Comments on: Scooter vs. Motorcycle

By: Leo

Leo — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:30:39 +0000

I think IF you have room for another bike, and you ride in Manhattan, you’ll enjoy having a scooter… It won’t offer the same kind of fun as a motorcycle, but it’s still fun, and it’s just easier to cut through traffic on a scoot. Plus it doesn’t blow hot air on your legs, doesn’t have a chain that needs to be cleaned, and has trunk space for carrying stuff…

I’m NOT a huge fan of 150cc Vespa (I’m not being a hater, I just think they’re a little over-rated in the scooter world), although I like the way they look… The 250’s and 300 Vespas are another story, they’re great…and so are the Aprilia 250 models (same engine as the Vespa, but lighter-feeling and better price – also it has almost-motorcycle sized tires – good for NY potholes). I have a Buddy 125 which is great for traffic, and hits 70mph on the speedo (probably 162 actual speed) with two up and leftovers in the trunk.

By the way, you have to drive around potholes on a scooter with small wheels, but if you do hit one it won’t cause the same pain a motorcycle would…

By: Yakov

Yakov — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:08:48 +0000

Riding only in Manhattan during rush hours scooter might be faster. As soon as you get to highways (FDR, BQE, Belt Pkwy) or less packed boroughs, I think motorcycle is faster.

By: DHH

DHH — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:32:34 +0000

In moderate to heavy Manhattan traffic, I see 150+ CC scooters zip by me all the time on my Shadow 750. I think it’s because their twist-and-go transmission makes it easier to flow up THROUGH traffic at highly fluctuating speeds. I also think most scooters are narrower which makes lane splitting easier. The truth is on my cruiser it’s a bit of headache to be constantly shifting between 1st and 3rd gear down Broadway and it definitely slows me down. I

‘m actually considering saving up for a scooter because they seem a bit zippier in daily traffic. Of course, in light traffic and on the FDR/WSH Vespas can barely keep up (and my groin aches just at the thought of hitting a real New York pothole with 8-inch wheels).

By: NTBH

NTBH — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:29:08 +0000

The video is hilarious, of course, the scooter guy was just way more confident than all of the motorcycle riders that he passed. Of course that was a very tight technical section of track, which played to the scooters advantages. If the track was a little more open and the motorcyclists were a little more confident, that would never happen.

By: Vn900C

Vn900C — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:23:23 +0000

No splitting – motorcycle for sure. With spitting – depends on the nerves of the pilot.

Do sidewalks count? ;p

By: Zac

Zac — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:12:04 +0000

“Which do you think is faster around the city: a 600cc sportbike or a 125cc scooter?” Shouldn’t it say which do think will be faster around the race track? I find 99% of scooters I see don’t lane split (which nearly all CA motorcycle riders revel in), they just sit in traffic. Plus, much of city riding is stop and go where bottom end torque gets you through the short bursts of lights and passing. Sure, you put Valentino Rossi on a scooter and he will school you. Especially on the track. Just saying.