First Scooter

[FastWalk]

I am now living in one of the larger provincial cities.  It looks like having a scooter is useful.  We already have a car,  etc...

What advice can any of you offer about scooter selection?

I have much experience with larger bikes (Goldwing, Electra Glide,  K1200LT, etc...).  No experience yet with scooters.  It looks like to me that handling a 3-4 hundred kilo bike around town is not what I want to do.  So a smaller scooter might be in order. 

Of course it all depends on everything....

I looked at Yamaha NMax, XMax, Honda PCX.   Not yet looking at the larger 5-6 hundred cc models as it is then a larger machine again to handle.

Any ideas are helpful as I don't know much about these things.

What are you riding,  why did you pick that one ?

[lost_in_samoa]

What are you riding,  why did you pick that one ?

We have 2 older Japanese 150 cc trikes.  I bought them used and rebuilt them in house.   Then shipped in a box of quality engine parts as spares. 

Anything larger than 150 seemed to put folks off.  They thought it was wasteful and scary.

The only thing unusual we did was insist on  no decorations or pretentious bs.   Longevity and function over aesthetic form.

[JoeLP]

Our bike is a Honda 110dl.  When I got here we got the car, then I talked to a retiree from the USAF about bikes.  He has the same bike, but a few years older and a 100cc engine.  He said he rarely takes the van to town any longer.  He lives about 20km away in the neighboring municipality and the public markets and all are nowhere near what we have here in the provincial capital. He had a rack custom made(I have the same now) that sits on the back of the bike and allows for a "box" to be fixed to it.  It's the storage containers you can buy in most malls or order from lazada.com online.  Ours cost about 1400php for a good one with lock.  Anyway, you can fit a lot of what you want in that.  We also put "hooks" under the steering section on the main system that allows for bags to be "locked" into them(sorta like an over sized carabiner(climbing hook style). 
Between the storage container/box and the hooks we can carry almost everything we need.  And the bikes can move so much better through traffic to our destinations and back we save the car only for rainy days. 

[FastWalk]

Anything larger than 150 seemed to put folks off.  They thought it was wasteful and scary.

I will keep that in mind,   I guess there really is not any reason for any larger.

[FastWalk]

  And the bikes can move so much better through traffic to out destinations and back we save the car only for rainy days.

That is how it looks to me also.

[David690]

It's 50 years since I rode a scooter.  I don't think that I'd fancy anything that wouldn't allow me to pull away from the traffic.  Currently looking at the Ducati Scrambler, it weighs just 180kg, much less than your Harley Davidsons.

[FastWalk]

It's 50 years since I rode a scooter.  I don't think that I'd fancy anything that wouldn't allow me to pull away from the traffic.  Currently looking at the Ducati Scrambler, it weighs just 180kg, much less than your Harley Davidsons.

That looks interesting,  it for sure based on the specs is going to pull away from traffic.

[Peter]

It's 50 years since I rode a scooter.  I don't think that I'd fancy anything that wouldn't allow me to pull away from the traffic.  Currently looking at the Ducati Scrambler, it weighs just 180kg, much less than your Harley Davidsons.

David,

My first, brand new (cost me 3 weeks pay in 1966) bike was '66 Ducati 250 M3 Scrambler. Straight through exhaust (would give these tricycle boys here a heart attack if they heard it  ) with 3 rear sprockets to fit, depending on the terrain. Lovely machine. Hours and hours of desert and salt pans fun, as well as 1/4 mile timed drags down the airfield runway! Only drawback was the single seat, but it just meant that my lady friend had to slip a little bit closer when we were out and about. I had to slide onto back of the petrol tank, with the corresponding vibration. LOL!

I rate Ducati as one of the best M/C manufacturers in the world. Can't go wrong with their bikes. Most Italian bike manufacturers have very reliable products, IMHO.

Good luck with your search.

Peter.

[JoeLP]

If you're looking for something that can "pull away" from traffic, make damn sure you have a VERY bright light on front.  Even more so if out in the provinces.  I've almost hit 3 pedicab drivers who had ZERO reflectors, dark bikes with the side cars also dark, and would just turn right out into the road without looking into my path as I was barreling down on them.  My USAF friend had to spend 3 days in the hospital for the same thing but he was going even faster when some little kid was playing on his parents pedicab and decided to just whip out into the road in front of him.  He was lucky his wife was behind him in the car and her first call was to the police in their area(they were a municipality away) and he was the first police/rescue member to arrive at the scene and the kid who was peddling the pedicab couldn't escape the scene as he was trying to find a way to get the busted up pedicab home.  So my friend had a local friend in the PNP whose call made the ambulance come quicker and took his side when the local PNP arrived.  Still, his eyes looked like they belonged to a raccoon with all the black around them and all the skin he lost on the road top left signs that can still be seen till today on his thighs.
But be careful anyway, the side of the road here they were on often had high grass growing on it as was the case here so even if his headlight was brighter he might still have missed the kid.

[David690]

David,

My first, brand new (cost me 3 weeks pay in 1966) bike was '66 Ducati 250 M3 Scrambler. Straight through exhaust (would give these tricycle boys here a heart attack if they heard it  ) with 3 rear sprockets to fit, depending on the terrain. Lovely machine. Hours and hours of desert and salt pans fun, as well as 1/4 mile timed drags down the airfield runway! Only drawback was the single seat, but it just meant that my lady friend had to slip a little bit closer when we were out and about. I had to slide onto back of the petrol tank, with the corresponding vibration. LOL!

