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I arrived in Yichang (Hubei Provence) in April and it looks like I will be staying for 2-3 years. I want to start with a 50cc scooter to get around town until I can get my license and then step up to a bike. BUT there are SO many different brands I have never hard on in the USA. I looked at the site but I still don't know witch brands are good and witch to stay away from. Can any one offer a bite of advice for a Chinese scooter noob? :scooter::confused1:
Thanks
Darren
King,
Welcome to MCM! My wife had a scooter in China for a while and we spent some time shopping for new models.
Both Jialing and QingQi make some good scooters. QingQi specialized in scooters before motorcycles and the word "QingQi" used to be a generic name for scooters in China like "Coke" is to soda or "Xerox" is to make paper copies. There are a couple of Taiwanese brands in China (their names slip my mind right now) that also make some good models.
Other than that, many of them are the similar in style and design. When you pay extra for a scooter what you're largely paying for is a better engine. You can always snap some pics for us to look at to render further opinions! :icon10:
CC
be aware, you also need a driving licence for scooters. check this blog, there is a thred I have read from Chinabiker about licenses.
I am riding a 150 ccm Leike Scooter, very good, all CCC normes, fast and never have had a problem. This scooter is an alliance with the Italian "Italika".
2 years now, no engine problems or what ever else.
starting in the morning, every 6 weeks 20 Yuan gas, once a year oil..... what would you wish more?
Interesting question. It's funny, all the staff at my school ride scooters and have had varying luck with them.
First thing. A scooter is not like a motorcycle. I live 60 km from Shanghai. Those staff who have tried to use scooters to commute have not had good luck. A scooter is not built for sustained high speed or rough roads at high speeds. A scooter can cruise at 90 km/h if it's an 125, but it will not last long nor be safe doing that.
One of the staff members here commuted to work daily from Shanghai on a scooter (120 km round trip). He refused to learn how to ride a motorcycle. He went through a scooter every 2 months.
We have found through testing that your radius of distance using a scooter is about 50 km. If you want to go further, get a motorcycle.
That said, Sym and Kymco are both Taiwanese brands. As well, Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda make scooters for the Chinese market. A teacher here got a Yamaha and is very happy with it.
Thanks for the replies. I am not worried about a license I have checked and found out I do not need one for anything under 50cc's. Yichand is small by China standards and I will not be driving more that a few kalometers a day. I just want to get back on 2 wheels. I have had some type of motorcycle in my garage sense I was 5 years old and this is the 1st time I have not been able to ride...I'm dieing inside lol. PLUS where else can you ride on the sidewalks and wrong side of the street and get away with it!!! :riding::naughty: