postnote Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I am thinking of buying a small motorbike to put in the garage of my Cheyenne 696g, so we can potter about when parked outside a town etc. I have heard that one option is the Suzuki VanVan. It will have to carry my wife and I. I don't want one that I have to use a trailer with. Look forward to your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Hello again! Do you know what available payload you have for the bike? I fitted a rack on the back of my Kontiki and had about 110KG to play with for the bike. This article is very useful. http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/advice/safe-loading-and-payloads For me I have limited choice. Most small scooters (125 cc) are around the 120-150KG mark. IF you can accomodate up to 150KG then your spoilt for choice and I would opt for one of the new Hondas. in terms of something more exciting there are a host of trail bikes under the 150KG and up to 350CC but these might be too big to get in the garage. Under the 110KG mark which is our limit, your looking at bikes such as the Honda Innova, early yamaha Cygnus, Piaggio Liberty or Peugeot Speedfight. All 125 cc apart from the Peugeot Speedfight which is 100cc 2 stroke. We opted for the Peugeot Speedfight in the end which is 100cc 2 stroke but with 125 performance. Goes like the clappers, no maintenance really or oil changes to worry about but it doesnt have the reliability or build quality of a honda. ITs only 95KG though so perfect for us. They dont make them anymore and finding a second hand one is almost impossible, The others I think are all still in production. Go for it though as its the best thing we ever added to the van, great fun and very liberating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob b Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I'd recommend getting the 'What Bike' magazine. I believe it comes out quarterly. It not only features motorcycles, but scooters as well. In the mag it will give you prices, spec and most importantly, the weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Thanks for your post Barry, it was great to get a subjective reply for a change. Looked up the link you gave and found it helpful. Thanks again for taking the trouble to reply. Also liked the picture of the MH and scooter, where were you when you took it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawki Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Don't forget weight carrying capacity limit for your garage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 postnote - 2011-06-04 7:05 PM Thanks for your post Barry, it was great to get a subjective reply for a change. Looked up the link you gave and found it helpful. Thanks again for taking the trouble to reply. Also liked the picture of the MH and scooter, where were you when you took it? Cheers Its a lovely little lake side village called Bodmen on Lake Costance at the south end of Germany / Switzerland. Not an official Stellplatz but we stopped there a couple of nights. No doubt Ill be kicked of the forum now for doing such a thing! he he. :-D http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=47.803672,9.025526&spn=0.011501,0.0421&t=h&z=15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 I don't suppose you have the coordinates do you, saves time looking. Don't worry it's people like you that makes the forum what it is.hahahahaha B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 postnote - 2011-06-04 8:20 PM I don't suppose you have the coordinates do you, saves time looking. Don't worry it's people like you that makes the forum what it is.hahahahaha B-) No worries. I was trying to do a street view but google havent been there yet. 47.803477,9.025204 Should get you there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Thanks for that.. And may the farce be with you. Continue the mayhem we will break them down one by one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Don't know much about scooters and we tow a bike on a trailer which, I know, is what you don't want to do. The point of my post is, go for it, it's brilliant. The only downside is now we don't do so much walking or cycling as we're having so much fun on the bike! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 Thanks for the reply hopsey, we like to free camp as much as possible and realise it is not everyone’s cup of tea. But that’s the great thing about motor homing you can do it how you want as long as you leave the places how you found them. Plus most aires in France and Stellplatze in Germany are mostly outside towns. As you have no doubt experienced parking a MH in towns is not the best of sports so as to enable us to explore these towns and villages we thought the next best option a motorbike. I suppose the walking bit would be around the towns etc. Once again thanks for the reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 postnote - 2011-06-04 2:46 PM I am thinking of buying a small motorbike to put in the garage of my Cheyenne 696g, so we can potter about when parked outside a town etc. I have heard that one option is the Suzuki VanVan. It will have to carry my wife and I. I don't want one that I have to use a trailer with. Look forward to your advice. Depends wether you have a full bike licence or not, if you do we use a Honda Innova which is fine for two up and weighs 100kg. Looks a bit old fasioned, I remember Barry saying his wife and self would not be seen dead on one, seems to have changed his mind. It pulls well and have used in the Alps and Pyrenees, no problem, only drawback is its small fuel tank. It does have full size wheels though, personally would avoid anything with very small wheels, and is still a current Honda model. We are looking at the new Honda PCX125 which is fantastic but weighs 124kg so have to figure a way of coping with the extra weight. having a bike has transformed the way we use our van, it has certainly not stopped us walking, in fact has enabled us to do more by no longer being restricted around the immediate area we have camped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 rupert123 - 2011-06-05 11:01 AM postnote - 2011-06-04 2:46 PM I am thinking of buying a small motorbike to put in the garage of my Cheyenne 696g, so we can potter about when parked outside a town etc. I have heard that one option is the Suzuki VanVan. It will have to carry my wife and I. I don't want one that I have to use a trailer with. Look forward to your advice. Depends wether you have a full bike licence or not, if you do we use a Honda Innova which is fine for two up and weighs 100kg. Looks a bit old fasioned, I remember Barry saying his wife and self would not be seen dead on one, seems to have changed his mind. It pulls well and have used in the Alps and Pyrenees, no problem, only drawback is its small fuel tank. It does have full size wheels though, personally would avoid anything with very small wheels, and is still a current Honda model. We are looking at the new Honda PCX125 which is fantastic but weighs 124kg so have to figure a way of coping with the extra weight. having a bike has transformed the way we use our van, it has certainly not stopped us walking, in fact has enabled us to do more by no longer being restricted around the immediate area we have camped. Ha Ha I did say that. Actually I said the Mrs wouldnt be seen dead on one. I showed her some photos of the recent Innova and she said it looked ok though. I talked to someone who had one on I think FACTS and he swears by it. I agree about hte PCX 125, great bike and Honda reliability. I have now decided just to keep the Peugeot until we change vans for something with more payload so I Can fill my boots with a 250cc or more. The little Speedfight has been a great bike. Handles well and goes well but it has had a few little niggles which Im hoping ive ironed out now. The main issue abroad is its not a popular bike (Well the 100cc version wasnt) and parts are not that easy to come by. In France we had a drive belt snap and I couldnt get one IN FRANCE! ITS A PEUGEOT! In the end I had one shipped out from the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I have a Honda PCX 125 and it is very good. At the moment I just use it for the daily commute to work. The tank only holds 1.3 gallons. I do about 100 miles and then fill it up. Brim to brim I am getting about 112 mpg. It will do about 65 on the flat 1 up and about 55 two up. However, I only commute in a 30mph zone. I have tried it out on the dual carriageway. There is good underseat storage, it will take my full face. There is idle stop mode, which is a little unnerving at first, but does not make any difference when you pull away. So far it seems very good, but I would like something like a 250cc but with good mpg, in the future. It has nearly full size wheels, which iron out some of the pot holes. My wife likes Harry the Honda as well! We have yet to put it on the motorhome. Chausson say the chassis cannot take a scooter rack so we are considering a side loading trailer or even an ezetow, but that is another issue. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 As the guys say it depends on your payload and your licence. We had a scooter in the garage but were limited to 100kg and the overhang put to much weight on the back axle to mount it outside. Although the scooter was ok it struggled uphill and in Richmond the mrs had to get off and walk!! In the end we opted to take the bike on a trailor and sold the scooter as this was safer for getting out of trouble with plenty of power and also gave us increased area we could cover from base park. We now tend to use the bike in Europe and UK when weather is good and the C1 when weather is poor or early late season (We feel the cold these days!) Consequently the towbar serves 2 purposes. If you do go down