Derbi Atlantis-solid, Reliable, Fun! (Derbi Atlantis)

Member Name: getzo

Product:	Derbi Atlantis
Date:	30/09/03 (3428 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great performance , Great handling, Killer value

Disadvantages: Forget about a trunk or luggage rack, So convenient you'll get fat from lack of excercise, Cheap premiums mean it's bad for insurance industry

I'll admit to being conflicted- I'm Derbi's California sales rep. So you should know that up front. But I was working at a motorcycle shop in San Francisco (SF Moto) and they sold scooters. I didn't think much of scooters, as I'm such a tough hard-core motorcycle racer guy, with years of track and street experience on some pretty powerful, big machines. But my wife wanted a scooter so she could "wear cute shoes" and ride.

My boss had a leftover 2001 with some crash damage from a test ride ("Why are dealers too cheap to give test rides?") that he gave me for almost his cost. I delivered it to Katherine, and she loved it! The thing went fast as hell- we could BURY the speedometer needle (it reads to 60+ mph but is probably 15% optimistic) on the long downhill straight. Plus, it would accelerate better than a lot of economy cars can, even up a slight slope. Katherine could hang her purse on the hook under the handlebars, wear a skirt and cute shoes, and go to work like a normal person. When she got there, she could pop her helmet under the seat and make the greuling hike 20 feet to the library's service entrence where she works. (Parking's a BIG DEAL in San Francisco!)

Operating costs are amazing as well. Insurance (full coverage, with a $250 deductible) was $104 a year. After I dropped the coverage to the California minumum, it went to about $20 a year. The 1.6 gallon tank will go about 90 miles before you have to push the bike's 198 pound mass to a gas station to spend the $3.50 to fill the tank for another week. (Tip to European countries: try invading oil-rich, yet unstable middle eastern countries to keep your gas prices manageable). Every 6 months the mechanic would charge us about $100 to do a tune-up if I didn't do it myself.

Everyone wants to know, will it get up a hill? Well, I can tell you that even a very steep hill will slow the Atlantis down to about 25mph
, but that's like a San Francisco steep hill. On the gentle slopes that comprise hills in lesser cities than San Francisco, 30-40mph is doable.

A passenger is also easy to carry, although you two should be on pretty friendly terms, as the seat is pretty small. But the floorboards are adequate and the seat foam is good for 20 minutes or so- perfect for the short hops around town the Derbi is built for.

Handling is incredible for this class of machine. Really. Most 50cc scooters I've ridden were circa 1980's, and had teeny wheels and short wheelbases, bolted together with dime-store suspension. Not comfortable or safe over 30 mph. The Derbi is different. 12" wheels and a longer wheelbase give you lots of stability, and the shock is stiff enough to give a nice ride without bottoming easily, even with a passenger (I think the load limit is close to 400 pounds!) I've carried 250 pound men on the back of Atlantises on test rides and even gone up medium-steep hills.

You can just whip through turns on this thing. Weighting the front end a little by leaning forwards, sharp turns at 40+ mph are amazingly confident feeling. The no-name brand tires give good grip and wear like iron- after 5300 miles I can't see any wear.

Speaking of wear, we have absolutely hammered this thing, and it is still going strong. At 1900 miles, we replaced the drive belt and installed a 70cc Mallossi kit, including variator and final drive. Now it rips! It accelerates to 40 mph in seconds and will reach close to 65mph on a downhill slope with a long enough straight (clocked from another motorcycle speedo). I even take short hops on the freeway and hope the CHP doesn't mind! All we've done to maintain it is spark plugs, gearbox oil and positive thinking.

To show you I'm not full of spit, here's what I DON"T like about Derbi: Build quality can be spotty, there's too many fasteners on the bod
ywork, which discourages a home mechanic from working on his bike, it's hard to change fork oil, and the brakes are a little weak when you have a passenger. It would also be nice to have a tripmeter, which all Derbi's lack, even the flagship Boulevard model. But the main flaw is the weak subframe, which makes mounting a luggage rack or trunk a bad idea on the 2001 and 2002 models. I think the 03's and 04's are stronger, but if you have a trunk or luggage rack, take it off! You'll break the brackets off the frame. You might be able to get them reinforced at a welders, if you are so inclined, but even then the bolts break. Get used to not having a trunk!

I'm sold on scooters and even more sold on Derbi. I sold other brands of scooters at SF Moto, but I believed in Derbi so strongly that when DerbiWest (the USA west coast distributor) offered me the job of sales rep, I jumped at the oppurtunity. It's easy to sell such a good product!

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