Introduction

[gary m]

Hi everybody

My name is Gary, I am 55 years old and I live in South Wales. I am considering buying a Maxi scooter for my 50 mile round trip commute. My daily journey covers an equal mix of 60 MPH A roads and dual carriageway. I have been using my motorbike (currently a HD Sportster 48) for the past 10 years; except the last 18 months when I have had the use of my dads Citroen C1.

So dad has reclaimed his C1 and the Harley is great but has no weather protection; limited (read poor) range and no storage space, plus I am a little too precious about the thought of using it through the winter and this leads me to considering a Maxi scooter to sort this out.

I have a Honda dealer close by (Thunderroad in Cwmbran) and a Yamaha dealer (South Wales superbikes in Newport) I suppose this has narrowed my interests to:

a. Honda Silverwing 600 (not sure on the 300 maybe a little underpowered?)
b. Yamaha Majesty or TMax (big price difference-dunno why?)

The service costs of these vehicles scare me and I would aim to buy second hand, carrying out all routine servicing myself. I have managed these past 10 years on a variety of bikes including my current HD which is really easy. Things such as belt change and access to enable routine servicing are on my list of considerations, along with fuel and tyre consumption, all these items add up when covering 1000 miles plus per month

I have joined this forum seeking top tips and any advice.

Regards to everyone

Gary M

[poldark]

Welcome Gary.

I can understand your focus on the brands with local dealers, but they'll also be pricey for maintenance, are there no generic scooter mechanics within reach who might handle maintaining say a Sym, Kymco or Suzuki?

Don't assume the 250/300/400 would not be capable, you're buying for practicality and weather protection, they won't give the adrenaline rush of a fast bike, but neither will a Silverwing/Majesty. TMax is closest to motorbike performance and handling, but also relatively pricey.

The Burgman 400 would be a good general option and plenty around at say £2k, quite a few good newer models have come along in the last year or so, but I guess you don't want to spend £4k+

[gary m]

Poldark

Thanks for the reply; I had a runaround on a Bergman 400 in Spain a few years ago which belonged to my Sisters partner, a former biker and ex Metropolis Motorcycles manager. He swore by them for commuting in the smoke.

I will follow the forum and soak up the knowledge. I hadnt consudered a local scooter black belt; I will start askin.........

Looking to spend up to £2K

Regards and thank you
Gary

[Ferret]

If you want to stick with a v twin then theres always the aprilia srv 850 and i have seen some for 4k or a gp800 its forebear you will pick one of those up for 2k . Both these have plenty of go and handle well when set up certainly a lot better than any of the hds i have owned inc my night rod .

[anonstarter]

Hi Gary M and welcome!

This is a great website to see how you might 'fit' on the most popular motorbikes and Scoots: http://cycle-ergo.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I did a quick search on Biketrader and came up with these: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used ... ort/locasc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is a 2008 500cc Kymco Xciting that's done 10033 miles for £2000 that might be worth considering?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There's also a 2008 400cc Piaggio Xevo that's done 14000 miles for £1900:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Surprisingly there's also a 2006 600cc Honda Silverwing that's done 16256 miles for £1995!:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 600cc Silverwing is generally a reliable, well made and comfortable touring Scoot but quick research suggests that the pre 2009 Silverwings do around 10-20 MPG less than the 400cc PIAGGIO.

Fuelly is a great place to compare MPG's - but remember to change units to "UK" up in the top left: http://www.fuelly.com/motorcycle/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My general rule of thumb is the newer the Scoot the more frugal the ECU is with fuel.

Choices, choices, choices...

Happy hunting and let us know how you get on!

[johnp]

Hi and welcome aboard.

[JohnR93]

Hi & Welcome.

[gn2]

Hi and welcome
The Honda Forza is the daddy when it comes to maintenance requirement, 8000 miles between services, with new belt and valve clearance check at 16000 mile intervals.
I do roughly 1000 miles a month on mine on similar speed roads, never once felt it didn't have enough performance, it would probably be better up to 70 than the Citroen you've been using.....
If the budget can't be stretched a Sym Voyager 250 or GTS Evo 300 would be a good choice, you should be able to find a really good one for two grand.

[bornagainbiker]

Hello and welcome.

[Dave Weller]

The 2007> Silverwing has better economy, and good build quality.
A Burgman 400 2007> is lighter, less road tax, and better MPG and I think a very good single cylinder engine, It handles very well.
Both will keep you dry.