Motor Scooters: Recommended Scooters

Recommended Motor Scooters

The Luxury Scooter

Here are just a few scooters with good value/price ratios. Please also see Basic, Classic, High-performance, Luxury , Minimalist, stand-up, and Electric Motorscooters for the best values on inexpensive scooters through the internet. The old standard, Sears (formerly the Sears and Roebuck Catalog) also has an array of scooters available. We are looking into them.

The recommendations given here are necessarily incomplete and biased in accordance with available experience, research and data. We are also assuming that price and practicality are major factors in the scooter decision. For those to whom money is no object, who are willing to pay about five times as much, or to whom the image bestowd by an authentic classic scooter outweighs all other factors, the parameters used here will be inappropriate and Vespausa.com may be the place to go (See Vespa Motorscooters). For those, however, who would simply like a very economical, practical, durable, and stylish machine, read on, for that is our goal. The modern standard in motorscooters is a four-stroke engine with stepless automatic transmission. These are available in 50cc, 150cc, or 250cc engine sizes. I drive a Chinese TANK Urban Sporty 150cc and am very happy with it. See Basic Scooters). These low-end scooters tend to range from $800 - $1000 for minimalist models, $1000 - 1400 for basic scooters, and $1900 - $2200 for the touring and performance models. Tank Motorscooters, Roketa scooters, The Roadrunner I-scooters, and Chaunl scooters all fall into this category.

The Maui Dreamer 50cc $599.95 On Sale

Maui Dreamer 50cc $599.95

This is a 5 HP 50cc four-stroke minimalist scooter with a top speed of 32 MPH (less than many 50cc scooters). Unfortunately, the maximum load is given as 225 lbs! This scooter is for one person only, and in some cases, not even a whole person. Extended warranty is available. Gas tank capacity is 5.5 liters (almost 1.5 gallons). Drum brakes fore and aft.

Comes in Red, Black, Silver and Blue.

The The 500 Watt Electric Scooter $649.95 On Sale

The 500 Watt Electric Scooter $649.95

The 500 watt Electric scooter qualifies as a bicycle because pedals may be used. They need not be installed however. With a top speed of 20 mph, no license nor insurance is required even in California.

Comes in Red, Black, Purple and Blue.

The Torino 150cc Moped $1,174.95 On Sale

Torino 150cc Moped $1,174.95

The Torino is named for the city of Torino (or Turin) located on the Po River in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. True to the noble origin of its name, the Torino Motorscooter retains the original classic Italian motorscooter lines and styling. With all engine parts covered by pannels, the Torino reflects a subdued elegance. Despite its classic styling, it is a modern scooter in all important respects including a four stroke engine and stepless automatic transmission. Front disc brakes, rear drum brakes, the Torino has a top speed of 50MPH and a maximum load capacity of 325 lbs..

Comes in Red, Black, Purple and Blue.

The 50cc Striker Motorscooter $749.95

The 50cc Striker Motorscooter $749.95

The 50cc Striker Motorscooter has a maximum load capacity of 250 lbs. Although equipped for two riders, its limited capacity is likely to make it inadvisable to have a pillion rider in many cases. With 100+ MPG and the decen sized fuel tank, the Striker has a considerable range.

Like the other 50cc scooters, the Striker Scooter has only a top speed of about 35-40 MPH (not highway legal). It has a sleek modern design, front disk, rear drum brakes, and an excellent price/value ratio.

The Renadon 150 $1,074.95 On Sale (+ $30 residential delivery)

The Renadon 150 $1,074.95 On Sale
comes with a variety of stickers which need not be applied.

The Chuanl Renadon is new for 2008, but its basic design is almost identical to that of the TANK Sporty 150, Rocketa Urban 150, or Yumbo Roadpower 150 (See TANK Motorscooters). Manufactured by Taizhou Chuanl Motorcycle Manufacturing Co., Ltd, the Renadon comes with a number of stickers (pictured) which need not be applied and is distributed by Global Trailer, which has been selling scooters for over five years and has deserved a reputation for quality and support. They say: "Find a better price anywhere and we will beat the price and service!!"

Front disk brakes, drum brakes in the rear, the Renadon is rated as having a weight capacity of only 250 lbs., much less than most touring scooters.

Fully assembled. Residential delivery is an added $30. Comes in Red, Black, and Silver.

GT Sport 150cc
See Global Trailer Scooters

A company with a long standing reputation is Global Trailer, which sells, among many other things, a very nice line of Chuanl motorscooters, one of the more high quality inexpensive Chinese scooters.

Again, we were not considering vehicles from Vespa, Honda, and Yamaha, which had two to five-times the price tag as they were outside the scope of this study. For a very high quality scooter for a somewhat more reasonable price, see Kymco Motorscooters. Made in Taiwan, not China, they rank with the best.

A dealer-supported machine is only slightly more expensive than the most inexpensive ones available ordered on the net and shipped to your door. After shipping charges are paid and assembly time is taken into account, there really is no difference in price.

There are many and varied online sources for excellent (and not-so-excellent) scooters. We spoke with a researcher who had visited a number of Chinese factories with widely varying quality control policies and procedures, ranging from horrid dirt-floor workhouses to the very high-level quality control of the TANK factories. It was this information that aided us in deciding to go with TANK, which decision seems after three years of riding, to have been a very sound one. A number of other Chinese Motorscooter brands with excellent quality/price ratios are now also available.