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by Jeremy Wilker |
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Here we go: a rough scooter comparison and buyer's guide for all you two-wheel aficionados out there! Hopefully this little bunch of information gives you useful information for buying or selling a scooter. Not buying or selling? Then it just provides another object for your ever-growing archives of scooter-related articles and ephemera. If nothing else, surely it'll be a highly entertaining bit of journalistic research that'll last you through that cup of coffee in your hand. Firstly, though, let's get some disclaimers out of the way: this research was not funded with bribes, payoffs, soft money or donations from scooter manufacturers or dealers -- we wish! Scooters were provided for our testing and use by dealers and individual owners only to participate in the glory of "science." That said, we'll try to throttle back our personal biases during the course of this article and give you (mostly) cold hard facts. My partner in science for this article is Derrick Edge of Tonka Bay Scooters. Derrick's experience fixing and restoring scooters should come in handy and he's very much a vintage scooter lover so his views on the modern scooters should be interesting. Price ranges for vintage scooters in this little guide are merely estimates -- you will find a wide range of prices on vintage scooters depending on condition and location (i.e.: eBay is always higher). Around this region you'll most likely find a high number of Vespa P200E and Vespa AllState (sold by Sears) models. Shop wisely and compare, when possible. This won't be easy as there aren't any vintage dealerships. Speaking of condition of vintage scooters, you'll be happier if you keep some common tips in mind when buying: Make sure the scooter is complete. If it already runs, great. If it doesn't run, make sure the piston moves freely. Surface rust can be dealt with, but holes rusted through the frame are a huge hassle and expensive to fix. Make sure the frame is straight. Original equipment and paint is usually desirable, including badges and stickers. A dirty or crusty fuel tank can be bead-blasted or replaced. Seats can be repaired or replaced. Modifications by "inventive" farmers are usually not desirable--beware of these frankenscooters. Do a personal inspection whenever possible before buying. An actual title is a good thing on a vintage scooter. There are a few things to keep in mind when buying new scooters as well. For example, are they even available in your area? The Vespa line is now mainly sold through the official Vespa Boutiques and the closest such places are Milwaukee and Chicago. Aprilia models are available at Delano Sports Center and at Leo's South. Italjet, hmmm, these are suddenly harder to find. Most Yamaha dealers should be able to get you the Vino. Same for any Honda scooters. If you want a Gilera, Peugeot, Derbi, Malaguti, Benelli, Kymco, Hyosung or MBK, well, you'll have a bit of task in front of you just to locate these models. Hint: start in Chicago at a place called "Baron Von Scoot." This is called the rough guide as there just wasn't enough time to examine every scooter on our list. Notably missing are the Yamaha Vino and the Italjet, but we'll get to those as soon as we can. You'll also notice a focus on Vespa in this initial guide. And why not? At the top of their game Vespa was huge in America, taking something like 90% of all scooter sales. This may be why Vespa still has such name recognition after all these years of not being available in the U.S. market. Of course, their amazing style also speaks loudly. Keep in mind that our battery of tests (such as they were) might not hold up under strict scientific scrutiny. The testing was done using a stop watch and the seat of our pants. Levi's jeans, actually. We thought this more accurately represented the typical scooter inspection experience and, hey, who can afford radar guns these days anyway? Reviews (with pictures):
Overall
Results: Performance wise, the new scooters outperform the vintage models. The basic overall design of the two-stroke 50cc scooters is the same as vintage, but so much more refined. The new four-stroke is more like a one-cylinder car engine hooked to a belt-drive transmission. If you want vintage looks you'll have to sacrifice performance... but early Vespas and Lambrettas just ooze with style! The best overall choice for style and performance would have to be the new Vespa ET4. Jeremy: The big decision is: vintage or modern? This debate could wage on for hours in your own mind, not to mention a large group of scooterists. It comes to down to performance and style. And make no mistake, style is a huge factor in the scooter world. The vintage scooters own the style category but I'd have to say the modern scooters have taken the performance category. The new transmissions are so silky smooth and quiet and pack quite a lot of power. Impressive stuff. Disc brakes are awesome and having an actual fuel gauge is quite the novelty! I'll have to agree with Derrick on the choice of the Vespa ET4. If you really love the vintage styling but want the modern performance, the ET4 is the only choice. But really look at the Aprilia line! Thanks must be given to Bob Thompson, Tim Solien at Delano Sports Center and the crew at MMM for their assistance during testing. All scooter photos by Jeremy Wilker. Until next time... Happy shopping. Ride safe. Ride often.
The Twin Cities' Vintage Scooter Club, The Regulars, meets on the first and third Sundays of each month at Pizza Luce in Uptown Minneapolis (32nd and Lyndale Ave) at 2:00pm for socializing and riding -- as long as weather permits. Join us! The website is located at http://www.minnescoota.com.
M.M.M. |
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