High Gas Prices May Drive Scooter Purchases, but...

If gas prices stay high, we may experience another scooter buying frenzy like we did in 2008, although the economy may temper the hysteria a bit. TV news crews, local reporters and radio hosts may swarm local dealers for a few sound bites about exceptional gas mileage (100mpg?!?) but once they close their reporter notebooks and pack up the lighting rigs, they will likely have overlooked the total picture of the costs of buying a scooter.

I touched on this in blog posts that I wrote in 2008:
Is Money the Only Reason to Ride a Scooter
$4 Gas is Waking Up America

Truthfully, $4 gas prices suck, but only someone who already owns a scooter will be laughing as s/he passes up the pump. If you park your Prius, but a brand new Vespa and expect to see the money pile up in your bank account, you will be in for a surprise. If you drive an old V8 truck from the 70s 20 miles roundtrip to work each day, and decided to dig your old P200 out of the garage, give it a tune-up and do the commute on the scoot while parking the truck, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Most people are somewhere in between and will need to really crunch the numbers to see if buying a new scooter makes financial sense.

There are lots of other considerations: insurance, scooter maintenance, and how often one will actually forgo the car for the scooter.

Costs to conisder:

• Purchase price
• Interest if financing the purchase
• Scheduled maintenance (differs from cars)
• Wear & Tear (some scooters require new tires every 2K miles)
• Insurance (make sure your policy includes uninsured motorist)
• Riding gear (clothing, helmet, gloves, rain gear etc)
• Security (locks, parking)
• Oil (if you are running a 2-stroke, you have to account for the cost of 2T oil)

I realize that I may sound like a negative nan, raining on the "higher gas = buy a scooter" parade, but I want to get above the rote sound bites that the media may be offering now.  Scooters are seriously great fun to ride, but I consider the fuel economy to be a bonus. Already having a scooter (65mpg) in my garage that I bought 14 years ago makes the gas savings apparent when I choose it over my Mini (39mpg), but if I went out today and bought a new $3k scooter, I think it would take me a few years to realize savings.

Benefits above $$ to consider:

• Riding a scooter is fun!
• Better parking (scooters fit in smaller places; I park closer to my destination with a scooter)
• Taking up less space than a car (on the road, in the garage, in my life)
• Splitting lanes in California *only* (I like being able to move to the front of a long line of cars at a stoplight. I don't splits lanes when traffic is moving)

Whatever the gas pump says, it's a good time to scoot.

Blog entry soundtrack:

Buying new scooter?

If you haven't seen our new Buyer's Guide you are missing out on some great info on over 120 scooters that are available in the US right now. May people have said that the intro to our Guide is helpful, so I'll reprint some of the info from the introduction. Remember, you should put as much thought into buying a scooter as you do a car. Do you research and find the right one for you. :)

Finding the right scooter to fill your needs

There are many considerations when buying a scooter, the two biggest are usage and your budget. There is a big difference in the type of scooter based on typical use: in the neighborhood, cross-town, inter-town travel, or even weekend warrior activities such as day trips or jaunts into the country.
Below is a list of common displacements, typical top speeds with some notes.

50cc: 30-40 mph Useful for around the neighborhood, small errands on residential streets. Not recommended for passengers.

125cc: 45-60 mph Cross-town, casual weekend excursions, light passengers on flat terrain for short distances.

150cc: 55-65 mph Acceptable for inter-town travel, good for weekend trips not involving extended high-speed periods. Suitable for a passenger.

200cc: 70-80 mph Great for inter-town travel, and weekend trips. Suitable for most freeways. Does well with passenger on hills.

400cc or higher: 80-100 mph Long-distance touring, designed with passenger in mind.

Going with the flow of traffic is very important. You shouldn't feel as if you are holding up traffic or that you just can't get to where you are going in a timely fashion. Other considerations include fit for your body type, cost of ownership,

Don't forget about how a bike feels beneath you. You should be able to touch the ground and feel in control of the scooter's weight. Some scooters get better gas mileage than others. If gas mileage is of utmost importance, a smaller displacement scooter will sip gas, yet all scooters get far better gas mileage than even most hybrid cars. Keep all of these considerations in mind so that you can find the that scooter that is right for you.