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Original Article:
2012 125cc Scooter Shootout [Video]

Please discuss the Motorcycle.com article 2012 125cc Scooter Shootout [Video] in our Motorcycle Forums below. Use the reply button to let others know your comments or feedback on the article. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, along with your thoughts and personal opinions on the bikes and products we have tested.

Buzglyd

If you were going to stick one of these on the back of an RV and then putter around campgrounds, you'd have to exclude the Honda.

The mileage is somewhat disappointing. An 883 Sportster gets close to these.

schizuki

I love the Zuma, and I wish I could justify buying one. But for long rides I've got a motorcycle and for short city jaunts I've got a bicycle. It just doesn't slot in anywhere.

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Kevin_Duke

Yeah, we were a little disappointed in the mileage we logged. Sure, we were at WOT much of the time and riding in SoCal's fast-moving urban traffic, but we were hoping for more.

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Huss

Nice test.
The Yam Zuma has been plagued by fuel pump failures so I hope this has since been resolved. This is why I'm wary after seeing so many on the used market with under 1K miles. It seems many owners with this problem have been given the run-around by either their dealers and/or Yam itself.
Gas mileage does seem weak for this group, but maybe the engines are tight? My Vespa 250 gets over 70mpg in the city, my PX 2 stroke about the same, same for a Buddy Blackjack 150 I had. Heck, even my old Piaggio MP3 500 - all 550lbs of it, got better mpg than the Typhoon!

sliphorn

Thanks for the review guys. Nice wheelie pic!

Kevin_Duke

I wasn't aware of fuel pump issues on the Zuma. I'll poke around. As for the mileage, the majority of riding was on SoCal urban streets on which 50-mph traffic is common. Thus we had the throttles pinned most of the time. I bet most users would average at least 10 mpg better, maybe more.

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"The trouble with the world is that the Stupid are c0cksure and the Intelligent are full of doubt." -Bertrand Russell

Duken4evr

I would probably go with the Piaggio. Reason being is it has a carb and it is cheapest simplest, and cheap and simple is good for this form of transportation. A bit of carb tinkering is always fun too - shim the needle, maybe even go nuts and put a tiny bit more taper on it for those cold starts, maybe find a bigger pilot jet. The main jet is probably safely rich if anything, being an air cooled scooter that runs wide open all the time, so that can be left alone. Maybe an exhaust. OK - no exhaust mods. Lets not get carried away here.

It would actually be fun to tweak that little beast as there is satisfaction in making things work better. Oh to be in college again. Figure out what the thing needs, find a co-ed, tweak her Piaggio to work better, enjoy the "rewards" of helping a damsel in distress. You see, there was an old flame with a Suzuki Samurai I helped out a long time ago. Some girls really dig guys who can fix their machines...

All this ruminating about fixing/modding low performance vehicles takes me back to "modding" my Batavus moped as a kid for more speed too. Milled the head with a block of wood and fine grit sandpaper, raised the exhaust port a bit and it did rev higher and go faster, for awhile. Then it blew up! Ah. the ministrations of a 14 year old "tuner". Lessons learned I suppose.

The Honda looks like a mini CBR from head on. Seems pretty slick, but for my tastes it is too much for this knockabout get me from here to there as cheap as humanly possible mission.

Love the storage measured in six packs. Very apropos for the college audience

Kevin_Duke

It's my pleasure!

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The Spaceman

Off-pavement capability is mentioned a few times in the article. Are there any mainstream scooters that are particulary good at that? They might have wider tires, heavier suspension, etc.?

I found this on the web, is it a different model of the Zuma?
http://hinsontechnologies.com/images...hazuma1251.jpg

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