Procrastinet

The Weekly WANT IT - Volume I

filed under: The Weekly WANT IT

This week's obsession: scooters/mopeds/vintage motorcycles.

I've always wanted a motorscooter. Preferably a black one with flames painted down the sides, though my enthusiasm for this was somewhat dented when I saw someone driving one just like that through Park Slope. Curse you, whoever you are.

In New York State, engines 50cc and under don't require a motorcylce license. In my head, this was translated into "these vehicles are safe, unlike a motorcycle."

Unfortunately, good scooters are extremely pricey ($2k and up for the better brands/models). Poking around on eBay and CraigsList, I started to uncover other possibilities. Like mopeds.

While mopeds are famously uncool, I predict that will soon change. They're way cheaper than scooters, and the scooter trend has to be cresting soon. I predict lots of suitably ironic vintage mopeds nipping around Williamsburg within a year or two.

My pick: the Tomos Revival.

(Another picture here)

Tomos in general seems to be making a big push in the Moped Renaissance. Their website shows their new, sharp looking model line - none of them over $1700.

CONTINUED (click below)

One problem with mopeds: they have 2-stroke engines, which are simpler but create a truly remarkable amount of pollution. Per mile, a moped puts out something like 10 times the particulate pollution of a car. Lame.

Bigger scooters have 4-stroke engines, but are more expensive. My pick of the litter? The Bajaj Chetak:

It even has a manual transmission so that you can feel superior to all the twist-n-go riders out there (once you've learned to drive it without stalling instantly). But the Chetak goes for $2700. Sigh.

There's another style that used to be sold here but has disappeared: the step-thru, which is a combination of moped and scooter like the old Honda Passport:

The only one currently being sold in the U.S. is called the "Bahama" and seems to be imported with questionable legality from China and sold on eBay. Bajaj makes one in India, but Bajaj USA says they have no current demand and therefor no plan to import them.

What about used/vintage, you ask? Scooters, unfortunately, hold their value really really well, which means they're expensive used, too.

Then I took that one step too many towards the slippery slope. "If I would be comfortable riding a scooter, because it feels like it should be safer than a motorcycle," I thought, "what about just a VERY, VERY SMALL motorcycle?"

Here's where Craigslist got me in trouble.

See, now THAT is what I'm talking about. 175cc (okay, so yeah you'd have to take the State motorcycle course and get a new license), 4-stroke engine, and vintage cred for miles. Just check out this swank ad from the late 60s.

I mean hey, I KNOW motorcycles are dangerous. But there are scooters as powerful as this bike, which is really small by motorcycle terms, and we've already established that scooters are safe, right? Plus, doesn't HOW FRIGGIN COOL it is make it way safer? I know the rubber pads on the sides of the gas tank alone make me feel at least 70% safer.

Not to mention that beautiful $500 price tag - remember, price-to-perceived-value ratio is key to a good WANT IT, and $500 seems pretty damn reasonable for a vintage '68 Honda bike.

Of course, it's not per se running. And there's that little issue of my wife not per se being okay with me riding any motorcycle of any kind. Scooters included. In fact, her last statement on the matter was "not even if someone GAVE you one."

But a guy can dream.

Posted by rjt at August 19, 2004 04:33 PM