Hello all,

While my WRX is fun and great and all, its get crappy mileage (21MPG all city) and is not fun to park where I work.

Thinking about buying a scooter to take to work, as its certainly easier to park, but I have some questions maybe the iclubbers can answer.

1) Do I need a motorcycle endorsement? How much of a pain is that to get?
2) Is there a minimum displacement I should be looking at to be able ot get up hills in North Beach & the Castro? I have the WRX for performance, so just being able to get up the hill safely is all I need here, not to be the hill climbing wonder .
3) Are the 'must have' features I should be looking for?
4) Do they need to be insured? Is insurance on them really expensive?
4) Am I better off just getting a used motorcycle instead?

I'm looking to spend as little as possible to get something that will save me money. 2K max.

 

I just bought a used yamaha zuma for my commute to school. Turns out its like the honda civic of 50cc scooters. There are a ton of parts you can mod it with, but top speed will still only be around 50mph. I would say to get at least a 150cc scooter if you wanna climb hills comfortably. I can't go up hills at much more than 25mph, less when my gf's on it with me.

and to answer your questions:

1) yes, you need at least an M2 license, but might as well get the M1.
2) 150cc min, but if you're gonna go bigger, might as well get a motorcycle. The performance will be better and the cost about the same.
3) carburated engines are easier to mod
4) yes, needs to be insured. I pay $80/yr for liability, full woulda been around $300/yr.
5) only reason i didn't get a motorcycle is i don't have a garage. Something like a suzuki gs500 would be in your price range and good starter bike.

Oh, and it's been about 1.5 months since i've had the scooter and the ghey jokes have been non-stop from my friends...

PM me if you wanna take it for a spin to check out. You live like down the street from me.

 

Thanks for the info. Most of my friends ARE gay, so I'm unconcerned about that.

 

Even my gay friends make fun of me... but whatever, it's practical and i get 80mpg.