I saw a metropolian scooter from honda. Interested in buy one to get around in my neighborhood. Get to and from work. I work about 15 block from my house. I current drive a car. I want to have one to get to work. Save on gas. I never ride a bicycle before. I want to know how hard it is to learn to ride a scooter. Is this a good starting point. Is this a good model for 2,000. I purchase a electrical one before for 3 hundred. It broke after 2 days. Are these more durable like a regular motorcycle but only slower and lower speed. I want to know also if license is required and insurance required. Any requirement. I live in northern california. Is this a high theif item. Is it easy stolen. I want to know will it be safe parking in a parking lot or on the street. How do you park a scooter. In the same spot as cars. The Honda Metro is a nice bike to begin with, but you stated that you have not ridden a bicycle before and this brings up some concern. Balance is a function common to bicycles and scooters. If you can't operate/balance a simple bicycle, don't expect a smooth ride when you go to take off, turn, or stop a scooter.
My advise is to borrow a friends bicycle and learn how to ride that first. Then go check out scooters. Once you have the basics down, you will find that a scooter is very easy to ride and real fun as well.
Now the rest of the questions.
-Is this a good starting point. Is this a good model for 2,000?-
Yes, once you know you can ride, the Honda Metro is a great bike to start out with, $2,000 seems rather pricey, but you do get a lot of quality with a Honda and there is the support from Honda after the sale which I bet you didn't get with that electric scooter.
-Are these more durable like a regular motorcycle but only slower and lower speed?-
Yes. Hum..., you've been doing you homework on these haven't you.
-I want to know also if license is required and insurance required. Any requirement. I live in northern California.-
In most states all that is required for a Moped(less then 50cc) is a drivers license and a moped tag or plate on the bike, but California laws are from another planet. So you should check the local laws before you hand over you money. Check the link below. Your dealer should be able to set you upwith the needed registation for the bike when you buy it.
-Is it easy stolen. I want to know will it be safe parking in a parking lot or on the street.-
Many states allow mopeds to be parked in the same areas as bicycles. So use those bike racks whenever you can and chain that bike down. Make that potential thief go after the next bike and not yours. These bikes are very light and can be put into the back of a pick-up truck very fast, and people never seem to notice it.
There is no way to stop a professional thief if he/she wants your bike. All you can hope to do is slow them down a little, or make them choose the next bike. That's depressing but true.
-How do you park a scooter. In the same spot as cars-
I currently ride a Honda Reflex which is licensed as a motorcycle and therefore must be parked in a spot like a car in a parking lot.
However, when I still rode my Honda Elite SA50 moped/scooter, I parked on the sidewalks and chained it up to the light posts, mail boxes, bike racks, or what ever was handy at the time.
I hope this helps.
Ride Safe I have a Honda Ruckus. It's an offroad version of the Metropolitan--it was very easy to learn how to ride--much much easier than with a car. I learned how to drive the Ruckus BEFORE the car, so my view is unbiased. Also, it is very durable and reliable. It's simple to park--just use the kickstand--but I don't know much about how easy it is to steal. A license is not required where I live since it is under 50 CC (engine size). Borrow a friends and try it before you buy one. Also check you local law. A special licence is not required (well where i live, NZ) for driving a scooter 50cc or under. You only need your learner car licence minimum.
But dont get a scooter, they're slow and no fun. Get a motorbike licence and motorbike instead :D Ok, some of your questions aren't so easily answered, and some lack enough info, but here we go.
Distance isn't important, its the speeds on the roads you'll be traveling on, a Metro is unlikely to achieve much better than 40 full throttle, and its not healthy to run full throttle continuously, so you might want to consider something bigger.
Ifn you've never been on two wheels, a touch tricky, but no big deal.
Yes, they're much like a motorcycle, bit more practical, bit slower too though.
Insurance and license requirements depend on a number of things, you'll need to check with your local MVD (or DMV or whatever they call it), here in AZ, under 50cc (most 50cc scooters are technically 49.3 or 49.7cc), doesn't require a license or registration, and therefore doesn't need insurance. Except that here in Phoenix a local ordinance requires everything motorized to be registered except mobility scooters, so you'll need to check state, county and local laws on that.
You can park it in a parking space or the street, neither one is particularly safe, scooters are very easy to steal, at least the small ones, mine has a dry weight of 213 pounds, less than I weigh. Your parking spot should be decided by local laws and where you can chain it to, irregardless of the law, I've never been hassled about parking on a sidewalk here and chaining it to a bike rack or pole as long as I don't block the sidewalk, but YMMV. At my apartment I'm lucky enough to be able to park it in the gated courtyard chained to a staircase pole. Please before you take or trust anything written on here check with your local licensing authorities. Many people do not read the law or even look it up but post what they 'think' the law to be.
In my state the bike has to be taged so the police can see it. only one person allowed on a moped (under 50cc) and they must wear a helmet if under 19 years of age.
I see these laws broken almost daily.
My best advice to you is to check the laws in your state and if you value your head, wear a helmet. Don't learn the hard way like the ones we pick up off the streets.
Best of Luck to you. This forum has a lot of Honda Metropolitan discussion . . enter california in the search feature to review related contributions BEFORE posting.
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