[@torquistic]

Hi everyone, I'm a student looking for a scooter for daily running. I need advice on the basis of following criteria:

* Our budget is Rs. 40,000 - Rs. 80,000
* My daily running is minimum 40 kms
* We'll keep the scooter for 3-4 years only
* Currently, I don't have a driving license as my age is 17 years and the RTO office in Kanpur city has stopped making learning license from 2020

So till now, we have checked the non - RTO electric scooters in my city which include scooters from brands such as Benling, D-Lite, Hop electric, Hero Electric etc. The common issue faced by me and my father in these scooters is that the floor is a little high compared to normal scooters or even RTO scooters from the same brands. Also leaving Benling and Hero electric aside, there is no surety of other brands if they'll be alive for another year or even 6 months.

The boot storage in these scooters is a synonym for useless things as the space is limited to half a helmet ONLY! Observing all these issues, we switched to second hand scooters and checked out the Activa 4G, 5G but to our surprise their starting price is Rs. 70,000! Also, we are well aware of the tricks and scams done by these dealers.

So, we switched to the OLX app to come in direct contact of owners of scooters (no promotion of the app is done here). Should I switch towards the non RTO scooters or checkout the second hand scooters and if I should checkout the second hand scooters, what should I look for?

[condor]

With a budget of 80k, I guess your best option is a petrol scooter. I dont think any of the better electric scooters are in that range for a new one. However, you could check for a used non-chinese brand (TVS / Bajaj / Ather). But one issue would be the resale after that 4 year period because of the cost of replacing the batteries at that time / by next buyer.

[SKC-auto]

May be try OLA S1 Air, if you book now you will get by the time you have your license.

Originally Posted by condor

But one issue would be the resale after that 4 year period because of the cost of replacing the batteries at that time / by next buyer.

At a saving of 2₹/km, 40km×250days×4years×2₹/km = 80,000₹ saving compared to ICE scooter, should not be worried about resale value.

[@torquistic]

Thank you so much gentlemen for your expert advice .

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

May be try OLA S1 Air, if you book now you will get by the time you have your license.

Let me share you an incident regarding Ola Scooter S1 Pro . So a guy had brought his S1 Pro in the school and was riding it on a rough road . After 2 minutes , the scooter neither slipped nor crashed but the front panel of the scooter got open . The condition of a 2 days old scooter in such road conditions puts a huge question on it's build quality . Is this really capable to stretch for 3 years ?

[IshaanIan]

Go for a Yamaha Ray ZR 125 hybrid or if you don't want to exceed your budget even one bit, then look for old models of the Yamaha Ray (110cc not 125 since you will find more value in those in the used market). I have been recommending this scooty time and time again to everyone. It is a good 10 kilos lighter than anything in the class and most importantly, it feels taut and ready to flick from side to side with immediacy and confidence inspiring progression just feels natural to ride which is more than I can say for 95 percent of scooters in our market and I'm including big names like the Activa/Dio, Access, Aprillia, Vespa etc. It is Japanese and therefore reliable, it is light and therefore frugal, and should serve you well be it 3 years or 10 years.

If you are in the mood for something offbeat, the Navi does somehow bring a sense of joy even though it suffers from having Activa cycle parts (not the best chassis or suspension or even motor for that matter).

[mithun]

Used Yamaha Ray Z. Ticks all your boxes.

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Hi There! Based on your running, IMHO, I would suggest you get a comfortable petrol scooter or Ideally a motorbike. I say this out of experience because I owned an Ather until fairly recently and sold it in a mere 4 months primarily because of the back problems it started giving me. I don't mean to say that this is the case for everyone, but this was the case for myself and a couple of friends. In addition, you would have to charge your scooters almost every day based on you distance. Evena basic commuter motorbike like the Honda SP125 which gives almost 65kmpl on road is far more comfortable.

[Sudarshan42]

You're 17. Do not settle for a non RTO electric scooter- you'll want to change it in under a year. Like most others here have said, get a petrol scooter or a second hand motorcycle. Pretty sure you can get umpteen Pulsars and Apaches 2nd hand within your budget.

College time should be about a bit of fun too, not to mention building your self confidence. Get something that you'll be happy with for longer.

PS: I'm assuming you're a guy. If not, petrol scooters over motorcycles would be my generalised recommendation.

[som9729]

Originally Posted by @torquistic

Hi everyone, I'm a student looking for a scooter for daily running. I need advice on the basis of following criteria:

* Our budget is Rs. 40,000 - Rs. 80,000
* My daily running is minimum 40 kms
* We'll keep the scooter for 3-4 years only
* Currently, I don't have a driving license as my age is 17 years and the RTO office in Kanpur city has stopped making learning license from 2020

Get an Activa type petrol-scooter.
Build up your confidence & experience for a few YEARS before even considering a Motorbike.
Note - Since you're buying a used scooter, don't skimp on the tyres. If necessary, get new good quality ones. Safety above all else!

Experience teaches gently to those willing to learn!

Many youngsters make the mistake of starting out with high CC bikes, which inevitably leads to unfortunate accidents.

