I work in a bike shop as a mech and for what its worth I would say keep clear of the Chinese bikes. They have reliability probs and spares can be impossible. Anything by Piaggio Peugeot, Sym,Kymco or the Japs will be fine IF they have been looked after and serviced, always remembering that if the ped has been owned by a teenager it will have only had one throttle position. Bodywork needs to be good as expensive and you need the red key with a Peugeot.
This thread brought back some memories I had a Fantic like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fantic-Ca...6912436?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item27daf06634
Sym and Kymco are Chinese Manufacturers and affiliated with Baotian. New Peugeots are made in China by Dongfeng at the Wuhan plant. Piaggio are steadfastly Italian although they source a lot from both India and China. Like Stooboo says though keep away from 'clone' chinese stuff, make sure there's a dealer near you and if buying secondhand, unmolested original good condition is paramount above age or style.
Although it sounds counter-intuitive I'd advise that a 100 (Peugeot) or 125cc are safer than 50cc peds. There's simply not enough power to get you out of trouble, especially going uphill on a busy road, where they can be downright dangerous and force you to live in the gutter with the cyclists. I'd also venture that all modern scoots are a bit unreliable, even the decent makes. Small batteries, spaghetti electrics, gappy panels, plastic parts, bumpy roads and being outdoors aren't a great combo. Find a decent repair shop and make friends with them. Buy an Optimate battery charger and value any bike with a kick start. Oh and make sure you can buy repro mirrors on eBay as they're the most common part to need replacing. And a final twist&go tip - if it's wet, get your weight on the front wheel when you go round corners. Sir Arthur 1999-2009 Essex to London scooter commuter Derbi Predator 50 Piaggio X9 250 Piaggio X9 500
All our spares for Sym and Kymco come from Taiwan, I know that Piaggio Peugeot and Honda are now manufactured in China but so is my computer all good quality, what I should have said is stay away from Chinese that you have not heard of. I failed one on it's first MoT with 500ish kilometers on the clock due to front wheel bearings having collapsed, they were made of cheese.
Many thanks all, very helpful http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Baotian-BT-49-QT-9D-/181255750993?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item2a33af4551 - looks attractive as unmolested ? this though http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-SYM-...2229600?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item25856be0e0 I'll look and see what dealers are in my area
Me and my mate bought a honda c90 from the scrap man when we were kids The amount of punishment we gave that thing over the hills and fields was unbelivable and it just kept going