I rate Ducati as one of the best M/C manufacturers in the world. Can't go wrong with their bikes. Most Italian bike manufacturers have very reliable products, IMHO.

Good luck with your search.

Peter.

Thanks Peter for the encouragement and the shout out for Ducati.  I've never had an Italian bike.  I've had Brit bikes, Japanese bikes and American, including 3 Harley Davidsons.  I sold my last Harley last year before retiring here, as the cost to import it with taxes, duties etc., was just crazy.
I'm not a speed freak, so when I say pulling away from traffic at the lights, I mean just that, being in front of the pursuing pack rather than being a part of it.  Fastest I've ridden was on a Honda VFR750 at 150mph, but no aspirations to try to top that.  The idea behind the Ducati Scrambler, is that roads here are generally speaking not great so not ideal for super sports bikes, and at the same time there is a lot of scope for some off road riding.
PS don't anyone tell the wife............

[Peter]

Thanks Peter for the encouragement and the shout out for Ducati.  I've never had an Italian bike.  I've had Brit bikes, Japanese bikes and American, including 3 Harley Davidsons.  I sold my last Harley last year before retiring here, as the cost to import it with taxes, duties etc., was just crazy.
I'm not a speed freak, so when I say pulling away from traffic at the lights, I mean just that, being in front of the pursuing pack rather than being a part of it.  Fastest I've ridden was on a Honda VFR750 at 150mph, but no aspirations to try to top that.  The idea behind the Ducati Scrambler, is that roads here are generally speaking not great so not ideal for super sports bikes, and at the same time there is a lot of scope for some off road riding.
PS don't anyone tell the wife............

My last bike was a '80 Yamaha 11. Broke my heart to sell it when we retired here, but as you say, the import taxes and duties would have been horrendous. Couldn't justify the expense. Or still have the strength and muscle power to take it into and out of corners. LOL!

I did make a few bawbees on the sale, as it is a "Classic" and I had the only one in Oman. Only 5 in the Gulf as far as I knew at the time. When I used to take for the Police yearly inspection, some of the the traffic policemen would come across and ask for if they could have a 'clutch' around the yard. Made a few useful friends there. 

The only thing I would have reservations of; do Ducati have an after sales servicing shop in your area? That would apply to any "exotic" bike here. Living away from the usual suspects, Manila/Cebu, may be a problem with back up.

Saying that, I would still prefer the Ducati. Are you looking at the new 1100 cc model? The 1960's Scramblers were either 250 or 350 cc.

Peter

[David690]

When I said I hadn’t had an Italian bike, I was forgetting the 2 Vespa scooters I had in my youth, not sure if they count 😬
Yes there is a Ducati dealership here in Davao so no problems there.
The Scrambler I’m interested in is the 2019 model, Icon with 803cc engine.
The 1100 Scrambler is very nice but almost double the price!!

[Peter]

When I said I hadn’t had an Italian bike, I was forgetting the 2 Vespa scooters I had in my youth, not sure if they count 😬
Yes there is a Ducati dealership here in Davao so no problems there.
The Scrambler I’m interested in is the 2019 model, Icon with 803cc engine.
The 1100 Scrambler is very nice but almost double the price!!

Vespas (and Lambrettas) I suppose could be classed as bikes as they were 150 or 200 cc, if I remember correctly. But never if you were a "Rocker" in the UK in the 60's, then you hated the "Mods" who ponced around on scooters. Not that I ever would admit to being one or the other, although I did have the leathers, not the pretty boy outfit. LOL!

My advice, and it's worth what you paid for it  , GO FOR IT!

Happy riding whatever you get. Oh yes. Safe as well - unless you're 17 again.

Being young is wasted on the youth. LOL!

Peter

[David690]

Vespas (and Lambrettas) I suppose could be classed as bikes as they were 150 or 200 cc, if I remember correctly. But never if you were a "Rocker" in the UK in the 60's, then you hated the "Mods" who ponced around on scooters. Not that I ever would admit to being one or the other, although I did have the leathers, not the pretty boy outfit. LOL!

My advice, and it's worth what you paid for it  , GO FOR IT!

Happy riding whatever you get. Oh yes. Safe as well - unless you're 17 again.

Being young is wasted on the youth. LOL!

Peter

Well having admitted to owning two Vespa scooters and living in Brighton in the 60's, I guess you can fathom that I was indeed a Mod hahaha.  It was all about style then rather than riding performance and the Italian flair showed in our scooters and our clothes.

Cheers Peter 

[Peter]

Well having admitted to owning two Vespa scooters and living in Brighton in the 60's, I guess you can fathom that I was indeed a Mod hahaha.  It was all about style then rather than riding performance and the Italian flair showed in our scooters and our clothes.

Cheers Peter 

Ouch!  I suppose living in Brighton then, you would have seen the "coming togethers" at first hand. I was in Harrogate, so the only weekends off we went to the pub and drank with the local Mods. Not enough time to get physical. 

I did like the The Who and the Small Faces though, but Gene Vincent was more my style guru, along with my BSA Bantam. Did I just admit to having a Beezer?

Peter