Scooters aren't as hip since gas prices dipped

Riding a scooter can be rode more than you or many are giving it crdit for.. All but the time there is ice or snow down a scooter can be rode even in light to moderate rain with a helmet. I own a scooter and it can be rode on the freeway, it is cheaper than most vehicles and way cheaper than a suv or gas guzzler hummer or caddy. And saying electric car, oh yeah gm has done so lusy a $40k car that doesn't get better mpg than the toyota prius.. And in this economy are you serious?

Anyhow most are not giving tem enough credit and more tan apt none opening their mouths on here about how often a scooter can be rode don't own one. Or they are panty waistes :P.

our scooter gets roughly 85mpg and cost us roughly $1,500 to buy new. It is a 150cc.. Well worth the buy with gas being so cheap at $3+ a gallon..the incompetent writer tat wrote this article seems to think $3+ a gallon is a signifigant price dip? Is the writer cognitively impaired?

Not exactly wrote:

Riding a scooter can be rode more than you or many are giving it crdit for.. All but the time there is ice or snow down a scooter can be rode even in light to moderate rain with a helmet. I own a scooter and it can be rode on the freeway, it is cheaper than most vehicles and way cheaper than a suv or gas guzzler hummer or caddy. And saying electric car, oh yeah gm has done so lusy a $40k car that doesn't get better mpg than the toyota prius.. And in this economy are you serious?
Anyhow most are not giving tem enough credit and more tan apt none opening their mouths on here about how often a scooter can be rode don't own one. Or they are panty waistes :P.
our scooter gets roughly 85mpg and cost us roughly $1,500 to buy new. It is a 150cc.. Well worth the buy with gas being so cheap at $3+ a gallon..the incompetent writer tat wrote this article seems to think $3+ a gallon is a signifigant price dip? Is the writer cognitively impaired?

Your post is just a lot of lipservice and is not indicative of the average scooter rider in the Northern tier of States. There is an old saying "Only Englishmen and mad dogs go out in the Noon day Sun". I take that a little further "Only fools or those who have a death wish ride a scooter in the rain or any scooter less than 225cc on a freeway or interstate". Where I live no one rides a scooter in the Winter. Maybe we are just smarter than some!

Robert wrote:

But you are not riding the scooter for free. You still have transportation costs. And lets face facts, scooters in the Northern tier of the States are not a serious means of transportation.

But the total cost per mile can be far lower than a car. For example you can park a scooter downtown for $50/year, or even basically free if you know where to go.

Don't get me wrong. A scooter is much more economical than a car or truck. No contest. But there are thousands plus of scooter owners in the U.S. that don't use or depend on scooters as a primary means of transportation, certainly don't ride them on freeways or Interstates, don't ride them in bad or cold weather. The membership of all these scooter forums is a very very tiny percentage of all the scooter owners in this Country. Most ride their scooters when weather permits, have some fun, save a little money, and are satisfied with that. Scooters should be about the fun of riding, anything else is a bonus.

I have a Jeep and a Motorcycle. Both get terrible gas mileage for what they are. On the other hand, the bike gets twice the MPG that the Jeep does. I'm okay with that. Think I'll pass on the Scooter.
Dave

I only use my 50cc scooter for running errands in town, weather permitting. Nothing faster than 40mph speed limits. It is 4 yrs old now and has a little over 4000 miles. Factor in the short 6-7 month riding season here, minus the days I can't ride due to bad weather, I am saving maybe $150-$160 per riding season. That hardly pays for the license plate and insurance. I doubt I am even close to the scooter paying for itself. But I ride because I enjoy it.

The bottom line on scooters is.
America is in a recession which makes Americans cheap and shortsighted.
A good scooter cost $2000+ and garbage is available for >$1000.
Add to the recession the fact that Americans have such a short attention span that they refuse to spend more than $1000 assuming a cheap scooter will hold their interest for a justified amount of time.
What their shortsightedness doesn't reveal is how much more usable, dependable and fun a well built scooter can be.
More important is how much longer it will hold their interest when it is solid and does not brake down weekly..
It's false economics to think a cheap scoot will save you money when repairs cost $60 an hour not to mention the cheap Chinese scoot you bought will have zero resale value especially if it does not run.

As has been mentioned many times, scooters are a low cost way to commute although safety has to be and many times is not practiced by those who choose to ride these cost saving devices.

Scooter shop owner wrote:

The bottom line on scooters is.
America is in a recession which makes Americans cheap and shortsighted.
A good scooter cost $2000+ and garbage is available for >$1000.
Add to the recession the fact that Americans have such a short attention span that they refuse to spend more than $1000 assuming a cheap scooter will hold their interest for a justified amount of time.
What their shortsightedness doesn't reveal is how much more usable, dependable and fun a well built scooter can be.
More important is how much longer it will hold their interest when it is solid and does not brake down weekly..
It's false economics to think a cheap scoot will save you money when repairs cost $60 an hour not to mention the cheap Chinese scoot you bought will have zero resale value especially if it does not run.

Chinese scooters in any shape have a low resale price.

Scooter shop owner wrote:

The bottom line on scooters is.
America is in a recession which makes Americans cheap and shortsighted.
A good scooter cost $2000+ and garbage is available for >$1000.
Add to the recession the fact that Americans have such a short attention span that they refuse to spend more than $1000 assuming a cheap scooter will hold their interest for a justified amount of time.
What their shortsightedness doesn't reveal is how much more usable, dependable and fun a well built scooter can be.
More important is how much longer it will hold their interest when it is solid and does not brake down weekly..
It's false economics to think a cheap scoot will save you money when repairs cost $60 an hour not to mention the cheap Chinese scoot you bought will have zero resale value especially if it does not run.

I could not agree more. You don't save any money with a cheap scooter. My Honda Reflex has started up every spring for the last 5 years. All I've done is change the oil. It even has the original battery. Probably going to change the coolant this year and battery in the spring. Gets 68 mpg around town.

Sporty wrote:

<quoted text>
Chinese scooters in any shape have a low resale price.

They're awful. They're mostly clones of other brands where they've substituted many cheaper parts. There's virtually no support and it's very difficult to find repair parts, which they need often.