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Post by grimsby53 on Jan 10, 2011 19:07:22 GMT -5
I've been looking for a second scooter, mainly for the GF to ride, and for me to tinker with. Today I went, cash in hand to look at a Motobravo Papparazzi. It's the standard Chinese retro scoot, I guess. I just didn't like it. It didn't seem worth $500 to me. It felt really cheep compared to my Kymco. I couldn't read the gauges at all, because of the stupid gauge-shroud. It idled really high (the wheel was spinning away when running on the main stand). It rattled and squeaked over bumps, and felt slow. Possibly worst: the front drum brakes. Terrible feel and performance.
I was pretty excited to get this thing originally, but I had to turn it down (or rather, I offered her $300 and she turned ME down). I guess I'll hold out until I can find a deal on a real Metro, Vino, or something Italian. I haven't seen a Metro here for less than 1400 though. :no:
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Post by shakerdriver on Jan 10, 2011 21:17:31 GMT -5
sorry to hear about the bad luck in scoot shopping. your persistence will eventually pay off though. good luck.
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Post by 90GTVert on Jan 10, 2011 21:17:33 GMT -5
I think it's easier going from Chinese to Taiwanese or Japanese than vice versa.
I've worked on a Vino and test rode it. I gotta tell ya, you'll be disappointed there as well I believe. The 4Ts are slow. Most (maybe all, not sure) are still drum all around. The older 2T versions are faster. The build quality was a little better than my Venus (direct copy), but not worth the price difference. The Venus has a big drum brake in front, compared to some that are quite inadequate. The feel still sucks compared to front disc, but it stops OK. I think someone lighter than I am and not going 50+ would have little to complain about as far as braking power.
I've been around only one Metro much and it was the slowest stock scoot I've seen so far. It may have had issues, I'm not 100% sure, but it wouldn't compare with the Vino or the Venus and other Chinese clones.
The Paparazzi looks just like my old SunL, that I loathed at times. It's a GY6 50cc, small front drum, bottom of the barrel kinda scoot IMO. The Venus I have is very similar, but a 2 stroke so it's faster, with a larger front drum, and slightly better build quality. Might be worth checking into if you stumble across one. It's gonna be hard to compete with the Kymco that you are used to.
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Post by grimsby53 on Jan 11, 2011 7:53:51 GMT -5
Being new to scoots as of a couple months ago, it was a few days of quick research that convinced me to look for a Kymco. I thought from what I read online that the quality was just "acceptable." After owning and working on mine for a couple months, I now know that it is a very nice little bike, made of quality stuff, with plenty of attention to detail. The one I looked at yesterday appeared to be made from recycled milk bottles by blind school children. I'm sure many Chinese scoots aren't that bad, but that one was shocking.
So now I'm looking at a Fly Pico I found locally. They guy is asking $800 but will come down some. From my googling I learned that Fly has (had?) a reputation for much better quality than the standard Chinese fare, but that they are also out of business. This makes me nervous. Is it a bad idea to buy a Fly now? The GY6 4T should take generic parts from wherever, right? Dito electronics & cables? Would just the body be propriatary, or are there other parts I might need and not be able to get in a year?
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Post by 90GTVert on Jan 11, 2011 8:29:23 GMT -5
Flyscooters does have a good reputation. They are upper tier Chinese scoots, which still doesn't mean you should be expecting a Kymco. They are typical Chinese parts to my understanding, made in the same places that make parts for scoots with lesser names. One big difference, as far as I know, is in their support. They had a good reputation for backing up warranties and helping customers. I think they had a lot of good dealers as well that had a clue about what they were selling. Having a dealer do a thorough inspection and service before getting it out to the customer can make a big difference. The engine parts will be generic. I believe you will find that everything on it is generic. Just like any other Chinese scoot, when you need parts you'll just need to match them up with what is sold. For example, which style of turn signal flasher, or how many poles the stator has, or if the body panel looks like the one with the right mounting hardware, etc... The one I looked at yesterday appeared to be made from recycled milk bottles by blind school children. :lol: |
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Post by 2strokd on Jan 12, 2011 0:50:33 GMT -5
ahhh, i remember that experience! Not a good feeling at all huh?
Im glad you turned it down tho! Allot of people would have still bought it and hated it.
Keep looking, im sure the right deal will come your way.
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Post by grimsby53 on Jan 12, 2011 10:06:06 GMT -5
I'm glad I walked away too. The build-up with the seller had been so long and complex that I felt some pressure to buy, but I just hated the thing. I didn't get the Fly Pico either. My ruthless GF almost had that guy down to $500, but someone else bought it for more. So we're still shopping.
There are always a few Vespas for sale locally, usually for around $1500. My girlfriend is now systematicaly offering them all $800. Maybe somebody will cave eventually.
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Post by 90GTVert on Jan 12, 2011 10:14:43 GMT -5
That's actually not a bad idea to try and throw out lowball figures on a bunch of scoots that you're interested in. You never know, you might catch someone that's been selling for a while or just hasn't had much interest that will come down pretty far. Besides, it's always best to start the haggling way low or way high, depending what side you're on. If they take the first offer, you offered too much. lol
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Post by grimsby53 on Jan 12, 2011 19:25:55 GMT -5
She got one down to 1200 today, and she's not done by any means. I think she'll get someone down to a grand. I'm not convinced she can get one for $800 though. Even when the things are 20 years old they go for more than that.
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Post by WT100 on Jan 12, 2011 22:36:34 GMT -5
Hold out. If you don't love it the first day it aint gonna get any better.
I had great luck with the shotgun approach. But my genius move was putting an old computer on CL at an inflated price. then i started offering it at a big "discount" as a partial trade on the bikes i was interested in. After about 5 tires I got a great bike at a fair price and "paid" part of it with something i was trying to get rid of anyway!
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Post by scooterrebel on Jan 13, 2011 14:19:01 GMT -5
Hold out. If you don't love it the first day it aint gonna get any better. I had great luck with the shotgun approach. But my genius move was putting an old computer on CL at an inflated price. then i started offering it at a big "discount" as a partial trade on the bikes i was interested in. After about 5 tires I got a great bike at a fair price and "paid" part of it with something i was trying to get rid of anyway! How true on both points! Some people go on craigslist buy something awful, then keep trading up. Selling each time for just a bit more than they bought it for until they get what they really want. Might take some time and patience but can work. |
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Post by grimsby53 on Jan 14, 2011 10:47:29 GMT -5
Well, last night we pulled the trigger! We bought a 2002 Vespa LX50 (I think that's the model) for $1k. It needs some things, and it's slow, but it should be a good starter-vespa (plus, she doesn't like to go fast anyway- weirdo). I hope we made a good call. I'm thinking that for $1000, we can't get hurt on it too badly. I'll post up a new thread with some pics when I get home. She is a looker!
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Post by stepthrutuner on Jan 14, 2011 11:12:58 GMT -5
Hey! That's a 2t. +++++ ;D
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Post by 90GTVert on Jan 14, 2011 12:42:22 GMT -5
Congrats!
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