Dilemma

[knight2]

Having ridden a Honda nt 700 Deauville for the last eleven years I'm now thinkng of buying a scooter. So my reason for posting is to get the opinion of people who know scooters far better than me, the last time I owned a scooter was in the early seventies. The scooter will be used for days out covering from 100 to 300 miles. I live in South Yorkshire and ride any where form here to the Scottish borders which includes all types of roads from
motorways to unclassified and a lot of hills. I have a shopping list starting with the obvious.

Burgmans 400 and 650, from what I've been told and read the 400 is the better choice, though I've not seen one yet I did sit on a 650 the other day and it did seem very comfy and a nice fit. Is the 400 and similar size.

Piaggio X10 500 and 330 mostly because I think it is a really beautiful bike, lovely lines. Again the smaller one seems to be the better. But how reliable and are spares easily available.

Silverwing 600 because it's a Honda and looks easy to work on.

Peugeot Satelis 400 I include this because I saw one for sale last friday and liked it but know nothing about them or how good they are. It is a 17 plate with 3,700 miles on it.
I look forward to any replies and thanks in advance. By the way I take my wife with me some times.
This post has grown shorter as this is the third time I've tried to post it and it's disappeared each time.

[Greyerbeard]

Having owned and enjoyed an NT700 myself, I know what a sweet handling, fine steering, comfortable bike it was.
So...try your best to get a good test ride on a winding road of whatever scooter you choose - they are 'different'!
Personal experience and opinion only, but a big Piaggio's handling scared me witless in comparison, and I sold it on V quickly!
I'm totally sold on maxi-scooters' capabilities, and Yamaha X-Max 300 and Honda Forza 350 handling and steering are fine - at the expense of a harsh ride.
Test rides...

[smeghead]

I had a Silverwing for a while, it was a bit heavy at slow speeds but felt invincible on fast A roads and motorways. I put a Givi Airflow screen on it which was superb. It genuinely felt easily capable of getting to anywhere in Europe in comfort. And it was quick, on a motorway slip road getting to speed was a piece of cake.

[MrGrumpy]

You didn't mention the Tmax! The Tmax is in many ways the most bike-like scoot out there, and is certainly the one with the best handling and suspension setup (and the most fun). If you like, the Tmax is a motorcycle styled like a scooter, whilst most of the others (except Silverwing and Burger 650) are basically scaled up little scoots. Their engineering means that they struggle a bit when you get off the main roads. There's a reason why the Tmax has sold more than 200,000 in Europe, and why it outsells all other maxi-scoots by around 10 to 1!
Power wise, you'll be surprised at how well even 300cc scoots do these days, and wonder why idiot bike journos describe bikes with 100bhp as being 'low powered'.
On a specific point, Piaggio's spare parts supply is immensely better than it used to be!

[Dave Weller]

I think a Silverwing 600 would suit your needs best, I've had an VT700 Deauville and both the 650 and 400 Burgmans. The 400 Burgman before 2016 had more space than the 650 and was lighter, easier to handle on poor road surfaces and car parks.
The Silverwing is the best compromise scooter I've had, a Tmax is very good handling scoot but my one a 2007 Mk2, when 2 years old had many parts worn out and so I concluded it was a money pit to keep on the road in good condition.
I'm currently without a scooter, missing it a bit, but a NC750 DCT is plugging the gap for now.

[knight2]

Well thank you all for the quick replies with just the sort of information I was hoping for.

Greyerbeard, The nt 700 is a good bike which is why I've kept mine so long, couldn't find anything to replace it. Your comment about the handling on the Piaggio, not easy to get a test ride on them as there aren't many about. Thanks again

smeghead, the silverwing comes across as being a very capable bike, the one comment that is repeated is that it doesn't like bumpy roads, I'm assuming that means the suspension is a bit on the hard side.

MrGrumpy, your right I didn't mention the Tmax, it's never really been a consideration it's not really a step through which is something I was looking for. From what I've read the performance is good on scoots from 300c up like you say. As I've looked at different scooters I've read the reviews on the motorcycle news website and have been surprised to see some of the scooters get very good write up's. The Piaggio X10 330 gets five stars

Dave Weller, I don't like the later Burgman 400 the older ones seem to have a bit more about them and I do ride on roads with poor surfaces. Have done to day, went for a ride in the Dales the weather was a tad inclement but it didn't spoil the fun. Found a few hairpin bends on single track roads which would have been interesting on a scooter, one of which I wish I hadn't found. I think your right about the wing.

No body mentioned the Peugeot Satelis which is a shame as it fits my budget nicely and it's the best value bike.
Thanks again everybody.

[Symcity]

The easiest scooters to mount are those with a flat floor - so the obvious choice is the Honda SH300i or the Honda sh350i - decent enough power - great economy - and most of all sixteen inch wheels which provide handling akin to a motorcycle 🏍

[smeghead]

smeghead, the silverwing comes across as being a very capable bike, the one comment that is repeated is that it doesn't like bumpy roads, I'm assuming that means the suspension is a bit on the hard side.

I cannot recall any iffy handling characteristics or poor ride quality. Obviously it's not a motorcycle so it won't handle or ride like one. Ridden appropriately they are excellent scooters. The fit and finish is good too, it's a Honda after all.
I was very happy with it and only swapped it for a Vespa GTS as I used it a lot for commuting and it was overkill for that.

[Data]

The easiest scooters to mount are those with a flat floor - so the obvious choice is the Honda SH300i or the Honda sh350i - decent enough power - great economy - and most of all sixteen inch wheels which provide handling akin to a motorcycle 🏍

Except they do have a tendency to crash through the pot holes in a spine jarringly way. Even the GTS Vespas don't do that. I think it's the very basic suspension the Hondas have. Otherwise, they are good scoots.

[MrGrumpy]

A comment of mine seems to have vanished. In case it doesn't reappear by magic...
The Tmax is step-thruable (a new word!). Its on the high side (newest versions more so), but you can step through. Most big scoots have a decent sized tunnel to step over - in the case of the Tmax, Burger 650 and Silverwing, its where the engine is! Only the very smallest scoots have a totally flat floor.
I would agree that the Silverwing and Burger 650 don't ride well on bumpy roads - its not that the suspension is hard, its just crap designs. Its the Tmax's ultimate strength...it rides and handles in all roads and conditions.
OK whilst I owned a Burger for a while, I only rode the Silverwing for around an hour at a dealer event, but I was so disappointed in the suspension. Lovely engine though! btw I also rode a Deauville at that event and was seriously impressed by the ride and handling.