I agree people seem to think they can't get 'as injured' on a scooter ... or it seems that way going by what most wear!

I wear bike leathers and a Cordura jacket when on my scooter ... with £120 gloves and Daytona armoured boots ... basically what I wore on my motorbikes ... with the exception of a leather jacket on the bike which I wouldn't wear on a scooter (it looks silly!)

If you come off at 30mph wearing jeans you will be looking at reconstructive surgery after sliding down the road - but most times the issue is what you hit ... and scooters are just as vulnerable as normal bikers. Other cars or lorries running you over once you come off ... or head butting a kerb or another car tyre are not good.

Generally in my experience scooter riders come off better than bikers - but that is down to the speeds involved ... the accidents I deal with at work where more often than not the rider is riding beyond their ability and/or at silly speeds ! The last two bikers I dealt with were doing around double the speed limit - one on the Wandsworth one way system and the other on the A40 ... you don't normally get scooters doing that as the scooters can't like a bike can ... if you know what I mean

 

I looked into getting one as a cheap way to commute to work but then i remembered why I hate bikes with really small wheels on unclassified roads so sacked the idea off.

 

You can still be a hooligan with small wheels ... size isn't everything

 

It wasn't the hooligan thing as much as wanting wheels that were bigger than most of the potholes in the roads around here

 

Stability isn't there on scooters as the gyroscopic effect of small wheels is much reduced. But they weigh nowt and have limited power too.

Anyone noticed the op hasnt been back?

 

He was doing his CBT today .....

An unrestricted 125, 4 stroke scooter is still capable of 65-70mph.

 

Honda CB125 or XR 125 pretty bullet proof.
Having had both a 125 scooter and xr125 for commuting in London I preferred the bike. Cheaper to insure, better mpg, cheaper maintenance and nicer to ride.

I would Also be much less inclined to buy a scooter 2nd hand -they are no ones pride and joy and the there is a real chance yours would have been get ridden into the ground with little maintenance before being sold and whilst the same may be true of a 125 bike they are more likely to function after a hard life. (I sold my xr125 to a friend for his son to use round their farm. 6 yrs and minimal servicing later it still runs)

 

I guess its more about what speed you do though. in central london there aren't many limits which would permit those speeds let alone traffic space.

at 30mph do i need more protection than a cyclist?

 

For a bullet proof 125 the best you can get is a honda xr 125,four stroke very reliable and they ok for a little bit of playing around in a muddy field..

 

Wow,

Great response guys.

I was slightly taken aback from what I saw at the CBT. There was one chap who was clearly unsafe, really awful, but they still signed him as being safe. Really does make me wonder about the merits of the system.

After riding a 125cc bike for the day I have come to the conclusion that it would just frustrate me as a bike. I think a scooter, but dressed appropriately will do for the commute, and after doing my DAS in the next couple of month I think I am looking at a CBR 600F as a starter big bike. Brand loyalty eh?

I'll have to test the scooters after the DAS, but a 250c scooter actually sounds like a great idea for London town.

Cheers guys!