Scooters

I'm looking into getting a scooter for a second form of transport. I know a few of you have them and wanted to get some opinions on makes and models. Right now I'm looking at the 150cc Roketa Sicily. It goes for about $1100. Obviously I'd love to get a Vespa or something of that caliber, but you can get a straight up car for that scratch.

What say you?

Make sure you can get one with a very soft seat. You don't want to bruise that inflamed vagina anymore than it already is.

Razor Scooters, IMO.

I'd be down to get a scooter in a second if it was a logical choice. But since I live in southern California, most of my commute is on freeways. It's just not worth it. Taking side streets anywhere would add 40+ minutes onto any commute I make.

If you live in the city, and do most of your commuting in the city, go for it.

I can't comment on models though, maybe search craigslist once you've settled on a model though.

Put a spoiler on whatever scooter you get to remind everyone it's still bad ass.

Ruckus. Only a Ruckus.

With a China scooter (like the Rocketas) you'll either get something that'll last or a POS that'll fall apart on you. Best you can go is Italian (Vespa, Piagio), Japanese (Honda, Yamaha), or Taiwanese (Genuine, People, Sym).
Honda scooters will be the best you can get for your money. Ruckus and Met share the same engine. Take care of it and it'll last. Ruckus is infinitely modable as well. You can even slap a 150cc GY6 engine in the Ruck and have a semi-legal butt rocket. Met shares many components, but Met people don't mod as much, so there's not as big a market.
Also check for 2-stroke or 4-stroke. 2-strokers are loud, smelly, unreliable, but also easy as shit to fix and you can work a 50cc 2-stroke to hit 70mph. Plus you have to mix oil and gasoline.
A 50cc 4-stroke will be quiet, reliable, but won't ever be as fast as a 2-stroke.
Honda Rucks and Mets are all 4-stroke. If you go with either, get a 2006+ model for a more reliable and slightly faster ride. Otherwise expect your valves to go within 10,000 miles or so. It's a cheap, easy fix, but you have to know how to do it or it's an expensive fix.
Yamaha Vino comes in 50cc and 150cc, but the old 50cc's are 2-strokes and can be modded to go nearly 70mph.

Also know that a scooter takes constant work. You could just ride it and take it to the shop whenever it breaks, but you'll save yourself some cash if you learn yourself, and you might even have some fun fixing it. Oil change every 1,000 miles, belt ever 2,000 (unless it's a Kevlar), you'll need to change out the rollers at least every 3,000, and the air filter every few thousand.

Go to http://totalruckus.com and have a look around. If you do end up with a ruck, you'll want to mod it, and modding gets expensive fast. You can easily spend $1,000 for 5 extra mph.

Thanks for that, but the whole point here is to be as economical as possible. The Ruckus msrp is over 2 grand. I don't really want to get involved in the culture of tweaking them out, just have one to get from my house to work.

Same thing holds with Vespas. Unless you're making some kind of statement about yourself and scooters, at that price you might as well get a car.

What I've read about the Chinese scooters is mainly people that own Vespas or people that sell higher end scooters playing superiority/fear games.

I ride a Honda Metropolitan. I get between 110-120 mpg (yes really) I don't need tags, registration or insurance (check the laws in your state). I can hit 45mph because I'm not a fat ass. I ride it in the rain because I'm not a pussy. I've been considering selling it and getting a 150cc vespa, because I want to be able to carry a passenger. This is not safe on the Met.

As with most things in life you get what you pay for... if you get a fly by night Chinese shit rocket expect to have it break down, then expect to not be able to find parts for it anywhere... unless you buy two of them.

Well, the Roketa brand has been around for quite some time and have full business licensing in the US, so it's definitely not fly-by-night.

What I'm trying to do is get a 150cc scooter for around $1200. I know there are some to be had that would be decent I'm just not versed in everything about different companies. I know the go to brands, but how about used models in that price range if you guys don't feel comfortable recommending the Chinese brands?