My Scooter and Farkle Reviews

[kiznile]

2009 Aprilia Scarabeo 200 ($2499 on Aprilia incentive pricing)
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I bought this scooter back in June. I spent about 8 months checking up and down every make and model of scooter around. Once the incentive pricing hit I just couldn’t stand it anymore. There was literally no bigger bang for the buck when I bought this. Second choice would have been the Sport City 250, however the Scarabeo just felt more stable, and more fun in the curves to me. The only benefit I saw to the SC250 was the fuel injection, and I couldn’t really tell a difference when driving. I’ve already put just shy of 6000 miles on it in this short time. The windscreen on this thing is perfect. ZERO buffeting. I just couldn’t be any happier with it at this point.

Issues: The clutch needs deglazing every 2000 miles. It’s no big deal really just a minor annoyance. I just do this every time I change out the AMSOIL. If I don’t the engine bogs down hard off the line and just feels like a dog, once you get moving it’s great.

My Opinion: Happy with the Scarabeo, I really, really love the 16 inch wheels, they really give it good handling characteristics. I also love the factory windshield. Does exactly what I need.

Would I buy it again? YES


Here it is bone stock, Pre Farkles

Trackside Grip Warmers. $20 from cycle gear.

First off, wow...how did i live without these. My advice is to wire it in without the resistor for low, just wire them to a switch for on/off. I've had a lot of burning wire issues with resistors in the past so i tend to stray away from them. Hands are toasty warm all the way to work. Very very little power draw, voltage dropped about .1v - .2v

My opinion: Maybe get a nicer set of grip warmers that have a true adjustable dial, not just a built in resistor, but for $20 these work amazing.

Would I buy them again? Probably, or get nicer ones stated above


Cleaning up the wiring from the grip warmers HID's and PIAA Aux lights.


Decided to make a loom, nice clean wires and fuses...OCD friendly


Grip warmers installed, now to put everything back together...



Switch for the grip warmers is the bright red one above the PIAA aux light switch. (note its 65* F in the garage, yes I have HVAC in the garage...) ;)

DDM Tuning H4 Hi/Low 4500k 35w HID's $45 from DDM Tuning

The high beams on these things are amaaaaaaaaazing. You will see in increase in available voltage once you add these. Mine went up by .1v - .2v as HID's draw less power. Low beams however have too many bright spots ("Hot Spots") in the beam pattern, this is just the nature of a halogen housing as apposed to a projector housing.

My opinion: Worth $45, i don't know that i would pay too much more than that for these.
Would I buy them again? Probably, just for the high beams.


PIAA 1100x Driving Lights $300ish (free from dealer rep, but for the purposes of this review, any Aux light should do)

Three words, peace of mind. Wow, with the HID's I really didn't need these. However on a really foggy day, I power these on and i can see road reflectors lighting up for nearly a mile! I rarely power them on, but when i need them, I'm REALLY glad I have them.

Downside: HUGE power hog. The 55w bulbs really strain the system. While driving, the voltage is down around the 12.6v area. I'd really advise not running any other accessories while running these.

My opinion? YES YES YES
Would I buy them again? Not at $300, but I’d find a cheaper set!

PIAA Switch


Example of the HID's and PIAA Aux lights


The PIAA Lights


Now that the HID's are burned in, they are not this blue


Side profile of the PIAA lights on the front fender, and my sexy rear fender delete

Dr Pulley 11g Sliders $38 from Scooterworks

Hellllloooo roll on acceleration. When you are already cruising, and want to jump on the throttle and get moving, these sliders downshift sooooo fast. You will love passing people once you have these!

My opinion: In love and Mildly Disappointed. Reason being, with the increased gear ratio range of the Dr Pulley sliders, an 11g slider should have lower revs at cruising speeds than the stock 12g rollers. I was really hoping to see an increased overall MPG rating, however the higher RPMs during acceleration, means any benefit of lower RPMs at cruising is negated by the increased fuel demand under acceleration.

Would I buy them again? Probably.


11g 21x17 Dr Pulley Sliders

Pirelli Diablo Scooter Tires $135 shipped for the pair from Amazon Seller (Motorcycle Superstore) and installed myself

SO MUCH BETTER. I can't tell you how hard and how far I threw my stock Chen Zheng tires once i got them off the Aprilia. NEVER AGAIN.

