elite. It's a heavy scooter, so the mileage won't be as good as a smaller bike, but you won't have to worry about having enough power to go uphill with a passenger. Honda also made two other large models (~250CC) for a couple of years - the Reflex and the Big Ruckus (any or all of these may have different names in Canada). They'll probably be really expensive, but you can at least keep an eye out for a steal.
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Aug 4, 2014 16:19
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If you can find a Big Ruckus, buy it and ride around like the King of the Hondas you'd be.
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Aug 4, 2014 16:41
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Really the only reason to get an old Elite is the pop-up headlight and digital dash cluster, just avoid the 125cc and 150cc models because they use a unique engine that was made for only a few years...250cc is what you want with these Elites. What the gently caress was the deal with the Big Ruckus, anyways? They made it because enthusiasts who had a Ruckus clamored for something with more oomph, and then nobody loving bought them at first? And now they're considered loving awesome? Oh, now that I look, they came out right around the beginning of the economic bullshit of the last decade. 
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Aug 4, 2014 16:57
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The Orange Mage posted:Really the only reason to get an old Elite is the pop-up headlight and digital dash cluster, just avoid the 125cc and 150cc models because they use a unique engine that was made for only a few years...250cc is what you want with these Elites. I had an Elite 125 briefly many years ago, and I couldn't get parts for it at all. They only made it 1 year, I guess. The Orange Mage posted:What the gently caress was the deal with the Big Ruckus, anyways? They made it because enthusiasts who had a Ruckus clamored for something with more oomph, and then nobody loving bought them at first? And now they're considered loving awesome? Oh, now that I look, they came out right around the beginning of the economic bullshit of the last decade. It was weird. For a while, people on Craigslist were asking more for used ones than they had originally cost new. I did see a used one recently for $3500, so maybe the madness has abated. I'm not sure why they didn't sell - they were a pretty nice, quirky looking scooter. Maybe they didn't have good performance.
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Aug 4, 2014 17:12
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The Orange Mage posted:What the gently caress was the deal with the Big Ruckus, anyways? They made it because enthusiasts who had a Ruckus clamored for something with more oomph, and then nobody loving bought them at first? And now they're considered loving awesome? Oh, now that I look, they came out right around the beginning of the economic bullshit of the last decade.
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Aug 4, 2014 17:40
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Did you just advocate for custom Ruckus..es?
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Aug 4, 2014 21:40
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Quite glad I raised mine when having the engine swapped instead of doing the usual: This looks insanely uncomfortable to ride. Are attachments still broken?
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Aug 7, 2014 02:55
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Rugoberta Munchu posted:
It isn't that bad, as I have ridden a few lowered rucks, it is just more like getting into a sports car vs a regular car. Fine once you are moving but sits way lower and is awkward to get into.
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Aug 9, 2014 07:13
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I've ridden with handlebars at waist level and my lower back and abdomen started hurting from the combination of bumps in the road and having to slouch. Your spine doesn't enjoy that much. Also not being able to steer because the controls would hit your knees sucks.
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Aug 12, 2014 18:50
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Are Michelin Bopper Scooter Tires the scooter equivalent to Pilot Road 3s? I love the PR3s on my FZ6, and want to consider something for my Vino 125 that's equally good.
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Aug 19, 2014 02:04
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SimplyCosmic posted:Are Michelin Bopper Scooter Tires the scooter equivalent to Pilot Road 3s? I love the PR3s on my FZ6, and want to consider something for my Vino 125 that's equally good. Boppers are pretty old tires and not as good as the pilots that's for sure, you can you find real pilots thought
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Aug 19, 2014 12:48
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A few months ago I replaced the rear tire on my Honda Reflex. Last week I noticed it was worn down to the threads after only ~3-4000 miles. Is that standard mileage for a tire to fall apart? (This is my first scooter.) If not, what sorts of things could I have done wrong to contribute to the early death of my tire?
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Aug 19, 2014 21:57
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Did you ever check the pressure?
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Aug 19, 2014 21:58
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Yes, but probably not as much as I should have. I took a 700 mile road trip on the tires and checked them before that...but only a couple other times did I check the pressure over the tire's lifespan. Also - the front tire has ~10k miles on it and still doesn't need replacing. When I replaced the rear I did get the cheapest option. This time I got a better one.
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Aug 19, 2014 22:10
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The stock rear tire on my old Vino wore through the middle after about 4,000 miles and that's a rather light scooter with a low top speed. I think 5,000 miles or so is on the far end of rear tire life.
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Aug 20, 2014 19:15
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That, and with tires you really get what you pay for (for the most part).
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Aug 21, 2014 01:26
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I'm moving back up to PA soon from SC and I'm thinking about getting a scooter for doing small errands, riding to our office, getting to some of our meeting spots if the weather is decent out and the forecast is clear, and just riding for fun. I have a company car for everything else so this wouldn't be my only method of transportation. I completed the MSF course a few years ago so I have my M license in PA. I didn't have my Driver's License Update card when I got my SC license, I had just renewed my PA license before I took the course which meant I had to wait years to actually get it on my license or get a duplicate, so the clerk just looked at me oddly and didn't give me a CM license. I'm hoping that when I get a new PA license that it'll have M class listed. Anyway, I'm thinking that I'm going to have to get at least a 125cc scooter if not 150cc for the smallest stretch of road I'll need to ride on where the speed limit hits 55mph (about 2 miles/2 traffic lights). A 125cc should be fine for that, right? I don't intend to actually take the scooter on 276, 476, or 76 because that would be suicide even if the posted speed limit is 55mph. I'm assuming the scooters I should be looking for are Genuine Buddy 125-170i, Kymco Agility 125, and Sym 200 Evo? The Honda PCX sounds great and we've bought a ton of Honda vehicles over the years for work because they're so reliable, but I like the step through designs better. The PCX looks more like a mini Ninja than a scooter to me. I saw this on craigslist, but I doubt it'd still be available by the time I move up if it's not already gone. Not sure why it's listed for so cheap, but they also didn't post an actual photo. https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/mcy/4613439669.html If I'm new to riding scooters and not experienced at all with performing maintenance then would I be better off just buying new? Philly seems to have a decent reseller in Philadelphia Scooters where I'm sure I could sit on a whole bunch of scooters.
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Aug 31, 2014 23:36
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The buddy 125 is 87% as grin-inducing as the 170i. Unless you must be almost the fastest plastic tiny scooter on the road, the 125 is seriously cool. Where I work, the 170 is like 800 more bucks for this tiny bit of umph and cool paint. Edit: if you find a good running bike and it's used, that's fine, the biggest part of maintaining a scooter is starting it regularly. Also check your tire pressure on a weekly or biweekly basis. Slush Garbo fucked around with this message at 09:26 on Sep 2, 2014 |
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Sep 2, 2014 09:24
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Thanks. Yeah, I think I could get by with a 125 Buddy and I actually just responded to a craigslist ad for one. $2,500 for 2014 Buddy 125 with just over 1k miles, bought new 3 months ago and the seller is getting rid of it because he wanted to be a real man and so he bought a motorcycle. Does $2,500 sound good? I think MSRP is $2,800.
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Sep 5, 2014 17:29
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Shyfted One posted:Thanks. Yeah, I think I could get by with a 125 Buddy and I actually just responded to a craigslist ad for one. $2,500 for 2014 Buddy 125 with just over 1k miles, bought new 3 months ago and the seller is getting rid of it because he wanted to be a real man and so he bought a motorcycle. Does $2,500 sound good? I think MSRP is $2,800. I'd offer 2k and work your way up. 2.3k would probably be my upper limit assuming initial maintenance had all been completed. Dead Pressed fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Sep 5, 2014 |
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Sep 5, 2014 23:12
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Dead Pressed posted:I'd offer 2k and work your way up. 2.3k would probably be my upper limit assuming initial maintenance had all been completed. ^^^sound advice. 2000 would be a good offer, bring the cash and let them smell it :-)
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Sep 6, 2014 01:52
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Good news: I learned how to adjust my Taiwanese clutch that didn't have instructions. Bad news: the increase in the amount of clutch pad making contact with the clutch bell made the bell heat up way more than it used to. That resulted in metal expansion which caused the cooling fins on the bell to make contact with the inside of the transmission cover. End result: rear wheel lock up. Had to run home half a block and grab my tools so I could remove the transmission cover, dislodging it from the clutch bell. Only then was I able to push it home and vigorously sand the fins and cover again to smooth out irregularities and hopefully leave enough clearance space.
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Sep 21, 2014 04:07
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Rugoberta Munchu posted:Good news: I learned how to adjust my Taiwanese clutch that didn't have instructions. Right on, I think? Sounds like you know what you're doing at least. What make, model?
