Yamaha TW 200 vs. Grom

Yeah, Vespa and Genuine are the ones doing it right, IMO. Small, fast scooters with short wheelbases and small wheels. The unicorn is an old Honda Elite 250. 10" wheels. 75 mph. Safety third!

 

You get bigger wheels with the Piaggio scooter lines, which you might want for the rougher city streets. And they are cheaper. Dont look as cool though.

 

I have a friend that has a few. I broomed all my Honders 150s & 250s about 10 years ago since parts were becoming NLA.
I really liked the look of the later 150. The Vespas are on a whole nuther level. I own 3 of them.

 

Except 50, pos. Bought one for wife but sold right away, could not make uphill out of driveway
My 250 gts is been great except head shake if I let off handlebar.

 

You HAVE seen him race right?

 

Just to keep this derail somewhat on the rails....I'd vote for a TW200 for B. Same bike for like 20 years...only colors vary. Tons of options for them...can fix with a rusty butter knife and duct tape. They are not that cheap used...so you'll get your money back when done with it.

 

It does sit up pretty tall, especially with the stock bars that sit up high.

I will stand up at red lights sometimes, and I don't have to squat much to sit back down. When I first got on it I was surprised at how "big" it felt, even though it looks tiny, especially with those littleass wheels. Im only 6'2", but I find it pretty comfortable. I can ride it all day with no issues. And that is with aftermarket (Driven) rearsets that sit up higher than stock.

 

The connect is better if you have more to carry, but the Zuma lets me go through the woods and it takes 3 miles off the trip, each way. And it's a good time.

As a bonus, being a taller kid, he can let the passenger (a young lady) sit in front on the Zuma. Lori rides in front of me while I do the driving (pervs) since I sit at the back of the seat all the time anyway.

 

My girls first lessons riding were in front of me on my Zuma 50, long before their feet could touch the floorboards sitting on the seat. Taught sever nieces and nephew's that way as well.

 

Lori's as grown as she'll get. I just make her ride in front, partly because it's funny to hear her be mad about it.

 

My vote is Honda Adv 150. Big enough to haul around 2 people.

 

Yeah, he definitely is familiar with that Setup.

 

I have both a TW200 and a Kawasaki Z125, Kawi's competitor to the Grom. Both are fun but the TW is more versatile, has a higher top speed (the Z125 is struggling at 50mph) and is roomier and more comfortable to ride. Plus, as others have said, it is great fun to take exploring on dirt roads, where the 125 is bouncy and rattly on anything rough. The big plus point for the 125 is fuel injection, TWs have tiny idle jets and clog up easily and in my experience can't sit for very long without clogging, at least not on crappy CA pump gas. I only use non-ethanol gas in mine now and it is perfect, never has a problem anymore.

The 125 has a fuel gauge on the dash which might be nice for a college kid, and as someone else said it is smaller and can fit in places the TW can't which might be handy for theft prevention.

I find the TW200 to have very weird handling, not so noticeable in the dirt but strange on the street, but you get used to it quickly. If he likes the TW, that's probably the way to go. My son is 6' tall and LOVES riding the TW, and prefers it to the 125 on the street, he doesn't ride much but it gives him lots of confidence in the dirt becuase it seems to want to stand itself back up no matter how sideways you get it, in sand or ruts or whatever, and the wide tire has great traction. And they are tough as nails, hard to damage one, and have lots of options for cargo racks.

 

Perfect. Great side by side review.
Thank you.

 

Also should mention that I'm 6' tall and fit this scooter well, was about 200 lbs at the time. This thing would hold 60mph no problem.

 

I went to auburn and rode a 749 or the pit bike zuma to class. I think I filled the Zuma up once a month or 3 weeks or something. I got pulled over for jumping the rail road grade on the way to park for a football game. The cop said stop being a dummy on a busy day like today and don't do it again and let me go.

The 749 was fun and had one girl who came up to me after class and said "I wish you had another helmet because you don't now how far we'd go" .. jeez college was a good time

That said, get him something useful and he won't look like a dweeb riding around town. If I could do it again I'd do a super Moto something or DRZ/ husky 501 etc . You can still park everywhere but you are taller and can be seen by pedestrians/students crossing in the middle of the road and other cars

 

So did you go find another helmet ?

 

This. Zuma 50 opens up a lot more convenient travel in congested areas as well as parking. Kind of depends on the commute though but I’m assuming no Zuma will or should remain 49cc

 

Saw this walking around vanderbilts campus