ADR's Thought on Purchasing a New Scooter
The other day, I gave someone a ride on the back of my Stella, and they caught the scooter bug. They asked for some advice on how to get started. Not that many of you will find my thoughts helpful, but it might be a good link to throw to a friend who is asking the same question. Of course, I am biased towards certain things, and I think I make it pretty clear what I'm into

First Off Engine size and performance
To me, this is really about safety rather than speed. In Houston, our traffic drives a little faster and a little more erratically than I think any of us would prefer. You are going to want to be able to keep up with street traffic, plus have a little bit of umpf in reserve. You'll also want to be able to accelerate at a speed comparable to that of a car.

Also, scooting is more fun with other people, whether they are on the back of yr ride or you are going somewhere in a pack, the best times are when you have company. So you will want a scooter that can keep up with most others out there and/or have a passenger.

Its for that reason that I would recommend something with an engine in the 125 to 150cc range (cc stands for cubic centimeters, which measures the displacement of the engine). My Stella (which we rode the other night) has 150cc.

Most scooters have engines either in this range, or at 49cc. 49cc is the cutoff in Texas for not needing a motorcycle license to ride. However, I really think that scooters with engines this small aren't nearly as fun or as safe. They accelerate slow, have a lower top speed, and cant handle two people. Now I am not the smallest guy in the world, and so you would no doubt get better performance out of it than I would. However, I really can't recommend one. Others would dispute this.

Note that, out of all the people that I know (dozens) who have scooters that require a motorcycle license, none of them actually has one. To a cop, a scooter is a scooter; it is not a motorcycle.


Next! Engine Types and Transmissions
My scooter has a two stroke engine and is a manual transmission. This is rare in modern scootz. Two stroke engines means that oil is added to the gas, which then provides the lubrication for the engine. It is an old and somewhat less clean engine style. Its main advantage is that 2-stroke engines are very very easy to repair yourself, because there is very little too them. They are, essentially, the same as the engine on a lawnmower or a weed wacker. 2 Stroke engines also require constant tinkering. They are for people who don't mind getting their hands dirty and making little adjustments on a weekly basis. It can be fun for the right kind of person (me) or it can be annoying.

Stellas and metal body Vespas (like the P-Series,which the Stella is a copy of), are the only 2 stroke scooters available in America. They are also both the only manual transmission scooters available right now. However, the company that manufactures the Stellas (LML of India, rather than Genuine, which is the company that markets them) has had labor problems all year and hasn't produced a single scooter this entire year. You can probably pick a low vespa up, however they are among the most expensive scooters out there.

Picking up a vintage vespa is fairly risky too. They can be a mechanical nightmare. I have two friends who went six months before they got theirs running, and they bought it with the understanding that it was working. Whatever you do, do not buy a Vespa (or any scooter really) off ebay. Especially the shiny ones from Asia that look brand new. They are notoriously unsafe as usually they just paint over bent and rusted frames. There are stories on the internet of them literally breaking in half while people are riding them. Stay away. If you want to take the vintage plunge, consider going with one rebuilt by a reputable shop like Retro Vespa or American Scooter Center.

Four stroke engines work like the one on your car and are universally automatic transmissions (which people sometimes call Twist and Go or TNG). Most scooters fall under this category. If you don't feel like doing a lot of work on a scooter yourself, this is the way to go. There is also a ton of variety in this category as far as brands, styles and features. Some people will act like plastic twist and go scooters are not as tough or something. They obviously aren't paying attention to the fact that these are scooters we are talking about; they aren't tuff. There is that kind of snobbery in some cities, but not here.

Where to shop!
There are two scooter places in our part of town, Scootersmith in the heights (up the street from Onion Creek) and Apollo (on west gray on the far side of downtown). Scootersmith is where I bought my Stella and I have been happy with the service there. They have a scooter there called the Genuine Buddy, which is kind of a crap name, but is my favorite TNG scooter. It accelerates really quickly and tops out at like 65 mph. Looks on scooters are always a matter of personal taste, but I think the black ones look pretty good (they also have pink) and I am keen to see how they look in white. Stephen is a good source of info and will treat you fair. Let him know I sent you.

Apollo I am less familiar with, but they carry a number of pretty reputable brands. They sell one there (manufacturer skips my mind at the moment Diamo maybe) called the Retro. I really like those. My friend has one and I definitely have some envy. There are also a few other places in town, such as the Vespa of Texas (which is in the Ferrari dealership on 59 its true from a cost perspective Vespas are Ferarris), Honda motorsports and a few motorcycle dealerships that have scooters. Best bet is to shop for it like its a car. You can even get scooters on payments

License, Insurance and All that.
A motorcycle license requires a road test, which can be avoided if you take a safety class. There is also a written test. Like I said, I don't know anyone who has done this. Insurance is way cheap. I think I pay $120/year for liability and total replacement coverage. I use Go! From Progressive.

How about you - what would your advice be?
(PS - It looks like she is going to go with a Diamo Retro)