150cc scooters selling like hot cakes

truckerzero

truckerzero

100 W
Joined
Apr 9, 2008
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Location
fenton ,mo (st louis suberb) USA
over in my area (st louis mo usa)150cc scooters which get 80 to 90 mpg and go highway speeds are so popular there is a waiting list most dealers sell the ones that come off the
boat frome china as fast as they get them
its nice to see that high gas prices is actually making a mesarable change in americans habits
P.S. never seen as many motorcycles on the road as ive have this year
and the commuter lots that allow people to car pool are overflowing so bad with people parking up and down the sholder of the roads by them
that the citys around here are planning on building many more commuter lots because of the demand
 
I've noticed more motorcycles around here, too. I usually see at least one or two every trip now, whereas I'd only see one every few trips just a year ago.

I'm actually going to take a motorcycle class and get my license fairly soon, myself. :D
 
link going to take it on a gas or electric bike
a gas bike is better than a gas car any day
 
Link said:
I've noticed more motorcycles around here, too. I usually see at least one or two every trip now, whereas I'd only see one every few trips just a year ago.

I'm actually going to take a motorcycle class and get my license fairly soon, myself. :D
Click to expand...
hey that's great (i guess, considering the forum we are on, maybe not????? :roll: )

I ride a motorcycle and there is definitely a sense of freedom you get on it, way more than any bicycle can ever give you. I don't think I'll give it up for an ebike, but maybe change my method of commuting by ebiking , but still ride recreationally. In fact I am going on a two day trip on my motorcycle tomorrow.

going for a class is the best thing to do. whatever you do, do not squid it. wear proper gear.
 
emotorcycle
i think that will be the best first step to get americans into electric vehicles
think of a cool fast lithium powered chopper on the lines of jessi james or american chopper style
and those bikes go for 30,000 to 100,000 bucks a piece
make one and show it at all the bike shows and drum up interest thats what the big guys do with all those "concept cars"
plus a homebrew emotorcyle can be done for a fraction of the cost of a car or truck ev but still be used on a interstate highway wich a ebike cannot
P.S. not knocking ebikes dont want any oneone to get the wrong idea lol
 
truckerzero said:
over in my area (st louis mo usa)150cc scooters which get 80 to 90 mpg and go highway speeds are so popular there is a waiting list most dealers sell the ones that come off the
boat frome china as fast as they get them
its nice to see that high gas prices is actually making a mesarable change in americans habits
P.S. never seen as many motorcycles on the road as ive have this year
and the commuter lots that allow people to car pool are overflowing so bad with people parking up and down the sholder of the roads by them
that the citys around here are planning on building many more commuter lots because of the demand
Click to expand...

Yup...maybe...Exxon and Chevron are just about ready to level America off at $3.25 a gallon now. Sighs of relief all 'round. GM announces a great third quarter in profits as they unload all their Hummers and Escalades because fuel costs have dropped nicely since August. And Americans begin this pattern again. Just look at what happened thirty years ago. Unless gas hits ten bucks a gallon, nothing will change.
 
That means in another two-months, when gas prices return back to normal and winter starts setting in, there will be a glut of cheap scooters on Craigslist.

I just sold my 150cc Vespa in May. It was a perfect combination of power and efficiency; I could beat most cars off the line, and I got about 70 mpg. The problem was that when I added up the cost of the scooter, insurance, registration, and maintenance, I wasn't saving any money by keeping both the scooter and my car. Now that I've been riding my electric bike exclusively, I can really see the savings add up. Never having to bend over and take it at the gas station anymore is probably the best part. The only drawback to selling the scooter is that I felt a lot safer riding with traffic, than I do riding a bicycle in the bike lane. Cars cut me off on average once a week on the scooter; on the bike it's more like twice-a-day.
 
