When I was planning to buy my first motorcycle, I wrestled with the choice of picking a motorcycle or a scooter. This choice might be pretty easy for some people but both vehicles come with their own pros and cons. We’ll try to take a closer look at each to find out if a motorcycle or a scooter is best for you.
I know most people my age, considering I’m still pretty young, would go for a supersport without even batting an eye. If you’re from the U.S. that’s probably the case since scooters aren’t very popular there. But in parts of Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world, scooters are the king of the road.
How popular are scooters?
With the U.S. aside, scooters are pretty darn popular with a large majority of countries having them as the most common, and sometimes even primary, form of transport. Where I’m from, scooters and mopeds have a monopoly on road space. One might even say that they’re the kings of the road.
In parts of Europe and most of Asia, motorcycles are considered a cheap and reliable form of transport. In the U.S. they’re viewed more as “toys” or a hobby. Where I live, motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds are everywhere. Almost every household has one and almost everyone I know knows how to ride a scooter.
Are scooters motorcycles?
Technically, yes. Scooters are a type of motorcycle, but when people say “motorcycle” they tend to think of a sportbike or a cruiser. Scooters look vastly different from a typical motorcycle and that’s the reason I think they’re called a different name. Mopeds and scooters are indeed motorcycles but for ease of communication, I’ll refer to scooters as “scooters” and the typical motorcycle as “motorcycles”
If you have disagreements with this fact, even three-wheeled vehicles are considered motorcycles. Such examples are the Can-Am Spyder and Ryker. Even the Polaris Slingshot, which has a steering wheel, is still considered a motorcycle.
Motorcycles vs Scooters
There’s a lot of reasons why someone would pick one over the other. These include practicality, comfort, style of riding, pricing, and a lot more. Your decision would largely depend on your needs what you want to get from your vehicle. Even now, that I’ve ridden over 50,000 kilometers in under a year on my bike, I still think about what it would have been like had I chosen to buy a scooter.
Style of riding
The main difference between a motorcycle and a scooter is how it looks. Where the engine and tank would be on a motorcycle, you would instead find your feet on a scooter. The engine on a scooter is placed towards the back and the tank rests under the seat or under your feet.
Another defining trait a scooter has is its drivetrain. Most motorcycles are manual, in that you have to change gears manually. Scooters, on the other hand, are automatic and are similar to a car that has a continuously variable transmission.
On a motorcycle, you would constantly change gears with the clutch and gear levers with your left hand and left foot. With scooters, your left hand and feet do nothing. Most of the control on a scooter comes from your right hand, the throttle. That said, one thing to also note is that, where one would find the clutch lever on a motorcycle, you’d instead find the rear brake lever on a scooter.
Because of this, scooters are much easier to learn on than motorcycles. Scooters are also easier to drive without the need of having to change gears.
Engine size
Motorcycles have a bigger assortment of engine sizes. Motorcycles can have engine sizes as small as 250cc to over 1800cc. A 250cc scooter, on the other hand, is a large-displacement scooter for its kind. Though there are maxi-scooters that go up to 500cc and some performance maxi-scooters or luxury scooters go up to 800cc.
Acceleration
This depends a lot on engine size, but if we put a 250cc motorcycle against a 250cc scooter, the scooter would actually do fairly good. To get the most acceleration out of a motorcycle, you’d have to hit the RPMs just right. Acceleration on a scooter is more instantaneous and actually has a strong pull on the rider, making you feel like there’s a lot of torque.
This is the same reason why automatic cars accelerate faster than manual cars. In a drag race setting, the automatic car would usually be the winner as there would be ni chops or imprecise gear changes that could affect how the car accelerates. The same goes for motorcycles and scooters.
Top speed may win races but in a real-world setting, acceleration is where you want your money at. Good acceleration helps you squeeze away from cars at stoplights, it allows you to overtake quickly, and it’s a lot of fun. Both motorcycles and scooters have makes and models that provide great acceleration.
Scooters have great acceleration from a stop but so do a lot of motorcycles. Street bikes and naked bikes like Yamaha’s MT-10 and FZ-07 have lots of torque down low. These bikes were made with torque in mind and would blow a lot of scooters, even maxi-scooters, out of the water with the amount of torque they have.
Top speed and performance.
Motorcycles take the cake on this one, obviously. Though scooters have good acceleration, they don’t do too well on top speed. Scooters just aren’t built for top speed. But there are exemptions. Performance scooters like the Yamaha T-MAX and Honda’s XADV are built with performance in mind. If you’re looking for something you can wring out on a twisty road or take ot the track, motorcycles would be a good choice but if you’re looking for a scooter you can do that with, there are options as well.
Stability
Talking about performance, if you’re considering to buy either a scooter or a motorcycle, the two differ in wheelbase and so this affects stability. Scooters have a shorter wheelbase and a short swingarm, making them less stable at high speeds but incredibly easy to flick at low speeds. Motorcycles, on the other hand, have longer swingarms and are much more stable at high speeds.
Practicality
One big factor in determining whether you’d want to have a motorcycle or a scooter is the practicality. Both motorcycles and scooters are highly practical forms of transport if you just want something to take you from point A to point B. Both are cheap, excellent in commuting, and fuel-efficient. But one might be more practical than the other depending on what you need.
Pricing and value
There’s a reason why scooters are so popular in a lot of third-world countries – they’re cheap! For the price of a ‘starter’ or small bike like the ninja 400, you can already buy a mid-level scooter with a lot of features.
Take for example the Yamaha Xmax. This little 300cc scooter has cruise control, ABS on both wheels, large storage areas, a charging outlet, full LED lighting, and a lot more all for the price of an R3. I think you kind of see where I’m getting at. Scooters may be cheap but they have great value.
Luggage
Motorcycles, in general, aren’t very good at carrying cargo. You’d usually be limited by the size of your backpack or whatever motorcycle luggage you strap on to it like a tank bag or saddlebags. There are motorcycles that go great with luggage like tourers but a large majority of motorcycles don’t.
Scooters, on the other hand, are great for carrying things. The example used earlier, the Yamaha Xmax is a relatively average-sized scooter but the luggage compartment can accommodate two full-face helmets with room to spare. Other scooters have hooks in the area where you’d rest your feet so you can put stuff in. Bigger scooters have bigger storage, of course.
Maneuverability
Because of their shorter wheelbases, scooters are better at squeezing through traffic jams and tight city streets. This, paired with good acceleration, makes the scooter a commuter’s weapon of choice. Most motorcycles are also great at maneuvering through traffic but some motorcycles are restricted either by their long wheelbases or their width. Small bikes in the 300cc class or even up to the 600cc class can do well in traffic even then they could still be a handful to squeeze in.
Fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency would depend on how big the engine is but because scooters are automatic, this gives them an edge when it comes to fuel usage. Many motorcycles average around 20 – 35 km/l. For scooters, those are rookie numbers. Some scooters can have a fuel rating of up to 55 – 60 km/l. How’s that for efficient.
There’s no clear winner when comparing scooters to motorcycles. A lot of scooters are becoming bigger and bigger and are starting to be viewed as motorcycles instead of just a scooter. It all boils down to what you are looking for.
Motorcycles are task-specific machines and the same goes for scooters. Are you looking for something purely just to move around town? Or are you looking for a fast machine you can take to the track? Or maybe both. Regardless, if you want to buy one you’re in luck because the line between scooters and motorcycles is slowly getting blurred.