Best bang for your Buck

[mtecl1]

new member, first time poster

gf is looking to get a scooter and I've always been interested in getting one, so if this works out ill definitely get one myself. We live in the Grand Rapids area of MI. Wondering if anyone has any insight on what to buy. I've been doing some Internet research as much as i can the past week or so and plugging the brains of the mechanics i know. buddy of mine says the china knockoff are pretty whishy washy. the old japs are a bit better and the more money you spend the better, you get what you pay for. Ideally id like to spend under 1k. i think buying a crate would be a fun project for us. thanks for the insight guys, your the best.

[beachbum]

Are you good at wrenching? Some chinese are better than others, and all of them are much more reliable if you do a good PDI. I have a Honda Elite and a chinese scooter. The Honda is for my wife, and the chinese is for me.

There is no doubt that the name brands are better, but like I said there are some chinese scoots that hold their own.

Taiwan makes some good scooters that are not too high in price....Don't call them chinese, those are fighting words to them. lol

Are you looking for a 50cc, 150cc, or higher?

[mtecl1]

i should have been more specific. looking for a 50cc. i would say im pretty good at wrenching. ive worked a bit on cars, my only limitation was my tools, or lack there of. i work in IT so these small engines seem fairly simple. ya i was planning on checking every wire connection and bolt/screw and making sure everything is in tight and right. was also wonder how deep do it go with the pdi. like disassemble the carb/engine. there is a local shop that sells crates. heres the website with the info
grandrapidsscooterDOTus
horrible website but if you select the speedster or the urban express it tells you the model/specs. taotaos from what i can tell.

[Rebel]

A used Japanese scooter would be more reliable. Bit a properly peepped chinese one can be reliable enough and parts are usually pretty cheap to pick up.

My 150 Longbo is not considered a high end acooter but it has plenty of mile on it. One more thing is that if you are not using it as your prmary transportion it does not have to be as reliable.

[beachbum]

Apr 4, 2012 15:23:40 GMT -5 mtecl1 said:

i should have been more specific. looking for a 50cc. i would say im pretty good at wrenching. ive worked a bit on cars, my only limitation was my tools, or lack there of. i work in IT so these small engines seem fairly simple. ya i was planning on checking every wire connection and bolt/screw and making sure everything is in tight and right. was also wonder how deep do it go with the pdi. like disassemble the carb/engine. there is a local shop that sells crates. heres the website with the info
grandrapidsscooterDOTus
horrible website but if you select the speedster or the urban express it tells you the model/specs. taotaos from what i can tell.

IMHO i would not take carb off unless it is an older model thats been sitting for a few years. If it starts up and runs well then just do a PDI with the hoses, connections, spark plug, and fluids. Check all nuts, bolts and screws as well. Make sure you put double nuts on the exhaust bolts...they are notorious for coming loose and falling off.

I could not open the website.

[jmkjr72]

im a big fan of yamaha and genuine
i would go and look at
www.woodlandtravelcenter.net/

if your looking at a new 50 the genuin roughhouse or buddy are great little 2 stroke scooters and come with a 2 year warranty
looks like they also have sym they are another good brand

[terrilee]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

HI & WELCOME

1st i would say to reconsider a 150cc instead of a 50.
WHy, u may ask, well i have Chrissy {pic attached}
she's about to hit 7000 miles, in 2 years ,have had very few problems, very few.
except things consider Preventive maintenance, like adjusting valves , every so often. i know 50cc's dont have 'em but it's so easy to do i can do it in ehh, 20-30 mins.

she can cruise at 50mph all day long & i have to brag here,
she the fastest STOCK 150 ive seen or heard from.
but im not it in for the speed.

ive always felt if it can go that fast for that long, welll, then 40-45
will just make the engine laster longer. for MANY miles.

a 50cc like u r considering are good lil scoots BUT, they cruise at
30-35 some claim they can do 40 all day.BUT i think thats just to much stress on that lil of a engine.

BUT im a woman , so what do i know--lol
OH & CHRISSY IS A CHINA SCOOT
2008 Shanghai Schenke SL 150 21B

like ANYTHING, it depends on how well u make sure everything,
is set up at 1st and then the preventive maintenance.

One prob for u now is, well its getting towards summer & gas prices
are climbing, so scoot prices are doing the same.

and another thing the engines might SEEM simple & in theory they are. BUT get a gremlin and u will wanna burn it even if it cost 10k
\
gremlins suck LOL

anyways , good luck
hope this helped

Attachments:

[Rebel]

Terri I think one of the reasons your scooter is so fast is because it does not have to carry much of a load with you on it.

[Rocketdog]

I agree with all these folks. Terri's right about a 150 vs a 50. If all you want to do is ride around city streets at 30 mph then your looking in the right direction. But if you intend to go any faster, for an extended length of time, I'd get a 150. Most will push the mid 50s. Some are faster than others, like Terri says.

I had one drop shipped a few years ago for 800 bucks. Just a run of the mill China Racer model. It's run well with the usual maintenance. As far as tools, if you have a set of metric wrenches, spark plug socket, and a few screw drivers you could get by. A feeler gauge would be nice. More the better of course.



As a alternative you might find one on the local Cragslist. A lot of folks have bought these inexpensive scooters. The ones who aren't mechanically inclined let them sit over the Winter and the carbs gum up, especially with ethanol fuel. They try and get them fixed but find out that either no one wants to touch a China Scoot or that the price of 75 bucks an hour is more than the want to pay. So they sell them. I got this 50 for 300 bucks. 5 kilos on it and all it needed was a cleaning out.



Other folks get them cheaper than that. Used scooters seem to go high in my neck of the woods.

Here's a drop ship site.

www.greenearthscooters.com/category.cfm?category=Scooters

[mtecl1]

Well see here in michigan anything above a 50cc you need a motorcycle endoursement, and with that she might as well get a actual motorcycle. Well let me be more specific. Can anyone recomend a specific crate for under $1000. And for a chinese crate scoot what parts go out the most? Generally what parts usually need replacing so often?

[mtecl1]

I like the greenearth website, would you recomend a service plan?

[mtecl1]

The biggest thing is the money. She can't really spend more than 1k. And this would be her main transportation. Well for the summer. :-P

[Rebel]

Greenearth has its fans.

In reality all the drop shippers seem to screw up big time from time to time. It is always better to buy local and have the ability to see the dealer face to face if you have a problem with the transaction.

Check out this one too.

www.scootersus.com/

I've never heard of anybody getting a service plan for a drop shipped scooter and would be very suspicious of one.

For the price range you are looking at you will be getting a four stroke, I don't know if there are any two strokes out there for under $1500.00.

Make sure you do a good prep on it.
Change the fluids, the oil in these is really a shipping oil not a motor oil.
Replace the fuel and vacuum line with better ones.
Be sure to put new tire valves stems on it, the Chinese ones have a rep for falling apart.
Check all electrical connections and seal them with silicone or dielectric grease.
Check/tighten all nuts, bolts, screws, put lock washers on anything you can and loctite on everything else.

[mtecl1]

how are TaoTaos? a local shop sells them.
grandrapidsscooter.us/

[terrilee]

how do i say this???
hmmm

any china scoot has the ability to be a great one--like mine
meaning few, few probs,
the one that came off the line before mine, or after, could be complete lemons
taos have a good rep
but even they have the possibility to have a dud now & then.
which ever u decide on, it is IMPERATIVE that you do a great pdi.
when u buy off a store like u r thinking of they will do one
but for my peace of mind i would still do one. check all bolts etc etc