Scooters for commute?

hi all,

i came on here in 2006 when i was considering an SV650s, in the end i went the car route and got a focus st. Now sorry if this is irrelevent to this forum but had some good advice whe i first came on this ofrum and i dont mind admitting i am clueless when it comes to bikes.
I now find myself considering a scooter of a 36 mile round trip to work and back.
if i can get a scooter and all the gear and run it for 8 months for less than 1400 quid it may make sense.
ive written off the idea of a 50cc one as i think there dangerous lackof oomph makes you even more vulnerable.
can anyone recommend a reliable scooter above 50cc that could do 60mph?
if anyone could give an idea of mpg/running costs would be great.
ill await a flaming from the hardcore bikers but i cant justify a big bike right now!

Gear's quite expensive so I'm not sure if that will blow your budget (assuming you don't do that awful London thing of wearing a suit on a scooter - it looks so idiotic!).

Price - you could pick up a 2nd hand scooter pretty cheap I reckon, price is obviously completely dependent on what you want, I'm sure you could get one for as little as ?50-?100 off Ebay, but then again you could spend thousands.

Mpg - near the 100mpg range, I believe? Again dependent on the scooter you choose.

Top speed of 60mph - would definitely be a 125cc.

Insurance - (usually?) costs more with a CBT only compared to a full licence but dependent on where you are you might be able to get away with a price in the ?100-?200 bracket, from what I've read anyway. This is going to be the most variable bit though, I'd get some quotes as my first step.

Hey- don't worry. You're big enough to be honest and open about the whole thing, and I'd be surprised if you were the only one on here thinking along those lines.

If it gets much more expensive, I'll be looking at alternatives to the car for many journeys and it won't be the SV either. That's for fun.

How about a monkey bike? Top of my favourite list at the moment. If you get a 110cc one it'll do about 55ish from what I've heard. Not much storage though and that's where the scoot comes up trumps. Another option that's bound to be mentioned is a CG125 or similar- or how about a trailie?

I'm sure someone with much more scooter knowledge than I will be along shortly.

Garry

I've always heard good things about the Gilera Runner. It comes in 125, 180 and 200 versions and would be the one I'd go for if I ever bought a scooter (again!). Plenty of poke and comfort. Take a look at Parkers price guide for an indication of how much they go for (a 2003 125 seems to go for less than 900).

Another vote for the Gilera Runner, great wee bike. Far better performance than a CG125 etc.

The only disadvantage to a scooter is they are very stealable, budget for at least two good heavy lock and chain sets.

So if you didn't go for a scooter, what is a reasonably economic bike.

Gilera Runners are very good for commutes and if you enjoy riding it and get one thats pre-injection (125 or 180 that is) then you could always tinker with it, for about 500 quid you can have a 125 doing 100+mph which is always fun.

Other than that look at a MBK Nitro/Yam Aerox. The do 100cc versions which are easily tunable to do 70/80mpg

If you spend a lot of time in heavy traffic then a scooter might be worthwhile but I just downgraded my hot hatch to a Toyota Aygo. Warm, dry, safe and the same fuel consumption as I was getting from my SV.

I have had 125 4 strokes in the past and only really got 70mpg at best out of them as I was ranting them to keep up with the traffic especially on dual carriageways and country roads.

I had considered a scooter to use all year round as I don't use my best bike in the wet and salt but the Aygo has solved that problem and I save a bucket load of cash compared to running my old hot hatch let alone the hot hatch plus a scooter.

Just a though why not get a CBR 125? They will hold togther over the winter being honda should be reliable, do about 70 mph, then it gives you the option to take your bike licence should you want to at a later date. I think that will give you the most felxiable options. If you don't want a sports rec bike, I'm sure you will be able to find something simlar. They do cost more however if you look you will one at the price you want.

I don't have a car and use the train to get to work, which is ace I hope not to run the bike too much over the winter.

If you want a scooter for reliability and fuel economy, and aren't bothered about acceleration or fun then buy 4 stroke. I rode a Gilera Runner VX125 up until about 3 weeks ago (p/x for the SV!!) it was very reliable, I regularly saw over 80 mpg, pushed about 90 a couple of times. Speedwise, nippy about town acceleration got sluggish over 55mph, but would make its way up to 67 officially, although I once got 84 (downhill slipstreaming lorries ) I regularly took it on longer trips (derby - manchester, or Derby - Skegness) and it faired well for a 125. Only breakdown ever was during heavy rain to the point where I was driving up to the footplates in water. And still managed to get it started and home to dry out in the garage!