the scooter route I suggest a minimum of 100cc or you will struggle 2up-so obviously you need full bike licence for this or you will have to stay below 50cc-not recommended for 2 adults. If you have a full bike licence go for a bigger bike-you can still wild camp and use aires-we do, we just chain the trailer to the towbar when we are not using it. As for insurance, my company (Safegaurd) cover us for towing at no extra cost and the bike insurance is only £75 per annum. Tax is £50 whereas the mopeds are I think £15. Irony is the C1 is only £20 per annum!! Hope this helps-it's only my opinion (which everybody is entitiled to) and at the end it is a matter of personal choice-good luck Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I was amazed how powerful our little bike was when we got it. I had my doubts that it would carry my 18 stone but the wife is only 8 1/2. No bother. Some hills it gets down below 30 on long hauls but even on the 30% short climbs in Devon and Cornwall last year it got up as long as you didnt stop and had a bit of a run. The biggest Climb ever was up to the Ski resorts in the Pyrenees last Spring. I thought it was going to blow up. It got there in the end though. dont know if a 2 stroke is better than a 4 stroke but it certainly seems to have good pulling power. Here is the Mrs and the bike at over 7000ft when the road eventually became a ski run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Mike B. - 2011-06-05 4:46 PM As the guys say it depends on your payload and your licence. We had a scooter in the garage but were limited to 100kg and the overhang put to much weight on the back axle to mount it outside. Although the scooter was ok it struggled uphill and in Richmond the mrs had to get off and walk!! In the end we opted to take the bike on a trailor and sold the scooter as this was safer for getting out of trouble with plenty of power and also gave us increased area we could cover from base park. We now tend to use the bike in Europe and UK when weather is good and the C1 when weather is poor or early late season (We feel the cold these days!) Consequently the towbar serves 2 purposes. If you do go down the scooter route I suggest a minimum of 100cc or you will struggle 2up-so obviously you need full bike licence for this or you will have to stay below 50cc-not recommended for 2 adults. If you have a full bike licence go for a bigger bike-you can still wild camp and use aires-we do, we just chain the trailer to the towbar when we are not using it. As for insurance, my company (Safegaurd) cover us for towing at no extra cost and the bike insurance is only £75 per annum. Tax is £50 whereas the mopeds are I think £15. Irony is the C1 is only £20 per annum!! Hope this helps-it's only my opinion (which everybody is entitiled to) and at the end it is a matter of personal choice-good luck Mike Agree personal choice Mike but our 125cc carries my wife and I, combined weight 20 stone, up all hills we have tried with no bother. Admit it is slow on some but am in no hurry and we can easily cover a radious of around thirty miles from site so gives us plenty of scope. Again a personal thing but I do struggle to understand why anyone would buy a M/H then choose to tow a car or a trailor, I would buy a caravan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 Yes have full bike licence and have around 130kg to play with. Would prefer a motorbike looking bike, but reading Barryd’s post maybe for the continent a Peugeot might be the answer. Looking at that road glad I didn’t ride it. Just one thing Barry and not a criticism can you make sure the light is behind you next time and not behind the wife as I’m sure she would make a better picture. hehehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 In reply to Rupert. I see your point but ... We had a caravan for 6 years. It was good fun but hard work towing over long distances. The motorhome on the other hand is a doddle. I could drive an artic from Brum to Glasgow and that was easy, but the caravan over the same distance was harder work for some reason. Having a car on site is okay, but when you go into a local town you then have to find somewhere to park it, without getting nicked. Your stuff is more on show. You car stands out a mile due to the reg (abroad) and can be a target. The car is more secure than the van and one tends to store the valuables in it. A scooter is easy to park etc. The weight of the trailer and scooter is far less than the motorhome and you probably wouldnt know it was there. Reversing may be a hassle, but moreso with a caravan. Come to Cornwall and see the poor caravan souls in the lanes. Ideally I would like to put a rack on the back, but if not then one has to compromise, but not to the extent of going back to a caravan. