Well, gonna have to try something different to post the pics. Photobucket shows my pictures correctly resized on thier site, but when I post them here, they come through GIANT.... aaaaaaand photobucket has now locked up my computer 3 times. Going to have to come up with a plan B.
Everyone says these bikes can't break 100mpg but the last two fill ups on mine I hit 109 and 124. Just depends on how you ride it. I don't run WOT much, use Mobil 1 4T and have 2200 miles on it. It can be done. Great bike for cruising around town. Just picked up a brand new corbin seat for it today on eBay. Hope to put on more miles soon (and save my but while at it)
I am, right now, looking for a new scooter, after recently selling my Ninja 500 (to uncomfortable for an old guy) I am trying to decide between the Zuma 125, and a leftover '09 Vespa S150. The Vespa is bright red, real metal, freeway legal (though not necessarily safe) and it's Italian. I'm leaning toward it, even though it is a couple hundred more. The Zuma 125 is a nice scooter. I have a Vino 125, and you are definitely getting better mileage, but I ride WOT most of the time. Also, the FI on the Zuma 125 may help. The Vino 125 has a one gallon tank, which runs completely dry at about 65 miles. If I am leaving town, I always carry an extra gallon of gas with me. The Vino has it's gas filler under the rear rack, making it impossible to mount a hard case.
Thank you ! I can't really speak on the Vespa S 150 other than it's looks to be a very nice machine. I think not going right to WOT makes a difference in fuel mileage. I learned driving big scary diesel trucks years ago, not to give it any more fuel than it can burn. Mashing the throttle just blows partially burned fuel out the pipe. A gasoline engine really isn't that much different in concept... even a little one like in the Zuma. I'm sure going right to WOT, even with fuel injection, is still throwing more fuel at it than it can actually burn. I think the Zuma tank is 1.6 gallons, although I've been filling it when it just touches the red at around a 1/4 tank, and usually put between 1 and 1.2 gallons in it.
This current tank in mine should come in at over 100mpg. Already gone 75 miles, and have a good bit to go before I hit the red. Using "super" in this tank to see how it does vs. 87 octane in the previous tanks. Took a little mini adventure this afternoon after riding it up to Kensington N.H. for breakfast. Took a few pics along the way at a couple of places I find interesting. First pic is at a 18th Century Milestone in Newbury Ma. This is a 35 Miles to Boston milestone with a couple of what looks like wagon wheels at the top, and some triangles on the bottom. More info on these stones can be found here. http://www.stonestructures.org/html/milestones.html Says this one was carved by John Mullicken of Bradford, MA circa 1735. Scroll down to the Newbury section for more info. Next stop was the old Quaker Cemetery in West Newbury Ma. This is a very small cemetery overlooking the Artichoke river/reservoir. An interesting place not far from where I grew up. Used to hike down here when I was a kid and read the old gravestones. Mostly from the 19th Century. The signs are all relatively modern. None of that existed when I was a kid. You really had to know where it was to get there. There was just a little path off the roadway into the woods. Nice to see that it's being preserved. Here's a shot inside Found this article about the restoration of the cemetery here.. . http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x967713882/Abandoned-graveyard-saved-by-volunteers Shot across the Rocks Village Bridge into Haverhill . Some interesting info on the bridge here. ( I like old bridges) http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=bridge/rocks&sid=bridgeData Followed along the Merrimack river into Amesbury to pick up some Chinese food. ... and then home to eat! Nice little scenic local ride.
Part of the reason my mileage is so bad is I am 6' 220, and carry about another 30 pounds of stuff with me, under the seat and in a backpack, and I ride at WOT most of the time. My back tire was toast at 6000 miles, but the front lasted twice that long. It's still a lot better than any car or truck, plus it's more fun, depending on riding conditions. The Vespa S150 is much like the Vino 125, except that it is made mostly of metal, is Italian, and has the Vespa name on it. This one is also bright red, and supposedly goes 5-10 mph faster than the Vino. I don't know about the Zuma or Vespa, but valve adjustments on the Vino are literally a 10 minute job.
