Ditching my dying car for a 125cc scooter? Some thoughts.
Ditching my dying car for a 125cc scooter? Some thoughts.
My car is on its last breath, at least according mandatory safety inspection results anyway. Repairs are supposed to cost more than its worth. Though, I'm getting a second opinion from another workshop soon. I only commute about 6 km a day, get groceries and doctor visits, entirely within the city.
So I’ve considering switching to a 125 ccm motor scooter instead of getting another used car. The idea of no more parking costs, looking for parking spots, low fuel usage and low fixed costs (insurances, maintenance and taxes) are very appealing.
I'm on the fence due to the one true downside, though. Winters. At least 3 months of likely cold weather, rain and wet snow. The kind that could make you question your life choices when having to ride to work at 6 am. I'm located in Northern Europe with winters with avg +4 to -4 °C. Since I have an alright public transport connection to work and in the city as fall-back it will be best to put it in hibernation. That I can do under a cover in a courtyard, if I'm lucky half covered under a balcony. What do y'all think?
Moving larger or a bunch stuff in one go will be more complex too. Even with services like car sharing, rentals or asking a buddy here and there in exchange for gas money and take-away food.
As for specific scooter, I'm looking for high reliability, durability and at best ABS and disk breaks for both the front and rear wheel. A high permitted weight would be great too. Models that fit my criteria are Yamaha NMax, Honda PCX, Honda SH125i and Piaggio Medley. Going to Dealers for test drives soon. :)
For a new one, all in all I'm calculating 6000 to 6500 EUR initially including extra features (top case, windscreen, heated handles), taxes and insurance. There are decent used cars for comfy winter rides. Though, perhaps I can score a lucky deal for a barely used motor scooter one as season is going to an end. By the way, a 50 ccm scooter is out of question for me personally, I'd want more power under my seat. ;-)
Anyone here made the switch? Regrets? Is micromobility really a year round solution?
I only ride bikes and sometimes skateboards, but micromobility can be a year round solution in a lot of places as long as you dress for the weather and the weather isn't too extreme (though even in extreme weather, sometimes people still do it).
I have no regrets except for trusting a shitty budget bike and breaking my arm last year (ENGWE EP2 Pro had a faulty front fender with no safety features, good times :(). Just allow for adequate time, wear protective gear, and ride with a visible camera. Those are my main suggestions.
Having good infrastructure makes this a lot more doable, but it's still possible with shitty-to-no infrastructure at least sometimes.
Good luck!
Hey, thanks for getting into the question and I hope your arm healed up alright.
Camera suggestion is a good one! I'm using a dashcam in the car, so why not do the same on a motor scooter!? Decided to go for some test rides at some dealership, when I have the time. Good luck too and be safe.
My neighborhood is nearly as big as your commute! I'd just get an ebike (or cargo ebike!), it's completely transformed the city for me. We've unintentionally gone on 72km trips as the bike makes it easy to do. I fill the gaps with buses and rail using an app called Transit, which is made by a small dev team out of Montreal.
On a bike there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear. Get good breathable gear (with armour) and good gloves.
You can layer up in winter as well. I used put on extra layers under and over my gear.
Having a scooter is very freeing. You can pass traffic. Park almost everywhere and have safe storage for anything you need to carry.
I enjoyed having a 50cc scooter in a city because you could just twist the throttle fully but never speed.
I prefer the look of a motorbike these days but always enjoyed time in my scooter.
"Costs more to repair than it's worth" is a useless distinction. You're not buying your car again, so that number doesn't mean anything. The only metric for how much a car costs is how much it would cost to repair versus the cost of a new car. Almost always, a new car is more expensive than continuing to repair an old car.
Do you have a car payment? If so, don't buy anything until it's paid off. Are repairs costing you more than a new car's payment? If so, look into replacing it.
You definitely shouldn't consider switching to a completely new mode of transportation to replace your car without first trying it out and keeping the car as a backup. Make a list of all your transport needs, where have you gone in the past year? Is there a viable car alternative for all of those things?
