The Comprehensive 2009 Motor Scooter Buying Guide

Admittedly, buying a motor scooter can be a confusing process if you don't know much about them to begin with. Add to the mix the many different manufacturers, models, and types and it can be an ordeal. When I started my search for a scooter last year it was one of the most frustrating processes that I've ever been through. Reviews for scooters are few and far between - it's nothing like buying a car. It is hard to find any kind of information on certain scooters and prices vary so much. And it doesn't help that most scooters sound alike.

All I knew was that I wanted a 150cc scooter that was modern looking (not lame) that could drive on the interstate. It also had to be reliable, comfortable, and get good gas mileage. I want to help you find the right scooter for you using what I've learned. Real scooters from 50cc up to 250cc plus.

Motor scooters are a popular choice to get around town these days and one of the major reasons is their ease of use. Although they are very similar to motorcycles, they are much lighter and the engine is actually located above the rear axle, near the rear wheel in scooters. Scooters also have a step-through frame which allows the rider the place their feet directly on it instead of pedals.

Another advantage of scooters is their low cost. Of course the price will vary depending on a few factors such as a high quality brand versus a cheap low quality brand (think a Vespa vs Chinese import), the engine size (think 50cc vs 250cc), and the extra accessories or features you want. The cheapest scooters range from under $1000 for a used motor scooter to $1,500 plus for a new model.

The gas mileage of scooters is very impressive and is one of the biggest advantages of owning a scooter. The average car gets between 20 to 30 miles per gallon and a hybrid car can get 40 plus miles per gallon, but that still pales in comparison to scooters where the average is 60+ mpg, all the way up to 120 mpg. Their amazing fuel efficiency is the why they are selling so well right now.

As an alternate form of transportation, scooters are increasing in popularity every year and it doesn't seem its going to stop anytime soon. Scooters are street legal just about everywhere and with a model that has a big enough engine (125cc+) you can travel the highways easily. And if you have motor scooter insurance and license, you can go just about anywhere.

Motor Scooters come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and can be either gas or electric powered. Both types are relatively common but gas engines are a little more popular for motor scooters, slightly edging out electric powered. That's not to say electric engines are not useful in their own right.

Electric Scooters

The obvious benefit that electric scooters have over their gas powered counter parts is that there is no need to worry about gasoline. We all know how expensive gas can get and even though it hasn't reached the extreme prices of last summer they are still on the rise. It was one of the main reasons I bought a scooter (although it was a gas engine not electric).

Electric scooters are relatively easy to maintain since the engine is made of parts which run off a simple battery which can be replaced or recharged. Because of this electric scooters are a good choice for low income individuals and anyone that doesn't want to deal with maintaining a gas powered engine.

Gas Scooters

Gas scooters are all the rage these days and its not hard to see why. Motor scooters are becoming increasing more popular as years go by and as more and more people realize their benefits. Gas powered scooters are a great way to save money on fuel and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. Scooters get three or more times greater miles per gallon than your average car, in-fact there are a few that get more than 120 mpg.

Another great thing about gas scooters is that they go much faster than electric engines. Certain scooters can reach 80+ miles per hour, which is plenty fast enough for highways.

There are many different engines for scooters but I want to cover gas engines specifically here. Gas engine size is measured by "cc" (like 125cc scooters) which stands for cubic centimeter. It refers to the volume of air and fuel mixture intake in a cylinder bore. 50cc engines are one of the most common types mostly because they are the smallest size that you can ride without a license in most areas (technically most are actually 49.1 or 49.9, anything right under 50cc). The next is the 150cc which is just powerful enough to ride on the freeway comfortably. All sizes have different advantages and disadvantages but generally the smaller the engine the cheaper it is and the slower it goes.

Two Stroke Vs Four Stroke

Most new scooters are coming equipped with four stroke engines because of their great dependability and easy maintenance. Most manufacturers were producing gas motor scooters with two stroke engines until 2004 when most made the switch due to the many disadvantages of the two stroke gas engine. The two stroke engine produces a lot more pollution and is much less fuel efficient than four stroke which is one of the main reasons manufactures made the switch - in fact you probably won't see many more made in the years to come. Another disadvantages they have is that they don't last nearly as long which means more maintenance is needed and ends up being more expensive. The two stroke engine also doesn't have a dedicated lubrication system so the parts wear out much faster.

