Choose the RIGHT Scooter (by learning from my mistake)

If you're looking to buy a scooter, you may be surprised at the number of scooters available. Before you head to a dealer's website, check this video out where I cover a BIG mistake I made when I purchased my scooter. 🔽🔽🔽🔽

🛵❤🛵❤🛵❤🛵❤🛵❤🛵
0:00 I'm excited FOR YOU!!
0:38 My mistake
1:00 Engine sizes
2:18 Why size matters
3:09 Moped/50cc riding vs highway speed needs
3:35 Bonus tip
4:00 I made a spreadsheet to make choosing easier (mentally but not emotionally)

:: M O S T P O P U L A R O N T H E B L O G R I G H T N O W ::

Have you seen LUCA? It's a Disney movie with Vespa as a big theme.
Watch it on Disney Plus (Affiliate Link Which Could Earn Me a Commission):
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Ride at your own risk. Scooter Newbie does NOT have any liability for any actions you take using any concepts outlined on this channel or associated content. You alone are responsible for YOUR safety. Be seen and be safe, scooter friend! 🛵

[jmcminn]

If you even still check this, wanted to thank you for the content. I had been going back and forth between an Adv/PCX 160 and an XMax 300, and this video in particular was part of what swayed me in the direction of the bigger bike, and now that I’ve bought it and taken it out a couple of times I’m pretty happy with the choice.

[donelmore]

My first scooter was a several year old Vespa GTV300. It had less than a thousand miles on it and in pretty good shape. They guy also threw in a matching color (very cool cream white). I got it for well under MSRP, $2-3K under if I remember correctly. It usually draws a crowd at our local cars & coffee event.

[asifalmeida]

One important safety tips : buy a scooter that has the brightest turn signal lights both front and rear. Some scooter has this tiny almost invisible turn signal which is hard to see during the day time

[lisakaye]

I have decided - I am going with the VespaGTS300 - BOOM! Details and best of the best

[watchcollector]

I have a 50cc Honda Metropolitan. It's a blast but you're right, speed is a limitation. I still love to ride it in appropriate locations but did end up getting a Honda PCX 150 for higher speed areas around town.

[dukeloo]

No scooter purchased is a mistake. You got comfortable on a smaller scooter then you got experience, and determined that you needs were for a higher speed. Great job. Some people get the big scooter and get scared and never ride again. I used to ride scooter only in San Antonio, then Albuquerque, Honolulu, Portland, and Denver. In snow. I've tested all gear and stuff. I know Jason have owned Burgman 400, 650, Silverwing, Majesty, Vespa GT200, Piaggio BV250, Piaggio BV350, Stella 150, Yamaha XMAX, now I ride a Honda NC700x DCT. My BV350 was stolen. I do miss my scooter. Looking at Piaggio BV400, Yamaha XMAX, and Honda ADV 350 if it ever gets imported to US.

[darrinslack]

After watching this , I thought how interesting it must of been going into a shop and trying to decide what make or model would be best back in the 1950 and 60`s, yes there was a few motorcycle and scooter magazines about to look at road test and write up`s I`m able to read them, so having a guide to what you should really need and a really good way of deciding what`s best for you is a huge plus to everyone thinking of buying a scooter

[LasVegasandBeyond]

Really good advice and tips. The average street speed where I live was 50MPH and so, what hilly, so I bought a 250cc. Although it’s top speed is 70MPH those small wheels makes it nerve racking on the highways, especially if they are grooved highways

[kzst]

The thing I always find interesting is how people arrive at what they ride. Back in 2008 the price of gas rose to over four dollars a gallon. My late wife had just hit 50 years of age and between the price of fuel and her middle age crisis declared she was ready for a scooter. Knowing that she might grow out of it quickly I bought her a Chinese 150 Vespa lookalike. She signed up for the MSF Basic Rider Course requiring so knowing how to ride a motorcycle became a must. I had a little Honda dirt bike and as her car was a five speed manual she took to gears quickly. With an unexpected side affect. Riding a scooter was too tame after the shrieky two stroke Honda and she wanted a bike. The 250 Rebel arrived almost one month after the scooter and she never looked back. With saddlebags and a windshield it was the perfect vehicle for an elementary school teacher and the kids loved it. Sadly she passed seven years later with 10, 000 miles on the Honda from a low percentage cancer with an even lower survival rate. The memory of watching her tear off to school in the morning will never leave my mind.