I did the same calculations and came up ebike. By the time I added the extra vehicle insurance and cost of vehicle, a motorcycle or scooter was not cheaper than just driving the car I have. But the e bike puts 12.50 in my pocket every day i don't take the car. Not huge money, but I sure like riding right past gas stations full of pissed off people filling up.
 
comparing a ebike to a 150cc scooter is a little unfair
i think a better comparison would be a 49 cc scooter that requires no insurance or regestration or motorcycle endorsment on yor licence

and can be ridden on the sholder(at least in my state of missouri) and a top speed of 40 mph with 100mpg
how would the numbers work out then
ps a ebike does have a very impoprtant advantage even more important for us lazy americans and thats it encourages
pedeling along and getting some much needed exercise
 
Older used motor scooters are dirt cheap to insure and reg. At least in my experience they have been. I'm talking $40 a year to insure and $20 a year reg on a $300 buy, that got 80 to 100mpg. I that one went like 35 or 40mph, and it was an 80cc 4stroke Honda. Then you have the m1 licence requirement hoop. Maybe its not a fair comparo if you leave parts of it out, both sides are worth doing some thinking on the +/- if you're about to take the plunge in to a two wheel transport. IMO motor scooters are great.
 
truckerzero said:
link going to take it on a gas or electric bike
a gas bike is better than a gas car any day
Click to expand...

All good things in time, Trucker. I'm collecting pieces of high-powered electronics for the eventual e-motorcycle already (giant connectors0, wire, 400A sepex controller, etc.). :wink:

truckerzero said:
ps a ebike does have a very impoprtant advantage even more important for us lazy americans and thats it encourages
pedeling along and getting some much needed exercise
Click to expand...

LOL, true enough. But I already get enough exercise from DDR. I'll take on anyone who's not a "pro". :wink:


Semi-interesting sidenote: My parent's car might need new brake pads or whatever. Thing is, Ford Focuses have to have the whole brake assembly replaced to do this, I guess, which will end up costing something like $500. If it turns out that it does need new brakes, my mother is simply going to leave it in the driveway for a while; I imagine until she can afford to get it fixed. Given that when she "can" afford it and when she "should" afford it are two rather different timeframes, that could be a fair span. Looks like I'm getting my ebike fixed just in time. :?
 
Link said:
Semi-interesting sidenote: My parent's car might need new brake pads or whatever. Thing is, Ford Focuses have to have the whole brake assembly replaced to do this, I guess, which will end up costing something like $500.
Click to expand...

Huh?! I just replaced the brake pads on my Focus. I put new rotors on just to be on the safe side but I think your parents need to find a new mechanic if that's the story they're being told.
 
EVTodd said:
Huh?! I just replaced the brake pads on my Focus. I put new rotors on just to be on the safe side but I think your parents need to find a new mechanic if that's the story they're being told.
Click to expand...

Focus or Focus SE? Or does it matter...?

Anyway, I thought it was the pads, but I could be wrong. Maybe it was the rotors? Could have been both. I wasn't really paying attention until the part about not using the car anymore. :?

(In case you can't tell, I don't really know jack about cars; I haven't taken one apart before. :wink:)

Ah well. I'd much rather ride the bike, of course. :D
 
I have an SVT Focus but I've worked on an SE's braking system as well. Very normal brakes. I'm guessing they just found a really expensive mechanic who is trying to see how much money he can get out of them. Even if they need new rotors that's way way too much. Now if she needs calipers too... How many miles does the car have on it?

Tell her a Focus nut on an internet forum said to get a second opinion. :lol:
 
I don't think the mechanic is gouging us. My grandma's known the guy for quite a while, I think.

Calipers might have been it. I know it sounded like something semi-consumable and that it couldn't be taken apart.

I can't remember the mileage, but I believe it's nearing something like 40k...? And I don't think any real work has ever been done to the brakes before, other than a pad replacement.


Hmm, if it craps out for real (there seems to be no end of problems with it), I might just end up with a free donor chassis...

Ah, probably just wishful thinking. Bah. I don't really like the car, anyway. :wink:
 
Most motorcycles and scooter pollute up to ten times what cars do, no emission controls except maybe the ones certified for California use

My motorcycle is about equivalent to a 150cc bike goes 50MPH and has a 40 to 60 mile range
 

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truckerzero said:
comparing a ebike to a 150cc scooter is a little unfair
i think a better comparison would be a 49 cc scooter that requires no insurance or regestration or motorcycle endorsment on yor licence

and can be ridden on the sholder(at least in my state of missouri) and a top speed of 40 mph with 100mpg
how would the numbers work out then
ps a ebike does have a very impoprtant advantage even more important for us lazy americans and thats it encourages
pedeling along and getting some much needed exercise
Click to expand...

