2008 Yamaha Vino Classic Review

by Lyn L
(Dayville, CT)

The Yamaha Vino Classic was my first scooter. Within a year I upgraded to a bigger scoot (a Genuine Buddy 125), but I still have my Vino. Why? Because I can't part with her. She is so reliable, so dependable that I feel I will be betraying her if I sell her to someone who will abuse her. I guess I will sell her eventually as I don't ride her very often and so she just mostly sits in the garage looking lonely and forlorn, but when I do sell her I will be picky about who I sell her to.

When it comes to the Vino there are no cons. Yamaha makes great motorcycles, they also make great scooters. I put nearly 3,000 miles on my Vino the summer I bought her and she did every mile without complaining even a tiny little bit. Beautiful on the inside, she is equally gorgeous on the outside, with classic retro styling, a top quality paint job and high end chrome details. True to her classy exterior she's also not a drinker, sipping fuel and delivering for me an average of 100 MPG.

Since the Vino Classic is only a 50cc scoot you can't expect her to be a crotch rocket; top speed is about 43 on straightaways, about 20 up a fairly steep hill (I weight 125 so you may get more or less speed depending). Also because of the 50cc engine she's a bit small; I look a little funny on her (I'm 5'9") but I don't care. She's just too fun and pretty to care.

If there is a con, it would be not with the Vino herself but with the Yamaha dealers. They are used to working on motorcycles and are not very well trained in caring for scooters. When I brought my Vino in for her first scheduled maintenance, I had to bring the manual so they would know what Yamaha expected from them on initial scooter maintenance. I imagine if I actually had a problem with the Vino they may not know how to actually fix it.