opinions on scooter buy? By cloudkicker (Read 1,704 times)

[cloudkicker]

hi well i got my bike into the shop ok, the tomos velo 150cc starting went from spotty to complety dead.

i learned how to kick it pretty good, but sometimes it would refuse to kick to. then i just had to jump the solenoid worst case scenario but that was getting harder to do to.

so anyways i got help and its being looked at but its gonna be awhile

in the meantime i got some others around i want to look at... and buy a spare bike this weekend.

summer here in montana doesn't last long

so i was just wondering what people thoughts would be on some scooters

theres a...

2003 Honda elite ch 80cc $500. not sure on miles but sounded pretty good old man that never rode it.

could be a reliable alternate bike but kinda nerdy looking.  i don't need extra nerd points i got plenty enough lol.

2007 zhen 150cc, with 500 miles got her down to $650. nice shiney black one matches my current bike.

2005 Vento with 971 miles. $975 but i wouldn't pay that much just askin him about it workin on him lowering maybe.

its a bit beat up from weather and snow exposure.  not sure on the engine size yet, but he said it was $3500 new.

don't know much about these except they are American scooters made in mexico. and now out of business.

[jvino]

Well it sounds like you found some deals the Honda 80 is a great price I don't know that it looks like a nerd bike. They are pretty built well. Its an 80 though. Were you live you might want something with a bigger engine. I am assuming you have a lot of hills. Montana never been there but from what I've heard it a beautiful state I would like it.

Sounds like you found several good deals I am looking for a street bike and can't land one for the right price right now. Note deals always come and go they will always be there. Sounds like you are finding some great deals I haven't heard of some of the bike I am no expert. I would ask them when they changed the oil and what maintenance they did to the bikes over the years of owning to know where you stand with what you might need to check out and look into. I believe the bikes that sit for long periods of times could run you into some problems due to there could be something wrong with them. Good luck and keep us posted also to the sight. Somebody else might be able to point you in a better direction.

[fugaziiv]

So long as as you don't need to go more than 40 or so MPH (when running well, they peak at about 45), it's is really hard to beat the Honda Elite 80 for reliability and efficiency. Out of what you list it is easily the most reliable bike. There was never much of an aftermarket for that bike though, but if you do need parts they are easy to come by. If the slower top speed isn't an issue, it's what I would buy out of that lineup.

Also, personally I always loved the crazy 80's space style of the Japanese scooters from that era.


Matt

[cloudkicker]

thanks guys I was wondering about maybe how a big bore for the 80cc honda might help with the under-poweredness a little.

[fugaziiv]

Jun 10, 2014 9:01:21 GMT -6 cloudkicker said:

thanks guys I was wondering about maybe how a big bore for the 80cc honda might help with the under-poweredness a little.

The Elite 80 is just one of those bikes where you are better off accepting it for what it is, a reliable not all that fast bike. If you want to go faster you are better off looking at a bigger bike.

The only thing you can really do for the CH80 is air in, air out and some transmission tuning... It's pretty limited unfortunately.


Matt

[Bashan]

What's up with Vento Matt? I went to their site and apparently it's not Chinese, they're in Mexico and the bikes look nice. But, that's also advertising so take it with a grain of salt. Rich

[fugaziiv]

Jun 10, 2014 10:09:11 GMT -6 Bashan said:

What's up with Vento Matt? I went to their site and apparently it's not Chinese, they're in Mexico and the bikes look nice. But, that's also advertising so take it with a grain of salt. Rich

Vento is a Latin American company that imported their bikes from China un-assembled and were assembled in Texas. They no longer import any bikes or parts into the US however, so there is no longer any official support for the bikes here. In and of itself that's not a big deal so long as you don't need any of the Vento specific plastic that they have had made for them over the years. The engines are standard Chinese fare, and so parts are easy to source.

When Vento was sold here, they did cost a bit more than the competing Chinese bikes at the time owning up to their US assembly, but now are worth no more on the market than any other Chinese built bike due to their abandoned status. Vento.com used to be a USA specific site, but now just redirects to their Spanish site. Vento USA ceased operation sometime towards the end of 2009.


