Great for a scooter (Gilera Runner 180)

Member Name: andrewro71

Product:	Gilera Runner 180
Date:	01/03/01 (4365 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast, nimble, easy to ride, auto transmission

Disadvantages: Toughness, small wheels, lots of plastic

A few things to take into consideration

The performance of the scooter is undeniably fast and this makes it the pick of the Gilera?s for performance. When buying a scooter / 180 take the following into account.
The ability to move through traffic is greatly enhanced by the smaller wheel diameter, although if you have been a motorcycle rider you may find that the small wheels make the ride and cornering a little skittish and pot holes turn into craters.
The constant velocity transmission can rattle a little and normally this is simply some dry linkages in the clutch mechanism but make sure that it is not a transmission failure by taking it to a dealer who repair a lot of scooters.
The earlier models <99 did not have adjustable rear shock absorbers and the rear brake was a drum rather than a disc. The un-adjustable shock is not really a problem unless you are very light / heavy or plan to use it for pillioning a lot. The rear drum is quite a poor performer in terms of braking performance and can get slightly out of round. When this happens you will hear a pulsating squeaking noise when using the rear brake and more critically produces the effect of brake going on and off . This is quite unsafe when cornering in the wet hence they replaced it with a disc. Go for the rear disc brake if possible.
Do not assume that your helmet will fit in the under seat compartment, quite a few do not, especially the full face L and XL sizes.
It is worth securing some of the plastic panels (rear brake light, side vents etc), as they are often stolen simply by thieves unscrewing them. I stopped this by replacing the phillips head screws with tamper proof ones.
The warranty on the Gilera?s has often been extended to 3 years, but to make a claim on warranty (even small claims) you need to be able to produce / prove a full service history every time! Normally this is in the service book but if you do not have it Gilera will NOT replace it. Without it you
need to have all the receipts to prove the FSH (full service history). If you are missing some make sure that Gilera?s warranty department will substantiate them. Without this the warranty is potentially worthless.
As far as longevity goes you must remember that it is a scooter and not designed for the rigours that a motorbike is designed to handle, so if you ride it carefully it will be fine, but any rough treatment will substantially shorten its life.

Summary: