2004 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooters - Early review(250 miles so far)

This is my second scooter. My first, a Yamaha Zuma, was stolen after about a year of ownership. I learned on the Zuma that faster is better, or put differently, it's much safer to keep up with traffic, than to have cars piled up behind you, desperate to pass. Thus, when it came time to buy another, I opted for the Vino 125, though in truth, this scooter doesn't seem to have much direct competition. Honda doesn't offer a scooter with a 125cc motor as far as I know, and Vespa, nice as it is, is far too expensive and still notoriously unreliable as far as I'm concerned. I live in a small college town, and a scooter is an excellent way to get around, much more preferable to a car. Besides, when the weather's nice, I just hate being in a car. The Vino 125 offers a lot of things the Zuma does not. Higher top speed(keep up with traffic), underseat storage(just big enough for a large Shoei RF-1000), a hook at the base of the seat for plastic grocery bags(very useful), tires a little more appropriate for a scooter(the Zuma is really hard to balance when you're trying to anticipate a light change without touching down). There are some smaller pros as well, such as no clouds of noxious exhaust when warming up on a cold morning. It has both a kick and a center stand, though it won't run with the kick stand down. Of course, I'm still within the break-in period, and I'm actually pretty good about sticking to it. My way of dealing with it is to get to 600miles as quickly as I can, doing at least 20 miles a day. Can't wait to get this thing up to 55mph. Of course, breaking it in, means staying below 1/3 throttle all the time, basically where this particular motor is weakest. Unlike the Zuma, the Vino is lacking in torque, so when the light turns green, the Vino doesn't exactly leap ahead of the pack. Instead, it wheezes it's way up to 25 or so before you get any sense of power beneath you. Mind you, that's mostly break-in driving. Once or twice, I've gotten curious enough to open the throttle up just to see what's really there. I wasn't disappointed. The Vino 125 likes to cruise at about 40mph. No idea what the top speed really is, or just what's going to happen when I try to climb a hill and I don't have to stay away from the throttle. The Vino is very pleasing to the eye, much more attractive than a Zuma, or a Honda scooter for that matter. Aside from the Metropolitans, Honda scooters are pretty unattractive. Mine is silver, and though I bought it off the floor, rather than wait for the red one to come in, it's actually grown on me and now I'm glad I didn't wait. This scooter makes riding something to enjoy. Just today, I spent three hours, driving up and down back roads, feeling good out in the wind and the sun. I don't know about you, but I just can't do that in a car. Others have commented on the noises the motor makes, and I've been experiencing them too, mostly the noisy fan. That aside, it's fair to say that this is a high quality scooter. I'm really impressed with the build. It's definately a step up from the Zuma. Even though it's basically a take on the classic Vespa shape, the Vino has a sense of dignity about it, a touch of class, something definately missing from most of the competition, Vespa excluded. I wish I could comment more, but I feel it's unfair to try to give a complete review so soon after buying. I will say this, if you're considering buying a scooter, skip the smaller motors and move up to at least a 125cc motor. My year spent with the Zuma taught me that it's much safer to keep up with traffic. The way people drive around here, you need to go faster than 30mph.

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