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Sep 21, 2014 07:25
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A neighbor got his Vino stolen out of the parking garage last night. Lock up your poo poo, yo. Speaking of that, whats the best option to immobilize/lock a scooter?
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Sep 21, 2014 08:06
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Rugoberta Munchu posted:Good news: I learned how to adjust my Taiwanese clutch that didn't have instructions. The bell shouldn't heat up more with more clutch contacting it. It sounds like it was slipping, either not engaging properly or partly engaging when it shouldn't be. Also, clutch bells don't usually have cooling fins, do you mean the front pulley? There's also usually a lot of space between the pulleys and the case, are you sure it was caused by overheating? open24hours fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Sep 21, 2014 |
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Sep 21, 2014 12:59
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Chinatown posted:A neighbor got his Vino stolen out of the parking garage last night. Lock up your poo poo, yo. That sucks. Check with management and see if they have any video from the parking garage... quote:
Bring it inside. Failing that, a quality motorcycle chain through a wheel or the forks, or around the floorboard, and a good lock. If you have a working column lock, use it. Thief will need at least one helper to drag it off/throw it in truck. Scooter thieves are rarely sophisticated and are usually going to try to roll it away or throw it in a truck. If you can make that a p.i.t.a. they probably won't bother.
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Sep 21, 2014 14:43
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Hugh Malone posted:What make, model?  Parked next to a stock one for comparison. open24hours posted:The bell shouldn't heat up more with more clutch contacting it. It sounds like it was slipping, either not engaging properly or partly engaging when it shouldn't be.  This is the bell. The unpainted part is the cooling fins. When I removed the transmission cover, I found a chunk of cover stuck in those cooling fins.  This was the cover after the first time I had sanded it but before last night's incident. In stock form, the cover wouldn't even go on all the way. The old clutch and bell, while not finned, also had issues with the belt making contact with the bottom portion of the cover prior to sanding, so there were tolerance problems beforehand that I thought I had fixed.
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Sep 22, 2014 00:11
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Oh right, I assumed it was stock. Are other people running the same engine / clutch setup?
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Sep 22, 2014 02:03
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It looks like the Malossi bell (that mine imitates) was designed for Zuma transmissions, which are designed with additional clearance.  A lot of Zuma engine and transmission parts will work on Minarelli clones. I managed to fin one that does not. Rugoberta Munchu fucked around with this message at 13:31 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 13:29
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Rugoberta Munchu posted:Honda Ruckus with a Minarelli clone swap. A clutch bell mostly heats up when the clutch is slipping so you have work to do on the clutch tuning, also I never seen that bell it's probably a malossi knock off. On malossi bells you can remove the cooling fins with a hammer they are not welded on, only forced on there, they are also useless and on genuine bells they are sometimes out of alignement so I guess on knock offs theres even more chance that's the case, you should remove them asap as it will kill transmission bearings. Also in case you want new clutch/bell, stage 6 ones are the best, the stage 6 R/T clutch is pricy but amazing as you can swap springs, set the preload on them and fine tune with weights. 
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Sep 22, 2014 13:42
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I just moved down to Bogotá, and this city is crazy for 2-wheeled transport. Am planning a megathread of cool stuff. Once I get work rolling, visa settled, and all that good stuff I want to buy a motorbike. The huge thing here is 125cc motorcycles, and also small scooters. I've mostly been a motorcycle fan so was just going to get a Honda CB125 or a Suzuki GS125 or similar, or even a locally-assembled (from Chinese and Indian parts) little AKT kickstart. However, I've run across a scattering of really cool older underbones around here; stuff like the Honda Cub where it's scooterish but with footpegs and larger and further-apart tires like a motorcycle. I've avoided scooters in the past through the usual "too lame" justification, though I had no problem with true mopeds (of the Puch or Tomos sort) since those were hipstery enough. But here in Bogota apparently scooters are the preferred choice for punks, skinheads, and such scenes, while motorbike riders are either purely functional, or more rear end in a top hat rich-kids. So maybe with a scooter-something I could be in a cooler riding scene, and with an underbone I could maximize motorcycle-like advantages. Do we have any underbone experts in the thread? My vague impression is that the current crop of underbones are these cheesy/swoopy junk with a ghastly 90s-esque "Radical!!!!" theme (Honda Wave, etc).  But there are a few models like the Honda Biz that, while note quite totally classic, are conservative enough not to be goofy:  I'd still rather find a somewhat older-school Honda Cub, or whatever the Suzuki/Yamaha equivalents are now, if I can find one in decent enough shape. Labor is dirt-cheap here, and presumably parts for the Big 4 are decently available, so if it's not a total junker I can probably get one cleaned up and fine-tuned enough. Here's one I saw on the street I really liked (except for the baskets), any idea what the model name is?  I'd kinda despaired of getting any newer-yet-classic underbone since the current models are all jetski-like, but good news coming from Honda. Here's the 2015 line from Honda:  Finally, back with some classic lines yet modern touches, just in time for a new generation of car-free Millennials. Produce these in electric in the next few years, and I may be completely sold.