Regards to the license - https://sarathi.parivahan.gov.in/sar...teSelection.do
Select UP and voila: They seem to be issuing LL (with e-KYC) online. Do cross-check with someone local to confirm this (since you said Kanpur RTO isn't issuing LL)



AND

[aim120]

Do note current petrol models are yet to be E20 compatible, the E20 compatible ones will get a bump in price.

[motionfreak]

I'd suggest TVS Jupiter 125 or Ntorq
Great handling and ride quality

Jupiter 125 has bigger storage than any of the similar scooters.
Ntorq is young and fun scoot. Wide tyre gives good stance as well , unlike Suzuki Burgman street.
Test drive both and decide.

My experience with Jupiter has been really good. Easy availability of all the spares outside of service center. Dues which I get all the work done at FNG.
There are other brand parts , non tvs, available too of good quality.

Avoid activa for poor handling chassis and too soft suspension. Also, I didn't like the attitude of sales staff and mechs at Honda ASC.
Yamaha has a problem of spares availability outside of ASC. Also, I find labour cost of Yamaha ASC on higher side. Yamaha ASC don't like to sell spares eg they did not give me a simple spark plug. You have to get all the work done at their ASC.
With Suzuki again spares availability is an issue in the ASC itself.

I quite like the Maestro from Hero. But Tvs has better chassis.


For bikes, TVS raider 125 , Pulsar NS series are really good.
Avoid typical commuter uncle type bikes. Not for a college kid.

Test drive all the bikes and decide.

[COMMUTER]

I recently bought an Yamaha Aerox. We have a Honda Cliq in our native place too. I have completely ignored the battery bikes. If you are considering battery bikes, you should buy a high end bicycle. I have been cycling in a simple folding bike(Dahon SUV D6) for 40+ km a day with ease. It would appear impossible at first but will become a cakewalk in a few months after we start cycling. Health will be a massive bonus too when we cycle. These battery bikes can't match what a good bicycle does in what ever their propagandists pout about the battery bikes being capable of. They are extremely flimsy. Their range is fake and fickle, massively affected by the temperature and speed. The limitation of being unable to get topped up immediately is an insurmountable let off.

The supply of fuel in our country had been fully stable compare to the pathetically unstable nature of power supply which again favours the regular scooters. The fake cost calculations are temporary because these battery bikes are not taxed and electricity is heavily subsidised. Once the road tax and the electricity Tax kick in, as opposed to the current subsidy, their etherial advantage in cost disparity will be easily seen through and get even more adverse.

I too was looking for a used scooter under 3 years, 50k km mark. I too was shocked to find them selling for 70+k too. You yourself have seen the used scooter selling for 70k, would you be able to consider buying a used battery bike for even 50k? No,
These batteries will cost more than what a second hand scooter costs and will require replacement if one is confused enough to buy a used battery bike.

The drop in Fuel economy of regular scooters over a decade or even two will be negligible compared to the degradation of batteries in a battery bike.

Buy a petrol scooter or a bicycle. Battery bikes are a fad and can be ignored completely inspite of what their sales bots scream out through what they plant in media.

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by @torquistic

Observing all these issues, we switched to second hand scooters and checked out the Activa 4G, 5G but to our surprise their starting price is Rs. 70,000!

So, we switched to the OLX app to come in direct contact of owners of scooters (no promotion of the app is done here).

Second hand scooters are pretty cheap in Kanpur as I myself had bought one 2 years back. You can get 4-5 year old scooters for around 35-45k. Spend around 2K for initial maintenance and these will run trouble free.
Example : https://www.olx.in/item/only-active-...iid-1708570101

One thing you should note before finalizing any deal is to confirm whether the vehicle has any pending challan (happened to me) as most people there are allergic to helmet.

[shancz]

Buying new, the only scooters which come close to the 80k on road price would be the TVS Zest, probably something from the Hero 110cc models with only the TVS Scooty Pep+ and TVS XL100(moped) coming inside the 80k budget.

If 80k is your maximum limit then I would advice to get a used Hero/Honda/TVS since they're FNG friendly in case any repairs are to happen. Specific models have been mentioned by others.

But what I would suggest is to either extend your budget upto 1 lakhs for a new scooter and get any of the Activa/Jupiter/Access etc. or stick to your lower limit of 40k or lower to get a 4-5 year old used vehicle. Remember that BS4 prices weren't that expensive too. So an Access 125 BS4(which I ride) costing around 65k on road in 2017 shouldn't be selling for more than 30-35k whatever the market is.
Also expect engine repairs on a 50k kms run scooter however well maintained as the life of cycle parts hovers around that.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by @torquistic

Hi everyone, I'm a student looking for a scooter for daily running. I need advice on the basis of following criteria:

* Our budget is Rs. 40,000 - Rs. 80,000
* My daily running is minimum 40 kms
* We'll keep the scooter for 3-4 years only
* Currently, I don't have a driving license as my age is 17 years and the RTO office in Kanpur city has stopped making learning license from 2020

If you are currently 17 you can only ride (with license) a 50cc non geared two wheeler or (without license) a non-registration required two wheeler like some new e-scooters or 35cc petrol powered two wheeler.