Same for mopeds here in California. But, again, you're trapped in the bike lane where you're in a zone of danger and invisible to motorists. It's amazing how much safer I felt riding a scooter slightly faster than traffic in the number one lane, since I was constantly in the sight of every driver's left mirror. The numbers work out better for a 50cc over a 150cc for the reasons you stated, but with a one-gallon gas tank, you would still have to frequent the gas station every third day. Yuck. Then there's the two-stroke oil you're always messing with for those little motors...

The added exercise of the e-bike is a nice benefit. But, I noticed that during summer months I'm getting much more sun exposure due to wearing a bike helmet vs. a full motorcycle helmet. At 4:30 in the afternoon when I ride home, the left side of my body is always in direct contact with the sun for about 40 minutes (sun sets in the west, I ride back home in a south to north direction). I'm starting to wonder about the benefits of exercise vs. the detrimental effects of years of increased sun exposure. Might have to upgrade my bike helmet to a downhill-style full face mountain bike helmet, just to block the sun. In California, everyone is paranoid about skin cancer. I've already had two-moles removed which had the potential to turn into melanoma.
 
markcycle said:
My motorcycle is about equivalent to a 150cc bike goes 50MPH and has a 40 to 60 mile range
Click to expand...

If you could bring that product to market for a reasonable price, I would be first in line to buy it.
 
Trust me on this, get a new mechanic. Or better yet, buy the manual and you learn to do a brake job. It's pretty simple, and even a badly worn rotor is still safe enough as long as its not paper thin or really warped. They just want your money, and less liability for doing the work by making everything new. Years ago Sears automotive dept had a huge lawsuit over this kind of gouging. When my wife refused to let them do it, they put her wheels back on at 300 foot pounds or so. I needed an 8 foot bar to break the lug nuts loose to do the job myself.
 
Back to the 150cc comparison. I wasn't trying to compare apples to apples, just see what different things really costed. One thing I did not consider was a 50 cc anything. I rode a moped for a couple years in colledge. It was the most dangerous thing I ever had. Why? Cars would think you were going 20, when the thing would actually go 35, and constantly pull left turns on you or pass and turn right on you. They just never thought you could be going that fast on that little thing.

Ebikers, are you listening? If your bike does 35 mph, you are in the same trap. Mine does 25, and since its a bike, not a motor vehicle, 95% of my ride is on bike path or bike lane. In traffic, its better to be able to keep up, or keep off, I think. One nice thing about that experience was it taught me evasive manuvers that still worked on a 750 motorcycle later. I can still steer with a rear tire locked up and smoking. Sometimes this can let you thread the needle between cars to save your life.
 
Some of the fitties are 4strokes now, cat and EFI closed loop at partial throttle just like cars are. And its mandatory everything over 50 is 4stroke, most of them cat/EFI for years. I'm curious what those numbers are based on when they say "10 times more pollution than cars", not saying it aint so, just doubtful about how fresh the data is.. and by 'pollution' do they specifically mean NOx? Anyway, used to be motor scooters and motorcycles were only better at mpg and co2.. these days they're a lot better than they used to be at the other stuff too. I'd love to see a fair/up to date study.

This guy says it better than me..
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/motorcycles-pol.html#comment-118447134

Here's some numbers from a 4stroke 150cc scooter maker, grain of salt..
http://www.bajajusa.com/emissions.htm
 
I asked her what it was, and I was pretty off; it was the drums. Apparently, they can't be rotated like normal ones. I guess this is unusual even for Fords.

Also, this isn't new info. She was told that the whole thing was going to need replacing when it eventually wore out not too long after she bought the car. And I'm not sure whether $500 was what it would cost to fix it, or what Ford wanted to fix it. :?
 
Still... My girlfriend's Focus has over 70,000 miles on the rear drums with the original shoes. The drums are very cheap for a Focus and there's nothing strange or special about them. Very easy to change too. I'll shut up about it now but please have your mom look into it a bit before plunking down that kind of cash. I hate seeing people paying too much for car repairs.

150cc scooters... I will say I have been very tempted by them lately myself. It's not the same thing as an e-bike by a long shot. As much as I love my bike I would probably be more likely to ride a 150cc scooter to work every day. Then again, most of them seem to cost around $2000 new so I'm not really saving that much. I can buy a lot of gas for my little Focus for $2000.

My dream is to find an Aprilia RS50 with a blown motor to convert to electric. Too bad it's so hard to find one here in the states.
 
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