riding 50cc scooters

These are standard controls for Japanese scooters:

1. (Left lever) Rear brakes. On some scooters there is also a lock lever to act as a hand brake so you don't need to hold it down at the lights etc.
2. (Black rocker switch) Down for headlight low beam, up for high beam.
3. (Red thumb button) Horn
4. (Yellow slide switch) Indicators. Move left for left and vice-versa. To cancel return the switch to centre (Yamaha) or press in (Honda).
5. (Right mirror) Rear vision/wing mirror. Keep an eye on this when using left-hand lanes. The mirrors are adjusted by hand
6. (Right lever) Front brakes. Use the brakes together in most braking situations. The front brake provides more braking force
7. (Red button) Engine starter switch.
8. (Twist grip) Accelerator. Twist down to accelerate the engine. While it would not be good for a car, it is fine to keep this fully open on 2-stroke 50cc scooters during city riding.

Riding in a straight line

Just like riding a bicycle, it is the rotational inertia of your wheels (plus engine, partly) that keeps you upright when riding. So the faster you are moving, the easier it is to balance on a scooter. When stopped or moving very slowly you will need a foot on the ground to keep you upright. Using small body movements when riding will help keep you stable. Turning your head helps you make absolutely sure of traffic around you, but try to keep your overall weight over the centre of the scooter. Scooters that have a low centre of mass e.g. Honda Dio are easier to balance than others e.g. Vespa ET2.

Turning on a scooter

You will need to lean to get around a corner. Faster speeds and tighter corners mean more lean. The best way is to lean with your scooter, so that neither your body or your scooter is leaning more than the other.

To get your scooter to lean, the easiest way is to initially turn the front wheel the OPPOSITE way slightly. This pushes you and scooter into a lean, and you can easily move into the corner. That is, if going into a right hand turn, turn your wheel left a little. You and the scooter naturally lean to the right. Turn your wheel right, and you are leaning the correct way and pointing the wheel into the turn.
If you do not already ride like this, try it and notice the difference it makes.

Using the brakes on a scooter

In most cases brakes should be used together. Release the accelerator and squeeze both levers at the same time. Your front brake is capable of providng 65-75% of the braking force. Some scooters are fitted with disc brakes at the front, some are not.
Use the brakes with more caution on wet/slippery surfaces. Give yourself more time and distance to brake.

If you apply a brake too strongly, that wheel will lock up (stop turning) and the tyre will slide. If this is momentary you may not notice much. If it continues, a locked rear wheel will slide away from the side your weight is leaning, and quickly increase your lean until you hit the ground, probably while still moving. A locked front wheel can slide even more quickly and is more difficult to recover from as the wheel doing the steering becomes ineffective.
In both cases, releasing the brakes enough that the wheel starts turning again is the first step. Second, a quick foot down on the ground (on the INSIDE, where the advancing scooter will not hit) may help to bring the scooter back up to a stable point. Remember that you are moving so this tap on the ground must be momentary and quick.

Riding safely on a scooter

Visibility is very important. The colour of your scooter, keeping your headlight on at all times and the colour of your helmet and clothing all affect visibility. Obviously white or brightly coloured, shiny helmets can help make you more visible. Avoid riding directly behind vehicles. Leave some room and ride in one of the wheel tracks of the vehicle in front. If you are following too close to a vehicle, other vehicles waiting at crossroad intersections can fail to see you and hit you when pulling out after the vehicle in front of you has passed.

Riding in the wet can be dangerous for two main reasons: Wet roads are slipperier than dry, and visibility is reduced by rain and spray. Slippery roads mean that your and other vehicles' braking distances are increased. It becomes easier to slide out around a corner so the maximum safe speed to take corners in the wet is lower than in the dry.

Your 50cc 2-stroke scooter, while it has a small engine, should be able to accelerate quickly enough to not hold up traffic. If car drivers are stuck behind you on a road, they will overtake. Tens of car passing you on a single-lane road can be dangerous or unpleasant.

Where to ride

• Ride on public roads
• Do not ride on motorways/expressways. Avoid other 100km/h areas
• The Auckland Harbour Bridge is part of a motorway so you can not ride a 50cc scooter on it
• Use the bus lanes around Auckland. These are usually painted green. Some lanes have their own traffic signals so be careful to follow those
• Avoid riding on sand. Sand quickly clogs filters and destroys bearings if it gets in
• Do not ride on the footpath
• You can not take these scooters on public harbour ferries from some terminals

The road code - rules for riding

In general, all the rules for cars and other vehicles also apply to you on a scooter. Some points to note:

• You can overtake a line of stopped cars, if it is at a reasonable speed (under the speed limit), you use your indicator, obey the 2-second/following distance rule and there is a clear safe distance in the opposing lane as you overtake. You may also overtake on roads with a yellow line in the centre (e.g. Grafton Bridge) as long as you do not cross the yellow line and you are indicating your movement.
• Passengers on your scooter must have a foot peg for both feet, or a place to safely rest their feet.
• Your scooter is only legally allowed to be capable of 50km/h in New Zealand. More information here
• If you use bus lanes, be very careful when passing buses. The legal speed limit past a stopped school bus is 20km/h

Approximate costs for 50cc vs Car

This does not include servicing, repairs or insurance. Shopping around yields variations in price too great to include here.