MAMA needs a scooter need HELP! By hamneggz (Read 1,140 times)

[hamneggz]

Hello all! 
        So I'm new to this forum, and I'm hoping to find some good advice on what kind of scooter or moped to purchase from some seasons scooter riders!! I have ridden scooters in the past, and absolutely adore them. The vintage Vespas are adorable, but I'm looking for something more rugged, durable, and heavy duty! Through hours of Google searches, I found the Honda Ruckus (which I dig the style) but not sure I can afford its price tag. Recently, I have come across the Znen King Kong 150cc scooter. Seems pretty cool as we'll. I plan on using this sweet ride up at my mountain home in arrowhead so it will need to have some torque for climbing hills, also I want something that's a little bit bigger because I'm 5'11" and 180. I could really use some suggestions from anybody I'm open to anything excavation point your feedback would be greatly appreciated, so thank you in advance!! 

PEACE, LOVE AND KCCO! 

[Bashan]

Znens are tasty, I had one and regret getting rid of it. They are definitely a better build. You'll definitely want a 150 at 180, especially going up some inclines. Now, having said all of that, you might want to check into the Bintelli by clicking on the tile at the top of the site. They are a relatively new vendor but this dude seems OK from what I can tell. I've talked to him a couple times and he seems straight up. I think they are trying to bring a level up on the commonly offered scooter. I haven't touched one of their scooters but they seem like good people. Mega Motor offers decent stuff, the usual Chinese fare but I feel like they stand behind their products, I've talked to them also. Valley is good, I've bought from John. Now Jim at Rapid Repair and Tom at KidnMe are great but I'm not sure if they're still shipping. Call them, they're very nice guys. Not all of those guys at the top of site sell scooters over the internet. But they wouldn't be up there if the guys on the staff here at Scooter Doc didn't feel comfortable with them being up there. Rich

[jvino]

Well I had some suggestion typed out and lost it rats. I to dig the ruckus but believe it wouldn't pull me up the hills and would be walking beside it looking like a jack arse. I probably look like one on my vino but oh well I like it. If you live in a hilly place I would recommend staying away from the moped. I believe you would be pushing it up hill or pedaling. There is a sight on line that is called cheap scooter I have seen it there based in California not to far away and there scooters sell from any were from 600 to 3000 dollars.

Not really sure what your budget is? But this sight they have 50cc to 300cc scooters and one of the scooters looks like the ruckus. The gy6 engine I believe is a 150 and I think they make a 50 to anyone who noes more than me please chirp in. They seem to be a strong little engine I have a friend here in Pittsburgh that owns a matrix 150 and it has like 3500 miles on the original engine. This scooter has several different company's that sell the same looking scooter with different graphics. They can sell new anywhere from 800 to 1300 hundred that seems like a steal to me.

There is a guy named Dr rocco that has one he had to assemble it a little. I am not sure if you are handy with a wrench but a lot of these scooters shipped to the door of your house come assembled.

I would also recommend sym and kymco they have a nice line of scooters. But a 150 I believe would due you great miss. Bashan noes a lot about these things and will point you in a great direction.

Well good luck and and hope to hear about a new member getting a scooter and how they like it. Just think at least 60 miles a gallon and how much money you would save from totally being confined to a vehicle. Also they can be a lot of fun to ride and people get a chuckle out of them when they see them. I found with mine a lot of people ask about scooters generally I tell them they are a great way to get around if not in a hurry.

Well welcome again and hope some of this info is helpful. Good luck.

[Bashan]

JV makes a good point....are you willing to do some assembly and mechanical work? If so you can order what's called a crate scooter. It shows up in a crate and you assemble it and do the maintenance on it. It's not that difficult and that's what forums like this are for. However, if you don't feel comfortable with that concept then buy from a dealer and have them do everything for you. This will be a whole lot more coin especially with the Hondas. You could get off cheaper with a SYM or Kymco but it still won't be bargainville. They are a lot more bang for the buck than Honda but that's just me. GY6's are a horizontal engine that comes in 50cc, 125cc, 150cc, and even 200cc. For what you described you'll want a 150cc. 200's are a little overstressed I feel. The King Kong is a cool build, no doubt about it.