Costs more to repair than it’s worth is absolutely a valid distinction. It’s not repair cost vs. new car cost, but repair cost vs cost of a similar, fully functional used car. So, if the repair is 3K but you get a similar (or better) used car without issues for 2K, repairing is not necessarily worth it.
Of course that always depends on the cost of the repair, the current used car market, the comparable worth of the car and the available budget.
I bought a dual ABS Honda Grom just over a year ago and I ride it just about daily except for heavy rain and snow deeper than a couple of centimeters - unless the roads have been plowed.
I commute about double that distance and depending on which way I go, the fastest I need to go is about 85-90 km/h, which is near the maximum.
I installed a brighter tail light and added extra lights around the bike that all turn red when I brake. I work until 2am and I want the extra visibility on the ride home.
Many drivers are idiots so my head is always moving to see what's going on around me.
When I was studying to a commercial driving license, the instructor told us that the key to defensive driving is to assume that everyone else on the road is going to the dumbest thing at the worst possible moment.
That bit of instruction has kept me out of several accidents.
Buy good gear and get a bike that's fun. For me, that bike was the Grom. Quick acceleration and stopping, agile, great on fuel, and just fun.
Hey, thanks for your input!
My experience with a scooter was being a great driver myself, but nearly being killed on a daily basis by inattentive and/or highly aggressive car drivers.
I found that without basically a snow suit, you cannot ride a scooter when it's 16 Celsius or cooler - you'll just freeze your ass off.
No matter where you go you look like shit, your face is wind burned, your hair looks like garbage. Your clothes are rumpled and covered in the road grime or insects.
Edit: there is no such thing as going anywhere without meticulously researching the weather and checking radar. Even a very light sprinkle makes it so that you are a drowned rat, all of your clothes completely soaked after 90 seconds.
Scooter is an ok idea but don't go into it thinking it's going to be all happy. It's miserable.
Thank you for your input. Yes, safety is another valid concern. That's another reason why I wouldn't go for a 50 ccm ever. Here they are turned down to drive 45 km/h MAX. You can't go drive any faster, even when the motor could. This makes you a traffic obstruction in 50 km/h zones for some of these drivers. Quite a few modify their 50 ccms to go faster, so the police likes to watch carefully and makes traffic stops to weed these out.
You are pointing out some valid issues with the speed regulation, but I'm trying to say that other drivers disrespect you, and they treat you like a pylon. It's not that they don't see you, and no matter how much you command the road and understand how to pilot the vehicle and coexist with other traffic, they will not let you. You will be continually bullied out of lanes, sideswiped, honked, yelled at
Just get ready because the dream isn't what you hope.
Edit this is actually the underlying reason that I got rid of my scooter. I was in a general sense, very pleased with the positives, the mobility, the ease of parking, the inexpensive operating costs. But all of that was completely overshadowed by a feeling that came over me that it is not a matter of if I get seriously hurt by a driver, it's a matter of when.
My only experience with this is that if the engine is over 50cc it's no longer a moped and requires a motorcycle licence.
Have you considered an electric bike or scooter?
As for winter, I've cycled for a decade through Dutch winters and the only investment I required was a proper raincoat and pants to keep dry. More often than not I didn't need any winter coat underneath it if I was wearing a jumper, but that was me as a teenager cycling. Not sure if that applies on an motorised bike.
You're right, driving licence is a important to note here but yes I've got it.
As for your greats suggestions. I do use a bicycle some of the days for errands or work and think it's great. E-Bikes are great too, a co-worker has one. Actually, I use my bike even on some winter days here with 0°C or less. Some of the days, I'm feeling undermotorized though. That's why I'm looking for some more and 125 - 150 ccm seems about enough.
I don't ride a scooter, but I do ride a motorcycle. As you budget don't forget about safety gear. A decent helmet can be expensive. A lot of people ride scooters in normal clothes, but certified riding gear is much safer. Everything adds up though - I probably spent $2000 on jeans, boots, helmet, jacket, gloves, Bluetooth kit for the helmet, phone mount for navigation, ear plugs, visors, etc.
Once you get to where ever you are going, if you do wear your gear, it's definitely not as comfy as normal clothes. Weather can be rough too. Riding in rain is not fun, and cool weather is surprisingly cold when you're moving 60km/h through it. And drivers of cars can be really, really clueless.
Good luck! As much as I love riding my motorcycle, it was more expensive than I would have guessed, and less convenient than I thought it would be.
Thank you for your input, better safe than sorry when it goes for safety gear. I've got a set from driving school but definitely looking to upgrade to an integral helmet for example.
Fat tire ebike. I do almost 50km a day, winters too with studded tires. I do also have a small yamaha dual sport I take some days.
Nice one - good tires are a must then!
I looks like you have most of the details worked out, I just want to ask, are you all-in on a new ride, or would you consider a lightly used model? What you're looking for might be an exception, but generally there are good savings in going after a lightly used vehicle as little as 2 years old.
Thanks for your question. A used model with below 10-15k km chould be fine, what do you think? Could take a look if I find anything. Could make it easier to switch away again, if I don't like riding...
Also, it's seems like it's not extremely uncommon here in the city from what I see and hear but usually as a 2nd or 3rd vehicle. I myself know a co-worker with a brand new Yamaha NMAX 125 and one with a 2022 model or so.
You could go for an electric brand like NIU or Silence and save more on fuel
Concidered that but I'm living in a apartment. Charging them up would be a big struggle, thx though.
Just so you know, Silence has models with a removable battery that you can easily take out of the scooter
Living in a large European city and being a bike rider I can only recommend a lot of training if you are switching. You'd be in one of the two main risk groups.
As others said, play it safe. Riding in winter might not be possible although I did that a few years with a touring suit.
In general I love the ease of getting around and just parking anywhere (reasonably of course). Even though we have public transport it is unreliable, expensive and slow.
Just be sure you're in condition to ride. Many people drive cars in conditions they shouldn't and everyone pays for that but on two wheels you'll likely pay the most.
By the way heated handles are the best thing you can do against the cold but although it works there can be other issues, it can feel as if you're holding on to glowing steel or if the hands are in limbo between feeling and not it can get very painful.
The touring suit alone was 1500 euros used 10 years back or so.
Thanks for the input and word of caution. Definitely looking to test drive a couple models to get a good feel and more data before going for it. Likewise I'm looking at used car deals and possibly checking some out. But hey, sounds like the touring suit was a worthwhile purchase!
Ama of you have any questions.
If the commute is only 6km why get a vehicle at all? I would just cycle for that distance. 6000-6500 euros sounds like a lot for a 125, so you should be able to get something pretty good. I used to have one, in the UK you only need a CBT to ride it which is a 1 day course/test that is almost impossible to fail. But it only lasts 2 years, it expired and I didn't replace it as I was just cycling everywhere instead.
Because I've got the licence and can afford the fun. You're right it's really a lot but added 1000-1500 euros for extra gear, top case, high windscreen, heated handles, alarm system, cover for the winter, taxes and insurance for the first year. Cycling is a lot of fun too.
Cycling allows me to go places road traffic can't, plus it's a lot cheaper.
I ride all year round, only really begin to feel the cold below 7 degrees, that generally is the point that I start wearing gloves. everyones tolerance for cold is different, but its the rain that really sucks ass, not so bad if you get wet on the way home and you can change and dry up quick, but if you're stuck at work...
As for the bike it's self, spend money on your protective gear, then on sticky tyres, noy just good brand name tyres, sticky tyres, then on the bike.
Thanks for your input, perhaps the weather is just something I need to experience for myself. After all I’ve went cycling to work and back at 0 degrees before. I’ve got one set, bought for driving school but some additions like integral helmet instead of jet and rain gear would be great. What machine are you driving?
A Dax clone by skyteam, it's purple! 125cc four stroke, a little slower then what you're planing to buy.
The rain puddling in your crotch is the worst, but thats my perspective as someone who rode for a living for hours a day, commuting/shopping trips such as you are planing, I think you'll be fine with quality clothing. good luck!