Test driving a scooter - a newbie's experience

I am a newbie to riding a motorized two-wheeler although I've biked for years.

So far I have taken one other set of test spins on a Buddy 50 and the People 50.


Another post goes (will go) into what and why... I thought I would share what its like for a newbie rider to go out on a test ride and to provide my [limited] impressions on SYM HD-200 and Kymco People 150. If you are looking for thorough reviews of these scooters, there are plenty on the web:
SYM HD 200
http://www.justgottascoot.com/symhd200.htm#ScooterStationSYMHD200
http://www.symscooters.co.uk/edit_5.php
https://www.insuremyride.com.au/comments/article.asp?number=33

People 150
http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/motorcyclereviewdetail/rv=23261/veh=6396/review23261.htm
http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_detail.asp?rv=54638&veh=10023
http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_detail.asp?rv=50752&veh=10023

My impressions on test scooting the SYM HD-200 and Kymco People 150:
Ok, its not a retro look one bit; however, the HD-200 does have 16-inch wheels and has the power range I'm looking for. I straddled it and found it balanced well. I can almost flat foot while sitting on the seat (forward a bit) while wearing hiking boots. There was plenty of space between my body and the handle bars while getting on. Sitting on the scooter my arms felt good, the handlebars are at just the right distance from me, I don't feel either cramped or over extended. The grips are a little smaller and not quite as nicely cushioned as the Buddy; this probably can be altered.

I started off doing laps in a parking lot across from the dealer. First lap it was a battle between thrill and terror that I was really doing this. I crawled along looking for gravel and just remembering the mechanics of riding. Then I realized I still had the jaw guard of the modular helmet up -- dork alert. Second lap was much quicker and I felt pretty good. I found that holding on to the brake slightly kept it from rolling backwards when starting up. The first couple times of starting up felt like I had to turn the throttle 'far-ish' to get started - I'm a newbie remember.

Then Val said why don't I take a spin around the block? You mean on a road? Adrenalin enriched terror courses through me for a moment... then I hear myself saying 'Sure!'. I'm riding a scooter! On a road! By myself!! Yippie!

And then I had to turn left and go up a steep hill. I had a momentary user-induced fear moment by not turning the handle bars enough and keeping my hand too hard on the throttle. I didn't quite run into the curb, and it was right in front of the salesperson (yikes!) - I had to tell my right hand to LET GO OF THE THROTTLE and all was well, up the hill I went. Something to practice.
Fortunately Sportique-Denver is on the edge of a very quiet neighborhood.

So as I accelerated up the steep-ish hill, there was plenty of power without feeling like it would accelerate from under me. It felt good. Turned right and a car was behind me - and if I took a relaxed moment to turn right at the next stop sign, it didn't seem to bother the car driver (who went left).

Then going downhill, I went over two washed out road cut-ditches - meanwhile I'm thinking to myself... Val said to have fun... am I having fun?... yes!... now coast over these ditches carefully, hand off throttle, slight braking - it felt fine. The roads were slightly wet from the snow melt and still felt good with the braking. I came back into the shop lot with a smile.

Once I got back, Val had a Rattler ready for me to try. Its a 2-stroke which for environmental reasons I want to avoid. It felt a bit small, so I went right to the Kymco People 150 to test drive.

Now for the past 3 months I've focused most of my research on the People 150 and 250 with some attention to the SYM and occasionally the Piaggio 150 . I've been looking at Craig's list for the Kymco for 3 months and have watched how the prices vary throughout the U.S. My laptop wallpaper has a modified People 150 image. And now I got to try one on.

As I swing my leg through, my first thoughts were ... 'gee its kind of cramped but I can easily straddle the floorboard, sit and get my heel on the ground'. Val gave me the pep-talk and reminded me to have fun and that I would do fine. I went through all of the toggles on the handlebar to buy a little psych-up time and then off I went. And this time I believed her... I'll have fun!

It felt smooth going up the steep hill - not quite as peppy as the SYM, but with good verve nonetheless. Stopping and starting on the hill was fine - going left and through wet streets with slush spots was fine. In fact it felt a little more nimble. The brakes felt a little less immediate than the SYM, again still quite good. The final flat straight away I accelerated moderately and could feel the acceleration.

Now that my nerves had settled down I decided to test the HD-200 again and pay attention to how the scooter felt rather than focusing on all of the mechanics of riding (left-turn signal on, then brake, stop... put feet down!, etc).

This time I ended up going down an alley so I could get to the flat road... and went over some slush-spots. I felt the rear end twitch, so instinctively counter steered the front end slightly (like riding on sand on a bicycle) and it was fine. I'm sure as I learn more, I'll have a better way to deal with these small issues. Looking further down the alley I saw lots of slush/ ice covering the whole road so I turned into a parking lot and went back to the main road.

I returned to the same flat and straight road so I could compare acceleration with the People 150. I got up to 50! Then I remembered that the outer ring of numbers on the speed are kph so I really was doing 31 mph. I felt like I was flying :)

The final test was getting both Bob and I on the scooter seats. Bob is 6' 3" with long legs. Both of us are ... not twigs. We barely fit on the People 150 together (me driving of course) while there was plenty of room for both of us on the SYM.

I know these were not huge test drives and I'm so new at scooting that my ability to do a deep evaluation is limited. You've got to start somewhere.
So here's my summary:
SYM HD 200:
Better pick up and go
Braking seemed more solid
Fits the two of us better

Kymco People 150
more nimbleness
Cute! Adorable!
Very comfortable - could place more of my foot on the ground.

Both look solid, feel solid, handle well, have 2 year warranties, fun to drive

For me, I am leaning toward the SYM HD200. I'm a little bummed that I like the SYM better, but for me it seems like the more appropriate scooter. And its not ugly by any means, just... you wouldn't call it cute like the Peopl 150. Time to think. I'll keep you posted!