My introduction to scooters was a Chinese 150cc bought on the Internet for $999 delivered (RoadRunner Classic). I bought it because my two kids were home for the summer, each had jobs for which they needed a car, and since my wife needed a car to get to her job, all three cars I owned were now spoken for, and I didn't feel like buying (and insuring) a fourth car just for those few months. So I bought this little orange beauty hoping it would just get me back and forth to my job for the summer. The most I'd be out would be a grand, right?
Well, things worked out somewhat unexpectedly. The first unexpected thing was that I found I really enjoyed scooting! Going to work (about 6 miles each way) was now a joy rather than a chore. I found I started using my scooter whenever I could, even if a car was available. The RoadRunner made it through the summer (1400 miles) just fine and at 90 mpg, I felt I was actually saving some money. So I kept it for the next four years (and 4400 miles) even though after that first summer I really didn't need to anymore.
Now as far as the quality of the scooter: Over the next four years, a number of "issues" did come up: Twice the key-module just broke (the metal was like buttery-tin) and had to be replaced. In year two the entire exhaust system (pipes and muffler) rusted out and had to be replaced. The spring/cable that opened the seat didn't work right until it was modified. The front brake master cylinder started leaking and the whole front disk brake had to be replaced. Plus the fuel gauge was never reliable and there was also a small oil leak (just a few drops after the bike was parked) that was annoying but never really caused a problem. Also a small leak in the rear tire made me have to top it off every week or so.
I wasn't able to find a mechanic that was willing to work on this scooter (this is Rochester, Minnesota) so I had to learn to fix all this stuff myself. That was the down side. On the up side, the scooter was actually pretty easy to open up and work on and it was easy to find parts for it on the Internet -- even body panels. And even better, the parts were unbelievably cheap (which was probably why they failed so quickly in the first place). An entire exhaust system for $85? An entire front brake system (disk, caliper, master cylinder, brake handle and cable ) for under $100? Crazy!
So I spent a fair amount of time (and a little bit of money) keeping the thing running for four years but developed a love for scooting and a feel for the mechanics of scooters and how they work. I also realized I wanted something a little higher-end. Something I'd feel comfortable cruising at highway speeds (this thing topped out at about 55 mph). I ended up selling the RoadRunner this spring for $600 and ended up buying a People GTi 300 which so far I'm very happy with. Now the Kymco is just in an entirely different category as far as quality compared to the RoadRunner -- but it should be, as it costs 6 times as much. I'm pretty confident I'm not going to have the mechanical problems I had with the RoadRunner. However, in retrospect, that little Chinese scooter really only cost me about $700 (given the original price, plus the cost of replacement parts minus what I sold it for) for four years and 4400 miles of pretty fun riding. Given what I saved in gas and the wear-and-tear saved on my cars, I feel it was money well spent.
And that's pretty much what it comes down to in the end.
