Hope this thread is not totally dead, no posts since April. I've just recently joined the forum and I'm devouring every topic I can (and applying them to my life, if possible).
I'm already riding my bicycle a lot these days, thanks to MMM and all of you MMM minions. The idea of a scooter, however is very exciting to me. The crucial thing for me, though, is to find that sweet spot between mileage, power and cost. Here are my initial parameters, which might change significantly after I have the scooter:
1. This is for medium range travel. I'll use my bike if my trip is, I dunno, let's say less than 2-4 miles one way, depending on how I feel and how much time I have. The thing here is that, with a bike, time does become a factor the longer the distance, you just can't deny that. For the majority of trips that are more than (again, just a preliminary guess here) 20-25 miles one way, that's car territory to me.
2. I'm anticipating the scooter will have a fun factor, but it's not for fun. I'm trying to save time, money, and energy (mine and the planet's), and maximize convenience.
3. I don't really anticipate using a scooter on the freeway. To me, that's what my car is for. That being said, I fully acknowledge that this might change when I get comfortable with the scooter. Even so, I think I'd have to promise myself to only use it to for quick hops to the next exit.
4. Just like with the bike I chose, comfort is huge for me. No hunching over in "boiled shrimp" position.
5. The gas mileage (I think I'm choosing gas over electric at this point) must be much better than the most fuel efficient car, and it must have some pep--maybe 60 mph or so top speed.
6. I want something I can keep for a very long time.
So, here's what it has come down to so far, in just a couple of hours of research (dum roll, please):
The 2010 Honda SH150i (trumpets blare)
-I looked at various gas and electric scooters, and so far I think you're paying a premium for an electric scooter in terms of initial cost.
-There are other good scooter brands, maybe even more than I know at this point, but Honda scooters are sophisticated,very well built and reliable.
-Honda has put some technology into their scooters--the SH150i has an EPA estimate of over 100 MPG, while the Kymco Agiligy 125's is only about 75 MPG.
-The top speed is at least 65 MPH.
-This is freeway legal in California, but the gas mileage is comparable to smaller, non freeway legal scooters. Just keeping my options open.
-You pay a premium for the Honda name, but you might get that back with years of dependable service and better gas mileage.
-It's amazing how few miles people put on these things before they sell them. There were a few 2010's on CycleTrader with some mileage, but a lot with less than 6000
miles.
So, all factors included--power, efficiency, flexibility, cost--this seems to be the the best choice I've seen so far.
I can't wait to hear what you all have to say on the matter--I'm totally up for new ways of looking at it.