Ditch the travel card - buy a scooter
08/01/13
By Harriet Ridley
Driving Force
THE New Year party’s over and it’s time to get back to work… and you’ve no doubt been in for the annual January shock at the public tansport price hikes.
So it may be time to ditch that travel card and get yourself a scooter to save loads of cash, and turn city commuting into an easy-peasy pleasure!
There are plenty of new scooters for 2013 that were on display at the end-of-year bike shows.
If you want to wow the city streets, then check out Vespa’s new 946 high tech, beautifully styled scooter powered by Piaggio’s latest three valve 125cc engine and featuring ABS, traction control and lightweight aluminium body panels. It’s a limited edition version so get in there quick if you want one.
Aprilia has launched an ABS/ATC (the latter being traction control) SRV850 scooter – the world’s most powerful production scooter first seen for 2012. It looks fabulously sporty and is available in two colour schemes, competition black and racing white.
If you like those funky three-wheelers, then Peugeot has added the Metropolis three-wheeled urban scooter to its range.
It’s powered by the new 400i LFE 35bhp engine, while the powerful brakes have a linked system called ‘Synchro Braking System’ controlled through the left-hand lever.
There’s also a foot operated brake pedal to control the braking if you prefer. Peugeot has done away with the traditional ignition key and instead the bike gets an electronic ‘Smart Key’.
Peugeot’s Satelis has also been redesigned with softer lines and LED lights, with the latest LFE engines fitted to the 125cc and 300cc versions.
Yamaha has redesigned its Aerox R that’s powered by the latest 49cc two-stroke liquid-cooled engine and featuring supersport-inspired bodywork plus a higher overall specification including new LCD instrument panel.
The increasingly popular Kymco has developed a sportier version of last year’s Downtown 300i, the K-XCT. The chassis length is reduced to make it more agile, and it gets Bosch ABS brakes. Kymco has also launched a new Xciting 400i equipped with a brand new liquid cooled, 399cc EFI engine.
If you’re looking to buy for your teenager, then Spanish firm Rieju has launched a nifty-looking RS Sport powered by a 50cc liquid-cooled engine with enough street cred to tempt them away from the Xbox, and at £1,999 OTR it’s not pricey either
Meanwhile from Sym, the entry level X’Pro comes in two engine versions – 50cc and 125cc. Both engines are carburetted two-valve four-stroke and air-cooles, with drum front a rear brakes – so a decent budget ‘utility’ scooter.
Then there’s the Sym Mii 110, a utilitarian commuter style scooter powered by a 110cc four-stroke, two-valve engine with feel injection and front brake disc, rear drum. And the latest version of Sym’s GTS/Joymax range has visual and mechanical improvements.
Sym has also launched a decent electric scooter, the e-Virid powered by 1800W motor that has three different riding modes capable of up to 45kph and 50kph ranges, when ridden at 30kph.
And if you’re serious about cost-cutting and ecology, then check out Electrocycles’ electric scooters. They have a 2013 range to suit all tastes, one of them looking very much like a Vespa, albeit a silent one!
Vespa are used to other manufacturers copying their legendary scooter… and as they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery.