Best 50cc Scooter
Discussion
Biker's Nemesis said:
I remember seeing pictures of your sons bike, how long ago was that?
He's 24 now so 8 years ago. I bought it as a bit of a 'shed' that would barely run for £300, it took quite a lot of new parts and time to get it right but it ran really well once sorted, sold it for £750.AFAIK it uses the same engine as the Aprilias and they are quite responsive to a bit of tuning, plus there are big bore kits available...
catso said:
He's 24 now so 8 years ago. I bought it as a bit of a 'shed' that would barely run for £300, it took quite a lot of new parts and time to get it right but it ran really well once sorted, sold it for £750.
AFAIK it uses the same engine as the Aprilias and they are quite responsive to a bit of tuning, plus there are big bore kits available...
Derbi Senda 50's are the same bikes with different plastics, they were highly popular a few years ago when I was 16 (10 years ago now)AFAIK it uses the same engine as the Aprilias and they are quite responsive to a bit of tuning, plus there are big bore kits available...
Easy to work on and simple construction.
Could also do the old trick of bump starting it backwards and be able to ride it like that!
I had a Yamaha Aerox when I was 16, it was probably one of the cooler scoots (Italjet Dragster was better though!), some were even painted in the Kenny Roberts colours IIRC. By the time it got a 70cc barrel, 'racing' exhaust, rejetted carb and different rollers it was pretty nippy. Obviously this was after I turned 17 of course....
FocusRS3 said:
Think its best we go used with a Jap brand or new with a Chinese one with warranty .
Will research Saturday
Used Jap every single day of the week, a chinese ped has very little resale value where you will get whatever you pay for the Jap ped back in 12 months time if looked after.Will research Saturday
Was in a similar position myself last year, don't discount the Piaggio scoots either, build quality as good as the jap stuff and they hold their value very well too...My daughter has a Typhoon and so far, its been fault free, even when its been sat for weeks it always goes at the first attempt, running on Castrol Power 1, it smells great as well !
We had a look at the 50cc 'crosser, http://www.riejumoto.co.uk/index.php
Perfect for a tall lad but in the end we went for a 1980's chicken chaser ! Semi auto goodness and it'll be worth the same after a year of abuse as it was when we bought it . Perfect.
Any of the Honda/Suzi/Yam variants are good, almost indestructible and loads of them about, even though prices have firmed up a bit.
All sorts of possibilities of cross breeding with pit bikes engines etc if you're that way inclined.
Perfect for a tall lad but in the end we went for a 1980's chicken chaser ! Semi auto goodness and it'll be worth the same after a year of abuse as it was when we bought it . Perfect.
Any of the Honda/Suzi/Yam variants are good, almost indestructible and loads of them about, even though prices have firmed up a bit.
All sorts of possibilities of cross breeding with pit bikes engines etc if you're that way inclined.
Edited by DH01 on Wednesday 22 November 20:44
FocusRS3 said:
It'll be run around a very sleepy coastal town where speed is very much restricted and a good place to learn. I wont let him out on any major roads or B roads but i take your point and its something that's been mentioned already .
One consideration for him is height as he's a v tall lad so his knees we have noticed seem a bit too close to the handbars
Unless you plan on following on behind him in your car every time he gets out or putting a tracker on his bike - the first of which is impractical and the second of which is an invasion of privacy worthy of a Chinese tiger mother, it doesn't matter what you let him do. 16 year olds don't do what their parents let them, they do what they want. One consideration for him is height as he's a v tall lad so his knees we have noticed seem a bit too close to the handbars
If you're lad intends to be a law-abiding citizen then there is absolutely no point getting him a 50cc. Unless derestricted they are limited to 30mph. That means any road that is not a street lit road in a built up area could well be extremely dangerous for your lad, how do you feel about a a country lane with a 60mph arctic lorry overtaking your kid on his 50cc Aprilla or whatever s
t-heap you buy him? And before you say "well he wouldn't go on those roads"; imagine for a minute there's two routes back to your house from his new girlfriend in six month's times - one down a clogged up back-road route of 30mph roads that's going to take him an hour? Or one that's twenty minutes down this country lane? Which one do you think a sixteen year old is taken; regardless of whether you told them too or not?Wait a year, and get him a 125 that can at least keep up with traffic on the majority of roads legally. The law is an ass in this case as it puts youngsters in a massive amount of danger in the misguided attempt to keep them safe; by depriving 16 year olds of a full engine capacity the law puts kids in far more danger than they need to be. Just wait until he's 17. If you really want him riding buy a 125 pit bike and take it to off-road courses to get him used to riding one (he won't even want to ride the 50cc bore).