[kz1000st]

Be careful buying a crate scooter in California. Many are not CARB approved. I know you're into the Ruckus look but this is cheap, durable and a hoot. Also CARB approved.

www.killermotorsports.com/product_p/bms1-bm-xlt-110.htm

Yes, it's a manual but very easy to learn since it doesn't have a hand clutch. All you have to do is roll off the throttle, change gears up or down and roll the throttle back on. I know a 70 year old woman in New Hampshire who has one. She says it climbs hills like a Mountain Goat and it's as durable as anything costing twice as much.

[jvino]

That looks like a pretty rad scooter. There was a guy on a month ago that had one but I can't remember his name sorry.

[Kaveman]

Ok here is my 2 cents on a Vespa or Stella ! I have had both ( a chinese made scoot and LML made Stella 2T a licensed copy of the Vespa PX150) . The biggest problem I see with a chinese scoot is they don't hold their resale value like a Vespa or Stella does. Yes I'll admit chinese scoots may be easier to ride at first but having a vespa or stella will give you the Original Italian scooter styling. Vespa's were and are the original scoot that was made and sold long before the chinese stuff came on the market here in the US. Also the parts quality for a Stella or Vespa is also better and prices for parts are close to the chinese spares being sold. There is a huge amount of online support and parts for them ( including the Vespa Kave). A good many vespa parts are interchangeable with the Vespa and the lml made Stella. For hop ups you can add a huge amount of hop ups .You can also upgrade your crankcase to a larger cylinder and piston and you don't have to rebore the engine case to do it like on a GY6 . If all you have riden is a chinese scoot and go to a vespa type the biggest issue will be the manual shifter, clutch and location of the rear brake pedal. My 04 sella 2T with the homebuilt 200cc engine now has over 6000 miles and is still working well.
will c.

[kz1000st]

Where the heck did that come from?

[Deleted]

May 5, 2014 17:08:41 GMT -6 kz1000st said:

Where the heck did that come from?

I know, Right?

[Kaveman]

Sorry ! I was rsponding to part of her message . She mentioned "Vintage Vespas" in the first posting.Vespas don't exactly have cheap parts quality like some Chinese Scooter parts.
willc.

[hamneggz]

Awesome, 
        Thank you so much for the feedback! And no I don't have any issues with 'assembly required' things my first car was a sweet lil 71' VW bug so I can wrench my way through a few things
i was a little confused on the engine size you suggested though. You think I should go with a 50cc over a 150? Or did I read that wrong ??

[hamneggz]

The Vespa I rode around in the past was sweet! My brothers actually , he swears by the Vespa name very well built, BUT that style is really not what I am going for. I want something with thicker tires and that can handle a mountain drive THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FEEDBACK xox!!

[hamneggz]

May 5, 2014 13:47:16 GMT -6 kz1000st said:

Be careful buying a crate scooter in California. Many are not CARB approved. I know you're into the Ruckus look but this is cheap, durable and a hoot. Also CARB approved.

www.killermotorsports.com/product_p/bms1-bm-xlt-110.htm

Yes, it's a manual but very easy to learn since it doesn't have a hand clutch. All you have to do is roll off the throttle, change gears up or down and roll the throttle back on. I know a 70 year old woman in New Hampshire who has one. She says it climbs hills like a Mountain Goat and it's as durable as anything costing twice as much.




I will definitely check these out thank you!!! And thank you for the CA carb info as well! 

[hamneggz]

May 5, 2014 12:04:03 GMT -6 Bashan said:

JV makes a good point....are you willing to do some assembly and mechanical work? If so you can order what's called a crate scooter. It shows up in a crate and you assemble it and do the maintenance on it. It's not that difficult and that's what forums like this are for. However, if you don't feel comfortable with that concept then buy from a dealer and have them do everything for you. This will be a whole lot more coin especially with the Hondas. You could get off cheaper with a SYM or Kymco but it still won't be bargainville. They are a lot more bang for the buck than Honda but that's just me. GY6's are a horizontal engine that comes in 50cc, 125cc, 150cc, and even 200cc. For what you described you'll want a 150cc. 200's are a little overstressed I feel. The King Kong is a cool build, no doubt about it.

YEA! This is the EXACT scooter I was looking at!!! Znen King Kong! Seems to be a bit more robust then the others I have seen! 

[jvino]

I would say you want a scooter over 100 cc if you live in a hilly place. Good luck welcome again to the sight hope that is some helpful answers. If anymore questions feel free to ask. Got to go get my scooter ready going to help a friend change fluilds in his scoot he has a matrix 150 these are the scooters that are a gy6 engine I was talking about that sell any 8-)were from 800 to 1300 dollars pretty good deal in my opionion.