advice on ladies scooters/mopeds

robthemanager

Had 2 of the cheap chinese scooters...each had anoying but fairly easily fixed problems using the internet forums for advice, both were brand new so no MOT for 3 years (by which time you could scrap them and buy another, they are that cheap), both got stolen from outside our house (both very well chained up) and neither stayed with us for more than 5 months...I have given up supplying the local yobs and paying for pointless insurance. The scooter experience round town is second to none but untill the police get a grip on thefts it's one I can't afford.

Albert_the_teddy_bear

'Think Bike' has a motorbike image on it to draw motorists' attention to Bikes.

Riders are already 'thinking bike.' It is a similar sign to that of ones we see outside school areas, with an image of a parent holding a child's hand as they cross the road. The sign isn't telling parents to cross the road. It is warning drivers that mums and children are liable to cross the road.

There has been a 'particular' dramatic fall in the number of motorcycle accidents over the last few years. Even though far more people have taken to the road on scooters and motorbikes. This 'particular' dramatic decrease in accidents has been noticeable.

With so many more powered two wheelers on the roads, one would normally expect an increase in the number of scooter riders and motorbike riders (And pillion passengers) having to be attended to by paramedics and hospitals.

Most bike accidents involve cars. I am not anti-motorist. I drive a car and I also have a powered two wheeler. In any incident involving a bike and a car, the rider will always come off the worst, whoever is to blame. It is a fact.

What is truly interesting about the dramatic fall in the number of scooter and motorbike accidents, despite a dramatic increase in the number of scooters and motorbikes on the roads, is that these figures, come from government and local authority sources, namely the Police, Highways Agency, and the National Health Service.

These figures are in fact taken from one particular part of the country. London. To be more precise, within the Congestion Zone. Yes, there are traffic incidents involving scooters and motorbikes within the Congestion Zone. However.................less cars, less incidents, less injuries, less cost to the taxpayers for hospitalisation etc. Watch the news reporters outside Parliament and the High Court as they talk to camera, and do a quick count of how many bikes there are in the background, in relation to how few vehicles there are driving passed.

'Think Bike' is mostly for motorists. Many motorists these days have never ridden on two wheels on the roads. Passing your Test to ride a scooter and/or motorbike, is far more difficult than taking a driving test. I know, I've done both. On the Continent many 14 year olds start riding on their roads on small motorised pedal assisted mopeds. They learn 'road sense' at an early age. At least a lot of them do. In this country, many 14 year olds sit in mum's car and are taxied to and from school. Hence the increase in the number of cars at the start and end of the school day. More cars at those times make it a difficult decision whether parents ought to let their children ride bikes to school. In other words, two wheeled road users (at an early age) are in more danger from more cars on the roads. This danger continues on through age and mode of two wheeled transport. 'Think Bike' is to alert many motorists to the presence of two wheeled transport sharing the same road as the driver.

The latest TV campaign which shows bright flashing wedges of lights attached to the backs of motorcyclists is good, but it could do more. The riders in the TV film are wearing dark clothing. Police and Paramedic bike riders wear bright Yellow reflective clothing. They ride with the bike's headlight on dim, (All new bikes come with their headlight set at 'on' ) and they wear white crash helmets. Given that they are not using 'blues and twoes' on their way to an incident, ask yourself if it is difficult to ignore just such an individual appearing ahead of you, or in your rear view mirrors? Perhaps there ought to be a bit more persuasion to get riders to wear similar distinctive outfits. Men who work on motorways and on building sites have to wear bright reflective jackets, in order to 'be seen.' Black leathers might look 'cool' but they make 'you' almost invisible in poor light. A single headlight could appear to a motorist as a car with only one working headlight. If that is what he thinks, he is not 'Thinking Bike.' HTH


