My car is on its last breath, at least according mandatory safety inspection results anyway. Repairs are supposed to cost more than its worth. Though, I'm getting a second opinion from another workshop soon. I only commute about 6 km a day, get groceries and doctor visits, entirely within the city.
So I’ve considering switching to a 125 ccm motor scooter instead of getting another used car. The idea of no more parking costs, looking for parking spots, low fuel usage and low fixed costs (insurances, maintenance and taxes) are very appealing.
I'm on the fence due to the one true downside, though. Winters. At least 3 months of likely cold weather, rain and wet snow. The kind that could make you question your life choices when having to ride to work at 6 am. I'm located in Northern Europe with winters with avg +4 to -4 °C. Since I have an alright public transport connection to work and in the city as fall-back it will be best to put it in hibernation. That I can do under a cover in a courtyard, if I'm lucky half covered under a balcony. What do y'all think?
Moving larger or a bunch stuff in one go will be more complex too. Even with services like car sharing, rentals or asking a buddy here and there in exchange for gas money and take-away food.
As for specific scooter, I'm looking for high reliability, durability and at best ABS and disk breaks for both the front and rear wheel. A high permitted weight would be great too. Models that fit my criteria are Yamaha NMax, Honda PCX, Honda SH125i and Piaggio Medley. Going to Dealers for test drives soon. :)
For a new one, all in all I'm calculating 6000 to 6500 EUR initially including extra features (top case, windscreen, heated handles), taxes and insurance. There are decent used cars for comfy winter rides. Though, perhaps I can score a lucky deal for a barely used motor scooter one as season is going to an end. By the way, a 50 ccm scooter is out of question for me personally, I'd want more power under my seat. ;-)
Anyone here made the switch? Regrets? Is micromobility really a year round solution?
Living in a large European city and being a bike rider I can only recommend a lot of training if you are switching. You'd be in one of the two main risk groups.
As others said, play it safe. Riding in winter might not be possible although I did that a few years with a touring suit.
In general I love the ease of getting around and just parking anywhere (reasonably of course). Even though we have public transport it is unreliable, expensive and slow.
Just be sure you're in condition to ride. Many people drive cars in conditions they shouldn't and everyone pays for that but on two wheels you'll likely pay the most.
By the way heated handles are the best thing you can do against the cold but although it works there can be other issues, it can feel as if you're holding on to glowing steel or if the hands are in limbo between feeling and not it can get very painful.
The touring suit alone was 1500 euros used 10 years back or so.
Thanks for the input and word of caution. Definitely looking to test drive a couple models to get a good feel and more data before going for it. Likewise I'm looking at used car deals and possibly checking some out. But hey, sounds like the touring suit was a worthwhile purchase!
Ama of you have any questions.