Bunch of Scooters Tested  By  kz1000st (Read 1,218 times)

I like the Honda, but don't want to spend the money. That's why I have this one.

kz, everytime a rider rides those alleged overpriced 50cc or any quality scooters, there's always a sense of Pride!...and that's what you are really paying for....self esteem is Priceless!

The sense of pride you think is real is the same "Mystique", "If I have to explain it, you just don't understand", nonsense that Harley owners ramble on about. If a scooter does the same speed and stops just as hard, it's an equal. A Kymco is equal to a Vespa, Piaggio or an Aprilia. Heck, a Green Earth 50cc scooter is equal to a 35 mph Vespa. A Tao Tao is equal too. All this will stop when there are dozens of Chinese scooters topping 50,000 miles and it will happen. The same as "Rice Burning Jap Crap" stopped when big Japanese motorcycles all lasted longer than Harleys.

Luke, I have one of those $8 fold-down 32L totes I can bungee to my rear rack to hold something. Of course I don't carry it around unless I know I am going to need it. The baskets that I always carry around fold up flat and are semi-permanently mounted. The P-clamp screws have green loctite on them and are HELL to get loose. Each one will hold one of those cloth grocery bags. I have crammed 4 each 2L bottles in one basket but mostly they handle three 2L bottles. The fold-down tote may hold four grocery bags by itself. My scoot is strictly a grocery getter, not a weekend cruiser or commuter. I am considering putting one of my old plastic camp boxes on the rear if I can figure out a quick release mechanism. The camp box locks so I would not have to carry my purchases from one store into another. In my area anything I just left out sitting in a basket would be gone when I got back.

kz, My 50cc 30+/- mph China scoot did cost me nearly $2000 because of that second front wheel and I put more $$$ into it with mods. Nobody else had one. I waited two years for someone else to come out with a scoot like it so I would have a choice. The 3 baskets alone were $70 from Wald. The plastic box I cut down and stuck under the seat was $13. All the new front lights were about $80. The strobe lights were $16. I have a bunch of $$ in spare parts and lots of my time. It all adds up, but it is useful to me and a real blast to play with...

i'd like to share with you a story why i like japan scoots....back in Asia i ride these 2 stroke japan made Honda Dio1. i bought it used, nobody in asia before buy brand new scoots, all our scoots comes straight from japan. these were surplus scooter, they were used by japanese kids during summer then come winter those scooters are being thrown in a surplus junkyard or some kids just leave them in the streets for somebody to pick it up... NOW some of my countrymen who works in japan as an exporter of produce(bananas/coconuts etc ) load those scooters in the container van (hapag Lloyd or Maersk line)together with the bananas etc.,they were ship in my country(illegally if you may call it) at the port of entry they already have their contacts, those scooters probably 5units are being put inside a sack and thrown to the shore, now the guys who bought them will pick them up from the shore, they will dry them up and make them run...
now can you imagine this...a scooter,ridden in japan for 5years max, thrown in the junkyard, submerged in water AND STILL RUNS? the big question is===can you do that on a chinese scooter?


and oh, i rode my honda dio1 for many years and many miles, i abused it. and the only mechanical thing that i need to do is to replace the piston which is normal when you want to attain the best compression, its a part of wear and tear after so many years of using it...the block is still intact tho.
electronics are still in best shape. i dunno how it survive being soaked in water but it was there i saw it and i rode it...i am a living witness of its durability. and it goes to every japanese scooters and mc's.

NOW, i have really nothing against people wanting to ride chinese scoots,it's their money, i dont care...but for example on KZ's case, there's always a BIG question mark in my mind why this person, who has been riding for 40years,has ridden a lot of motorcycles, i mean he has been up there when it comes to two wheel world,has torn apart and repaired a lot of engines of different brands. my question is WHY does he WORSHIP AND ADORE chinese scooters considering his stature.,and of course we all know how the quality of a chinese scooter is..cum'on, i just cant believe it.
now, JCT, didn't have any issues with his Majesty aside from he said waiting for parts which takes 2 or more weeks to arrive, but the problem there is that he is just being impatient..LOL

are you two a stockholder of some chinese scooter company? or getting money form some dealers everytime you back up or praise chinese scoots in a forum? why? why are you worshiping chinese scoots?


and what??? are you comparing Znen,bashan,JM star with Kymco,Honda,Piaggio and Aprilla?? my goodness!!!
Motorcycle USA should not even waste their time testing these...omg, i don't wanna say it..LOL

respect my----->IMO

now the floor is yours....

OK, no I don't own stock in anything. Now maybe, somewhere, there is Chinese junk, not in my garage. My Bashan 150 came from the factory with a mis-welded header pipe and it caused problems that cracked my valve springs. I goofed putting it back together and it caused a string of problems, THAT I CAUSED. If I had let someone with better tools and more experience reassemble the scooter it would not have leaked oil. Even at that it rolled along for three years, leaking oil and running like a Champ. I've seen the inside of my scooter. The electrical connections and wiring is fine, the frame is solid and built well and the metal it's made from real alloys, not flimsy Pot Metal, as certain "Experts" have declared. The scooter works and will continue to work for a loooong time.
I have owned numerous Japanese bikes and let me tell you, none of them was perfect. My 1974 500 triple rattled like the devil.I had to spend a half hour every month re-tightening engine, exhaust and other mounting bolts to keep them from falling off. It shook so bad a headlight bulb lasted two years, tops, before the filaments broke. It also was a sealed beam built only for the bike and cost about four times what a sealed beam costs for a car. It fouled the number three plug every three thousand miles and smoked like crop duster. Loved tromping on Sportsters with it, it was the perfect self esteem sweller.
My KZ1000st weighed 600 pounds. Try picking that up. It wore out both brake switches by 70,000 miles and dry rotted its seat in five years and blew a rear end seal at 50,000 miles. OK it was the perfect bike but a replacement for it would cost me $14,000 today and I don't need 600 pounds and 140 horsepower.
My W650 was a pain in the neck. It shook and cracked its rear fender because it was made from cheap tin with chrome. It was a known defect, but Kawasaki wouldn't repair it even though if it broke completely the tail light would go with it. The battery was buried deep inside the frame and took twenty minutes to remove. The battery was smaller in size than my 150 and burned up every two years.

And Luke. I owned a Japanese bike that was underwater too. The Big Ruckus was loaded inside the engine with rust, the clutch bearing BROKE after it rusted through and the EGR valve rotted away letting exhaust gases blow out through a second exhaust pipe. The $400 catalytic converter exhaust pipe rotted out and blew exhaust sideways onto the rear wheel leaving internal rust coating the back wheel. That was all I saw in the brief time I owned it and I'll bet in time other nasty issues would have cropped up leaving it dead.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, is perfect. My Chinese stuff is all approaching 10,000 miles and cost me less in total than any Japanese scooter bigger than 100cc.

And Frank.....I meant 50cc on two wheels. I think purpose built trikes at the price the Chinese get is a miracle. You can't buy them from any other country and for all the bits and metal involved they're practically free. These reverse trikes at less than $2500 are just insane. I'm betting Japanese spies are all over China trying to figure them out.