Practical guides – How to choose the right motorcycle or scooter 125? – Motorcycle 125 or scooter 125?

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How to choose the right motorcycle or scooter 125 ?

Practical guides - How to choose the right motorcycle or scooter 125? - Motorcycle 125 or scooter 125?

Tired of traffic jams or the metro, motorists and transport users turn to the 125. On what criteria should you base your purchase? Is the scooter the panacea in town? What are the basic rules? All the answers in this practical guide !

Motorcycle 125 or scooter 125 ?

Mainly used in cities (preferably overcrowded and congested!), The 125 two-wheeler is separated into two very distinct clans: based on a vast historical heritage, a rewarding statutory aspect and fervent defenders of its use, the motorcycle faces the city weapon par excellence: the scooter !

If the motorcycle has many variations and adapts to all terrains, the scooter has an undeniable advantage that partly explains its superiority in urban areas: initiated in 1945 with the mythical Vespa from Piaggio, the concept of the scooter is intrinsically linked to urban wanderings and it is this unique objective that guides its specifications.

For the neophyte, driving a scooter will therefore be more easily understood: its transmission is automatic and smooth ("soulless", some reproach him) and both acceleration and braking are controlled on the handlebars. Conversely, a motorcycle has a gearbox that is requested with the left foot (with a clutch in the left hand), as well a rear brake that can be operated with the right foot…

Obvious to an insider, driving a motorcycle is more exhilarating but can seem off-putting – even frightening – for the average user who, very often, has not known other means of locomotion on two wheels than the BMX or mountain bike from his childhood…

In addition, by design, the scooter offers welcome practical aspects against which a motorcycle can not fight: due to a "enveloping" design, the scooter conceals a trunk of variable capacity which allows – in most cases – to store a helmet and a few loose items. More and more models also offer a lockable storage compartment and a 12V socket (to connect a GPS or charge your laptop).

Cut for the city, scooters also have a "floor" on which the driver can put his legs away from the fairing (and therefore bad weather). On this subject, two styles are opposed: the flat floor is a real plus for those who wish to transport bulky objects or bags, to roll in "skirt and heels" or to have room for the feet. In contrast, central tunnel scooters require you to spread your legs and feet further and lift them higher to get on board..

Finally, the scooter generally has a more comfortable seat – both for the pilot and for his passenger -, a better turning radius than that of many motorcycles, but also a higher fuel consumption (the drive by variator, aerodynamics and higher weight have a lot to do with it) and a "plastic" to which everyone is not sensitive…

To summarize, in town the scooter will generally knock out a motorcycle … especially for beginners who want to easily equip their mount with equipment such as an apron – a kind of waterproof cover that protects against rain and cold -, a top -case or sleeves. Also available for motorcycles, these accessories however offer a more substantial choice for scooters – it is now possible to "dress" your two-wheeler! – and therefore often more affordable prices…

Fortunately, the bike straightens its head when it comes to moving away – even temporarily – from the traffic jams: its larger diameter wheels give it undeniable stability, where a scooter will be less reassuring, especially at high speed. (peripherals and expressways) or loaded. As a result, if your journey contains only a third of a city and many kilometers of four-lane – or even open country – a motorcycle will be more suitable..

Except that faced with the "motorcycle threat", some scooter manufacturers have found a palliative so as not to leave a crumb to "the enemy": come straight from Italy where they are a hit, we find today in France scooters with "big wheels" (16 inches) such as the Scarabeo at Aprilia, the Geopolis at Peugeot, the Beverly at Piaggio, the SHi at Honda, the Sixteen at Suzuki, the HD at Sym, the People at Kymco, etc..

Easier to grip and more stable, these scooters benefit from improved road holding … but also suffer from the disadvantages specific to the motorcycle: the trunk is thus reduced to its simplest form, due to the travel of the shock absorbers and larger rear wheel dimensions !

Finally, the last criterion of choice: due to an increasingly wide distribution and growing competition – especially via the Asian offer – a scooter offers standard equipment often greater than that of a motorcycle. A major asset which is added to a much higher protection against bad weather on a scooter (high and wide windshield, legs hidden behind the central console) to definitively confirm its status as "city beasts"…

The main categories of two-wheelers

Whether for a scooter or a motorcycle, the manufacturers’ offer adapts to all needs, to all desires and … to all budgets! If many users indeed turn to the 125 essentially for the practical side, this does not mean that this criterion alone will decide the final choice..

Thus, everyone has their specific expectations stemming from their personal tastes, but also from more pragmatic criteria such as the budget, the actual use of the two-wheeler, the age of the driver, etc. This is why we will distinguish several categories of motorcycles and scooters, also called "families" or "genres".

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