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Is a maxi scooter a bad idea for a long trip? Is a maxi scooter a bad idea for a long trip?
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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
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Photo by Ellen Delis,
Lagunas Ojos del Campo,
Antofalla, Catamarca



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  #1  
Old 5 Feb 2010
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Is a maxi scooter a bad idea for a long trip?
My girlfriend and I are planning a trip from England to Jordan later this year. She isn't interested in riding pillion, so the plan was to do it on two Honda Deauvilles. I've already got mine, but she only has an automatic licence because she's been riding a Burgman 125cc scooter. She has to take another test to get a proper motorbike licence, and is working towards this now. But it suddenly occurred to me that it might not be necessary. She could upgrade to a Burgman 650cc without any extra training or paperwork. But what about luggage carrying capacity? What about the comfort of the seating position? What about stability in cross winds? Any ideas? Does she really need to jump through the hoops of getting qualified to ride a motorbike when she could more easily and quickly just get a bigger scooter?
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Old 5 Feb 2010
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Maxi-scooters have been used before and one particular member on here (I forget who) seemed to feel that it had performed admirably, in all sorts of terrains. If you are on tarmac I don't think you'll have any major problems. If its dirt tracks, it'll be tough, but then so would it be on a deauville. The Honda has bigger wheels, so can ride over obstacles more easily, but it is very heavy and the Suzuki is lower so easier to control... Swings and roundabouts really. Certainly can be done and is not that big a hurdle... Hopefully you'll get some first hand accounts soon that can address some of the more specific questions you had.

Good luck
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  #3  
Old 5 Feb 2010
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I have a few friends with scooters and they are always bugging me to take a ride on them. Of course they love them, most commute on them. I've ridden the 400 Burgman (C+) 650 Burgman (B+), Honda 650 ? (B) something? and Yamaha T-Max (500cc) (A+) All well over $6000. Too much, IMO.

The only one I really liked was the Yamaha T-Max (A+). Rides like a real motorcycle. Fuel economy was not that good for a scooter but it was FAST and went around corners really really well. Good suspension and good control. We had it on slippery wet roads and the Tmax was solid. The trunk could fit a 12 kgs. Turkey, or lots of on ice.

The 650 Suzuki is pretty good and I love the paddle shifting. Biggest problem is both the Suzuki's and T-Max are too expensive. (In the US at least) For the money, I'd get a Kymco. As good or better and cheaper.
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Old 5 Feb 2010
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we've done thousands of - trouble free - miles on ours now.all over spain, portugal, france, italy and germany.
super comfy, very economical, no hassles at all and we can get everything we want to take safely locked under the cavernous seat!
wish id bought one ages ago!
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Old 7 Feb 2010
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my mate has a burgmann650 and i would have no second thoughts about a trip on it, as long as i stayed on the road.

the luggage under the seat would almost be enough for me, a topbox as backup would be plenty, as i like hard luggage otherwise a rolltop ortleib strapped on the rear seat would be fine.
the only thing i dont like about scooters is the riding position, small ones are like sitting on a stool and big ones like the burgerking are like cruiser bikes, feet forwards and all weight on the bottom. this position seems to kill my back. on a motorcycle you can have some weight on the arms and feet to spread a bit.
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Old 8 Feb 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Warthog View Post
Maxi-scooters have been used before and one particular member on here (I forget who) seemed to feel that it had performed admirably, in all sorts of terrains.
That would be me Warthog.

Hugh, I rode a Burgman 650 from Korea to Italy in 2008 and have taken it off the beaten track extensively.

I love the Burgie so much I've even bought a 2nd one, and am currently in the process of transforming one of them into a dedicated offroader with a 21" front end.

Read Across the universe for details of my travels, and just in case anyone thinks I'm new to this game (and don't know any better ) I've also done four other major international trips on regular bikes, and I still reckon the Burgman is King.
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Old 5 Mar 2010
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Lots of people do it. 100 plus million ride there scooters in places we could never considering doing it. It's there only transport. People take ct110 on world tours. Some true nuts take the 50cc scooters on 5000 K trips. Just finished reading about a couple whom did that in canada.
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