Scooter Craze ------ Dead

[Coyote]

There was a scooter craze / boom here about 4-5 years ago. Scooters were all over the place. I have noticed a definite decline in the numbers on the road. Maybe 1/10th what there was just a couple of years ago. That means there are plenty of garages with nearly new scooters to be had ----- cheap.
Seems like every shed in the orient was pumping these things out. Shops and dealers came and went by the dozens.
Does anyone know what the decent brands are. I know nothing about the new stuff. I lived through the Vespa and Lambretta days. Now those are collectable and priced like wise. My thought is if there is a decent brand or two, maybe I could flip a few for some extra cash. But then again, the craze seems to be nearly dead so I might just be wasting my time. I'm retired and just looking for something to do.
There may be a 74 GT550 coming into my life soon. I have not seen it yet. The guy that owns it owns a independent motorcycle shop that has been in business since the mid 70's. I have known the owner Donny all these years. He bought the 74 about 5 years ago with intentions of getting it back on the road. But after working 10 - 12 hours a day on bikes, he just doesn't have the time or ambition to work on the 74 at home at night. As his wife put it the other day, Donny rides the couch at night.
So I know Donny would not buy a piece of junk. He started to work on it and just lost interest and has no extra time. He tells me the exhaust is in decent shape (that was my first question!). The tank and side covers have been professionally painted. Unfortunately not the stock 74 colors. It is painted black metallic. The bike is all there and would not take a lot to complete. Seems reasonable at $600 if it's in the shape he says. I have no reason not to believe him as I have known him for a long long time. I should get a look at it real soon. He said it's buried in the back of his garage and hasn't had the time to dig it out.

[GT750Battleship]

Hi,scooters still seem to be selling well here in Sydney,lots of young women riding them mainly in the inner city suburbs,the bigger ones by Suzuki,Yamaha,BMW & Aprilia are very popular for serious touring with the older riders ! The GT550 sounds like it's a very good buy...have mates with a couple of the very underrated model,as you obviously know
Cheers,
Roger

[Alan H]

Just got my GT550 on the road after what is probably a 40 year hiatus, and love it.

[pearljam724]

Definitely, was a scooter boom around here too. It's not your imagination. It started, lasted and pretty much ended for the same amount of times around here also. When the governments started to rape our lives through gas taxation, people were out buying them. Then realized, no matter how high gas gets. Scooters just plain suck. The boom died off. I have no problem owning smaller cc motorcycles. But, scooters just don't cut the bill from my point of view. I think a lot of people realized that. A lot of people out buying the scooters were not real motorcycle enthusiast. When they realized the scooter provides no excitement. The fixation to buy there first motorcycle died off.

[BLAZY]

My scooter experience has been positive. I've owned 30+ motorcycles over the years, all types and sizes (50cc-1100cc), including several scooters (125-650cc) and my 650 Burgman was one of the best two-wheelers I've ever owned from a transportation standpoint. Quick, comfortable, reliable, economical, and with a bigger trunk than some touring bikes. Triple discs, fuel injection, shiftable automatic, good wind protection, 80 mph cruise, and easier to mount with my bad back than a conventional bike. You can find Suzuki Burgmans (400 and 650 models), and Honda Silver Wings (600cc) at pretty good prices on CL. The Yamaha T-Max and Majesty models (400-500cc) are harder to find. I wouldn't think of them as investments, though.

To directly answer your question, though, Vespas, even newish ones, are still boutique scooters that command a high price. They'll probably stay collectible for the foreseeable future, in my opinion. The price, and the smallish engines(<300cc), keep me from buying one.

All my scooters, though, lacked the visceral thrill of a big, noisy, smoky two stroke whooping up through the gears. That's why I keep coming back...

[ConnerVT]

I think the decline of the business model that came with the scooter boom wasn't sustaining. I recall 3 or 4 places that were selling them, which are no longer in business.

When the inexpensive scooters first arrived from the Far East, shops opened up selling them, and folks who were interested in owning one bought them. Then sales slowed down, as the interest was met.

But they were also of Far East quality, with limited sources for parts, or knowledgeable service. So the sales dollars dried up, support was difficult to provide, and the shops closed.

I'm sure quite a few of those scooters collecting dust in folks garages are in need of some sort of repair. I'm sure many of the folks who frequent here could figure things out, but likely is beyond the average scooter rider.

[diamondj]

I suspect a lot of it is the shops that sold them went out and now they need maintenance.

Seems like you could load up a trailer full of them and make some money flipping them in Austin TX or a similar city.

[U50]

Hi peeps

I'm new here. I've been into scooters for decades and started out on lambretta 8" wheel and then vespa 10" wheel. I think the increasing wheel sizes of the newer super scooters (12 14 & 16) changes the frame geometry quite quickly and in a way they stop being scoots per se. Most folk buying a scooter these days are coming in on a minimum of 12" rims and IMHO at that size it's almost not a scooter despite the looks. However 12" and above is great for straight line speed and with the higher cc engines this makes a big difference. For me the divide between a scooter craze and a bike craze will reflect the environment - tiny wheels for old cities where roads wind about and there's lots of corners (London) and larger wheels for the more modern metropolis or longer commutes (motorway riding on a Burg,an for instance). Having said that vespa don't make a 10" small frame any more and for me the vitality of the original design has been lost I favour of greater power and speed. This is great if you are fortunate enough to schlep into Rome from the sticks on a main autoroute for most of the journey (Italian highways being slimmer than the Uk I wouldn't fancy this anyway) but originally the machine was bought by the person in the city and the smaller (then 8 or 10) wheel was better for manoeuvring. A lot of the cheep scooters came in at 10" and I think people bought them for that reason and the lower price point. Not for the ease of maintenance - something Piaggio seem happy to discard too. And it keeps the dealers happy.
Anyway. To introduce myself I am mid life convert to the large wheel moped of the Suzuki u50 variety. Maybe I'll begin to spend a bit more time on here shortly as I am ditching Vespas for health reasons and expecting to purchase on of a handful of examples currently available near me. I'll keep you all posted.

Cheers