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Street Twin vs. Scooter

14K views 65 replies 26 participants last post by  DriftlessRider 
#1 ·
Street Twin is turning out to be a perfect city bike for me. Some people mentioned that a scooter is a perfect city bike. Right before the Twin, I sold my scooter, Honda Elite 110 - not a tiny 50cc, yet not an unwieldy maxiscoot. So here's a rundown why I think my Street Twin is a better city bike than a scooter:


  1. It's WAY more fun.
  2. Seriously faster. It's good to leave the cars behind on the traffic lights, and know it will take you out of situations that a scooter will get stuck in.
  3. Seating position. I much prefer to hug the fuel tank with my knees, gives me better control.
  4. Big wheels. Potholes, cracks, chasms, and roots are not threatening your life.
  5. Serious cornering, on serious tires.
  6. Can be actually taken on a highway.
  7. Sound. No comparison.

How's scooter better?

  1. Built-in storage. Saddlebags are not quite the same.
  2. Legs are protected from rain.
  3. 100 mpg.
  4. Nobody is going to steal POS $1000 Honda scooter which is not called Ruckus.
  5. Easier to get on and off with a twisted ankle.

Anything else?
 
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#2 ·
I have a "scooter" and a new Street Twin. But your scooter was a small Honda, and that's why you can easily rank it inferior to a motorcycle. My "scooter" is the Vespa GTS 300 Super, and it will go 80 mph, has ABS brakes, is fuel injected, radiator cooled, counterbalanced engine, and an overall delight. The Vespa is the better in-town machine concerning ease of parking, tight slow speed turns, and ease of riding. Try a big Vespa, yes, over $6,000 and you'll understand. Its in a class by itself. My Street Twin, on the other hand, is meant for open country winding roads.
 
#5 ·
I have a "scooter" and a new Street Twin. But your scooter was a small Honda, and that's why you can easily rank it inferior to a motorcycle. My "scooter" is the Vespa GTS 300 Super, and it will go 80 mph, has ABS brakes, is fuel injected, radiator cooled, counterbalanced engine, and an overall delight. The Vespa is the better in-town machine concerning ease of parking, tight slow speed turns, and ease of riding. Try a big Vespa, yes, over $6,000 and you'll understand. Its in a class by itself.
Maybe. There're still my 2,3,4,5 and 7.
 
#6 ·
At last you are have created a decent thread liberpolly...well done.
I live in a Florida beach town where there are tons of scooters ridden by all ages. Scooters are cool and perfect for a small town environment. As with motorcycles, as mentioned above, scooters are not created equally either. Some have very good power and can be ridden on the freeway. To me, scooters make more sense in town compared to any motorcycle. Btw, my view of a big Harley...and there are copious amounts in my town...they are simply large expensive scooters...many with good radios. ;)

Your new ST has more legs of course and can be ridden faster and best out of town if possible. And again, it many times comes down to $$ which it always does. A very nice scooter can be purchased on Craigslist for a song. And of course the same goes for a second hand Bonneville...some with almost no miles and well discounted...lots of bike for $$.
 
#7 · (Edited)
There are some awesome scooters around nowadays. Fast, comfortable, good weather protection with their full fairings and screens, luggage space, fully-automatic transmissions etc. I have to admit to being blown-off by a couple of them not that long ago...:(

Examples: Suzuki Burgman 650 ABS, Yamaha Tmax 750, BMW C 650 GT, Aprilia SRV 850 (with 76hp!), Kymco 700i, Gilera GP800 (75hp and reputed to reach 125mph)...etc
 
#8 · (Edited)
there really is no "best" bike, only the best tool for the job at hand. As Forchetto points out, there is also some considerable blurring of the lines across the mega-segmentation of the current bike market, discount a scooter out of hand and it just might dust you down the road, particularly if it's in the hands of a skilled rider. In the city I keep two bikes: a Vespa GT and a Bonnie. The Vespa is for in town transport, little wheels make it very maneuverable, lots of water-tight locked storage, you can park it anywhere, and you can get away with things that would get your bike I pounded if you tried them on a larger bike (it's just a moped right, it can't possibly be going that fast). It's also a lot of fun to pass pickup trucks or sport cars on the freeway with, 'priceless. Get out of the city tho, say on a twisty two lane road and the Bonnie comes into it's own. It can go fast, it can go slow but what it wants to do is carve thru hills at 45-65 MPH, a proper roadster that likes 50 to 150 mile runs. 'Neither is better and both can do both, it's just a question of which is best suited for the task at hand. 'Never drive a nail with a sledge hammer if you can avoid it, tearing out a wall with a tack hammer is going to be slow going.
 
#9 · (Edited)
If i didn't commute out of my city for work I'd probably still have my 50cc Yamaha. Driving around in just the city, nothing beat it. Cheap, 100mpg, storage built in, and was just as comfortable as anything out there (did several 4-5 hour 1 way cruises on it). Couldn't take it on the highway, and left me wanting more in the hills and turns, but that wasn't what it was meant for, and is why I got the bonneville. I wanted something that I could wind out gears, attack some turns, go unsafe speeds on a rare occasion yet still look great, not kill me on my commute, and that I could make my own. So a completely different animal was called for

Plus I got away with a lot, and I mean a lot of stupid stuff that I wouldn't dare do on my Bonnie
 
#10 ·
I noticed while living in Boston quite a few city riders chose the Buell Blast over a scooter. Full size wheels, etc. And of course, you were riding a Hog. The BMW C650 is quite a scooter. Weighs as much as an RT. Goes like stink and handles well. Not your average city slicker.
 
