Thinking about a new scoot

[russttu]

Greetings all.

First off I want to say what a great resource this sight has been. I have been browsing it for over a month and I am amazed at the knowledge base.

Second off, I am thinking about purchasing a new scoot. I live in washington DC and I bought a cheap scooter to see if it is somthing that I could live with before I moved on to somthing bigger and better. I currently own a 2007 Tomos arrow R with a biturbo exhaust, unipod air filter and larger jets. The arrow handles great and it reaches about 37mph on flat roads. My only gripe with it is the acceleration fro a dead stop. Being a two speed chain driven automatic, it is dog slow from a stand still. Once you get to cruising speed its perfectly fine, though I could do with more top speed as I am still getting passed at 37mph.

So now that I have decided that I really like scooting around, I think i want to invest in a better scooter.

The three scooters I am looking at are the SR 50, the Genuine Rattle 110cc 2 stroke and the keeway matrix 150cc 4 stroke. I love the looks of the SR and its handling will no doubt be better than the rattler and keeway, but as far as all out acceleration and speed the SR wont be able to stand up to the either. The keeway is a great looking package and its much cheaper, but I am also hesitant to buy a Chinese scooter, even though they seem to be getting better.

The vast majority of my scooting will be done under 45mph as no surface streets in DC are higher than that. I would also rather have better acceleration than top speed.

The SR50 is great because its 50cc's and does not require a MC license. That may not be a big deal as I am sure there are very few 50cc+ scooter riders in dc with a MC license let alone do they even have their scooter tagged.

The other benefit besides top speed and acceleration of the rattler and Keeway is cost. The rattler 400 bux less msrp and the Matrix is 1000 less. I got an out the door quote on a SR for 3600 bux.

If I felt the 50cc would meet my needs, I would get the SR as I think its a great package. I am just worried that coming from my Tomos arrow 50cc that the SR wont meet my expectations.

If anyone has experience with the SR I would love to hear from you. Also I would like to hear any experiences with acceleration in fairly aggressive traffic.

My only other option is to put a 70cc kit on my tomos and hope that the acceleration is sufficient. I just hate to spend 300 on a 70cc kit just to find out that it didnt get me where I wanted plus I lose some reliability.

I do know that whatever scooter I get, I will likely do only basic upgrades like a pipe and roller weights.

Personal stats are 6'3" 180lb.

So my options are:

SR 50
Top Speed 45mph
Cost 3700 otd
Acceleration 3rd

Rattler 110
Top Speed 55+
Cost 3100 OTD
Acceleration 2nd

Keeway Matrix 150cc
Top Speed 55+
Cost 2500 otd
Acceleration 1st

I know this is a long rant, but I am sure many of you have gone through the same process as I am and I would really love to get your opinions of the three scooters I have listed.

[Mrs.Spaceman]

Have you considered the Genuine Roughhouse 50cc? It has the same body style as the Rattler 110, is less than $2k, and should hit at least 45 (de-restricted) with someone your size on it. I have a biased opinion though, since the Roughhouse is what I have. I have absolutely no problem keeping up with traffic around town, even when taking off from a stoplight. If you can find one, try it out!

[mjmetts]

Another Roughhouse owner here. I would try one of these out before you decide. Mine (having now been broken in) cruises easily at 45 according to the speedo and will do over 50 at times. I find it accelerates pretty well from the get go. Took mine on a 115 mile ride last night and loved every minute of it.