Hi Tstalion,
I had all sorts of scooters and bikes, from 10" to 18" wheel size. Right now I drive Agility 125, Piaggio NRG 50 and People S 250.
I think there is no conclusion. 10" (and less) wheels are definitely too small, especially if the rider is heavier (I am 5 ft 11 and 230 lbs, and often ride two up). However, from 12" on, it gets much better. Usually you can hear that larger tires are better for rough roads, but I am not sure, when the road is bad, any tire size is bad too... of course, in case of tarmac etc. it is essential to have large diameter tires and not too wide too...
Also, scooters with large tires are more comparable to "real" motorcycles in terms of handling. I like to compare scooters with improved versions of "lighter" custom bikes when I try to explain how scooter handles compared to bikes to people that never drove scooters.
Unfortunately, I have not driven Xciting 250, so I cannot compare it to People 250. People has very solid touch to it, drives nicely even two up (my gf is on a heavy side, 190 lbs, so she and I are a handful to a scooter, close to three "regular" people
and People drives nicely in those conditions. The problem is as always suspension that is a bit wobbly. Some people say that People S 250 is too stiff, for me that is good, what is not good is ripple effect, when you hit a bump or a pothole and then continue swinging on the suspension for one or two revolutions. In that respect People is worse off than my previous Piaggio Beverly and I am a bit disappointed. Also I notice that Xciting maybe has nicer looking tacho and dashboard while People's is quite basic, not even a rev counter on it... Also, I speculate that driving on Xciting might be more comfortable because People has odd shaped seat.
However, I think people is quite solid bike and having only 1 hp more than my ex. Beverly 200, it does not stop to surprise me how firm it pulls - yesterday we were doing two up 88 mph without any effort, on a relatively steep hill climb continuos 70 mph on 2/3 throttle and the top I have seen was 97 mph downhill on a highway. Even when you subtract 8-10 % due to the fact that tacho lies, these are respectable numbers.
Oh, at least here in Croatia, People S 250 is quite cheaper than Xciting 250. You can squeeze in a Chinese 50 cc 4stroke scooter in the price difference, which is not to be neglected.
I think you will not make a mistake whatever you buy but it would be good if you could see for yourself which one you prefer. People is more like a motorcycle, Xciting looks to me more like a laid-back custom/cruiser.
Let us know which one you have purchased.
