Hello everyone,

Last month a car driver decided to help me part company with my Piaggio X7 Evo 300 whilst we were travelling at 60mph on the motorway. The bike has ended up being a CAT N, and I ended up with a fractured toe and loads of bruising. Not bad considering what could have resulted - I managed to miss a parked car (it was a smart motorway with no hard shoulder and the car was parked in a refuge area) and even though I hit the crash barrier at a fair speed I managed not to get my legs caught up in the posts.

I captured the whole incident on video, which was rather useful - the story I will reveal once all the legal aspects are finished with.

So fast forward to now. Everything is healing reasonably well and I've been given a Kawasaki J300 as a hire bike. It looked quite lardy, compared to my X7, as it sat on my drive after being delivered. I used my X7 as a commuter so wasn't so sure about this fatter bike and filtering in traffic.

After my first ride into work, and my first ride since the crash, I had a huge grin on my face! Compared to the X7 this J300 has really impressed me. I know the X7 wasn't the greatest bike to begin with but I was amazed at the huge difference between them.

Firstly the suspension - the J300 handles the road so much better. Bumps in the road that used to jolt the X7 and me are now merely a slight ripple. Everything is much more composed with the J300 and it feels more stable.

My initial thoughts about the lardiness of the bike just melted away as I started riding it - it just started to feel smaller and lighter than the X7. The mirrors give a better rear view than the X7, but at the same time they don't seem to stick out as much and it is making filtering easier.

The only downsides for me, compared to the X7, is access to the storage below the seat - the seat doesn't lift very high on its strut and secondly you can only have your feet in the one position. There isn't the semi-feet-forward option that the X7 and the larger Maxi-Scooters give you. I am getting used to the new riding position and wondering whether I can live with it in the long term.

I've received the insurance settlement for my X7. I did ponder taking the salvage option and fixing the X7 up myself, but riding the J300 made my mind up that I want to go for a different bike - something with better suspension.

Oh dear, I'm trying not to make this into a long read so will try and not go into my other requirements too much.

I've been narrowing down my search options for a replacement bike. Max budget of £2500.

Piaggio Beverly 300 or 350

Piaggio Medley 125

Kymco Downtown 300

I've thrown a 125 in there for cheaper running costs. Long story short I mostly rode my X7 like a 125 99% of the time and averaged 93mpg over 20000 miles of commuting. I did all repairs and servicing on the bike myself and would look to do the same on the replacement.

I've been more throttle happy with the J300 - probably another reason for the big grin, but don't think I would ride my own bike the same way - but this has still made me think about sticking with a 300cc.

I know the Downtown is the sister bike of the J300 - so guessing the suspension will be as good. Some Downtown's look like they might be in my budget range. The J300, not.

I like the idea of the larger wheels of the Bev and Medley, but after the J300 I'm wondering if I might not need to go that way to get a better ride.

Any other bikes I should be considering? A good ride / suspension is a must and something Bev / J300 sized or smaller.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to hopefully getting some replies!

Till I read your post I thought you meant a Suzuki X7, the mega-fast 250 from the 70's. And one of the bikes, the other one being the Yamaha RD250LC, that some say led to the 125 limit for learners. It would be a crime to total an old classic like that.

The Bev 350 is quite a different scoot to the 300 - tons of power. The 350ST has its upsides - ludicrous amounts of power and insane performance, and decent underfloor space. Not the most comfortable thing for me. Suspension is a bit iffy IMHO, though I guess its fine round town or on M-ways - like many swinging-engine scoots it gets a baffled by out of town bumps. I've never found bigwheel scoots to give a better ride than smaller ones, though the rear on the Bev is only 14" anyway.
If you really like the J300, then I suspect you'd like the Downtown 300/350 - or look for a J300! I don't think there is anything radically different between the Kawa and Kymco.

Sorry, make that underseat space! Fingers aren't obeying me this morning!

main thing you not too badly hurt

AN Other would be the Honda SH300, only real issue with that (I find anyway) is the suspension is rather crude on it

Sym make a damn good scooter - just another option

what about the forza300 ?

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Added the Forza 300 to the list, as well as an XMax 250.

The XMax would be the version from 2015(ish) on wards, with what looks like a semi-feet forwards option?

There seem to be more Forza's and XMax 250s near me than the other bikes I've been looking at.

The J300/Downtown would be great if it had the feet forward option. I noticed that the new X-Town 300 gives the feet forward option, shame it's too new.

Might up the budget a bit for the right bike.

I used to own a Mk1 TMax, so getting an XMax would remind me of old times...lol

you could hunt for a gilera nexus it has good feet position and ride height and is basically the older brother of the 2015 gilera runner .