49cc scooter

[garmp]

My wife and I like to camp and trout fish and are thinking about a scooter to haul the two of us around the park from fishing site to fishing site. We camp out of our van and don't want to disassemble our camp site to drive around. A 49cc scooter would be ideal, but we have no idea of what to get. First off we do this two to three or maybe four times a year so we don't want invest a ton of money.
I know nothing about scooters, but understand China made ones are to be avoided. I'm not good with tools, so service/maintenance would be an issue. Not fond of listening to salesmen, rather get my info from users. What do you all use?
thanks

[g1g]

I don't have one but I was thinking about it and looked into some. As I understand the China ones are not the best to bad. The Japaese ones are good but expensive, the only other ones, Other than european ones are the Korean ones. I understand that they are not bad. Maybe someone with experiance can be more definitive. I will be watching for that as I may still be interested. Another factor, I don't know if you are getting one or two but in my case one for the both of us, we would be exceeding the weight limit on most.

[fleamarketeer]

I've been looking at these too. What I wanted is one of the Honda "Mini Trail" 70's or 90's. These were 1970ish vintage. It seems they're collector's items but some of the Chinese/ Korean/ Pakistani copies are supposed to be very good. The engines were billed as be bolt on replacements for the older Hondas. "Wildfire" is the brand I've read about but they don't appear to offer the Honda Trail clones anymore.

Last week I saw a "Terminator MC-31. It was a 49cc 2 speed automatic, several years old and 2 cycle. It did have enough pep for two as long as you don't expect to set any land speed records. It was a scooter/ motorcycle and not a moped. The title looked a bit odd so I offered $250 rather than the $500 the guy wanted. (he only had $190 in it). The gentleman still has it! LOL! The styling is similar to the wildfire WFH-50. Honda also made a version of this with about the same displacement.

http://www.wildfiremotors.com/index.php ... &Itemid=75

I'll be watching this thread as I'd rather have a motorcycle than a moped but really need something small.

Bob

[Mike]

A bit of Q&A.......
1)Are you a licensed motorcycle driver? Do you hold a legal license for 2 wheelers?
2)What's legal for where you plan to use it? Some places allow e-bikes or mopeds
with low displacement gas engines or bikes/scooters that can only attain a low
top speed to be operated by non-licensed operators.
3)Insurance. Better find out what happens if you go boom, or hit something, or someone.

If you truly want a scooter (small displacement, low speed, 2 passenger capacity)
you can probably spend $5000 to $10,000 for something that will last for a while.
Vespa is the classic look and configuration I think of when someone mentions scooter.
Assuming you're going to tow whatever you get, why not get an Argo, or Gator, or
whatever those rugged golf cart type 4 wheelers are called? An electric version might
do the trick, but recharging it could be tricky.

[Davydd]

I've seen scooters on hitch carriers with Class Bs, not towed. A 49cc is generally under 300 lbs. and can be carried on the hitch. I think that is behind the idea of a small scooter.

The idea of towing anything to me negates most of the advantages of a Class B for travel, IMO. If you tow you might as well pull a decent trailer with a more versatile auto or truck. If you tow a car you might as well opt for a larger more luxurious RV. In either case you are stuck with more point A to B travel, limited park where you like, no stealth boondocking, or no camping just about anywhere. A scooter is a way to do errands without having to break camp with the B which is one of the biggest debits of having a B.

Before I would consider pulling a scooter on a trailer or a golf cart, I think I would rather pull a Mercedes Benz Smartfor2 or Fiat 500 or such. They are about as small and light. Just speculating because I have no desire to tow anything. In fact I am not even keen on hitch carriers with anything. I upgraded my B to eliminate that last idea.

[garmp]

Davydd: I couldn't agree more. A carrier is the way to go. Those were my thoughts. My problem is that I can't justify spending a couple of grand for a vehicle used 4 time a year at most. But yet want something dependable and serviceable.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Davydd

I've seen scooters on hitch carriers with Class Bs, not towed. A 49cc is generally under 300 lbs. and can be carried on the hitch. I think that is behind the idea of a small scooter.

The idea of towing anything to me negates most of the advantages of a Class B for travel, IMO. If you tow you might as well pull a decent trailer with a more versatile auto or truck. If you tow a car you might as well opt for a larger more luxurious RV. In either case you are stuck with more point A to B travel, limited park where you like, no stealth boondocking, or no camping just about anywhere. A scooter is a way to do errands without having to break camp with the B which is one of the biggest debits of having a B.

"stealth boondocking" with a scooter hanging off the van? You're joking, right? Maybe if it was one of those mobility assist ones. BTW, I've seen a few class Bs using conventional towing methods to pull flatbeds and contractor style trailers, and they don't seem worried about their "toad" getting the way. They can park pretty much anywhere I can, and I'm not dragging anything along.

Originally Posted by Davydd

Before I would consider pulling a scooter on a trailer or a golf cart, I think I would rather pull a Mercedes Benz Smartfor2 or Fiat 500 or such. They are about as small and light. Just speculating because I have no desire to tow anything. In fact I am not even keen on hitch carriers with anything. I upgraded my B to eliminate that last idea.

I agree about the carrier for a scooter/dirt bike. I meant the "tow" comment in reference to my suggestion about
a golf cart type vehicle. They're more stable, and don't require special licensing like a motor scooter/cycle might.

If you're looking for a simple, useful "toad" for a class B, either get some folding bikes, and figure out how to store them
inside, or a couple of cheap mountain bikes and a carrier or rack for them instead. Get used, then you won't care as much if/when they get stolen. I've always figured if you need to pull a trailer or a toad you're probably taking too much "stuff" with you, but I've considered using bikes to run short distance errands. A healthy alternative to a motorized anything.
And, they can be useful to tour the area in and near your campsite. I see lots of class B vans with bike racks and a couple of dirty mountain rides on it.

[fleamarketeer]

I'm not sure who the Q&A was for but I've had a motorcycle endorsement since 1970. Insurance is pretty cheap for smaller ones. My MC endorsement would easily switch to whatever state I might chose for my domicile. Mopeds might be a different deal legally in each state. And just as a guess, the legality of the 3 and 4 wheelers would be even more "iffy". Anyway, the only 3 wheeler I'd consider would be the Wildfire delivery van/car/motorcycle. It would have to be towed but can, according to their website, be licensed in all states except California as a motorcycle. I always keep my eyes peeled for a used one of those as I do a cheap Ranger/S-10 with a 4 cylinder and a 5 speed.

I was planning on putting my scooter on a hitch carrier. The Vespas are classic and really nice but heavy. The scooter I didn't buy could be (and was) loaded into a full size van by one man about my age. I remember the Mini Trail 70's and 90's as being even lighter. But I was a LOT younger then.

I'm thinking in the area of $200- $500 for whatever scooter I get. At that price, if it "turns up missing", no big deal.

"Stealth" is not even a minute consideration for me.

Bob

[Mike]

Too bad they don't make the old Honda 50 any more (do they?). I think it came with a Honda-matic (?)
automatic transmission of some sort for those of us who might be clutch/brake/shifter challenged.
Kind of like a larger mini-bike, if those still exist (do they?).
The Q&A was intended for the original poster. For the legality issues you reiterated in your post.
Not all scooters are motorcylces, and not all motorcyles require motorcycle licenses to operate, and
some need motorcycle insurance, and some are covered under homeowners liability, and so on, and
so on, all varying by the local jurisdiction.
It's not as easy as just finding one you can ride was my point.