Another considerable advantage that four stroke scooters have over two stroke is that they won't form a varnish type film over the carburetor jets which clog them with oil and makes starting pretty much impossible in the colder months of the year. Changing the oil in a four stroke engine is also much less of an ordeal and can be done in 20 minutes or less, compared to twice that length on a two stroke engine. If you're considering buying a two stroke scooter think about these facts before you do. You don't want to regret a $1,000+ purchase.

There are a ton of different manufacturers of scooters, far too many to list all of them here, but I do want to cover some of the more popular manufacturers and their 2009 makes. 2009 brings many new motor scooter models including the popular Yamaha Zuma 125 and Kymco Grand Vista 250.

Vespa Scooters

2009 Vespa S 150

Price: $4,199
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Premium
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 110/70 R11
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 120/70 R10
Front Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 50.4 / 1280
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 2.3 / 8.6

2009 Vespa LX 150

Price: $4,399
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Premium
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 110/70 R11
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 120/70 R10
Front Brake Type: Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 50.4 / 1280
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 2.3 / 8.6

2009 Vespa GTS 250

Price: $5,999
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Liquid
Valves: 4
Fuel Requirements: Premium
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 120/70 R12
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 130/70 R12
Front Brake Type: Disc
Rear Brake Type: Disc
Wheelbase (in/mm): 54.9 / 1395
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 2.4 / 9.2

Yamaha Scooters

2009 Yamaha Vino 125

Price: $2,899
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 4
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 3.5 X 10 51J
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 3.5 X 10 51J
Front Brake Type: Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 48.4 / 1229.4
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.2 / 4.5

2009 Yamaha Zuma 125

Price: $2,999
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 4
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 120/70 R12
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 130/70 R12
Front Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 50.8 / 1290.3
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.6 / 6.1

2009 Yamaha Vino Classic

Price: $2,049
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Liquid
Valves: 3
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 90/90 R10
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 90/90 R10
Front Brake Type: Drum
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 45.7 / 1160.8
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.2 / 4.5

KYMCO Scooters

2009 KYMCO Grand Vista 250

Price: $4,399
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Liquid
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 120 / 70 - 12
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 140 / 70 - 12
Front Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Rear Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Wheelbase (in/mm): 56.4 / 1432.6
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 2.4 / 9.1

2009 KYMCO People S 200

Price: $3,299
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 100 / 80 - 16
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 120 / 80 - 16
Front Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 53 / 1346.2
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.8 / 6.8

2009 KYMCO People 150

Price: $2,799
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 80 / 80 - 16
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 100 / 80 - 16
Front Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 53 / 1346.2
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.8 / 6.8

Honda Scooters

2009 Honda Metropolitan Base

Price: $2,049
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Liquid
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 90/90 R10
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 90/90 R10
Front Brake Type: Drum
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 46.9 / 1191.3
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.3 / 5

2009 Honda Ruckus Base

Price: $2,149
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Liquid
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 120/90 R10
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 130/90 R10
Front Brake Type: Drum
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 49.8 / 1264.9
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.3 / 4.9

United Motors

2009 United Motors Matrix II 150

Price: $2,099
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 130/60 R13
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 130/60 R13
Front Brake Type: Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 54 / 1371.6
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.5 / 5.7

2009 United Motors GP1R 150

Price: $1,799
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 120/70 R12
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 120/70 R12
Front Brake Type: Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 48.9 / 1242.1
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.5 / 5.7

Genuine Scooters

2009 Genuine Buddy Black Jack

Price: $3,499
Engine Type: Single-Cylinder
Cylinders: 1
Stroke: 4-Stroke
Cooling: Air
Valves: 2
Fuel Requirements: Regular
Fuel Type: Gas
Transmission Type: Continuously Variable (CVT)
Front Tire (Full Spec): 3.50 - 10
Rear Tire (Full Spec): 3.50 - 10
Front Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Rear Brake Type: Drum
Wheelbase (in/mm): 49.8 / 1264.9
Fuel Capacity (gal/l): 1.3 / 4.9