Christina Roberts - Proud New Owner of a 49cc Electric Yanglei Scooter

by Christina Roberts
(Vancouver, WA)

I'm on a grand adventure into a great unknown because I've only recently (within the last month!) bought my first (used) scooter, and now I'm on the hunt for a 150cc gas scooter--on a really tight budget!

This last May, I graduated from WSUV with a BA in Creative Media and Digital Culture (fancy way of saying multimedia and design). Because of loans to pay off, I cannot afford anything over $2000 right now. I may get lucky and stumble into a clearance sale at a local motorsports shop, or I may not. That's part of the adventure!

There is no hope for me owning a car at this time, which is why I decided on a scooter to begin with: something sleek, cheap (relative in comparison to a car), very economical on gas, and much lower on insurance.

My parents taught me to be shamelessly independent, frugal, and thrifty, and so never paid for a car, insurance, phone, computer--anything of that nature for me. They always said "save for what you want." To this day I still do NOT have a driver's license--and I'm 21! No shame, just economics going on.

But now it's time, and I have decided, a scooter is the way for me! If I had more money, I would still choose a scooter. I've become addicted to riding them!

However, when I bought my scooter used for $400, I knew very little about them except electric = no money spent for gas. I didn't even know what 50cc meant! I loved my scooter, until I realized I needed to buy new batteries. It's a 2008 Yanglei Chinese-brand scooter and besides that, I know nothing about it! The original batteries were still in it too!

So there went $200.

But besides learning to use my body for balance, becoming more road-savvy, and enjoying how much fun it is to ride, I need a better scooter to commute around town to meetings. I've found that an electric scooter is good for one meeting, but then I must return home to charge it.

My clients ask why I cannot make a meeting at 10, then one at 12. It's quite slow uphill and the pedals only kick in if I'm down to 2-3mph! This is unacceptable.

It's been a lovely scooter. Black, sleek, fun to ride with a beautiful imitation leather skin seat, and I'm quite confident in my beginner skills now, but alas, it's time to save and buy a new one!

As a completely new scooter person all-around, I've spent nearly 7 hours researching brands (and myths on "bad" brands), local stores, Craig's List, proper gear and accessories, speed versus weight, and so forth.

So my adventure only now is truly beginning! I must practice my driving, pass the driver's test, then buy a scooter, attend a motorcycle safety training course, and pass that! All in that process, I will have to purchase insurance for it. And I hope to do all this in a month.

I'm nervous, but very impatient! This investment will wipe out most of my savings but it will be worth it!

I hope I will be able to update my profile in the future to track my progress. =)