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Sep 26, 2014 18:13
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EDIT: Thanks to this handy thing, I now know that mystery machine is a Yamaha Town Mate.
Rugoberta Munchu fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Sep 27, 2014 |
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Sep 27, 2014 01:50
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:I've avoided scooters in the past through the usual "too lame" justification, though I had no problem with true mopeds (of the Puch or Tomos sort) since those were hipstery enough. But here in Bogota apparently scooters are the preferred choice for punks, skinheads, and such scenes, Yeah, this is definitely the history of it. Quadrophenia is the oft-cited example. The mod and skinhead (not the racist kind) cultures were all scooter-focused, mostly '60s and '70s Vespas and Lambrettas. A lot of scooter clubs are still strongly rooted in that culture. Of course I don't know about Colombia but if you're interested in running with modern mods and skinheads you're unlikely to find acceptance without the right bike.
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Sep 27, 2014 04:12
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Gay Nudist Dad posted:Yeah, this is definitely the history of it. Quadrophenia is the oft-cited example. The mod and skinhead (not the racist kind) cultures were all scooter-focused, mostly '60s and '70s Vespas and Lambrettas. A lot of scooter clubs are still strongly rooted in that culture. Of course I don't know about Colombia but if you're interested in running with modern mods and skinheads you're unlikely to find acceptance without the right bike. Yeah, if joining a club is a priority I reckon I need to find a club first and find what body of bikes they ride. I went down to the huge Motorbike District in Bogota (will have pics of that in my megathread also) to poke around. Place is just chaos, it's like the motorcyclist version of a Khyber arms bazaar. Easily 500-1000 bikes parked along the streets in just a few blocks, tons of tiny hole-in-the-wall stores selling every possible component and accessory, mechanics out on the sidewalk doing full rebuilds, etc. In the whole mess I found like three Honda Cubs and another dozen Yamaha and Suzuki bikes of the "skinny body with big plastic shield" type. I found a 1999 Honda C90 in pretty good shape, 53,000km (32k miles) that'd just been rebuilt and came with a "mechanic's guarantee" for however many miles/months, asking just under US$500. I've made a few contacts in the bike scene here, and I need to hold off anyway until my visa is settled, so will start looking into what kind of riding clubs there are for urban tooling-around stuff. FAKEEDIT: Dang, there are a ton of scooter clubs in Colombia. Here's one for Lambrettas, which sure ain't cheap down here:  EDIT: here's a partial list of clubs in the country: http://www.demotos.com.co/html/clubes.htm I find it cute that one of their hardcore clubs is for "only 200cc and up". TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Sep 27, 2014 |
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Sep 27, 2014 22:02
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:FAKEEDIT: Dang, there are a ton of scooter clubs in Colombia. Here's one for Lambrettas, which sure ain't cheap down here: Uhhh, there's a whole lot of Vespas in that "Lambretta" club. Just sayin'...
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Sep 27, 2014 22:17
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cheesebot posted:Uhhh, there's a whole lot of Vespas in that "Lambretta" club. Hell, 3 of those are Bajaj Chetak scooters. Slow as dirt 4 strokes.
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Sep 27, 2014 22:29
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SpannerX posted:Hell, 3 of those are Bajaj Chetak scooters. Slow as dirt 4 strokes. Sorry, I should have specified Vespas or Vespa clones. Who knows, there may be some Stellas in there too (no idea if Colombia got them).
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Sep 27, 2014 23:22
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cheesebot posted:Sorry, I should have specified Vespas or Vespa clones. Who knows, there may be some Stellas in there too (no idea if Colombia got them). Nah, no need to apologize. I was just pointing them out (hell, they might even be Legends instead  )
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Sep 27, 2014 23:25
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I'm thinking of picking up a 2010 Sym Symba. How much of a bad idea is this?
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Oct 27, 2014 20:13
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Do I!
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Oct 27, 2014 23:38
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