Whats a good starter 50cc Scooter please....

truewraith121

hi,
i was curious on what would be a good 50cc scooter to buy at the moment for this budget £900-£1400 , ive watched tube vids and looked around but its always mixed in comments etc and this is alot of money for me right now and i dont want to buy something thats bad or will let me down. So please if anyone can help me on this i would be very grateful as ive never bought a scooter and know very little.

im also learning to drive a car late in life but needed for my family and my wife whos got a illness and im trying to get a scooter in the meantime  so i can help more even if its just picking up meds etc.

i also have a provisional and found out you have to have a CBT as well but not sure if needed to go on the road at start....

[Deleted User]

A CBT is required in order to ride a bike with L plates. It lasts for 2 years and will allow you to ride upto 125cc (assuming you are 17+).

If you pass your car test within this 2 years then you keep the entitlement to ride AM without L plates (50cc only).

CBTs are simple and cost about £100.

As far as bikes go there are plenty of options. Honda and Yamaha are always good choices and hold their value well. chinese bikes are reasonable and cheap but second hand value is not good. A Japanese bike will cost you less in the long run as you'll get back more of what you paid for it.

If you are over 17 then I'd strongly advise 125cc over 50cc. It won't cost you much more to buy or insure but the choice is far greater and you are much more able to keep up with faster moving traffic. A 50cc with a max speed of 30mph is as dangerous as a bicycle on faster roads

AdrianC

Why not just get an eBike?

Many 50cc scooters are pretty much disposable rubbish, priced down to a point at which they can be beaten to death by a 16yo and pretty much discarded on their 17th b'day when they can get a car or 125 licence.

It's not as if you're going to be covering large distances on one - the speed difference won't be particularly relevant, and you can treat one as a bicycle instead of having to treat it as a motorcycle.

burlingtonfl6

AdrianC said:

Why not just get an eBike?

Many 50cc scooters are pretty much disposable rubbish, priced down to a point at which they can be beaten to death by a 16yo and pretty much discarded on their 17th b'day when they can get a car or 125 licence.

It's not as if you're going to be covering large distances on one - the speed difference won't be particularly relevant, and you can treat one as a bicycle instead of having to treat it as a motorcycle.

Ebikes are brilliant!
The only downside at the moment is they might be out of OPs budget (for something decent)

Goudy

There aren't many 50cc scooters around these days, since the demise of 2 stoke engine due to emissions, manufacturers have had trouble extracting enough power out of such small displacement 4 strokes, though there are a few still about.

An older 50cc 2 stroke might give you a few headaches with the likes of low emission zones and ragged stuff will no doubt need an engine rebuild sooner rather than later.

Reliability wise I would ignore the Chinese stuff (though the back up is getting better by the year) and stick with a Honda or Yamaha.
There should be quite a few late Honda Visions (a bit drab) and you've the Yamaha Neo, there's the later the Neo 4(4 stroke) but pricey.

Vespa do the Primavera 50, but build quality is typical Italian, same goes for Piaggio.

There are a few electric motor scooter, not the stand on and scoot sort, but proper scooters like the Neo with electric motors and batteries, not sure you'll get one in your price range though.

If you can, a 125cc scooter will give you more choice, again Japanese for reliability and by the sounds of it, you're old enough for one, they'll be more choice as they sold more and they'll be little difference in price/insurance.
Yes, you need a CBT, you'll find companies locally in the phone book and it only takes a day at most.

Herzlos

burlingtonfl6 said:

AdrianC said:

Why not just get an eBike?

Many 50cc scooters are pretty much disposable rubbish, priced down to a point at which they can be beaten to death by a 16yo and pretty much discarded on their 17th b'day when they can get a car or 125 licence.

It's not as if you're going to be covering large distances on one - the speed difference won't be particularly relevant, and you can treat one as a bicycle instead of having to treat it as a motorcycle.

Ebikes are brilliant!
The only downside at the moment is they might be out of OPs budget (for something decent)

Halfords has 25 E-Bikes for under the £1400 budget (after the 10% off can get from various memberships). Some may be a bit crap but no worse than a Chinese scooter.

onlyfoolsandparking

If you've never rode a motorbike I'd suggest a 'twist and go' plenty of 125cc ones available, even new ones for around a grand, or try and find a decent second hand Japanese one for similar money a Honda would probably be the best for reliabilty and quality build imo. Don't bother with any 50cc scooter/bike they are soppy as a sack and can't even keep up with normal traffic (dangerous in reality).  

jimbo6977

I live not so far from the main importers of cheap but not torally 5h1t3 Asian motorcycles.

https://www.motogb.co.uk

GunJack

new Lexmotos are pretty decent these days, my youngest had a 50 scooter at 17 and bought a new Venom 125 at 17 - dealer network is big and growing, nice reliable bike and 2-yr warranty as standard. 125 bikes start at £1300, scooters at similar.

And yes, you must do the CBT BEFORE riding on the road...

walwyn1978

Another vote for 125 not 50 as well, you’ll be grateful for that power as it stops lorries overtaking you on the dual carriageway which on a 50cc going flat out at 30 odd mph is properly scary. At that price point used Honda or Yamaha is the sweet spot and you’ll get more back when you sell it on. 

Don’t forget to budget for decent gloves - not just market stall cloth gloves but proper riding gloves with protection built in. You WILL come off at some stage when you’re starting out and decent gloves mean you’re far less likely to damage your hands when you do. Ignore anyone who says you don’t have to have them. Don’t buy second hand helmets - you’ve no idea how they’ve been treated and whether the previous owner has dropped them on the floor or come off the bike and cracked his head which could have caused damage to the helmet inner and made it less safe. 

truewraith121

huge thanks for all the input i will read thru the comments and reply etc thanks again and yeah im on a tight budget and im 38 so easy over 17 but late starter on car etc as it was never needed as i worked from home and everything was always close etc. what is the max speed on the 125cc. also i was going to buy a 50cc to get used to it etc on our back car park when empty