Better not let some kid chew on a fender, lead poisoning you know...

While perusing the "scootlancaster" blog, I clicked one of his links to a scooter store he visited recently in Cleveland. On their site, they have a page about Chinese scooters. What struck me is how very many of these scooters are available. I've seen tons of them around, and many of them are Honda knock-offs that are designed to look like Piaggio's.

My best friend/pastor recently purchased one called a "Wildfire R8" about a month and a half ago and he is happy with it, but I am a bit concerned about the reliability of the machine that he purchased. He has at least one thing going for him, that being that he purchased it from a local dealer whom he knows and who has been selling them for a few years with few complaints. On the downside, I have not been able to find the company's website, but I've found TONS of poor reviews about them.

I have ridden his scooter twice, and both times I was struck by several things.

1. Cheap plastic controls. The plastic looks like something from some overstock toys I've seen at Big-Lots.
   
2. Bouncy mirrors. The mirrors jiggle like mad and aren't terribly useful due to that fact.
3. Poor/slushy acceleration. I don't expect much from a 50cc scooter, but this was really poor.
4. Poor braking. For having front disc brakes, I expected a little more grab. The Wildfire "R8" didn't brake well.
5. There's not enough space under the seat for a full sized helmet.
6. Lots of bling, not much zing. It's got all sorts of shiny doo-dads attached, but they don't make up for the lack of oomph.
   

I find it mildly diverting that the scoot has a tachometer, but, really, do you need such a thing on a 50cc scooter? It's a freaking 50cc and it's a scooter! Scooters are twist and go so there's no point in having a tach since you don't have any real control over the tranny anyway.

One thing I noted, and which has been confirmed by my online digging, is that these scoots tend to have a lot of bells and whistles, but they are cheaply made and not at all pertinent to the operation of the bike.

I own a 2006 50cc Yamaha Vino (pictured to the right). It came with no extras, just a horn, lights, a speedometer/odometer, two wheels, an engine, a cupholder, rear rack, and a sizable compartment under the seat. I've obviously added a windshield and a crate (a little Amish charm, har har). It's not much, but I trust it not to break down at a moment's notice, and it gets decent gas mileage to boot (about 98 mpg on average).

I could have spent half as much, sure, but I firmly believe that you get what you pay for, and I feel that I got my money's worth.