New Guy has a Question

[Featherdfishead]

Hello all,
I've been thinking about getting a new 2015 Super 8 150x to use as my daily commuter. I live in a very rural area and have a 50 ml a day drive across a beautiful valley with very little traffic, more alfalfa fields and cows than people. I also hope to use the scooter as my weekend mining bike so I'd be going up some steeps and on dirt roads. I'm 6 ft and 215 lbs.

My Question is am I asking to much of a 150 cc Scooter such as the Super 8. I'm trying to stay cheap but want to be safe and reliable. I've ridden bikes yrs ago but am new to scooters.

Any opinions or advice would be great - Thanks
Adam

[2wheelfun]

I did a lot of checking up on the super 8 150 before buying a scoot and it's a great scoot for the money. Since your talking off road qualities I'd check into a zuma 125. It's actually designed to be ridden off road, of course it's a Yamaha so your getting the best quality. 

[BettinANDlosing]

50 miles every day is kind of pushing a 150cc bike. What speeds will you need in those 50 miles? If you keep it around 45 there won't be any problems.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Honda CB300F @$3999.00 is a great value.
Lightly used for a few hundred less.
Also seeing Kymco ,250's new, left overs less than $3k.
But for reliability I'd go with a new 300 Honda. Great value as well.
Stig......it is also a good time to shop some usrd maxi scoots.

[klaviator]

I have over 19000 miles on my 2009 Super 8.  I ride it pretty close to top speed much of the time.  It handles it with no problems.  I'm about 180 pounds but I can put my wife on the back and it handles the extra weight easily. 

However, the new Super 8 is a different scooter.  Only the engine is the same.  For a 50 mile a day ride I'd probably consider a bigger scooter but the 150 should be able to handle it.  IMO, bigger scooters tend to be more comfortable and more capable but smaller scooters are more fun.  I have 4 bikes in my garage but the Super 8 is the one I ride most often.

Good luck with what ever you decide on.

[Urbestfriend]

I have 2  250's but once had a 125 Vino.  It would do 55 easy,  but high winds really were hard.  Heavier weight bike is better.

[slug50]

I rode dirt bikes for years and can tell you the scooter has totally different geometry on the steering and handling in dirt and loose material making it very dangerous at time to keep in a straight line. I have a people 150 and the first time I took it on a dirt/gravel road at the base of the White Tank Mountains I ended up eating gravel with a broken collar bone and four cracked ribs. The good news is I have over 11,000 miles on it mostly at 45 to 50 mph and 40 to 60 miles per trip non stop.

[Featherdfishead]

Thanks for all the Info everyone. I found a used 2015 Honda pcx 150 that a women bought in sept of 2014 and just dumped it for the second time on some gravel and is done with bikes for good. She wanted 3 but i talked her down to $2500 and from pics she sent looks like only afew scratches from dumping. It has just under 300 mls.
I live so rural that the closest place to get a scoot is 60 + mls away and this bike is a good 150 mls + away but i'm headn down to look at it and hopefully purchase it tomorrow. I know its not a Kymco but i'd love to hear some opinions on the bike.

Thanks - AjR

[BettinANDlosing]

PCX is a good bike, Honda quality. Very, very skinny tires though. Somewhat hard to work on yourself.

[klaviator]

The PCX has linked brakes which are a real bad idea if you plan on riding off the pavement.  It seems to be designed for shorter people so if you are tall you may not fit on it very well.  On the plus side these things get around 100 MPG and are a little faster than almost all other 150cc scooters. 

[Featherdfishead]

Thanks Bet and Klav -  i just found the pcx yesterday and have been researching madly. I figured i could change tires to bigger down the road but the dual braking makes me leery - just read that it had this this morning. I'd say about 1/3 of my usage will be on dirt. I also found 2013 Zuma 125 with only 400 mls that a recently retired guy's selling to move to europe. He wants $3500 but said he'd deal at $3000. I'm debateing offering $2800 but want to look at the pcx first but cant do that until i travel 220 mls to look at it on friday. The Zuma is only 50 MLs away and comes with a shad, xxl helmet and gloves.