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 rupert123 - 2011-06-05 5:23 PM Mike B. - 2011-06-05 4:46 PM As the guys say it depends on your payload and your licence. We had a scooter in the garage but were limited to 100kg and the overhang put to much weight on the back axle to mount it outside. Although the scooter was ok it struggled uphill and in Richmond the mrs had to get off and walk!! In the end we opted to take the bike on a trailor and sold the scooter as this was safer for getting out of trouble with plenty of power and also gave us increased area we could cover from base park. We now tend to use the bike in Europe and UK when weather is good and the C1 when weather is poor or early late season (We feel the cold these days!) Consequently the towbar serves 2 purposes. If you do go down the scooter route I suggest a minimum of 100cc or you will struggle 2up-so obviously you need full bike licence for this or you will have to stay below 50cc-not recommended for 2 adults. If you have a full bike licence go for a bigger bike-you can still wild camp and use aires-we do, we just chain the trailer to the towbar when we are not using it. As for insurance, my company (Safegaurd) cover us for towing at no extra cost and the bike insurance is only £75 per annum. Tax is £50 whereas the mopeds are I think £15. Irony is the C1 is only £20 per annum!! Hope this helps-it's only my opinion (which everybody is entitiled to) and at the end it is a matter of personal choice-good luck Mike Agree personal choice Mike but our 125cc carries my wife and I, combined weight 20 stone, up all hills we have tried with no bother. Admit it is slow on some but am in no hurry and we can easily cover a radious of around thirty miles from site so gives us plenty of scope. Again a personal thing but I do struggle to understand why anyone would buy a M/H then choose to tow a car or a trailor, I would buy a caravan. Just one thing that confuses me as I enjoy riding the bike for pleasure as well as motorhoming-I can't tow a caravan with the bike so where would I put it? Car/caravan/bikeontrailer? Like a traveller going to mardi gras! I tow the car or bike because it suits me. Sometimes I don't take either. As has been covered a million times on here it's a personal thing-can you park a car & caravan on an aire in France? Very few Also as you say and I did make a point of-your scooter is a 125cc not a 50cc that can be ridden on a car licence- consequently it has a lot more power but with power comes weight and the necessity for a full licence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 One advantage of a scooter over a traditional small motorbike such as a trail bike is storage. With our Peugeot and the likes of hte PCX Honda you have good underseat storage and we also have a good size top box. this means that on arrival at your destination you can secure and dump both helmets inside. For shopping trips you would be amazed at what you can get in both storage areas. Tons of stuff. A small and nimble bike is great for cities, small lanes and towns. Nobody seems to object to a small scooter being dumped on the pavement outside a cathedrel, cafe or bar. I would love a 350cc trail bike but I suspect Mrs D would hate it and it wouldnt be as practical for the above reasons with the van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Query regarding licence, I think with a full car licence I can ride a moped, but can I carry a passenger? :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 pelmetman - 2011-06-05 6:28 PM Query regarding licence, I think with a full car licence I can ride a moped, but can I carry a passenger? :-S I think you can if you got your car licence before Feb 2001. Only really any good for short flat trips though and I would stay off any roads where the traffic does more than 30mph. Its definately worth getting a bike licence I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawki Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 postnote - 2011-06-05 5:40 PM Yes have full bike licence and have around 130kg to play with. Would prefer a motorbike looking bike, but reading Barryd’s post maybe for the continent a Peugeot might be the answer. Looking at that road glad I didn’t ride it. Just one thing Barry and not a criticism can you make sure the light is behind you next time and not behind the wife as I’m sure she would make a better picture. hehehehe postnote the 130-kg you have to play with are you quoting axle weights or the garage capacity weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Barryd999 - 2011-06-05 6:38 PM pelmetman - 2011-06-05 6:28 PM Query regarding licence, I think with a full car licence I can ride a moped, but can I carry a passenger? :-S I think you can if you got your car licence before Feb 2001. Only really any good for short flat trips though and I would stay off any roads where the traffic does more than 30mph. Its definately worth getting a bike licence I reckon. Thanks Barry :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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