Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
I commuted on a Suzuki Burgman 400 for several years. Eventually, something dawned on me. Most people riding scooters are doing so because they don't have a choice. Age is taking its toll on their body and they can no longer swing a leg over the seat, and perhaps can't squeeze a clutch lever. Scooters were where they gravitated in an effort to keep riding.
I did have a choice on what I could ride, but was noticing things like my left hand was beginning to give me problems as if arthritis was setting in. And I was getting arthritis in my hips. So while I could, I bought a Honda NT700V. I thought I'd ride both bikes about equally. After a year, I found I had only filled up the scooter three times, which was about a week and a half of normal riding. When given a choice each morning, I went with the motorcycle without giving it much thought.
On the practical side of things, the scooter won hands down. More economical. Full fairing for riding in the cold and rain. Huge 62 liter storage area under the seat. Tires cost far less and lasted for about 15,000 miles. Everything said the scooter would be the ride of choice...but it didn't happen.
On the physical side of things, the left hand no longer has any problems in it. I don't have a problem with the hips anymore. It's like doing physical therapy...but a lot more fun.
I don't think there's a problem with riding a scooter. But if you have only enough room for one bike, I'd get a "real" motorcycle now and save the scooter years for when you don't have a choice.
Honda's NC700X is getting the larger 750cc engine. The Yamaha FJ-09 is getting an upgrade soon, and the BMW F800 series will get a larger engine with a number of upgrades to it as well.
Chris
Why are so many scooter riders like little terriers, having to prove how big and manly they are to the much bigger dog they come across?...I will say it's fun to play with the Ninja-riding twerps who pull up next to me at a stoplight (fully regaled in mohawk helmet and leathers matching the lime green color of their bikes) that cannot shift quickly enough to keep up with me when the light turns green. I never ever look their way to challenge them, but you can tread their tiny minds when at the next light they really try, and fail again, and suddenly have to make a right turn at the next light.
Heck, I think a world class sprinter could probably beat most vehicles for 30 ft.This is funny, it reminds of back in the day, 1980 something when I had a 1966 Corvette 327/350hp and people would tell me that a VW Beetle could beat me for the first 30 feet or so in a race. I always told them I would never race for 30 feet.