Best/Safest Scooter For The Wife And Kids

[jaideeguy]

Scooters are cool little bikes for short trips to the market and to carry a bag of ice and I bought the wife a little Fino to get her and the 2 kids around the neighborhood, but the kids have grown and now it's a bit crowded for three on the little Fino. Just wondering if there are any larger and more heavy duty/larger tires scooters that anyone would recomend??

I do see a newer version of the fino [Filano?] with larger tires, but is it any heavier duty/safer??

Or anything else in the 'scooter class' of motorcycles??

recomendations and prices please......

[taichiplanet]

a few recent threads sort of discussing this type of thing. IMO in order of preference for what you want it is the PCX, then the NouvoSX/Hayate, probably the new Click 125i, then the rest. It sounds like you don't want to spend 70k for a PCX, so maybe the Nouvo SX or Hayate in the mid 50ks.

As far as i know, most registration books in thailand only allow 2 people on a motorbike, not 3 (or 4 or 5!).

[mjj]

Safest scooter? Sorry oxymoron. Scooters are fun runabouts, but safety is not high on the agenda. Whichever scooter you chose will hurt in an accident.

Buy the prettiest! :-)

[jaideeguy]

Agree....no vehicle with only 2 wheels and no metal around it is safe. Maybe I should rephrase my request for recomendations to the 'least dangerous'. The Fino is a cute getaround scooter and looks good with a pinguin with a mini skirt [sexy student] on it, but it doesn't handle potholes or dirt roads that we have here in the rice fields of Chiang Mai.

Is the Filano [sp?] any better with larger tires

[William Osborne]

my Mrs has the Filano (with larger tires).. compared to other scooters we have/had the engine feels pretty weak and it has noticeably less ground clearance, with her and me on, it is constantly bottoming out going over speed bumps so i would say, totally unsuitable for your area if you got a lot of pot-holes..

In your situation i would be looking at a Honda wave 125 with after-market fatter wheels .. think maybe about 5k for conversion

[BirdsandBooze]

If you have to deal with potholed and dirt roads something with 16 inch wheels would be better. The Nouvo SX is a good scooter and has the power capable of transporting a growing family

[BSJ]

Just go and buy a PCX150. She will love you long time.

[msg362]

I've had a PCX a year now, drive a very bumpy road into CM regularly. If you buy one, change the back shock to gas ones, a much better ( and safer) ride. The PCX also has 'combi' brakes- when you apply the left brake it also brakes the front too. The big tyres and wheels do very well. Only problem may be the cost. I'm told the 150 ( I have a 125) has better power.

[naboo]

You want something with 16" wheels upwards. PCX, Nouvo, Hayate, Wave in order of how much sex you'll get after buying it. There is apparently a Click out with the bigger wheels, but I've not seen. The PCX is tops, but my gf says too heavy. Nouvo is my choice.

[gamini]

why not buy a large 4 wheeler bike about Bt60,000? I am 82 and I feel very safe on it and its fun. Room for wife small kids and shopping!

[KRS1]

how about mounting a carry rack on the back and padding it?

There are seats made for small children to be mounted in the area in front of the driver also.

[yankee99]

I have a nuovo sx and the wife a scoopy. The sx imho is a much better handling bike. She is gonna drive it have her rent her two favorites

[guzzi850m2]

why not buy a large 4 wheeler bike about Bt60,000? I am 82 and I feel very safe on it and its fun. Room for wife small kids and shopping!

Not road legal, no no. plate, no green book & no insurance. Okay for your farm.

My wife don't use our PCX, she also find it too big and heavy. She prefer the Fino with a child seat in front of her.

She uses the car more and more but complain about parking it in Pattaya.

[loserlazer]

suzuki hayate is good with storage, bigger wheels, better for heavy duty plus it has a flat board for carrying big things comfortably unlike the others like pcx of nuovo.

second hand ones i have seen recently is around 35.000 - 40.000 for a good one with FI.

[msg362]

Take the points about no storage on a PCX ( although there is some room under the seat). I put a top box on.My Thai wife finds it OK to ride so I think it will depend on the Thai lady. But 45ish Km/litre is great, good bright lights and a good 'presence' on the road ( it look a lot bigger than it is with the two headlights)

[jaideeguy]

The PCX and others mentioned are really not scooters in that they don't have that large flat space like the classic Vespa or the not so classic Fino. That's what I'm looking for the wife as she carries a lot of stuff and carrying a case of beer or large bag of ice is better for balance if carried low. What I would like is an oversized Fino with a little more power and larger tires.

funny, no one mentioned the JDR....or is it not worth mentionig?? seems I've seen a larger JDR scooter on the road

[manarak]

get a small car, problem solved, plus she can also go out when it rains.

[jaideeguy]

I did just googlestumbled on the yahama Zuma, which looks a little heavier duty, larger tires and more power than the Fino....but is it available here??? http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelhome/608/1/home.aspx

[jaideeguy]

get a small car, problem solved, plus she can also go out when it rains.

2nd hand small car= more expense/gas/taxes/insurance/repairs and much harder to find parking just to run to the store and buy a bag of ice. All Thais need at least 1 motorcycle in the family.

[nattydread]

go look at the new Honda Click-helmet in or the Honda Spacey.....also the 125i yamaha mio looks good.....a;; three have lots of floor space for carrying crates of beer.......forget the girly looking scooters

Edited August 26, 2012 by nattydread

[BSJ]

I did just googlestumbled on the yahama Zuma, which looks a little heavier duty, larger tires and more power than the Fino....but is it available here??? http://www.yamaha-mo...608/1/home.aspx

Their air cooled engines, so possibly noisier than water cooled and they are fairly heavy for what it is.

[msg362]

The PCX and others mentioned are really not scooters in that they don't have that large flat space like the classic Vespa or the not so classic Fino. That's what I'm looking for the wife as she carries a lot of stuff and carrying a case of beer or large bag of ice is better for balance if carried low. What I would like is an oversized Fino with a little more power and larger tires.

funny, no one mentioned the JDR....or is it not worth mentionig?? seems I've seen a larger JDR scooter on the road

Had one a long time ago, then unreliable and S/H price fell sharply, avoid it ( unless someone can say they have improved recently)

[Turkleton]

What I would like is an oversized Fino with a little more power and larger tires.

Yepp, absolutely agree. Nobody needs a bone between his feet on a little scooter!

[gamini]

why not buy a large 4 wheeler bike about Bt60,000? I am 82 and I feel very safe on it and its fun. Room for wife small kids and shopping!

Not road legal, no no. plate, no green book & no insurance. Okay for your farm.

My wife don't use our PCX, she also find it too big and heavy. She prefer the Fino with a child seat in front of her.

She uses the car more and more but complain about parking it in Pattaya.

many people use 4 wheelers in our beach village but don't take them on major roads