Modern Buddy

i am looking for a scooter that can go 55mph in wind in wi we have a lot of wind
the scooter i have only get around 70 mpg is there any better scooter out there with good mpg and still give you power is see a lot of the new efi scooter like honda pcx and fly 3v say they get 100+ mpg do they?
thanks for your input

Honda Elite 110 will get 100 mpg and do max 53 mph. I owned one of those. EFI.

Can't speak for others.

I always have to chuckle a little bit when someone says "only" 70 mpg. To me above that you start hitting the financial point of diminishing returns pretty quickly.

If it is for environmental purposes I can understand wanting to get 140 over 70.

The biggest factors effecting mpg for any scooter is weight and riding style. Riding style will make or break mpg more than anything.

Also you say you have "a lot of wind". That is pretty hard to quantify into mpg unless it is constant speed and in the same direction all the time!

The Buddy 170i would be my choice, am getting over 90 mpg on mine.

I've seen claims of 120 mpg+ For the Stella 4t. Same thing for the current Zuma 50 4t. Gas mileage on a scooter is largely irrelevant.

I don't think a Stella 4T will hold 55 mph "in wind" and a Zuma 50 4T might have a hard time getting out of it's own way.

While "more MPG" is obviously better, when you look at it as "cost per mile" once you hit 60/70mpg things really start to level out. It's a classic case of diminishing returns:

http://2strokebuzz.com/2008/06/22/more-mpg-math

The OP is now riding an Aprilia Sport City 250 and a Sym HD200. I would expect that a Piaggio Fly 150 3V or a Buddy 170i would provide a bit higher mpg with some loss of performance compared to the Aprilia in particular. Seems like this all revolves around how the OP rides and what expectations he would have of each bike.

ggs34 wrote:i am looking for a scooter that can go 55mph in wind in wi we have a lot of wind
the scooter i have only get around 70 mpg is there any better scooter out there with good mpg and still give you power is see a lot of the new efi scooter like honda pcx and fly 3v say they get 100+ mpg do they?
thanks for your input

Remember, mpg is an average. So, with all that wind out there in WI, you'll do much better with the wind at your back and not so good with the wind in your face. But, it all averages out. BTW, what's wrong with 70 mpg?

Bill in Seattle

Your 70 mpg scooters (especially the 250) are in the 'sweet spot' already. I recently rode my Buddy 150 into the wind on a 600 plus mile trip out and back from northern Colorado to southeastern Colorado. The trip was to have been much longer, but the 30 to 40 mile per hour headwinds slowed the scooter so much that my schedule was thrown off. My speed into the heaviest winds was below 40 miles per hour actual (45 indicated). The return trip had me watching my throttle hand to avoid over-speeding my tires; I hit 80+ several times when my attention lapsed. On the outbound leg, I got low 70 mpg numbers for an overall average of 78 mpg. The 600 miles took almost 16 hours of saddle time.

I recently tested fuel consumption on a simulated long distance trip for our two larger scooters, with the Piaggio BV250 averaging a bit over 70 mpg and the Yamaha TMAX 500 doing 56 mpg, both on the same windy day. Both machines held the speed limits (55-65) on the secondary highways without issue and both had enough extra power at those speeds to safely pass semi-trucks.

The Buddy would have cost more for my long trip than either of the big scooters, when the extra time is taken into account. The two larger scooters can easily make that trip of 1500 miles in three days, two if I push it. The Buddy can make it, but would require four days. The TMAX would require a bit over 50 gallons for the round trip, while the Piaggio would need a little over 40. The Buddy would need over 35 gallons, even at my around town 80 mpg. Even one night at a cheap hotel would more than offset the small fuel savings.

For your situation, what you already have is about as good as it's going to get...

Milt wrote:For your situation, what you already have is about as good as it's going to get...

^ ^ ^ This ^ ^ ^

Dooglas wrote:

Milt wrote:For your situation, what you already have is about as good as it's going to get...

^ ^ ^ This ^ ^ ^

Agree...and nice scooters too!

thanks all good input here nice to know great post every one

This is why a lot of us have so many bikes (at least that's what I tell myself...)

Works for me!!!

Milt wrote:Your 70 mpg scooters (especially the 250) are in the 'sweet spot' already. I recently rode my Buddy 150 into the wind on a 600 plus mile trip out and back from northern Colorado to southeastern Colorado. The trip was to have been much longer, but the 30 to 40 mile per hour headwinds slowed the scooter so much that my schedule was thrown off. My speed into the heaviest winds was below 40 miles per hour actual (45 indicated). The return trip had me watching my throttle hand to avoid over-speeding my tires; I hit 80+ several times when my attention lapsed. On the outbound leg, I got low 70 mpg numbers for an overall average of 78 mpg. The 600 miles took almost 16 hours of saddle time.

I recently tested fuel consumption on a simulated long distance trip for our two larger scooters, with the Piaggio BV250 averaging a bit over 70 mpg and the Yamaha TMAX 500 doing 56 mpg, both on the same windy day. Both machines held the speed limits (55-65) on the secondary highways without issue and both had enough extra power at those speeds to safely pass semi-trucks.

The Buddy would have cost more for my long trip than either of the big scooters, when the extra time is taken into account. The two larger scooters can easily make that trip of 1500 miles in three days, two if I push it. The Buddy can make it, but would require four days. The TMAX would require a bit over 50 gallons for the round trip, while the Piaggio would need a little over 40. The Buddy would need over 35 gallons, even at my around town 80 mpg. Even one night at a cheap hotel would more than offset the small fuel savings.

For your situation, what you already have is about as good as it's going to get...

Very interesting post. Lots of good data and interesting perspective. Thanks!

jrsjr wrote:Very interesting post. Lots of good data and interesting perspective. Thanks!

Also, nice to see the 'old' MB back without anyone flaming the OP.

Fuelly.com has mileage for different scooters. If you could use a motorcycle instead of a scooter, the Grom would be excellent. I get 111 mpg with mine and ride it wot a lot. It goes a max of 64 mph. Very easy to work on too.

I have a 2013 Honda PCX 150.. Yes, it really does gets 100 MPG. I just love the handling of this scooter.. MY 2 CENTS

Are you more concerned about extending range or cost savings?

lovemysan wrote:I've seen claims of 120 mpg+ For the Stella 4t. Same thing for the current Zuma 50 4t. Gas mileage on a scooter is largely irrelevant.

55MPH in a strong headwind might be a stretch for the Stella 4T, especially on an incline.