I like that the pcx is a 150 and is liquid cooled. I'll be going up some steep mountains and dirt roads on the weekends and figured the higher cc's as well as liquid cooling would be better than the 125cc and air cooling in late summer 90-100 degree temps. Am I looking at this wrong? The Zuma is built more twords offroad use like i'll be doing but it seems the PCX is a better deal at $2500 than the Zuma around $3000.

I love everything about the Zuma except lighting and that its a 125. Seems a 150 would be better for highway use. And going up mountain roads. I'm not worried about speed as much i just figure that if i ride the 125 with it wide open everywhere it will ware out quicker than a 150 not road at full throttle all the time. Once again could be wrong - i haven't ridden in yrs so all theory.

I'm new to scoots so am unsure - please help with your advise - Thanks!
AjR

[BettinANDlosing]

Thanks Bet and Klav -  i just found the pcx yesterday and have been researching madly. I figured i could change tires to bigger down the road but the dual braking makes me leery - just read that it had this this morning. I'd say about 1/3 of my usage will be on dirt. I also found 2013 Zuma 125 with only 400 mls that a recently retired guy's selling to move to europe. He wants $3500 but said he'd deal at $3000. I'm debateing offering $2800 but want to look at the pcx first but cant do that until i travel 220 mls to look at it on friday. The Zuma is only 50 MLs away and comes with a shad, xxl helmet and gloves.

I like that the pcx is a 150 and is liquid cooled. I'll be going up some steep mountains and dirt roads on the weekends and figured the higher cc's as well as liquid cooling would be better than the 125cc and air cooling in late summer 90-100 degree temps. Am I looking at this wrong? The Zuma is built more twords offroad use like i'll be doing but it seems the PCX is a better deal at $2500 than the Zuma around $3000.

I love everything about the Zuma except lighting and that its a 125. Seems a 150 would be better for highway use. And going up mountain roads. I'm not worried about speed as much i just figure that if i ride the 125 with it wide open everywhere it will ware out quicker than a 150 not road at full throttle all the time. Once again could be wrong - i haven't ridden in yrs so all theory.

I'm new to scoots so am unsure - please help with your advise - Thanks!
AjR

The largest tire you might be able to squeeze on the PCX is MAYBE a 3.5, they are really really skinny. I've worked on a few, power is pretty average for a 150, felt even a little slower than the Taiwan built Kymco 150's. I would look into used 250cc Kymco, the old People 250, and S250 are really really well built bikes and you can score a nice one for around $2000 or less if your lucky. They have 16" wheels, that are wide, and you might even be able to find a knobby tire for your mining use.

[2wheelfun]

The zuma has FI so it will be more like a 150 than say an agility 125. You might consider a kymco movie 150 w/13.5hp 4 valve head. It screams up hills with no bogging with the extra ponies. Carbed but it's a great scoot, love the way it looks and is lit up like an xmas tree. That's what I have.

[Featherdfishead]

I've decided the PCX is out due to tire size and linked brakes. The Zuma guy wont go below $3000 and that's my limit. I havent been able to find a used Kymco or SYM anywhere near me - all are hundreds of miles away. The Zuma is close and i have a local Yamaha shop 30 mls away. Sacramento is the closest Kymco dealer and they want $3600 OTD for the Super 8 , or $4200 for the SYM HD plus shipping over 200 mls. I'll likely go for the Zuma for convenience and being built to deal with off road dust and ware.

I'll let ya know - thanks again for all the help - I live so rural i only have so many options without paying an arm and a leg for shipping.
AjR

[2wheelfun]

Yamaha is a great brand, can't be beat for quality. The new yammy sr400 is on my bucket list. You might get some warranty left on the scoot.