Had a cool experience with the Zuma tonight. Had to run into town (less than a mile) to pay my mortgage, and decided while I was out I'd take a little spin down the beach. Did the loop around by the seaside bars and arcades etc. and pointed it back toward the center of town. As I'm coming through the intersection of 1A and "the loop" on my way out, I see a big full dress Harley to my right at the intersection soon to be entering the road I'm on. I pull through the intersection, and I can see the distinctive 3 light set up of the big Electra Glide coming up behind me. I scootch over to the left a bit to let him slide on by. Figuring he wants to cruise past. He pulls up along side of me, and I can tell right away this is guy that's probably been riding his whole life. I'd say late 50's-ish, maybe a touch older than that. So he pulls up along side, and starts chatting me up about the scoot. Super nice guy, and we had a cool conversation as we were riding along. Hit the stop light at the end of the road, and had a little mutual admiration of both of our machines, and we continued on in different directions. Just thought I'd share that. You meet the nicest people on a Zuma. LOL
Thought I was going to break 100mpg with this last tank, but only came in at 90mpg. The 2nd half of the tank was a lot of stop and go, real short trip type stuff, so that may have been a factor. Still can't complain at 90 mpg :) Looks like running "super" doesn't make much difference vs the cheap 87 octane stuff.
90 MPG is impressive. I only get around 75 MPG on my Kymco Super 8 150. I think on of the reasons you can get that kind of mileage is that speed limits in the Northeast tend to be much lower that much of the rest of the country. If I don't run pretty close to wide open much of the time I'll hold up traffic. Many of the rural roads around here are 55 MPH except for the 4 lanes which are 65. Even running around town I'm usually going 45 or more just running with traffic. I lived in Maine for 4 years. A 125-150cc scooter would have been great there. Glad you are enjoying the Zuma. It looks like a fun machine.
a good chunk of my ride back and forth to work is a 45 mph zone (a speed the machine is quite happy at). I'm outside of the city, so it's not really all the "urban" around here. The roads around here range from 30 to 55 on the roads that aren't interstate highways.
Took a nice ride down to Gloucester and Rockport Ma. today. Got a slice of pizza at one of my favorite places in Gloucester. Cruised all around the coast of "the island". Lots of scenic rocky shore line. Stopped in Ipswich for an Ice Cream, and had a chat with two guys and a lady who had ridden in on a Honda Cruiser, and a modern Indian Scout. Nice people. Had a funny incident at an open draw bridge in Newburyport where a couple of Harleys were waiting for the bridge to close. I pulled along side a full lane over, and you should have seen them reving their engines and gouging on it to make sure they were ahead of me when the gate opened. LOL! They probably used more gas right there with that little display, than I used my whole trip around Cape Ann, Too funny!
Yeah, Harley-heads are in a class by themselves. Two years ago, I stumbled into Sturgis on a BMW...totally by accident; was working long-term in Pierre; went down there on my then-new GS; and had a weekend off. A week before the "official" rally. Anyway...complete ostracization. Had to get off the bike to become human. And now that I'm on a touring scoot...I don't even think about waving. Why embarrass yourself? What makes it worse is that I'm in the heart of Harley-Land...there's plenty of metric bikes out here, of course; but there's more Harleys than would be expected in a not-so-prosperous locale.
Just picked up my Zuma 125 Yesterday, it's a hoot to ride, I have a 1800 wing, FJR and Super tenere, this will be my local commuter bike.
congrats on the zuma!!! it will be a lot different than your big bikes! for some jobs and somedays small is the best! Damasovi
Congrats! I also have a 900cc Triumph Thunderbird Sport, and use the Zuma for commuting back and forth to work. There's so much that's convenient about Scooters vs. bikes, and they're just plain fun to ride for pleasure too under the right circumstances.