Clinician
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Post by furball on Nov 30, 2012 17:54:19 GMT -6
You absolutely helped. I'll update y'all on it if you wish. Gotta learn how to change the oil and such this weekend, I'll get the tags for it on Monday, and take my Basic class next week so I can actually ride it!
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Clinician
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Post by furball on Nov 30, 2012 17:22:32 GMT -6
Bought the 2002 Honda Reflex tonight. It's a super rare champagne gold color. It looks virtually new. Came with original owner's manual, two sets of keys (two for the $400 GIVI trunk it has, too), all service history, even a copy of the 2002 Reflex brochure from Honda. Lovely, lovely scooter! I can't wait to start riding it.
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Clinician
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Post by furball on Nov 29, 2012 15:14:54 GMT -6
Yes, this is just an example of what's available down here to me. I just spent the entire afternoon going through each and every CL ad in three counties - whew! The search function sucks - I found several gorgeous Honda Reflexes; one has less than 2k miles, it's a 2002, but he's a little proud of it at $2500. It's a champagne/gold color, there's also a silver and a red available locally, at same or simliar price, similar age.
Hopefully the car sells tomorrow - got a guy coming who says he really wants in, and he's willing to pay my full asking price. If it sells, I'm immediately calling the owner of the gold-ish Reflex and bid him a few hundred less for it. I just hope that parts and such aren't too difficult to obtain or too expensive, compared to the Chinese copies.
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Clinician
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Post by furball on Nov 29, 2012 10:05:25 GMT -6
Anyone ever hear of the BOSS brand? Looks a lot like a rebranded 54B 250cc to me. Are these crap, or is it "Meet the new BOSS, same as the old BOSS"?  Here's a link, in case anyone wants to take a look. Photos are crap, though. tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/mcy/3311880655.html |
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Clinician
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Post by furball on Nov 29, 2012 5:04:02 GMT -6
Zug is right. I've been looking on CL for over two months now, and the very few 250cc scooters that have shown up there (in my area) are nutso priced. Most of what I see on CL are 50cc, or $3000+. Zug is also right about the fact that they don't sell at these prices, 'cause the ads are staying up until they naturally expire, and the vehicles are still available.
Yes, the Helix/CF Moto Fashion body style of scooter is reasonably priced, and one was even available on CL here locally, but I'm sorry. I can't stand the looks of the things. And I can't imagine dropping 1-2 grand for one. I'd rather walk. I know they're popular with a certain section of the scooter community, but they're not for me.
I don't mind having a scooter or bike sent via drop shipper. At least I know it wasn't fooled with since it left China or wherever. My main concern with that is the treatment it saw during shipping. It arrives with the front end stoved in or the trunk crushed, yeah, that'll piss you off. Not to mention that you have to now deal with a claim through the shipping company, which is universally like pulling teeth - no shipping company willingly pays off a damage claim these days.
I have seen two actual Honda Reflexes for sale locally on CL. One was actually reasonably priced, I thought, but the miles worried me. Are 30,000 miles high for a scooter, esp. one made in the early/mid 2000's? I understand parts for a Honda are much more than for a Chinese scoot, however, shouldn't it need less repairs/parts replacement?
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Clinician
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Post by furball on Nov 26, 2012 11:18:15 GMT -6
I've been researching different models of Chinese scooters recently, for use as a car replacement/commuter vehicle in Florida. I'm really frustrated at this point.
Every vendor I've looked at, that I can afford, there are a lot of negative experiences posted online. Now, a lot of these are uninformed consumers bitching, but I believe that with most or all of them, once they have your money, they're not as interested in dealing with you.
Can anyone suggest a vendor who sells either the Roketa/Tank/CMS or other clone in the following styles:
MC54-250B, or MC62-250/Tank/VOG 250/260DE Deluxe Touring
I prefer the body style of the MC62 type, as well as the Yamaha/Linhai style engine. Both seem to have 13" wheels, so that's a draw. I'm trying to keep the spend to under $2000 altogether (shipped). I'd also greatly prefer one of the more interesting body colors, such as the Orange/Bronze or the Champagne/Gold colors. If someone sells the MC54 in a more interesting color, I'd be all over that as well.
I do understand that the MC54 is considered the much more reliable of the two scooters? Is this due to the Honda clone engine, or just the build quality/materials?
Lastly, I've seen on at least one vendor's website that they do not sell to Florida, at least on certain models. Anyone know why that is? If I buy one of these, will I even be able to title & register it?
I just want to get an affordable scooter, and not get ripped off and/or have it wind up as a useless brick in the garage. Can you help?
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Clinician
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Post by furball on Nov 14, 2012 11:21:28 GMT -6
Hello, everyone. I am completely new to riding scooters or motorcycles. I am selling my car to purchase a scooter (probably) very soon. Reasons are economic, but I've always wanted a motorized bike of some type. I have a few questions that I've not yet been able to search/google out, and I hope you can assist. I stopped by the local B&M "motorcycle" dealer the other day wanting to see a few scooters. They had exactly 6. 2 were 150's, the rest were 50 cc's. All were Chinese, all were a different brand (don't remember which). Sales guy asked me a few questions, then decided a 150 was where I should be. Long story short, I didn't buy from him, but I was close to putting a deposit on the one used scoot he had. Since that visit, I've been wondering if a 250 wouldn't be a better idea. My situation: Plan to ride on mostly 45 mph roads, but DO need ability to go 55-60 or better for limited highway use. Need as much storage space as I can get, as I need to be able to get some groceries home, and I do some handyman work at my brother's house when he asks (He's not handy at all), so I need to be able to take a couple of tool boxes, somehow. Fairly easy to work on, as I'll be doing all of the maintenance/repairs, as I've done on all of my cars since I was a kid. I know which end of a wrench is which. As low initial cost as I can get away with! After a LOT of online research, it looks to me as a Chinese scoot would work well for me. Ideally, I'd like a "touring" style (as it looks like it has the most storage compartments). I see that most of you are quite down on the Sunny/ScooterDepot.us brand, due to mostly custserv issues or post-sale issues. The problem for me is, they have a large model selection, larger than I've yet seen from anyone else. As I'm trying to keep the initial spend low ($2000 or less, including shipping), The Sunnys are attractive to me. But, I don't want to have it dropped off at the door and find out the trunk is destroyed and the plastic farings are damaged, or whatever, and have to call and deal with a rude moron whom I'd dearly love to shoot in the head!  Another thing: In looking at some 250cc scoots, I've seen "Cannot be shipped to Florida" on the advert. Anyone know why that is? Is it an emissions rule, or a safety issue, or can it just not be registered at DMV? I just want a reliable scooter that I can register in Florida in the 150-250cc range for less than $2000. This shouldn't be that hard! I'm also not averse to buying used, a la Craigslist or something (got a few great deals off of CL!), but I need to know what to look for, and also styles and such are much, much more limited when buying used. Is there an online resource that would help that I'm just not seeing yet? Thanks for any assistance. |
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