Are you ready to ride a scooter? Maybe 70-85 mpg?

Question

A friend has a vacant store... about 700 sq. ft. Seems like there is no chance of finding someone to rent it.

My friend and I are thinking scooter dealership. Kymco is a Taiwan brand far better than the no-name scooters made in People's Republic of China. They may be on par with well known Japanese scooters like Honda and Yamaha, but about 15-20% cheaper and more variety.

Is America ready for scooters? Back around 1983 I drove a Honda C70 Passport for several years. It easily got 75 mpg. I used to commute with it over 15 miles each way. I was lucky to hit 45 mph. Today's scooters are so much more sophisticated.

Do you think with fuel prices being what they are, we are ready for scooters?

http://www.strmotorsports.com/showroom/index.html

Not long ago I had the chance to try out a Kymco Agility 125. I'm much heavier than I was 25 years ago. This scooter was quick, comfortable and handled great. I have driven any scooter or motorcycle in 20 years, but this was a blast!

Answer 1

I would like a scooter or similar which could hit 65mph at least.

Answer 2

Might actually be more profit in servicing and repairing those no-name China scooters . .

http://scootdawg.proboards59.com/index.c...

Potential issues . .

http://scootdawg.proboards59.com/index.c...

PepBoys sells Baja scooters, but does NOT service them.

http://www.bajamotorsports.net/FAQ.htm#S...

Referral resource . .

http://www.partsforscooters.com/Find-Rep...

Answer 3

You're all over it. I have been visiting taiwan, and I have seen the scooters. I had the same exact thought- a Taiwan scooter would be the way to go.  Kymco seems to be the most common brand, but I have no idea what the real tradeoffs between their brands are.

There are Kymco dealers in the US already, but they tend to keep a low profile.  If you did a bunch of advertising you could probably get people into a scooter that would never consider a motorcycle.

I disagree with the sophisticated statement.  I'm afraid that the Kymco scooters don't get better gas mileage or go any faster.  Your 70 probably got better gas mileage than any Kymco other than a 50, and the 50 cc jobs are (artificially?) limited to 35 mph.

Answer 4

I think your success depends on the weather of your location.  Unfortunately, scooters are somewhat lacking in the climate control features.  If you live somewhere with great weather, you'll sell tons.

I'm probably going to stick with 4 wheeled transportation for a while... last year I got hit while riding a motorcycle.  You're just invisible on those things.

Answer 5

Scooters are selling like crazy

every motorcycle dealership are sold out of scooters

the only problem is the consumer expects good service after the sale and most dealerships fall short by refusing to honor warranty claims and low skilled mechanics causing more problems.

People have to understand scooters require more maintenance than cars and there is a fine line that breaks if not maintained properly.

If you own a scooter dealership, don't sell them if you can't service them, or at least be honest with the buyer and tell the buyer that you offer no or poor service.

Answer 6

Never. There unpractical for everyday use. Especially considering where I live the wind is blowing on an  average of 30 mph plus almost every day. I imagine. you would just get blow off the road.

Answer 7

I know many places where it stays warm (Hong Kong, South America, even England) they love scooters.  But I used to ride motorcycles and it is impossible to ride 6 months out of the year (NYC).

Also I used to own a no name brand (Italian) moped when I was young. I would NEVER buy another no name brand moped.  The support was miserable.

Good Luck...

P.S.  Owning a moped / scooter shop also means you have to know how to repair them.