Ride quality on country roads

[defscoot]

Having tested the XMAX 125 in a few situations, I have noticed that the ride quality on country roads (pot holes, drainage covers, other ruts etc) seems a bit harsh.

I am assuming this is quite normal for a scooter that has smaller wheels and suspension? Or will a bigger scoot (Burgman 650 etc) be more forgiving on these types of roads?

How would a maxi scooter compare to a bigger (example Honda CB500X) motorbike in terms of comfort on bumpy roads where you have to do over 50mph?

[MrGrumpy]

It all depends - its not so much the sort of scoot and size of wheels, but the design of the specific scoot. Large wheeled scoots are claimed to offer better ride on bad roads, but on the two I've owned, I've never found this to be so.
In theory, the bigger scoots with bike like chassis (with engines mounted to the chassis rather than the swing arm) should be much better. However, whilst many small scoots do have hideous ride quality out of town (Burgman 200, Bev 350) big scoots aren't necessarily better! I used to own a Burgman 650 - I found that it was pretty appalling on bad bumpy country roads (and as for cobbles......) - in fact, as much of my riding is on country lanes, the bad ride and general cumbersomeness was what drove me to sell it. The Burger's twin shock rear suspension really isn't that good IMHO.
What you need is something more sophisticated, and Yes, I'm a Tmax fanatic, but the suspension and chassis are well designed. I'm not saying that the Tmax is always a paragon of comfort (and they do vary between versions), but the suspension does work reasonably competently and keeps the scoot reasonably stable on bad surfaces, and saves you from the really harsh jolts and lurches that small scoots serve up.
Its also possible to play with after market shock absorbers and fork inserts, though in many cases whilst these increase the quality of the suspension, they tend to be more sporty handling focussed than on ride quality.
btw I recall reading that smaller Xmaxs do have quite a hard ride.

[SH125Paul]

Smaller wheels... Which is why the likes of the SH get a thumbs up for the larger wheel size... Also wheelbase...
And some times speed, at certain speeds the front and rear often seem at ods with each other... Slower / Faster it can smooth out a bit...
Front... Suspension may soften a little in time and mileage... But is a budget compromise, softer for the country road wouls feel walowey at higher speeds and well surfaced bends
Rear... Limited damping etc as has the suspension hss deal withe swing of the engine unit...
If you are more slowr lanes than main roads, and not a big fella, try going one click softer on the rear...

[rayb]

Well if the SH is good on bumpy/potholed roads, then my dentist would love me to ride something with smaller wheels!

[StephenC]

I think the big wheel, small wheel thing is a bit of red herring. If you look at maxi size scooters, "small wheel" ones seem to often have 14" and 15" wheels, while "big wheels" are 16". Hardly a major difference. instead, the difference is more in the layout with "big wheel" scooters having a more upright seating position.

[Ferret]

Ride comfort on our crap local roads does not vary that much between bikes and scooters unless you ride a plush suspended adventure bike which with components designed to soak up our cratered roads and more .Another area is not just components quality but also how they are mounted to said bike or scoot . My srv has direct linkage on the rear and if it had indirect fitting it would definitely soak up the bumps better and not jar my spine .its compromise.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[mottza]

I think the big wheel, small wheel thing is a bit of red herring. If you look at maxi size scooters, "small wheel" ones seem to often have 14" and 15" wheels, while "big wheels" are 16". Hardly a major difference. instead, the difference is more in the layout with "big wheel" scooters having a more upright seating position.

14 on front and 13 on rear for the Forza.

[defscoot]

Thanks all, interesting points of view about it all.

It's hard for me to judge because the only other bike I can compare it to is a Honda CB125F so as you can imagine, that's a pretty unforgiving ride also.

[defscoot]

The surface had been planed off and grooved and left for what seemed like months without new tarmac on it. Riding on it on the Silver Wing always felt a bit squirmy. You don't feel a thing driving on it, but on the scooter it was always there.

Happily I was on that same long planed off section a couple of days ago and it's been resurfaced, loose chipping have been swept up and it's sorted.

I know that section very well, travel down it daily. On my 125 with thin wheels it was a pain, the bike kept getting pulled into the grooves. I just let the bike go the way it wanted to and it was ok. Bit daunting first couple of goes.

Glad it's resurfaced now.

[Drago]

I also live in a rural area and my commute involves bumpy, uneven and potholed roads.
Between the Joymax 14/13in wheels and Symphony 16in wheels I'd say that the Joymax is
the best of the two in soaking up bumps. I was expecting the 16in wheels of the symphony to
be better, for the Joymax is still quite bumpy but again the bigger wheeled scoot is far worse,
despite being lighter and equiped with twin rear shocks!

The best scoot I had for this commute was actually the Daelim S1. It had fairly wide 13in wheels, a single rear
shock, weighed the same as the symphony, nearly the same wheelbase and handled far better!