[vesparama]

Thanks for your excellent channel and information! It is much appreciated as a novice myself considering a scooter!

[clydeosterhout]

Picking the right routes is just as important as picking the right bike! I used to commute on a 30 mph moped in Boston traffic. I picked my routes very carefully, and got where I wanted to go with a minimal amount of worries (often getting there faster than I would have in a car).
But worrying about the higher speed of other traffic is a losing proposition. I often drive on a divided 4 lane highway with a posted 55 mph speed limit. Traffic regularly travels at 70-75. That is faster than I want to drive or ride (20 mph over will cost you your license around here). I ride/drive at about 60. Yes, people pass me. But as long as I stay in the slow lane and carefully monitor the traffic around me I feel pretty safe.

[lisakaye]

Not a comment I make often, I 'like' you; you are very transparent and I can tell because I am... respect. Thanks for the info.

[jonmorris]

No one else dictates my speed, I certainly am not going to break the law just to "keep up with everyone else". Always good to be over powered though

[lisakaye]

I FOUND IT - i am soo little and was scared like you said - i couldn't help it.

[sbaumruk]

Binging your videos rn, love them! Btw thumbnail looks like "don't stop, make this mistake!" 😂

[tomfuller]

Hi, I used to live in the San Antonio area and when I worked in Downtown Methodist I rode an under 50cc I bought on Amazon. After my first two years I would get sent to the HSC (Health Science Center) in the NW and I did take several different routes to get back and forth. As San Antonio was the city of perpetual reconstruction at this time I found the 10” wheels to be horrible. So I bought a Honda 150 from a colleague and rode it until three people threw it into the back of a van and took off with if. So I bought a Burgman 400 and found that I could ride it on all the area’s roads.It’s size helped it eat up the bumps and potholes, and it was too heavy to steal. When I went to work for Audie Murphy I moved out to Hondo, about 40 miles from downtown and 22 from the HSC, I was glad I got the 400. I did try my friend’s 650 and thought it was great on the road but not nimble enough for downtown.

[davidboyd-qw]

I wouldn't call buying my first scooter (Vespa 150) a mistake, but like you after a few thousand miles I did get a Honda PCX 150 with 25 percent more HP and torque and a higher top speed. To my surprise, it also gets 20 percent better gas mileage (100 MPG+). I still have the Vespa and still love it - the air flow over the bike, the step through design, and the ergonomics are great. But I can go for short stretches on the freeway and better handle the hills in Pittsburgh on the Honda. Plus, there are Honda dealerships that provide service that are conveniently located. That said, for a ride through small towns and back roads, its hard to beat the Vespa for recreational riding.

[kabardinka]

The Buddy Kick is a very cute scooter... BUT, IMO, for many driving settings it's too low to the ground. These days, when car drivers are in big SUVs, where the driver is up high, they have a harder time seeing you on scooters like that (or Ruckuses for that matter). It doesn't matter if you're driving on vacant roads but, when you get into denser traffic, it's a real problem.

[chrisgullett]

Some more info for you. You can also get some 2 stroke scooters and do a little work to them and it does not take much to get them going highway speeds. For example, you can get a 2 stroke Honda Dio/Elite, which are 50cc scooters, put a 72cc big bore kit, a new exhaust, rollers, carburetor etc, and can easily do 70 MPH. When it comes to 50cc scooter, 2 stroke engines is where it's at, cause 2 stroke engines have so much power, and it does not take many upgrades make them faster. Not many companies make a lot of 2 strokes anymore, but if you can find a used 2 stroke it is worth buying it for the engine alone. 2 stroke engines are also where most aftermarket companies focus on making their upgrade parts. The most popular engines are 2 stroke engines, and people will actually swap scooter engines so they can have a 2 stroke engine. Most of the good 2 stroke scooters have 2 tanks, one for gas and one for 2 stroke oil, and it automatically mixes it, but you can mix it yourself and use the oil tank as a backup gas tank. You should invest in an old 2 stroke scooter like a Honda Dio/Elite, Yamaha Zuma etc, and do some videos of you upgrading the engine. Upgrades are simple, ad you do not need any mechanic experience, cause it is all straight forward. There are even thousand of videos of people upgrading their old 2 stroke scooters. You can literally put a few hundred dollars into a 2 stroke 50cc scooter and have the fastest scooter in town.

[Brianfox]

After watching your video. I never had they Kim co or anyone ahead. One. But ex town 300 looks like a nice maxi type scooter.