#11 ·
I noticed while living in Boston quite a few city riders chose the Buell Blast over a scooter. Full size wheels, etc. And of course, you were riding a Hog. The BMW C650 is quite a scooter. Weighs as much as an RT. Goes like stink and handles well. Not your average city slicker.
Wow you Trumpet people do love talking about HD's any chance you can and here I was going to give "Props" to you guys for finally Not mentioning them or comparing everything to HD's in a thread for once...

So let me clear this up, the Blast and its 492 cc air cooled OHV single engine (that does not appear in any HD product) is considered an HD so Every Indian MC is considered a Victory or is every Victory Considered an Indian now? I will say although I hate Erik Buell and everything he has ever made, a Con Man is what he is, He did put a self adjusting Choke on these bikes, even though carbureted, unlike my EFI Scrambler ......>:)
 
#12 ·
Wow, you really have a bug shoved up somewhere. The HD comment was in jest, obviously and I was mentioning the Blast as another easy,cheap city ride, similar to a scooter. I find it odd that you own a Scram since at every opportunity, you can't resist the snark comments about fake carbs and fake choke, no matter what the thread is about. Whatever.
 
#13 ·
Since I have ridden the Street Twin in town, I must say that it's a really awesome city bike. From the super light clutch, the really strong roll-on-power to the superb handling. Together with the sound and look, I think it's absolutly a stunner in city.
 
#14 ·
I live in a pretty urban area now (East Sacramento) and keep both my T100 and a 50cc Yamaha. The Yamaha is beyond perfect for beer runs and super manly things like emergency Neti Pot pickups. I just like riding something light and automatic that doesn't require as much concentration or focus as a bike bike. It's also the most maneuverable thing on earth, and makes short work of traffic and dense crowds.

And the T100, well, you know.... is a can-do-it-all workhorse that I use 96% of the time

I lived in Seattle (Capitol Hill) for a couple years, and I LOVED having an automatic scooter just due to the combination of hills and traffic. A lot of people don't realize how terrible the traffic in Seattle is. And when the sidestreets get backed up, there isn't a lot of room there to filter. The auto transmission alone made the scooter worth it.

It's rad to hear an opinion that a full sized bike is better in a real metropolitan environment than a scooter, that declaration says a lot of things about these bikes
 
#16 ·
I lived in Seattle (Capitol Hill) for a couple years, and I LOVED having an automatic scooter just due to the combination of hills and traffic. A lot of people don't realize how terrible the traffic in Seattle is. And when the sidestreets get backed up, there isn't a lot of room there to filter. The auto transmission alone made the scooter worth it.

It's rad to hear an opinion that a full sized bike is better in a real metropolitan environment than a scooter, that declaration says a lot of things about these bikes
I just rode across Seattle via back streets only, without switching gears, in 1st. It's not only doable, but lots of fun! Instinctively, you want to switch gears, but you really don't have to. The clutch is so light you don't even notice. I didn't switch to neutral on any red lights, and forgot about it completely.

Realistically, I will switch to 2nd and sometimes 3rd (on Aurora), mostly because the gearbox is so satisfying :)

I like the feel much better than my 110cc Honda, because on Twin I don't have to wait to build up the power and start propelling me up and forward, just lean in and twist the throttle, and off we go.
 
#28 ·
A friend of mine is the head nurse at our major emerency hospital, since scooters became the fab motorcycle accidents have tripled, so with the smaller scooters you don't need a motorcycle license and a lot of young inexperanced riders are getting themselfs into trouble, then down at our famous Gold Coast where scooter hire is a big business you get the young ones that hire them in a group and they become idiots on the road, more a danger to other as well as themselfs as well they are putting bigger and bigger power units in them, not sure how those small size wheels handle the higher speeds.
I have no problems at all riding my Thruxton around the city or any other place, to me scooters look like crap, not a manly looking bike, I wouldn't ride one or be intrested in riding one.
Are we going back to the 60s/70s Mods vs the Rockers I know what I be riding.

Ashley
 
#31 · (Edited)
I own both a Thruxton and a Yamaha Xmax 250.
The Scooter is far more practical than the Triumph: No gears, loads of storage space (enough for two full face helmets), fantastic mileage, road tax free, USB charging in both the glove and cargo compartment, ultra cheap maintenance, a set of tires lasts more than 30k km and costs less than €90 and it's fast enough to leave cagers far behind on traffic lights. Yes, even sporty cars.

Then there's the relationship one has with the scooter: No upgrades or bling needed. No parts to polish or embellish, no handling to sort. It needs petrol and that's it. As far as motorcycling goes, as simple as it gets.

 
#36 ·





Best of both worlds cant beat the Aprilia for commuting, room for a helmet and jacket and you stay dry in the rain as long as you are moving. 3l/100 km and easily drags most cars of from the lights. Top speed of 150 km/h too.
 
#49 ·
Street Twin is turning out to be a perfect city bike for me. Some people mentioned that a scooter is a perfect city bike. Right before the Twin, I sold my scooter, Honda Elite 110 - not a tiny 50cc, yet not an unwieldy maxiscoot. So here's a rundown why I think my Street Twin is a better city bike than a scooter:



Anything else?
No offense but you pretty much invalidated your initial review. My first clue was that you hadn't gotten into 5th or 6th gear.

I'm not putting down your riding, we all come from different perspectives. Its all cool. But coming from a very different perspective your opinion on the power of the new engine is not useful for riders of fast motorcycles.
 
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