Genuine Scooter Company

[RamFan]

Morning Folks,

My wife has wanted a scooter for a little while now, we've been waiting until we move into our next place, but I think I may surprise her with one this summer. The scooter will only be utilized on local streets, typical speeds in the 20-35mph area. Anything at or above 45mph would be a plus but not necessary. I instantly looked at Vespa and Piaggio, but spending $5k+ on a scooter seems a bit silly. Ideally would like to stay at $3k or less.

I found The Genuine Scooter Company and see that they offer some "attractive" models at a fairly decent price point. Seems like they're rated fairly well as well. Does anyone on the board have personal experience with this brand?

 

[JoelB]

I've had a few genuine buddys. 125's and a 150. I'd buy a buddy 125 in heartbeat. Same frame as the 50 so plenty of pep. Simple scoot, but they always start if you take care of them. 125 is carb only, all of them are oil cooled, no liquid cooling. If you really want fuel injection you need to step up to the 170. They are light and nimble, not intimidating at all.

IMO a 50 is pretty worthless unless you never have to go over 35mph. Don't forget Kymco, another great value brand.

 

[RamFan]

I've had a few genuine buddys. 125's and a 150. I'd buy a buddy 125 in heartbeat. Same frame as the 50 so plenty of pep. Simple scoot, but they always start if you take care of them. 125 is carb only, all of them are oil cooled, no liquid cooling. If you really want fuel injection you need to step up to the 170. They are light and nimble, not intimidating at all.

IMO a 50 is pretty worthless unless you never have to go over 35mph. Don't forget Kymco, another great value brand.

Thanks for the quick response!

 

[JoelB]

Thanks for the quick response!

When I used to frequent the genuine buddy forum there were a few people with 50k miles on their 125's. You do sacrifice tech and some build quality for a Genuine or Kymco but you do not sacrifice reliability.

 

[jeepman3071]

There is a dealer close by who sells a ton of the Genuine Buddy scooters. They seem well built. If you like the Vespa look the Buddy is pretty close. A Honda Metropolitan is a quieter option with similar styling as well.

 

[FowVay]

I've never been in the market for a scooter but economically it seems that you'd be well served by finding a very lightly used model and pay half price. Scooters seem to be one of those impulse buy items that rarely live up to their expectations. I'd look around the on-line and publication classifieds and see what shows up. You're absolute right that it'd be silly to spend $5,000 on something that you're not even certain you are going to be happy with. Good Luck with your endeavor and hopefully your wife is surprised and happy with her new toy.

 

[Corollaman]

I just bought a 2022 Genuine Roughhouse 50. The dealer de-restricted it for me for $50. I'm taking it easy during break in, but it will do a honest 45 mph now. The speedometer will over estimate your speed by 5 mph, this is common with scooters. Two strokes are a little noisy, so be prepared. I use Lucas semi-synthetic 2 stroke oil. I'm getting around 75 mpg, but I also live in a hilly area. If you drive mostly flat you can get 100 mpg. Quality seems good, Taiwan made scooters are pretty good quality. Mine came with a 3 year warranty, if that means anything. I was looking at Hondas, even had put a deposit down. In my area dealers are marking up metropolitans $1000 over msrp, and a used Honda Ruckus sells for over $3000. Since this scooter isn't a daily driver I went with the Genuine. Two stroke 49cc scooters are actually kind of fun.

 

[Motu]

A derestricted 2 stroke can get up and go, they restrict them for a reason. A 4 stroke 50cc has almost no restrictions, they are just gutless by nature. I have a Piaggio Zip 50, which I used for commuting in town, but work out of town these days, so it now sees very little use.

 

[Finklejag]

In most States you need a motorcycle endorsement for anything over 51cc if obeying the law is part of your life. What about these Ziggy or NIU electric scooters?

 

[Graham Piccinini]

In most States you need a motorcycle endorsement for anything over 51cc if obeying the law is part of your life. What about these Ziggy or NIU electric scooters?

Don't know if any updates have been made recently, but last I heard - NIU electric scooters were doing half of advertised range at best, and considerable amount of them had electrical failures, with a few resulting in fires.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

I just bought a 2022 Genuine Roughhouse 50. The dealer de-restricted it for me for $50. I'm taking it easy during break in, but it will do a honest 45 mph now. The speedometer will over estimate your speed by 5 mph, this is common with scooters. Two strokes are a little noisy, so be prepared. I use Lucas semi-synthetic 2 stroke oil. I'm getting around 75 mpg, but I also live in a hilly area. If you drive mostly flat you can get 100 mpg. Quality seems good, Taiwan made scooters are pretty good quality. Mine came with a 3 year warranty, if that means anything. I was looking at Hondas, even had put a deposit down. In my area dealers are marking up metropolitans $1000 over msrp, and a used Honda Ruckus sells for over $3000. Since this scooter isn't a daily driver I went with the Genuine. Two stroke 49cc scooters are actually kind of fun.

Does this 2 stroke scooter have a single tank for premix, or separate oil/fuel tanks that are mixed in the carb on its own?

 

[Corollaman]

Does this 2 stroke scooter have a single tank for premix, or separate oil/fuel tanks that are mixed in the carb on its own?

Seperate tanks, automatically mixes itself.

 

[kmrinpa]

been doing scoots since 2011...my list of Genuine Scoots is something like this: leftover '08 Rattler 110, leftover '09 Buddy 125, leftover '09 Stella 2T, leftover '13 Buddy 125, a different leftover '13 Buddy 125 (unfortunately had to sell it last year...couldn't sell my motorcycle with an open loan on it); currently own a '22 Roughhouse 50 & sold my motorcycle shortly after paying it off; the 2T's are fun (Rattler, Stella, Roughhouse...the Stella wasn't reliable for me as a 'non-tinkerer'); I really like the Buddy 125's but the 10" wheels make the ride a bit more finicky vs the 12" wheels on the Roughhouse; riding styles have changed & the Roughhouse serves me well...the Buddy 125's fill the same purpose & allow you to ride farther & faster