Matt

[cloudkicker]

good info ty =)

a new deal on the table would be a 2006 Yamaha Vino125  for 1200 dollars.

in good shape and a solid bike compared to others ive looked at. has 8900 miles but been very well maintained it seems.

feels sluggish compared to my china 150 but drives real nice otherwise. no rattles, and a for real headlight.

[jvino]

I have a vino I think I made a alright purchase I paid 1500 and mine is a 2007 it had 800 miles on it when I got it it has close to 3600 miles on it know. That's a lot of miles I met a girl that had one with 7500 miles a month or so ago. See has had no problems with here just general mantnance stuff. I think they are a pretty well built scooter. I have not had any problems with mine other than oil changes and just put a pair of pad on the front. Good luck in finding another one deals come and go a couple of these members on this sight bought a jog 50 and have under 100 dollars in them. You are probley looking for something bigger I don't blame you.

Remember riding seasons only got a couple of months left before the snow flys.

[Deleted]

Jun 11, 2014 21:19:44 GMT -6 jvino said:

I have a vino I think I made a alright purchase I paid 1500 and mine is a 2007 it had 800 miles on it when I got it it has close to 3600 miles on it know. That's a lot of miles I met a girl that had one with 7500 miles a month or so ago. See has had no problems with here just general mantnance stuff. I think they are a pretty well built scooter. I have not had any problems with mine other than oil changes and just put a pair of pad on the front. Good luck in finding another one deals come and go a couple of these members on this sight bought a jog 50 and have under 100 dollars in them. You are probley looking for something bigger I don't blame you.

Remember riding seasons only got a couple of months left before the snow flys.

my '88 Yamaha razz has nearly 7500miles on it now. it's 2 stroke and that is a lot of miles on one. they don't lie when they say you can't kill the jap bikes.

oh and jv, don't talk about winter. lol we still got about 5.5 or 6 months left

[LUKE]

Jun 11, 2014 23:07:09 GMT -6 @lanternscooter said:

Jun 11, 2014 21:19:44 GMT -6 jvino said:

I have a vino I think I made a alright purchase I paid 1500 and mine is a 2007 it had 800 miles on it when I got it it has close to 3600 miles on it know. That's a lot of miles I met a girl that had one with 7500 miles a month or so ago. See has had no problems with here just general mantnance stuff. I think they are a pretty well built scooter. I have not had any problems with mine other than oil changes and just put a pair of pad on the front. Good luck in finding another one deals come and go a couple of these members on this sight bought a jog 50 and have under 100 dollars in them. You are probley looking for something bigger I don't blame you.

Remember riding seasons only got a couple of months left before the snow flys.

my '88 Yamaha razz has nearly 7500miles on it now. it's 2 stroke and that is a lot of miles on one. they don't lie when they say you can't kill the jap bikes.

oh and jv, don't talk about winter. lol we still got about 5.5 or 6 months left

i second this...a wake up call to everyone looking for their first scooter, buy the right one and don't get traumatized.

[jvino]

Lantern and luke did good with the purchases don't get me wrong. Sorry to mention about the snow flying.

[kz1000st]

Mileage is never the issue with anything. A well cared for and ridden machine will last forever these days. My Kawasakis all gave me many miles without engine trouble, one for 125,000 miles. In comparison both of my Chinese scooters have over 8,000 miles and run like new. The real issue with any machine is the owner. Someone told me years ago that the Air Force Fight Manual says "85% of all maintenance is done in the air". With motorcycles it's done on the road.

[Deleted]

Jun 12, 2014 7:36:50 GMT -6 jvino said:

Lantern and luke did good with the purchases don't get me wrong. Sorry to mention about the snow flying.

I was joking JV. didn't mean anything by it. just we had such a nasty winter here in Michigan this year

[jvino]

Latern we had a pretty rough winter in Pittsburgh last year also. The older I get the faster the time passes.