question re-scooters (1 Viewer)

[ips]

Quesion no 2:

Our new MH has a "garage" which is just asking for a scooter. Any thoughts or comments on the make / model to buy or general use of a scooter etc etc etc is appreciated however the main question is this.............will a 50cc scooter carry 2 "normal" size adults ? not bothered about performance as such, just dont want to look like a Burk if I have to push it up a hill. LOL.
I want a very light one and a cheap to insure one (hence thinking of a 50cc) so I can lift or roll it up a ramp easy because I suffer from sciatica which varies from painfull but bearable to absolute agony and on occasions spend days or weeks on the lounge floor............oops sorry I went off on a tangent then.

(incidentally I have a "Full" motorcycle licence from my miss spent youth in the early eighties)

Thanks
ips

 

[zaskar]

I would have thought that 50cc was to small TBH. It's a long time since i had a 50cc bike and I'm sure things have improved on the power per CC front, but even so........
There's lots have 125's and cope very well 2 up. Personally, I had a CBF250 on the back of my RV cos I wanted to be able to do 60mph, 2 up, on any bypasses we hit whilst out.
In your case, payload of the 'van is a big factor. Be worth finding out the avialable spare payload of your 'van and the weight of a cb125 or similar.
The 50cc is very desirable from the weight point of view, but whether it'll make for relaxed riding 2-up, I'm not too sure. I know you're there to sightsee etc and not to get your knee on the floor........but even so.......

 

[ips]

not to get your knee on the floor........but even so.......

Point taken......dont think theres any chance of getting my knee on the floor these days not with my back...

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[ourcampersbeentrashed]

We have a little 50cc Baotian, they are cheap and cheerful and less nickable than the aprilias etc.

It just about holds Tony and our 12 year old.

Better off with a large cc bike for two adults.

 

[lufcdave7]

I put the very same question to our local bike dealership owner he said, without hesitating, 125cc was the best for two adults. The new Honda 125cc is a cracker.

 

[hilldweller]

Quesion no 2:
Our new MH has a "garage" which is just asking for a scooter.
Thanks
ips

Do your homework first.

1. How much spare weight capacity in total ?
2. How much do you need to live - water/food/clothes ?
3. Is what's left enough for a bike ?
4. Can the back axle take the load that far back ?

You might not like the answers.

The only way to get an accurate answer is to load up and go weigh the thing. A HUGE problem with FWD MHs is lack of grip up front, adding weight right at the back just makes this worse by lifting the front.

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[vwalan]

hi, i use a 90cc chinese dax carries 2 18 stone fat barstards ok easy to handle.great in traffic. these days you can get upto 150cc from china. i have a 110cc lifan dax for sale 600 quid 2007 done 150km.

 

[pappajohn]

unless you only want a year or two's use then avoid the chinese bikes.

they are not built to last and spares/servicing can be a problem.

50cc is far to small for two adults...there wont be enough power to get you out of trouble if you need it.

125cc is really a minimum for two up riding.


your chosen bike may weigh only 100/125kg but 2 meters behind the rear axle it will be an axle loading of maybe 150/175kg.

payload/overloading in a garage can be a problem and you'd be better towing a small bike trailer.

 

[Parcverger]

We had a 50cc initially, but Di got a bit upset when she had to get off and walk up any reasonable hill! We changed it for a 125 which is ideal, so we recommend you do not go for less than this.

Bob

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[vwalan]

hi papa . shouldnt worry too much about chinese m,cycles i,ve had min 9yr.always get bits if needed .was in a shop in barnsley last week full of spares i honestly think chinese is the way to go these days. soon be chinese based campers. lots of chinese vehicles out there now ,in 2-3 yrs they will be here in force. end of euro manufacturers is iminante.

 

[Col447]

The best bit of advise I can give, is to take the Bus with you when you visit the dealer. As if you explain exactly your requirement and show them the doorway the bike has to pass through they mite, like my local Honda dealer did, actualy wheeled a bike out to see if it would fit. Can't get better service than that !