I had a ride on the Piaggio MP3. It is 'interesting,' and the latest model with a reasonably powerful engine can be ridden on a car license. However, they are not cheap. They 'are' aimed at the car driver who wants to avoid traffic jams etc. on his/her daily commute. The three wheels make the bike much safer to ride for someone new to scooters and motorbikes. I have a friend who has ridden bikes for years but he was never confident at cornering. He tried the MP3, 400cc to start with and used it for a year, and has now bought a Gilera 500cc equivalent. He is one happy bunny now.

jaz_2

pinkneonmartini wrote: »

i don't really know much about scooters, but on an MSE note, why not get an electric one? road tax & congestion charge exempt, will cover 30 miles....

http://www.zippe.co.uk/

Beware of these, I know someone who has bought a very similar rebadged version of that scooter. It also has a claimed range of 30 miles, but when you factor in hills it can just about manage 20.

As far as conventional scooters go, I'd stay away from the smaller 2-stroke models e.g. Aprilia SR50, Peugeot Speedfight, Gilera Runner et al. These will usually have been repeatedly dropped and thrashed to death by teenage tearaways. Machines likely to have had an easier life are the 4-stroke 125s aimed at older riders, e.g. Suzuki Burgman, Yamaha Majesty, Honda SH125, Piaggio X9 etc. The Honda Lead is also a decent machine that's well worth a look. The metal bodied Vespa models are good and very pretty but overpriced.

Kymco, Daelim and SYM are non-Chinese far-Eastern manufacturers and all produce decently-made, good value for money scooters - although as has been said earlier check to see if you have a local dealership. Parts availability for some Daelim models has been terrible for some time now, but they have just re-launched their dealer network so watch this space, as they say.

Some Chinese scooters are better than others, but most are junk - poorly made to a low price rather than any sort of build quality, sold by dealers who rarely stay in business more than a couple of years. Because of this spares can be a problem, and even finding a shop that'll work on them can be difficult. Far better to buy a properly looked after 5-6 year old Jap or Euro scooter than a new Chinese machine.

jaz_2

ciano125 wrote: »

Is there such a thing as a big, butch, mean, manly scooter then??!

Not if you listen to some of the bigots who ride geared bikes, but you can get scooters up to 850cc these days if that's what floats your boat.

Albert_the_teddy_bear

malibusami86 wrote: »

hi, im fed up of not being able to drive and cant afford to run two cars in our house so thought about getting a little runaround.

ive seen the peugeot speedfights but when i type ladies scooter or ladies moped into ebay/ search engine nothing much comes up, i think i need to search something specific, but i wouldnt know where to start. obviously, i would try before i buy, but wondered if anyone could recommend a particular type, or equally, if you had advice about a bad model please let me know

thanks so much

I hope we have been able to give you some food for thought. If you haven't considered powered two wheels (PTW) before, you've joined a new world wherein your life could be in for some truly interesting changes... I guess we would all agree that the best advice we could give you is to keep it simple.
Main manufacturer
Local Dealership with maintenance service
Try bikes out for comfort
Buy the best gloves, boots and jacket you can afford.
Leather has been wonderful for years, but modern textile clothing comes with built in armour, waterproof and windproof, flexible to wear, and allowing breathable comfort to stop you getting hot in summer and cold in winter. There are now companies who produce clothing specifically for ladies. You'll be surprised. Also, there are a huge number of girls and women who are now bike riders.
Don't buy a cheapie helmet. Buy a full-face helmet, or what is called a flip-up, or flip-front helmet. You'll see the police wearing these. The bottom half flips up to allow people to chat, wear glasses, etc.
Open face, or Jet helmets leave the lower half of your face open to damage if you come off the bike. Some open face helmets look really fashionable and attractive, but!!!!!

You'll be in a different world and hopefully the beginning of a great time.
Good luck.

Coveredinbees!!!!

Don't get a moped (ie 50cc with a max speed of 30mph) get a bigger scooter that will be able to keep up with the traffic. Don't forget to budget for a helmet, some riding gear and CBT.