China and me: a scooter affair
Well, with gas prices plummeting from $4.30 to $4.09 in my area, I decided to do something drastic: Get a new vehicle.
As a graduation present from my father (who I cannot thank enough), I will be taking ownership of a new Chinese-built scooter. Since this is not exactly an easy task [Why? is to be explained below], I will document my experience so that others can benefit.
I did quite a bit of research into this purchase before I decided to go ahead and get one. I even went scooter shopping at "real" scooter dealerships, such as my local Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Amazingly, everyone is mostly out of stock of these little gems, presumably because they get 60-110MPGs. The Japanese offerings start at around $2000 for a 50cc scooter. For reference, below is another example of a machine with a 50cc engine (actually, a 52cc engine, which is larger than the scooter)
I decided to go with something a little larger. I have chosen a Vog 260cc Touring scooter, which is a Chinese-built clone of a Suzuki Bergman 400* using a Yamaha-cloned 257cc engine. A little more powerful at 20Hp, this scooter is supposedly capable of 80MPH or more, making it suitable for interstate travel, should the need arise. It is also capable of 70MPG, which is greater than my 24MPG Ford Fusion by an acceptable margin to warrant a purchase. A Honda scooter of this size costs $5400, while this Vog set us back $2400. Two for less than the price of one seems like a good deal.
Why would this take some leg work?
A> Imported scooters do not have much in the way of an owners manual, at least one published in a language I don't need to get Erik to read for me.
B> These scooters do not have a title. They give you paperwork like a bill of sale, a country of origin, and a materials sheet that you have to take to the DMV to have exchanged for a title (for a fee). Also, the scooter has to be inspected by the local police to make sure it is roadworthy.
C> "Some assembly is required." How much is yet to come.
D> There may be others, but this post is getting long.
*Suzuki Bergman 400:
Vog 260 Touring:
As a graduation present from my father (who I cannot thank enough), I will be taking ownership of a new Chinese-built scooter. Since this is not exactly an easy task [Why? is to be explained below], I will document my experience so that others can benefit.
I did quite a bit of research into this purchase before I decided to go ahead and get one. I even went scooter shopping at "real" scooter dealerships, such as my local Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Amazingly, everyone is mostly out of stock of these little gems, presumably because they get 60-110MPGs. The Japanese offerings start at around $2000 for a 50cc scooter. For reference, below is another example of a machine with a 50cc engine (actually, a 52cc engine, which is larger than the scooter)
I decided to go with something a little larger. I have chosen a Vog 260cc Touring scooter, which is a Chinese-built clone of a Suzuki Bergman 400* using a Yamaha-cloned 257cc engine. A little more powerful at 20Hp, this scooter is supposedly capable of 80MPH or more, making it suitable for interstate travel, should the need arise. It is also capable of 70MPG, which is greater than my 24MPG Ford Fusion by an acceptable margin to warrant a purchase. A Honda scooter of this size costs $5400, while this Vog set us back $2400. Two for less than the price of one seems like a good deal.
Why would this take some leg work?
A> Imported scooters do not have much in the way of an owners manual, at least one published in a language I don't need to get Erik to read for me.
B> These scooters do not have a title. They give you paperwork like a bill of sale, a country of origin, and a materials sheet that you have to take to the DMV to have exchanged for a title (for a fee). Also, the scooter has to be inspected by the local police to make sure it is roadworthy.
C> "Some assembly is required." How much is yet to come.
D> There may be others, but this post is getting long.
*Suzuki Bergman 400:
Vog 260 Touring:
posted by Seawolf at 7:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home