Best style scooter for tall guy By ccBig (Read 5,941 times)

[ccBig]

Hey All,

I'm 6' 1" and own a 2006 Tank Urban Touring 250cc. I feel really cramped up on it. When seated, my knees are up from my waist and I can't put my feet far enough forward or down to get comfortable. I start to get comfortable if I push myself back so I'm just sitting on the front edge of the higher passenger seat but then the handle bars are out of place. Overall, it just feels small.

I read Tank put a 250cc engine in a 150cc frame for this model and that that's why a lot of 150cc and 250cc body parts interchange.

I know I can go and try a few out in person but anyone have a good idea on a larger scooter to look for? 250cc is all the engine I need.

[kz1000st]

The CF Moto Fashion is just the ticket for you.

[bobf]

I had the same problem as you described about being too big for the scoot. Like an elephant riding on a toad stool. Before I bought I visited a couple stores, sat on machines, then went home and checked the specs. I found the machines that made me cramped had 55" wheel base. So then I moved my efforts to the machines that had a 65" wheel base. Bought one and found it much more comfortable for me. But I also found it to be a much larger bike to store. Glad I bought the longer wheel base. Room to move the feet from flat down to extended to the forward position. My knees are not close to the forward panel and I sit high enough to have my legs comfortable and still have ability to reach the ground when stopped while seated.

To me the wheel base meant a lot. Check the specs before you chase one down. If possible do sit on one before ordering. I did not but am happy with my choice based on the wheel base.
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[jct842]

A long wheel base is definitely more comfortable for me at 6'2" but the short ones are way more fun to ride at the slower speeds of a 50 or 150. On the high way the long wheel base does handle way better. Some people cuss a 10" wheel but look at all the compliments you hear about a honda helix for highway riding with its 10" back tire and long wheel base. john

[bobf]

Right about the tire size. My bike has 13" front and rear. It seems to be OK for me. For a while I was trying to get one with the 16" wheels. I hear they are really stable on the highway and going slow. Nice size for gyroscopic effects from the wheels. None of the longer wheel base machines had 16" wheels at the time I was looking. I don't know about what is offered these days.
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[jct842]

As far as gyroscopic effects I can't say for sure going from one size to another because....if you speed up a given wheel size the effect is greater......say a 16 spins so fast at 40mph.... a 10" is going to be spinning a whole lot faster and may even have the same effect at 40mph! It will take some one with an engineering background to clear the confusion. The mass of the wheel on the outside of the rim is going to have most effect. john

[ccBig]

Apr 13, 2012 7:25:51 GMT -6 bobf said:

Like an elephant riding on a toad stool.
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Yeah, I feel like Grape Ape on a moped.

Excellent info. The 65" wheel base makes a lot of sense. I wasn't aware they made em that big. While looking, I've found some sites list the wheel base in mm which converts into 1651 mm, in case anyone else is looking. Thanks for the info.

Any ideas on specific models or types you've had long term luck with? As in it was comfortable when you first bought it and you still like it now that you've had it a while. Or even something to stay away from.

[ccBig]

I have found a Chinese scooter with a 64" wheel base.

It took me a week of looking. Surprisingly, a lot of scooters with big/bigger engines do not have large frames and even if they do, its hard to word a Google search to find them. Most searches resulted in pages and pages of results to weed through.

So here is a link to a 250cc Chinese scooter with a 64" wheel base! It's selling for around 1700.00 dollars - new in crate.

I have nothing to do with the company that is selling it. Its just that I have learned how hard it is to find the larger style scooters. You can use this link to start looking for similar scooters being sold by other sites if you don't like this company or brand of scooter. Search for the specific scooter model and you get other, similar scooters for sale by other companies.

In case the link does not work the model is the MC-D54 250cc scooter.

www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/38_95/products_id/616

This is the front runner for my new scooter. Now I'll be looking for someone who has a similar scooter for sale locally so I can sit on it and try it out.

Anyone find or know of anything else?

[bobf]

That is a very popular scooter for the last three or more years. I have one and it is built by a certain Chinese manufacturer, Jonway, and sold by several distributors in the US. It comes with two different engines that I know of. A horizontal Linhai style and the vertical Honda style by CFMoto. MP or MC and possibly other numbers put on by the importers. It took me several months of browsing different dealer web sites. I finally chose a dealer in California and ordered. It came by truck and so far it seems to be OK. I did do a basic PDI and will do a complete PDI on my next fix up period.
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[ccBig]

I know Chinese scooters can be "hit or miss". I also understand that even if someone has an exceptional scooter, I can buy the same model from the same dealer a week later and end up with lots of problems, it's just the nature of the things.

With that understanding in mind, I'd like to ask a couple of questions if that's ok.

Is it comfortable?
Any obvious issues right off the bat, mechanical or otherwise - maybe something you caught in the initial PDI?
Do you have the horizontal or vertical engine?
What kind of real life fuel mileage are you getting - say miles per tank? How big is the tank?
Do you have any problems with reliability - at this time, whats the longest trip you'd feel comfortable taking it out on - 25, 50, 100, 150 miles? more?
How long from the day it was dropped off to the first long trip you were able to take?

I know you maybe didn't have time to jump on it till it was done in the first day or maybe you did, either way, myself and others are probably just like you in finding time for the PDI, setup, etc. I've never ordered something like this online before. If I know how long it took you and maybe some other details if you think of them, maybe I can plan a little better for when I order one.

[kz1000st]

Someone on another forum has one like that and has done over 400 miles in one day with another 400 home. It seems that the best thing you can do for this or any other China scoot is to change all the oils and antifreeze right away. Buy new fuel and vacuum lines and check all nuts, bolts and electrical fittings for tightness. After a brief break in it will do the same things as more expensive scooters but must be ridden at a sensible pace. People have over 20,000 miles on that model with nothing more than routine maintenance.

[ccBig]

Here are some larger Japanese scooter wheelbases -

Honda Reflex - 250cc - 65" wheelbase
Suzuki Burgman - 250 - 500cc - 62" wheel base
Yamaha TMax - 500cc - 62" wheel base
Yamaha Majesti - 250cc Deluxe - 59" wheelbase
Kymco Xciting - 250-500cc - 62" wheelbase
Kymco Downtown - 300i - 61" wheelbase

The Honda Reflex Chinese equivalent is the CFMotto Fashion. It is very long but it is also very low to the ground. Something you may want to consider.

You can search for the clone of any of these models to find the Chinese scoot equivalent.

[Cruiser]

The Honda Reflex chinese equivalent is the YY250T or MC-54 series of scoots.



This is the YY250T with the Honda 244cc engine. It has a slightly longer wheelbase than the MC-54 series with the Linhai engine.

The CF Moto Fashion is a clone of the Honda Helix.

[ccBig]

My bad. Thanks for the correction.

[mike6736]

I was looking at one the other day, I have a Honda Reflex.... They are nice looking scoots, and the price is right for what you get. If you can't afford a Honda try one, that guy sure liked his..

Mike