What is a good 50cc scooter to accompany a 250 dual sport

[jimkrikit]

Hi,
    I have a 250 Dual sport motorcycle and am interested in having my girlfriend or others, who do not have a motorcycle license endorsement, join me on some back road rides or gravel road rides.  I would also like to transport the bikes in our trailer to other places to ride perhaps in the mountains.  

    What would be a good capable scooter to get, that would be effective on trails and gravel roads? also one that might have good power to go uphill with large adult riders?


    I was thinking something like a Zuma with larger diameter tires and a shock system.  I am not very familiar with the scooter options.

Thanks ! Jim

[aeroxbud]

Welcome to the forum Jim.
The Zuma sounds like an excellent choice.
They like all mopeds are pretty slow stock. You can free up a bit of performance by removing the restrictions if they haven't been removed already.
A pipe and a bigger bore will really make it come alive though.
A Genuine Roughhouse might be worth a look too.

I would also check the licencing laws where you are going to ride. Some states require 50cc to have a licence.

[jimkrikit]

Thanks for the Information. I have found a 2009 50cc Zuma not far away. Only 850 original miles. Says it runs great, been in storage. Any gaskets etc. to be concerned about if its been sitting long?
Thanks

[aeroxbud]

I would probably go through and change the oil and fuel lines, and tires. New fuel and battery. Nothing that you wouldn't do when you recommission a motorcycle that's been sitting for years.
It will probably need a carb clean, and could have oil sitting in the cylinder if it's drained from gravity out of the tank.
These are very simple machines to work on.
There is a downloadable manual for this bike in the manuals tab on the left.

[FrankenMech]

I hope you realize a 50cc scooter will not work well for a companion vehicle to a 250cc motorcycle. Plan on spending most of your time waiting for the scooter to catch up. Scooters are not very capable of riding trails etc due to small tires and lack of power. Scooters are mainly a pavement vehicle. Rough trails may produce injuries to your riding companions.

[jimkrikit]

Thanks For the input. Much appreciated.

[90GTVert]

A 70cc sport big bore kit would help quite a bit for riding with you. Something like a Polini Sport (dual ring, iron). Legality varies so if that's something that you're concerned with you may want to check local laws. May require jetting/tuning the carb and possibly different rollers (or sliders).

The tires on that Zuma are Michelin Boppers. Michelin's softer sport tires for scoots. Not gonna be good for dual sport, but there are dual sport and actual knobbies out there. I haven't rode on gravel much, but from having dual sport tires on scoots before I can say that they're better than pure street tires but it may take some time before there's much confidence on loose surfaces so you'll need to plan on a slow pace... especially if these other riders are new to bikes overall.

You shouldn't have to change the tire/wheel size. Honestly, you aren't going to be able to take big enough swings there to make a huge difference anyway unless you plan some serious mods. Availability may limit choices anyway. Not a lot of off-road type tires that fit scoots.



If you are looking for short range riding, you may want to look at e-bikes. Basically mountain bikes with electric motors. I'd think they may fare better if you wanted to play on trails and go off-road more. Some can be quite quick/fast with mods. Those are often pricey though and mods aren't cheap. Even with the scooter it may be worth evaluating long term goals. If someone will ride with you much, it may make more sense to get a bike to match yours and get them legal than to put money into something that will never be the best companion bike. With 2 licensed riders on capable bikes, it also limits your travel options much less.