 

[Frankia]

We are too "cuddly" adults. In the past have had 100cc Peugeot Speedfight but have now had 3 Honda SH125 bikes - Brilliant and reliable and can take two cuddly people up any hill and more importantly can keep up with traffic.

We have a pair of saddle bags which strap together under the seat and we can go supermarket shopping and take a trolley round rather than a basket.

When free camping I have used the bike with water carriers in the back box and saddle bags and brought back 65ltrs of water at a time.

At about 120kg it is fine in the garage of our Frankia but as suggested above make sure you have the payload for whatever you get.

IMHO the Honda is a great bit of kit and highly recommend it.

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[kickstart]

Everybody has given good advice,as Frankia says the honda sh 125 are great but £2800 new, as Papajohn says the first of the chinese have been poor but are getting better and as VWalan said there are people like Eat My Dirt in Barnsley who go out to china and source better copies of honda's with spares back up to a point,then theres a few scooter dealers who are moving on to electric assisted cycles that are good and lightweight,you could buy two of those,horses for courses.

 

[pappajohn]

Eat My Dirt .

My god!!!!!

what a terrible website front page.
whoever designed that needs their eyes testing:Angry:

 

[kickstart]

My god!!!!!

what a terrible website front page.
whoever designed that needs their eyes testing:Angry:

Nowt t'doo with me, just a customer. :thumb:

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[Phil]

I originally had a Chinese 'Honda' 125 which lasted a couple of years before giving up the ghost. It now resides behind my garden shed. ( Free to a good home )

For the past 3 years I have been using a Piaggio 125cc 'Fly' Scooter. It is ideal for the 2 of us ( 23 stone approx ) and carries us quite happily up and down the alpine roads in Austria and Switzerland.

I remove the mirrors, windshield and topbox when travelling between campsites. It takes less than 5 minutes to reassemble the bits for use. The top box and underseat compartment are ideal for the 2 helmets or for quite a lot of shopping. There is a small glove compartment at the front for tools, maps and other small items.

For security it has a steering lock and a coded ignition key. The immobiliser is set automatically when the key is removed.

Phil.

 

[pappajohn]

jiust like my burgman Phil......only a tad smaller:thumb:

 

[vwalan]

as a matter of interest piagglo have a big factory in tiland they market the tiwanese golden bee ,,or tgb. scooter or ist it a piagglo. most of the chinese are backed by the big boys .they dont seem to be copies its now the real thing made in china. nissan cabstars made in china called yue jin nice truck. when i bought my first chinese jin cheng dax an equivalent honda was2.500 quid i payed 1.000 now 7-8oo buys the same thing ,maybe not as nice as japan honda but now you could have three for the price of one. i fancied triking a dax but eat my dirts kit wont fit a dax shame.

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[Neckender]

Here's what motorbike I take with me, Hi also Vwalan I finally got it sorted how to tow my trike.
John.

 

[Ralph-Dot]

I have a 100cc Peugeot Luxor (big wheels) and it does the job but after I bought it, I met two rather large ladies who had a 50cc scooter and regally did 40 miles/day on it, I could have done with knowing this, as it would have saved on weight.

£300 off ebay.

 

[hilldweller]

My god!!!!!
what a terrible website front page.
whoever designed that needs their eyes testing:Angry:

Or maybe go on a drugs rehabilitation course.

Hideous innit !

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[hilldweller]

most of the chinese are backed by the big boys .they dont seem to be copies its now the real thing made in china.

BMW have bike engines made in China now, MCN was saying this is why their reliability has gone down hill of late.

 

[Pat4Neil]

Well this is a coincidence, but we have been out test riding scooters all weekend.

Firstly the Honda PS125i a great little bike with a nice look, managed us both heavy weights fine. kerb weigh 135KG.

The dealer also had a Piaggio 200 for sale so we test drove that, (it was far more nipper, didnt sound so much like an hair dryer (that what we used to call our sons first Piaggio 50cc)
It was more smoother in traffic and on the uptake. However biggest critism was that with two large people on the riding position was intolerable, maybe the slightly sportier design didnt suit us. My legs as the pillion passenger were up a lot higher, the foot pegs needed to be lower. Also my husband was too close to the front when riding it so not a comfortable ride. Which in itself could be dangerous for any lengthy journeys.