If you really must buy him a 50cc bike; buy him a used one - I see you quoting 1600 further up - please tell me that's insurance and gear not the bike. Don't spend that much on the bike; your lad will more than likely drop it at some point (probably on your driveway when he forgets to put his foot down or at a set of traffic lights) - he'll probably be alright bar a few bruises but he'll damage the bike; buy a used one with this knowledge in mind. Not just for you but for him; he'll probably feel a lot better dropping a battered up 2007 Asprilla RS50 than a brand new DirectBike or a Piaggatio.
Edited by revvingit on Wednesday 22 November 21:01
Edited by revvingit on Wednesday 22 November 21:05
Ilovejapcrap said:
He’s 16 and will trash it , as such get a 1000 pound Chinese thing and be willing to sell for 400 quid in a year
Or save yourself 500 and buy a 400 goes but looks st off ebay and be willing to sell it for 300 in a year as spares or repairs. Or just don't buy him one, for the many reasons outlined above...revvingit said:
Ilovejapcrap said:
He’s 16 and will trash it , as such get a 1000 pound Chinese thing and be willing to sell for 400 quid in a year
Or save yourself 500 and buy a 400 goes but looks st off ebay and be willing to sell it for 300 in a year as spares or repairs. Or just don't buy him one, for the many reasons outlined above...Both my daughters started out on a stolen/recovered pre-crashed Chinese scooter my wife bought from someone at her work for £50.
Mechanically they work fine if you are prepared to spend a bit of time greasing and adjusting things to start with.
Plastics are generally pretty fragile so be ready to fibreglass cracks if it is dropped.
With ours, the valve clearances closed up pretty quickly so it became difficult to start (quite common apparently), but once I had reset them and opened the carb up fully it would do about 45mph with 15 stone of me on it.
For the sake of 12 months use before he moves to a 125 or a car I would buy as cheap as you can find.
Mechanically they work fine if you are prepared to spend a bit of time greasing and adjusting things to start with.
Plastics are generally pretty fragile so be ready to fibreglass cracks if it is dropped.
With ours, the valve clearances closed up pretty quickly so it became difficult to start (quite common apparently), but once I had reset them and opened the carb up fully it would do about 45mph with 15 stone of me on it.
For the sake of 12 months use before he moves to a 125 or a car I would buy as cheap as you can find.
Rubin215 said:
Both my daughters started out on a stolen/recovered pre-crashed Chinese scooter my wife bought from someone at her work for £50.
Mechanically they work fine if you are prepared to spend a bit of time greasing and adjusting things to start with.
Plastics are generally pretty fragile so be ready to fibreglass cracks if it is dropped.
With ours, the valve clearances closed up pretty quickly so it became difficult to start (quite common apparently), but once I had reset them and opened the carb up fully it would do about 45mph with 15 stone of me on it.
For the sake of 12 months use before he moves to a 125 or a car I would buy as cheap as you can find.
Yup, this is most definitely my thinking .Mechanically they work fine if you are prepared to spend a bit of time greasing and adjusting things to start with.
Plastics are generally pretty fragile so be ready to fibreglass cracks if it is dropped.
With ours, the valve clearances closed up pretty quickly so it became difficult to start (quite common apparently), but once I had reset them and opened the carb up fully it would do about 45mph with 15 stone of me on it.
For the sake of 12 months use before he moves to a 125 or a car I would buy as cheap as you can find.
Having been a teenager (many years back) i know i was desperate to step up to a 125
crofty1984 said:
Lexmoto is meant to be one of the least bad Chinese brands. My SIL has a 125 Tommy Scooter. It's electrics aren't great, but if you only need it to last a year... Though I think it wouldn't be a patch on a Japanese alternative.
Lexmoto are brought into the UK as Knock Down Kits and assembled in a UK plant down in the West Country, hence the slightly better build quality.Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff