A great ride! (Piaggio Typhoon 125)

Member Name: huddro

Product:	Piaggio Typhoon 125
Date:	23/07/01 (8079 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast Commute, Fun

Disadvantages: Target if thieves

Finally after 16 years the commuter blues have got the better of me and I can no longer stand the tube. So I set off on a search for an alternative means of commuter transportation.

What are you gonna do Rob I hear you ask, well a motorbike was out, the car impractical, too far on the mountain bike and I don’t earn enough for a chauffeur so there was only one choice left; yes it had to be a Scooter!!!!!!

Now we have all seen those Mediterranean folk on their scooters bombing round in the sun looking cool and we have all seen the poor guys and girls over here done up in their wet weather gear on their mopeds looking well not quite as cool, but for commuting in town a scooter makes a lot of sense.

Let me put it simply even with the purchase of a brand new scooter this year I will save on the price of my annual tube ticket. Next year I will have only to buy insurance and road tax and even after petrol calculations I reckon on saving £1400 pounds! Ok so that’s the financial sense. If I told you I could also cut my journey time by 25 minutes and of course no delays due to signal failure, no pressed up against sweaty people (ok I’ll miss that bit obviously!!!) and no seeking alternative means of transport, making even more sense now?

So what Scooter, after looking at a number of sites and shops I decided on a more modern looking bike rather than a retro Vespa type. This was mainly to keep the initial purchase cost down. My other criteria being a 125cc engine rather than a 50cc just to keep me amused playing in the traffic.

This narrowed down the choice of manufacturer to: Aprilia, Peugeot, and Piaggio. The final analysis came down to purchase cost and the Scooter that did it for me was the Typhoon XR.

So tell us about this scooter I hear you say, ok here it comes:

The Typhoon has a modern angular appearance with chunky wheels designed to smooth the, shall we say not always so perfect r
oad surface and provide good feedback to the rider. Combined with front telescopic hydraulic forks the ride is smooth and there is none of the older scooter trademark vibration through the handlebars.

The seat is large and comfortable enough to accommodate a rider and pillion passenger but obviously you may only carry passengers if your licence allows.
Under the seat is a large lockable box to store a helmet or a small bag and on the reverse of the front shield is a bag hook for the odd carrier.

The shield provides good protection from the wind and rain for the lower body and the slim profile and floor allow easy access to mount and dismount. The second advantage of this profile is a more natural position when supporting the scooter at traffic lights.

Climbing aboard we have electronic ignition, with a back up kick-starter should the battery ever go flat. Starting the bike is dead easy then and with “twist and go” transmission, power delivery is smooth through the range and the scooter is surprisingly reactive and nimble. This scooter is also extremely agile nipping through the crowded streets of London is a doodle the handling is sharp and cornering tight. This is due to the relatively short length of the scooter at only 1280mm.

The air cooled 2 stroke single cylinder engine delivers 11.9bhp coupled with an overall weight of 106kg this is a pretty quick machine and is as much fun on a clear road as it is in town, although I still prefer my car for a good blast. While fun fuel consumption is a respectable average of 80 to 100 mpg and with an 8.5 litre tank my commute will mean very infrequent trips to the petrol station.

The dash comprises of speedometer, fuel gauge, digital clock, and warning lights for main beam, indicators, oil and low fuel. Finished with a brushed aluminium surround giving a trendy look.

Security is supplied in the form of a steering lock though I would advise utilisin
g a sturdy chain to lock your scooter to something immovable and investment in an alarm that may put off would be thieves.

Available in black, dragon red, or Aluminium and with a range of accessories to customise this bike to your personal taste the Typhoon XR is a total bargain at £1695. Especially with the free insurance and road tax deals being offered on new models.

Having driven one for a couple of days just to see if I still enjoyed playing with the London traffic I have just placed an order with Motorcycle City for a nice shiny black one!

Information

For those of you who are now tempted to consider a scooter as a means of commuting and want to give it a try RAE Motorcycle training offer a range of scooters and motorcycles for hire they can be found at http://www.motorcycle-training.f2s.com/hire.html

Motorcycle City can be found at http://www.carnellbikes.co.uk

Piaggio Scooters http://www.uk.piaggio.com/

Update 3rd August
Well alas due to popular demand Motorcycle City cannot supply this bike :-( but......
Scooters direct have just come up with a fab offer on a Peugeot Speedfight 2 a much more expensive scooter so I feel another op coming on!

Summary: