UPDATE

Zontes ZT310-M. This was actually a heap of fun. It is small and fast, the icing on the cake being a surprisingly well-sorted ride and solid build. It even looks OK, and used ones are less than my council tax. Overall the quality of metal and bodywork and switchgear is barely different from any Japanese rival, and I suspect all the more familiar brands will cut corners to compete. The fact Zontes dealers seem to be proliferating makes me wonder if they can see the writing on the wall.

However. It's the wrong size scooter for me and, when I caught sight of my reflection in a shop window, what I saw streaking past was not Joey Dunlop entering Brandish but an ant carrying a toad. I'm not a lardarse but I am above average height and from that moment the feeling I looked like Donkey Kong in Mario Kart never left me. Worth considering that the length and/or wheelbase of the ZT310-M is around 200mm shorter than the same dimensions of a Burgman 400 or ADV350, and coincidentally the same amount a Polo is shorter than a Golf.

Barring a freak accident with a wood chipper, reluctant NEXT

I looked at the Forza 300, ADV 350, X-ADV and Kymco DTX 360. I ended up buying an 8yr old C650 Sport and will make a post elsewhere about this.

I currently have a 300 Tricity after returning to "biking" after a 45 year break. Never really considered a scooter before, but a mate had an MP3 and being an old git, the thought of an extra wheel at the front appealed to me. I love the Tricity, but it is a heavy beast, and after 2 years I have considered changing it.
The current top of my list is the Yamaha T-max 500, but boy are they expensive, (even 2nd hand). But I would also consider either the Honda 350 Forza, (not the "adventure" model as that seems a bit pointless being a scooter), or possibly the Yamaha 300 T-max.
At the moment there is nothing else on my radar, so you could do worse than looking at either the Honda Forza, or the Yamaha Tmax 300, (or the 500 if you have that sort of money).
Honday also do a 750, but again, I just think this is way OTT for a scooter....

Don't discount the ADV350

Stubod wrote: ↑Sun May 25, 2025 7:54 pm
Honday also do a 750, but again, I just think this is way OTT for a scooter....

Don't get caught in the trap of associating swept volume and power, we aren't talking 1950's pushrod singles. The Forza 750 is roughly the same performance as the Yamaha 550, just at lower RPM. They get the price down by close to 25% by using the same engine across the NC range.

My biggest frustration with the Forza 750 is that they won't/can't back off on the silly motorcycle/scooter crossover thing. They've tried, electric screen and cruise control now and DCT reprogrammed to feel more CVT, but it still has an open chain and underseat storage capacity that'll shame a 50.

No unicorns.

Andy