photo credit: theogeo

Last week I began searching for a scooter to drive. In Sweden, where I live, there is a supremely difficult driver's test. Since my Swedish is only 'ok', and the test is supremely hard, I opted not to get my driver's licence when I moved here. The great thing about Sweden is they have lovely public service transportation. The bad? The public transportation runs very infrequently to the places I sometimes need to go. Waiting 2 hours to get to a certain spot, or getting there an hour or two earlier than needed, is sometimes very frustrating. Therefore I had one of a few options: get my driver's licence and spring for a car, insurance etc; hope that my bicycle functions in all occasions (including carrying a multitude of bags from the store) or finding an alternative. I chose the latter. My alternative was a 50cc scooter.

One of the best things about 50cc scooters is that they can be used without an automobile license. The higher cc models require special licenses. For my needs, economy, and convenience, a scooter that goes 35mph is perfect.

If you're looking for a great alternative to high gas prices and walking or bicycling, I highly recommend the scooter. Check your local laws in regards to the requirements of licensing and insurance.

photo credit: lucac4

50cc scooters are a very popular type of scooter and is made by virtually every scooter maker out there. There are many reasons for this but the prevailing reason is the great gas mileage that these scooters get. Many can get over 60 mpg and even some may get over 100 mpg. Compared to other vehicles that only get 35-47 mpg at best, driving 50cc scooters is a great way to save money. Not only that, you can modify one to go quite fast. The fastest 50cc scooter that you can reasonably modify is about 60-64 mph.

Another reason that they are so popular is that they are very reasonably priced. You can at most expect to pay $5,000 for one. And on the lower side only $1,000 for a new scooter. The most expensive scooter is only about half of what you would expect to pay for a new car. Also upkeep required is much lower and motor scooters can be acquired for not all that much. Scooters are also able to be repaired by most knowledgeable individuals with few tools.