My Opinion: Probably the most confidence inspiring upgrade i have done to the scoot. These things really stick to the ground. I am quit pleased. BUY BUY BUY. lol.

Would I buy them again? YES 100.


Rear tire is a 130/80/16 vs the stock 120/80/16 due to availability, but it looks sexy, haha.


Harbor Freight bead breaker and balance stand...bead breaker is amazing, balance stand came with an "un true" shaft so it was really hard to balance, so i returned it and threw in some dynabeads.

Timbuk2 Messenger Bag (unkwn? got mine in 1996)

Probably the best piece of storage gear i have. I can carry my laptop, lunch, and warm clothes, and I cant even tell I'm wearing it!

My opinion: BEST GEAR EVER. Messenger bags are the only way to go. Timbuk2 is the go to brand for professional couriers and I can clearly see why. These things are built amazing. Mine lasted all the way through junior high, high school, and college, and i still use it everyday to commute to work.

I use to use a tail bag, but I got so tired of fumbling around with the stupid thing. I can just load up my laptop, lunch and other needed items in the comfort of my warm home, throw it on my back, jump on the scoot and then just jump off and walk into my office.
Would I buy them again? YES x INFINITY!

[kiznile]

no one likes farkles?

I bet this is getting no love because i didn't add pictures...

[wannabe1]

I dig it. Just read the whole thing. Now about those pics.

[climbamt]

Pics or it didn't happen

~climbamt

[Starbuck21]

Interesting! But we DO need some pictures

[kiznile]

Whatcha talkin about?! There are pictures...

[JerryH]

Really nice, but "deglazing the clutch" every 2000 miles? Doesn't that require removing the rear wheel and a few other parts? I have a shaft drive motorcycle that requires the whole rear end to be taken apart and lubricated every 10,000 miles, which is a full days work, which I spread out over 2 days. Rear tires last almost 20,000 miles, so you have to do it once in between new tires. If I didn't like every other single thing about it I would get rid of it because of all that.

I looked at the SportCity 250, but only one dealer around here sells them, and all they had were '08s and '09s, and still wanted full MSRP for them. I guess they never heard of depreciation.

[kiznile]

Nope! Its about 10 hex bolts to get the CVT cover off then one to get the clutch bell off. Its a 30 min job tops.

Aprilia is still only sending 09s to the states. My dealer literally just got a shipment of brand spanking new crated 09s last week. Fresh off the boat. They are essentially the new model still. This is why you are seeing full msrp still as there is no new model yet

[cbolling]

Nice job. I have an Aerostitch Messenger bag. It really is convenient to usr on the scooter.

[kiznile]

Originally Posted by cbolling

Nice job. I have an Aerostitch Messenger bag. It really is convenient to usr on the scooter.

I cant tell from the pics. Does that one have the underarm cross strap to keep in in place like the timbuk2? I still cant believe how many years of use i have gotten out of my timbuk2. love it

[brianwheelies]

Agreed that it's kind of a bummer to deglaze so often.


Great looking bike.

I think that is why the new piaggio 350 engine uses multi plate wet clutch to cut down on frequent maintenance.

[kiznile]

Originally Posted by brianwheelies

Agreed that it's kind of a bummer to deglaze so often.


Great looking bike.

I think that is why the new piaggio 350 engine uses multi plate wet clutch to cut down on frequent maintenance.

that would be my guess, but i've got it down to where i can do it in under 30 minutes, so i can deal with it. I'll still take this over any of my cars maintenance.

[cbolling]

Originally Posted by kiznile

I cant tell from the pics. Does that one have the underarm cross strap to keep in in place like the timbuk2? I still cant believe how many years of use i have gotten out of my timbuk2. love it

The cross strap is an option.

[kiznile]

Originally Posted by cbolling

The cross strap is an option.

If you dont have one, I gotta tell you it is really nice to have. Keeps the bag in place really well, even on the hard corners....at least consider it...that and it has the added benefit of helping to prevent decapitation in a spill...

[Chindog]

Kyle, do you know what size socket the clutch bell takes? I just got a new impact wrench and haven't bought any sockets for it yet.