Guindalf Posted June 20, 2008 Share #1 Posted June 20, 2008 OK, some of you know I've been looking at scooters for my wife. She has a five mile commute up and down a mountainside to work and it would be a great way of a) getting her onto two wheels and b) save a lot of money in gas. So here's the question... There are a lot of Chinese/Korean off-brand scooters out there with 150cc versions costing around $1300-1800. She has wanted a Honda Reflex (250) for a while and we've been looking for one of these. The best we have found so far is a 2002 with 21k miles for $2850 and the price of a new one is in the region of $5200+. Is it worth buying a cheap off-brand, almost disposable scooter and throwing it away after two or three years and replacing it, or are we better to buy the known brand for triple the money? Other possibilities for known brand scooters are the Yamaha Majesty or the Suzuki Burgman. Both bigger, I know, and considerably more expensive, but I worry about safety and replacement parts. Fire away boys (and girls) !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarges46 Posted June 20, 2008 Share #2 Posted June 20, 2008 Opinions opinions! For my two cents I would go with the brand name. You would have the whole company behind you for parts etc. Name brands should stand for better quality and better resale later down the road. Scooters are getting real popular thus driving up the price...mostly because of gas prices I guess. There are sure some fancy ones out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom Posted June 20, 2008 Share #3 Posted June 20, 2008 check out a Lance , very sharp , cheap to . parts for the china bikes are a lot easyer to find now adays and there are more shops working on them . buy one on the net , you can save a lot of bucks , a friend just bought a moto fino from a local shop cost him 2400.00 on the net 1400.00 , the shops are making a lot of money on these china bikes . Thom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDawg Posted June 20, 2008 Share #4 Posted June 20, 2008 Personally if she is going up and down mountain roads I would go with the Honda Reflex, but that's just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juggler Posted June 20, 2008 Share #5 Posted June 20, 2008 The Yamaha Vino is a nice little scooter. http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelhome/328/0/home.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qdude Posted June 20, 2008 Share #6 Posted June 20, 2008 You'll probably regret buying one of those cheap off brands. I bought my kids a Honda 4 years ago and it's still in great shape. Some of their friends bought the no names and those scooters no longer run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted June 20, 2008 Share #7 Posted June 20, 2008 Perhaps a Honda Rebel?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seforeman Posted June 20, 2008 Share #8 Posted June 20, 2008 I would look for a used Honda Big Rukus :-) Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snarley Bill Posted June 20, 2008 Share #9 Posted June 20, 2008 OK, some of you know I've been looking at scooters for my wife. She has a five mile commute up and down a mountainside to work and it would be a great way of a) getting her onto two wheels and b) save a lot of money in gas. So here's the question... There are a lot of Chinese/Korean off-brand scooters out there with 150cc versions costing around $1300-1800. She has wanted a Honda Reflex (250) for a while and we've been looking for one of these. The best we have found so far is a 2002 with 21k miles for $2850 and the price of a new one is in the region of $5200+. Is it worth buying a cheap off-brand, almost disposable scooter and throwing it away after two or three years and replacing it, or are we better to buy the known brand for triple the money? Other possibilities for known brand scooters are the Yamaha Majesty or the Suzuki Burgman. Both bigger, I know, and considerably more expensive, but I worry about safety and replacement parts. Fire away boys (and girls) !! your in luck. i just happen to be the scooter guru on this site. first don't even think about a chinese scooter unless you want to work on it all the time. i had one they are junk, was great after i reengineered it. i had a honda helix 250. probably one of the best scooters out there. 64 mpg no matter how you rode it. would cruise at 70 and out run most cars on the road. lots of leg room. great weather protection. my no.1 choice. next yamaha 400 majesty. more expensive ,cruise at 80, top speed over 100, 54 mpg all the time and quite fast for a scooter. better than a bergman because of easier maintenance. korean scooters are okay but aren't cheap and won't have the resale of the japenese scoots. i would recomend overall the helix. i love my majesty but my helix got 10 more miles to a gallon and had more leg room. the yammer is a little cramped. my wife and i take the scooter every where. hardley use the cage when the weathers nice. hope this helps with your decision. if you want to know more give me a holler. bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL GUY Posted June 20, 2008 Share #10 Posted June 20, 2008 I have owned a Majesty and a Reflex and I still have 2 Helixes. The best for the money is the Majesty but they are all great. The Helix is the smoothest riding but the Majesty is very fast and doesn't cost much more. For my wife I wouldn't consider a Chinese bike because of their lack of reliability. I don't want her sitting alone on a back road with a broken bike. If you consider resale value you will realize that the brand names are cheaper in the long run. AL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redneck Posted June 20, 2008 Share #11 Posted June 20, 2008 You get what you pay for. The Japaneses scoots will cost twice as much and they will resell for twice as much or more. go ride them all you will feel the difference immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az1103 Posted June 20, 2008 Share #12 Posted June 20, 2008 Had a Helix for years, excellent. Had 3 Vespas, all CRAP!!! If you ever saw the welds on the chinese stuff, you wouldn't want your wife on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IndyElmo2006 Posted June 21, 2008 Share #13 Posted June 21, 2008 Id go with a brand name unit ... I work for the oldest Honda Dealership in the USA and get so many people coming in with the off brands needing parts and of course where they bought either is closed or cant get them parts so they basically threw there money AWAY !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrantelli Posted June 21, 2008 Share #14 Posted June 21, 2008 I am considering one of these for around town. 49cc Morini motor. 3 wheels register as a motorcycle, 78 mpg. http://www.funtechscootcar.com/images/scred_enlarged.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guindalf Posted June 21, 2008 Author Share #15 Posted June 21, 2008 Thanks for the replies, guys. Keep 'em coming! Of course, some are expressing opinions and that's exactly what I asked for, but so far, you've done the job of steering me away from the off-brand Chinese imports. (Sleep with one eye open, guys - they send Ninja hitmen if you diss them ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidley Posted June 21, 2008 Share #16 Posted June 21, 2008 A good friend of mine owns a Honda dealership and sells the Reflex and the Ruckus. He rarely works on them as they are super reliable. I wouldn't waste my time with a chinese crap one, get a Honda and forget about it. I have sat on the Reflex and it is a great machine, even for my big ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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