U.S. Scooter trends

There is a dearth of variety when it comes to scooters from what are called "the big four" motorsports manufacturers. The big four consists of Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. Here is a list of each company's current scooter offerings here in the U.S.A.:

• Honda: Metropolitan, 50cc; Ruckus, 50cc; Silverwing, 600cc; and Silverwing ABS, 600cc with ABS (duh!).
• Yamaha: Vino Classic, 50cc; Zuma, 50cc two-stroke; C3, 50cc Cushman look-alike; Vino 125, 125cc; Zuma 125, 125cc; Majesty, 400cc maxi scoot; T-Max, 500cc sport scoot.
• Suzuki: Burgman; available in 400cc and 650cc with or without ABS and extras. Considered by many to be the epitome of what a scooter should be.
• Kawasaki: Nothing, absolutely nothing! They do not currently offer any scooters in the U.S. nor in the U.K. nor Australia.
  

I've been seeing a lot of conversation on the various web forums about this subject, and have come to a conclusion of my own. Here in the United states, most states do not require one to have a motorcycle license in order to operate a 50cc scooter. This is true for Pennsylvania, and this is, I believe, the reason that Honda and Yamaha offer 50cc scooters for sale here. However, at this point in time, the market for 50cc scooters that cost over $2000 does not seem to be attractive enough to force these companies to bring some of the scooters they offer in other countries here to the States. Suzuki doesn't have any 50cc offerings here, though they sell them in other countries.

A quick look at Honda's U.K. website shows another interesting trend. This trend is toward 125cc scooters. Honda only offers one 50cc scoot in Britain at the moment, that being the Ruckus, or "Zoomer" as they label it there. I believe, again, that this has a lot to do with licensing regulations. In Britain, as I understand it, one must take an initial test to ride a motorbike which authorises them to ride anything up to 125cc's. To ride anything larger than that, they must pass an additional test. Yamaha's U.K. website seems to bear this out as well, with multiple 125cc offerings, though they also have at least 8 50cc scoots available there. If it weren't so cost prohibitive, one would be tempted to buy one of the U.K. offered scoots and ship it over here. The only problem with that would be getting used to riding with the handlebars on the wrong side (Ha Ha).

Looking at Honda Australia, they seem to have a wider variety of engine sizes available, similarly to Yamaha Australia. They actually have what looks like a 100cc version of the Zuma in Australia called the "Bee-Wee."

I'm not even going to bother looking at Suzuki's offerings since it would just be more of the same trend, so it's not really worth our time at this point.

Now, I've gone into all that, to say this; It appears that these companies are abandoning the middle ground of scooter sales in the U.S.. At least in Britain, if one takes their second test, they have a few options to choose from. Here in the U.S., Honda, has nothing to offer to someone who wants to upgrade from a 50cc to a slightly larger scoot. Suzuki has a 400cc maxi scooter that is very high quality, but nothing for the 125 - 300cc crowd. Yamaha does a little better, but there's still a gaping hole between 125 and 400cc. The thought seems to be, if someone is going to upgrade from a 50cc, they will most likely go for a motorcycle, and while that may be true for some, or even possibly most, it is not so for many.

Personally, I like scooters. I like the design and the fact that I don't have to worry about a manual tranny. I could deal with one, and might eventually get a regular motorcycle, but there's enough I have to worry about on the road without fiddling with a manual tranny. It comes down to a style thing.

Thankfully, despite this abandonment by the "big four" there are other companies from Taiwan and Korea that have stepped up to the plate. Kymco, Genuine, and SYM to name a few, are good brands with reasonable pricing. Of course, there are the Italian brands as well, but they tend to come with a hefty price tag. I do have to hand it to Piaggio though. They have certainly maintained a good variety of Engine sizes and scooter styles even as the Japanese manufacturers abandon us.

And of course, there are tons of Chinese scooters available; however, as I've said before, I wouldn't recommend going that route.