We then went to look at Vespas, and of course fell in love with the retro look and they do at 250 and 300GT versions. (155kg) or thereabouts. Yet to ride one.

We are now back at looking at the SH125i and SH300i, the 125 is the same as the PS 125i, but a more sit up look to it and large 16 inch wheels (weighs 136kg)

The SH300i has rave reviews but the weight with ABS takes it to 172KG, which is heavy, but for us, would be more suitable as it had a lot more BHP and torque, also the 16 inch wheels are more motorcycle like.

Next step we are going to test drive the SH300i and the Vespa 250GTS, we are also taking the motorhome to the engineers to see if we can get a suitable scooter rack on the back.
The maths look like we can do it.

But like you said in an earlier post its also getting it up on the rack/garage, that you really have to think about. We will not be able to try this until we have at least committed to the rack on the back of the motorhome.

We took our large motorbike on a trailer around Greece this year, and didnt use it as much as we have in the past in other countries. So if we go back to Greece next year which could be our plan, I think the scooter will suit our needs more.

Sorry for the long post

Regards Pat and Neil

 

[kijana]

Weight is crucial on any motorhome (even an RV) when it comes to carrying stuff.

So when I bought a scooter I went for the lightest model I could find. This was the excellent Peugeot Ludix 50cc. It weighs just 63kg, has no pesky electric start, and is as simple a 'twist & go' as they come.

It carries me & my wife (24 stone total - I'm not revealing the split!) up all the hills we've so far come across, including some in the Austrian Tyrol. It's obviously cozy, but manageable for short runs to the shops or the beach. I have modded the rear end to take a large detachable plastic carry box, so it can even do the weekly shop.

So I would certainly not dismiss a 50cc scooter as unsuitable, and that 63kg is very manageable. When I bought ours 2 years ago, brand new it cost £999 OTR, inc. free jacket, helmet, & gloves. Highly recommended!

BTW, I am a longterm biker - my daybike is a VFR 750. You just have to set your sights a bit lower performancewise to keep the weight down.

Bruce

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[Pat4Neil]

Further to my post earlier.

I know that price can be an issue, but if you went for something like the Honda PS 125i you could look at the secondhand market, or the Dylan PS125 i think it was SES or something like that which have been around for years. Many on Fleabay for under the £1,000 mark.

I know its horses for courses, but I dont want to feel like I am on an old nag

Pat

 

[hilldweller]

The maths look like we can do it.
Regards Pat and Neil

Pretty amazing to have the best part of 200Kg spare capacity that far back.

 

[Pat4Neil]

Pretty amazing to have the best part of 200Kg spare capacity that far back.

Well we have done the maths via Practical motorhome article.

Our vehicle is 4200kg, and we have twin wheels at the back, although we do have a large overhang (which isnt great).

We went down this road when we were first buying a motorhome, knowing that we had a 1000 kg payload. After being fully loaded we weight about 3850 so we are near to the max with the bike.

Thats why being practical the 120kg would be a better option, so we need to look at all the different aspects to make sure whatever scooter we get, we are driving a safe motorhome.

Pat


I have always been known for my rear end capabilities !!!! Neils even more so!!!!

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[scotjimland]

I know its horses for courses, but I dont want to feel like I am on an old nag

Pat

No way to talk about Neil ...

I'm sure he a few good miles left in him :thumb:

 

[Autoquest]

I have no payload at all that I can spare on my little Autoquest 115, the 50kgs I save by removing the bike rack and bikes will be used up by the towbar, so it is impeative that I incur no noseweight penalty. I am looking at a Burgman 400 and towing it on a transvers trailer from EZETOW which produce quite innovative trailers.

Your pictures of Greece were fab by the way.... I was there in September and you followed our route almost to the letter! brought back some great memories - Did you miss Mystras and Castle View camping? maybe nextime

 

[vwalan]

becarefull with transverse trailers . had them in the army for stuff dont handle very nice .always think you need the weight distibuted normal get a balance.

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