Yamaha and Chinese Scooters

Executive Summary by John A Taylor & Kenneth Elliott

The Yamaha Motor Company began production of Yamaha Scooters in 1955 and started exported the first models of Yamaha Scooters to the United States in 1960. At first Yamaha’s were little more than scooters of a style that was familiar in movies of the period. The company has produced ever greater examples of excellence in engineering ever since.The Yamaha 125cc and 250cc models were ridden by a million people in the 1970s.

scooter yamaha

Today, Yamaha makes a broad line of bikes and scooters that encompass all types and sizes. Models range from the 50cc scooters to the 249cc Virago all the way up to the 113ci (1854cc) Stratoliner S and the V-4 Royal Star Venture. The latter is ‘only’ 70ci (1147cc), but its liquid-cooled engine puts out a throaty roar, and the ride is as smooth as a Jaguar.

Yamaha scooters are very economical. On the low end you could spend as little as $2000 dollars for a brand new Yamaha scooter. But on the high end you could spend as much as $8000 to $9000 dollars. The 49cc Vino Classic is a great starter scooter for younger riders, but would be appreciated by women and others as well. This is a European classic retro style, straight out of the movies scooter.

Now is the time for the Chinese Scooters and motorcycles. In recent times they have suffered the same criticisms that the Japanese bikes received nearly 30 years ago, accused of being of poor build quality and mass produced to a low standard, but times are changing. With the demands of the Great British public being that much higher, wanting well built, reliable machines that are going to last, the Chinese factories have had to improve the quality of their motorcycles in order to find a place in our market, and they can do this at a fraction of the cost of their worldwide counterparts.

This is why companies based elsewhere in the world are using them to build their bikes. China now builds more motorcycles than any other country in the world, especially Scooters. They now produce scooters for Italian, French and Japanese motorcycle companies which are still branded and sold as being from the companies home country. If you are prepared to live without the ‘label’, you can have an almost identical or very similar machine with a much smaller price tag.

The Chinese scooters and bikes that are now available in the UK are built to a much higher standard which is always improving, more and more dealers are supplying them and the spare parts are more readily available than they have ever been.