10 Things You Should Know About Scooters
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Americans are learning quickly what took Europeans decades to learn—how to cope with high gas prices. Automakers aren’t reacting quickly enough, so many of us are left to fend for ourselves. This has led many Americans to consider buying a scooter.
In Western Europe, scooters are everywhere. In cities like Barcelona, they swarm around cars like a school of fish surrounding a whale. Americans are shedding our machismo “Chopper” aesthetic and finally accepting the small plastic wonders.
If you're thinking about buying a Scooter, here are some things to consider:
1) They get amazing gas mileage. For example, a champion performer, the Honda Metropolitan 50, gets 100+ MPG. Small scooters (50–150cc) naturally get better mileage than bigger ones (200–700cc). Even the largest scooters, like the Honda Silverwing, get 52 MPG.
2) They're cheap. You can pick up a Kymco Agility 50 for $1,599 new. If you buy used, you can save even more. Most used scooters have low mileage because they were just used casually.
3) Sales are up. Scooter sales are up nearly 24 percent for the first quarter of 2008 (compared to 2007), so you won’t be alone when scooting.
4) They're free to park (or nearly free). More cities are accommodating the increase in motorcycles and scooters on the road. In San Francisco, new motorcycle-only parking meters are sprouting up in downtown areas and they only cost around $3/day, compared to $30/day for a car. Many parking lots offer free parking for bikes and many meter maids turn a blind eye to illegally parked scooters. You can usually park very close to your destination. Scooters also fit nicely between cars—just leave the cars enough room to get out.
If you're thinking about buying a Scooter, here are some things to consider:1) They get amazing gas mileage. For example, a champion performer, the Honda Metropolitan 50, gets 100+ MPG. Small scooters (50–150cc) naturally get better mileage than bigger ones (200–700cc). Even the largest scooters, like the Honda Silverwing, get 52 MPG.
2) They're cheap. You can pick up a Kymco Agility 50 for $1,599 new. If you buy used, you can save even more. Most used scooters have low mileage because they were just used casually.
3) Sales are up. Scooter sales are up nearly 24 percent for the first quarter of 2008 (compared to 2007), so you won’t be alone when scooting.
4) They're free to park (or nearly free). More cities are accommodating the increase in motorcycles and scooters on the road. In San Francisco, new motorcycle-only parking meters are sprouting up in downtown areas and they only cost around $3/day, compared to $30/day for a car. Many parking lots offer free parking for bikes and many meter maids turn a blind eye to illegally parked scooters. You can usually park very close to your destination. Scooters also fit nicely between cars—just leave the cars enough room to get out.Read more on Divine Caroline