The World of Scooters

[Megadan]

I managed to give myself the time to go check out the local Chinabike dealer here in Omaha, called Ryker Powersports. My main curiosity was to go check out what scooters they have, and hopefully find the one I am most interested in to see how it fits me (Vitacci Clash).

They didn't have the Clash, unforunately, but did say they can get one.

What they did have were a small handfull of 150's and a couple of KPX250's.

The KPX is such a nice bike. A Hawk it is not, and believe me... I was tempted.

They DID have the Lifan KPV150 on the floor, and I gave it a sit. Also an incredibly nice machine. It's close to Honda scooter in quality. The styling is also very nice in person. head to head against a new Honda PCX150 it does a decent job of holding it's own. It's down about 1hp, but also comes with front and rear disc brakes instead of disc and drum on the Honda. The Honda wins in the storage game, but the Lifan has about a third of a gallon more fuel capacity. Color me impressed. Sincerely.

Anyway, they had a couple other scoots there that piqued my interest. One slightly more than I want to spend, but wins me over with pure charm is a "Big Ruckus" clone sold under the brand Amigo, called the Rover 150.
https://amigomotorsports.com/index.p...uct/rover-150/
It has... no storage whatsoever lol. Also carbureted, which is neither here nor there for me. I just love the styling. The rear seat folds up as a backrest, and the seat does adjust.

The riders triangle of both bikes are almost identical, which for somebody my height means it's not the most comfortable. My legs are bent beyond 90 degrees sitting on them, which is true for the rest of the scooters I sat on as well. I think the only way I could really get away from that is to step up to a bigger engine, but that somewhat defeats the purpose.

The one thing about the Amigo Rover though, is the floor boards are bolted on, and it's basically 2 bits of C channel welded to the platform for the foot pads. If so desired I could hack off an inch or two to lower them down. Just a shame the bike has zero built in storage. It's also a shame the MSRP for it is $2400, because if it was a bit cheaper I would actually consider getting it.

[XLsior]

That Rover150 has got Honda Motra vibes.

[TominMO]

That Rover in Army Green might be a Special Forces battle scooter.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by XLsior

That Rover150 has got Honda Motra vibes.

It's a clone of the Honda PS250 Big Rukus from the mid 2000's. Decently close to the original in looks, but powered by a generic Chinese GY6 clone instead of the much bigger and more powerful 19hp 250 engine Honda produced them with. Likely the PS250 was inspired by the Motra.

[XLsior]

the backrest to me just calls out for front cruiser pegs and ape hangers.

What are used PS250s going for?

[Mudflap]

For me the old large frame 2 stroke Vespas had the best seating position. The floorboard was as low, low enough that in aggressive cornering your inside shoe would be only an inch or two off the pavement. They had plenty of room to move your feet around which helped immensely on long rides. Seems all the newer scooters have thick floorboards to accommodate the steel tube frame, battery, or gas tank. On the Clash my size 13 feet have basically one position. Also the distance between the floorboard and the throttle cable elbow wasn't enough for my long legs so I had to modify the cable elbow. The stepped seat isn't ideal for changing seating positions so I added an air pad to the front to make it more flat. I do like the 14" wheels.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by XLsior

the backrest to me just calls out for front cruiser pegs and ape hangers.

What are used PS250s going for?

The PS250 was only sold in North America for like 2 years, so they are almost impossible to find. I've never seen one in person.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Mudflap

For me the old large frame 2 stroke Vespas had the best seating position. The floorboard was as low, low enough that in aggressive cornering your inside shoe would be only an inch or two off the pavement. They had plenty of room to move your feet around which helped immensely on long rides. Seems all the newer scooters have thick floorboards to accommodate the steel tube frame, battery, or gas tank. On the Clash my size 13 feet have basically one position. Also the distance between the floorboard and the throttle cable elbow wasn't enough for my long legs so I had to modify the cable elbow. The stepped seat isn't ideal for changing seating positions so I added an air pad to the front to make it more flat. I do like the 14" wheels.

I think this is pretty much my own experience checking out the various scooters as well. I don't entirely mind that my feet really only have one place to go since most bikes are more or less the same way. I also don't plan on doing many long rides so the cramped feeling riding position isn't the worst thing ever. I do agree that the stepped seat that the majority of them use is the one design element that I wish was easily changed. Being able to simply scoot back a couple of inches would be really nice.

[Darkrider]

You could prob improve the riding position from doing a combination of a modified seat and slightly lowered footboards. Lower the boards or even just make offset mounts to shift them ahead about 3/4 of an inch. Have the seat redone so it is flat without the raised portion which would allow you to slide back towards the passenger portion of the seat.

[Mudflap]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I think this is pretty much my own experience checking out the various scooters as well. I don't entirely mind that my feet really only have one place to go since most bikes are more or less the same way. I also don't plan on doing many long rides so the cramped feeling riding position isn't the worst thing ever. I do agree that the stepped seat that the majority of them use is the one design element that I wish was easily changed. Being able to simply scoot back a couple of inches would be really nice.

Many larger bikes I have owned have had a cramped riding position for someone my size. You'd think a Goldwing would have plenty of leg room but to get comfortable I had to lift the seat 2" and and make it flat. Same with the old Silver wing (motorcycle). My old Lifan 200 fit me well.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Darkrider

You could prob improve the riding position from doing a combination of a modified seat and slightly lowered footboards. Lower the boards or even just make offset mounts to shift them ahead about 3/4 of an inch. Have the seat redone so it is flat without the raised portion which would allow you to slide back towards the passenger portion of the seat.

On the Amigo scooter, the seat could probably be spaced higher since it sits on a rail system so it can slide. I personally think just shortening the floor board mounts would be the easiest way to buy a little room. For trips around town it honestly isn't too terrible on either bike. I just wouldn't want to spend a couple of hours like that.

The KPV has the front notched out at the top of the angled part of the foot rests, so I can put my heals there and hang my.toes out a bit. It's actually quite comfortable.

The KPV is really something else. I initially said I didn't want to spend that much, but it would be worth the money and I am really tempted.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Mudflap

Many larger bikes I have owned have had a cramped riding position for someone my size. You'd think a Goldwing would have plenty of leg room but to get comfortable I had to lift the seat 2" and and make it flat. Same with the old Silver wing (motorcycle). My old Lifan 200 fit me well.

The old Honda's weren't built for tall people of the West really. My GL1000 was pretty cramped too. even with the corbin seat I put on it. The shifter was also really close to the cylinder head and almost even with it. I ended up installing a set of lowered pegs on it so I could reposition both the rear brake lever and shifter in a better spot for my giant feet.