Question - can a scoot save my sanity?

[MattJH]

Hi, I've been a long-term reader of posts thrown up from Google searches and finally felt it was time I registered. For the keen eyed, you'll notice the lack of "current ride", I am aiming to rectify this over the next month or 2.

I am an ex biker of some 15 years having got a sensible job, sensible wife (who goes on about being a sensible father), sensible car, and I've decided it is high time I had a mid-life crisis.

Okay, buying a maxi on the premise of it being for the daily commute from south Herts into W.London is hardly leaping aboard a GSXR and screaming off into the horizon, but I have craved being back on 2 wheels ever since watching that spotty git ride down the road on my pride and joy in return for a poultry grand all those years ago.

So, double purpose for my scoot. A sensible commuter for the 30 mile journey into work (J6 on the M1 down to the bottom and the crawling traffic through Finchley and on to Mayfair), but something that will help crease the corners of mouth upwards slightly. With a budget of £3-4k, I focused in on the 400/500 bracket looking at the Xevo initially for value, then the X10 (but worried about its legs on the motorway), then the Peugeot Satelis 500, most recently the Silverwing (spot the expanding trend...) liking the idea of ABS, but have come full circle thinking that it might be a bit heavy for the inner city traffic.

Your thoughts would be helpful as I've been thinking about this for too long and can see me making a knee-jerk decision to "buy-it-now" off ebay after a few too many and ending up with something totally unsuited to my rather large frame and dodgy knees!

[poldark]

Nothing wrong with the legs of an X10, have you ridden one on your intended journey?

Your trade-off will be better weather protection versus nimble filtering, so small thing (SH300) versus maxi (S/Wing).

This is all a very personal choice, so you have to sit on and ride them yourself, no one can tell you what you'll eventually fall in love with.

[Funkycowie]

Or you could pick up a decent TMax 500 MK3 for that price...

[pikey]

A scooter will save your sanity but some people on here will drive you nuts LOL

[bikerdezzie]

tmax, its all ya need!, mk3 like he says for that sorta money!

[gn2]

Maxsym 400?
You should be able to pick up a nearly new one circa three grand.

[johnp]

Hi and welcome aboard.

[Ferret]

Hi and welcome ,yes if you get the right one for you ,it will give you just as many smiles and as others have already said go and try a few out at some dealers . The t- max is a great machine and if you find yourself going for the larger scoot i am sure you will end up travelling a lot further and more often than you first anticipated .

[Oldcodger]

Hi there and welcome,

The answer to your question is maybe - all depends what you want. As a biker of some vintage, from Bantams to Blades, I find my Scoot (New Silverwing) a really practical solution to commuting/shopping etc but it is quite heavy and not exactly tyre smoking! In short it isn't a bike - no real excitement factor. Fortunately have hung on to my last bike as well and can not part with it for those few sunny, dry days when you can really enjoy two wheels. Having said that the Scoot gets used much more than the bike (practicality).

See if you can borrow one for a day to see for yourself.

Oldcodger

[MattJH]

Thank for your responses.

Whats interesting is that I had discounted the TMax some while ago because the budget would only afford something older with more mileage but I can sense in myself that my goals have moved on from my initial plan to use a scooter to surreptitiously get back on 2 wheels in the name of saving money and time on the commute. I am now treating this as a more selfish decision to enjoying my journey rather than be stuffed into the sardine can that is the Jubilee line. I'm hooked on the idea of feet first comfort, with some weather protection whilst having the convenience of storage (I'll certainly add the top box) but I know I'd get frustrated if the speedo started to drift back on an incline into a headwind.

The TMax seems a much more attractive option now! Last night I was reading some comparisons on US forums between the SilverWing and the TMax and they seem fairly evenly spit in opinion and as many of you have said, its all about what you want from your bike. The summary seems to be: SW - great tourer, loads of comfort and storage but less nimble due to the weight, TMax - more nippy and responsive hence less relaxed and a bit compromised on storage. I think I can cope with that!

I'm going to find somewhere to test ride a couple as you all suggested but if I start looking seriously at used TMax machines, is there any particular things I should look out for?