I want a Scooter motorcycle!!!!

gastonbuffet · Mar 21st, 2006, 01:25 PM

I live in Downtown Toronto. I'll be dammed if i had a car with the hellish traffic.
So i want a scooter (i always been a bike rider in Argentina) to NOT stop at red lights, NOT stop for pedestrians, NOT respect public transit right of way.....
well basically, to break all the downtown records getting from A to B.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little; but i still do want a small maneuvrable scooter. I have my eyes on the Yamaha Vino 125.
Comments, Opinions, Experiences, deals, all are welcomed and encouraged.
And thanks in advance for all the sane people that think that Toronto's traffic could be dangerous for a scooter rider and would like to talk me out of it ; but with me on two wheels, the only thing in danger is TO 's traffic

.
but thanks for caring!!!

MacDoc · Mar 21st, 2006, 01:44 PM

Check your insurance ratings and with the Province - some require M class licences and special insurance others not.

Dr.G. · Mar 21st, 2006, 01:57 PM

gb, I once had a Honda 125. Not sure if it was like the Yamaha Vino 125, since this was back in 1967. Got me around New York City with no problems, however.

scootsandludes · Mar 21st, 2006, 03:17 PM

I'm a scooterist hence my login name. I would have to say that anything other than a Vespa or Lambretta is crap, but then I'm a stuck up Vespa and Lambretta owner, and would never consider a auto plastic scooter.

In reality, those Vinos look cool, cheap to maintain, don't break down much, doesn't stink like a 2 stroke, quite, has modern Japanese manufacturing, won't rust, modern 4 stroke output. It's a good choice for a scooter. On the other hand they're cheap to maintain, don't break down much, doesn't stink like a 2 stroke, quite, has modern Japanese manufacturing, won't rust, modern 4 stroke output and it won't need a lot of work. So they're no fun for us vintage snobs. So don't be surprised if you see a pack of Vespas and you give the biker nod, and they laugh at you, or ignore you, we're stuck up like that.

You'll need to get a full M license to ride a 125. New law that just passed in November changed the moped licensing to any 2 wheel vehicle that cannot go faster than 70KM/h, the driver must posses a M1, M2 M2-Limited or M-Limited or M license to ride. If you already had a moped, or limited speed motorcyle, previous to this new license, you would be exempt. A better understand of this new license is on the ministries website.

Also you might have heard of this new law, free street parking for motorcycles in the city of Toronto. More info at www.rockthescooter.com.

Insurance is pretty cheap, I pay about $400 a year to insure my 1978 Vespa P200E. You'll find most scooterist are with Duffy Insurance, I was with RidersPlus on my first bike, but they stopped insuring bikes over 25 y/o so they dropped me when I told them I bought another bike.

There are about 3 toronto scooters Yahoo groups, one is more for vintage owners, another more for autos, and the third which is the main group, is for everyone on a scooter. There are usually some bikes for sale there. But the best places to find them are probably craigslist, and autotrader. Do not buy on EBAY without an experienced scooterist recommendation. Not that we'll take it from you, but we can see a bodge job from a mile away, and we've seen so many bad bikes, that there are certain things that look good to the unexperienced, but to a experienced rider, we wouldn't even consider it for a chopper, plus no shop will touch it, when you need to repair it.

If you look at any other scooters, most are okay, stay away from Chinese (Cronos), they're death traps, if anybody tries to sell you a vietnam restore job run away, they're worst then the Chinese made bikes. Horror stories can be seen here www.scooterbbs.com, you'll find much better answers here if you have to question a bike.

They're are a few scooterist on here in ehmac, so you'll get pretty good answers. Let us know on what you get.

vince

MacDoc · Mar 21st, 2006, 04:27 PM

Hey scoots - do your groups have a forum site?? Good post BTW

razz · Mar 21st, 2006, 04:45 PM

A friend of mine has the Yamaha Vino and he LOVES IT. I even rode on the back of it and it was truly awesome. For the money you save on insurance AND gas, it's the only way to go (IMHO) if you live/work in the big city

wonderings · Mar 21st, 2006, 04:57 PM

I have no suggestions, I prefer motorcycles myself, but I have come across a fun little scooter video.

http://www.vintagejerry.com/taxi.wmv

Lawrence · Mar 21st, 2006, 05:31 PM

Have you seen the newest Piaggio scooters?

I just love the look of the 250 cc scooter,
Although the 500 cc scooter would be nice to have as well.

References site:
http://www.piaggiocanada.com/pscoote...50.cfm#nowhere

BTW...I have a GM licence

Edit:
I removed the images because they aren't mine,
You can find the images at the above link.

D

DoNotPokeTheScreen · Mar 21st, 2006, 05:40 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by MacDoc
	Check your insurance ratings and with the Province - some require M class licences and special insurance others not.

The last time I checked the official government website, to ride a Vespa or scooters (any vehicle powered by a motor) withOUT pedals must require an M license. I could be wrong, though. Consult Scootsandludes.

scootsandludes · Mar 21st, 2006, 05:49 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by MacDoc
	Hey scoots - do your groups have a forum site?? Good post BTW

The best place to get info on anything scooter related is scooterbbs.com, the site has been around since '96, it's more US based, but there's a lot of Canadians on the site. If you're looking at autos stay away from the vintage area, you'll get flamed like there's no tomorrow, there is an auto section, but you can probably guess, it's not as active as the vintage. But still a lot of good info there, if you're looking anything that's not well known brand name, like Yamaha, Honda, Vespa, or Lambretta, check out the scam area, you'll find all the bad brands, & asian restos, the guy who runs the site has actually tested and gone through everything that has a bad rep, and can back it up, so you don't make a bad purchase.

The Toronto based forums are just Yahoo groups. This one is more auto based http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ontarioscoots/
General http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...?yguid=9163055 If there's a rally this year, this is the place to get the info.
And vintage http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...?yguid=9163055

There are probably more scooter groups, some are more detailed, or groups that organize weekly group rides in the summer. You'll have to look them up yourself. Most of them are pretty dead right now, because of the weather, but once it get's really warm, they get pretty active.

vince