I will put my 2 cents in here, having owned close to 20 different motorbikes from 150cc t0 750cc and have ridden up to 1100 cc bikes,(I consider a scooter a motorbike,) covered large distances on them through many different countries on several different continents over many years and still alive to talk about it. I still own a Vespa GT 200 that went up and down the Alaska highway, down to the southern states and across Canada. What others have said is mostly true, scooters are bikes, so they are dangerous, anyone who has ridden for any length of time has come off more then once and likely knows someone who has died or is damaged from ridding. I have also been of the mind that bikes that can;t keep up with traffic are a bit more dangerous, I have also always thought anything under 150 was too small. I have changed that opinion a bit, as I think because of liscensing and insurance regulations in different areas 50 cc are a good option, especially in cities or for short distances and the reality is if you come off at 50 your are more likely to be in better shape then coming off at 70. I wouldn’t buy a Chinese scooter no matter how cheap it was and would only buy a 50cc scooter if it was dirt cheap and made by one of the well known and established manufacturers and my bias on Chinese is mostly because of the availability of parts even if most of the main manufacturers are being made in china these days. I am now into small dual purpose motorbikes, I have a Yamaha TW 200 i got it because I wanted something a bit better for gravel roads and adventure riding and also a lot lighter then the Vespa. I am also tired of the expensive parts, the difficulties of accessing the engine on my Vespa, but they are completely different bikes for different purposes. The Vespa can be ridden for thousands of miles in comfort where as the dual purpose would be painful for any distance even if people do that. Having said all that and still loving the feel of riding a motorcycle, I ride regularly, use it to fetch grocery and commute, however to answer your question is getting a scooter a good idea? NO I think having a bike with you on the road is a pain in the ass. Loading, unloading having to have all that riding gear stored somewhere, insurance, maintenance, liscensing etc is all a burden you don’t need for what it is worth or the times you use it, a bicycle would be a better option or one of those ebikes that everyone talks about may be a good option although I am not sure what the cost of those things really is in the long run so a good old fashion bicycle that is comfortable to ride would be my advice only because I am over hassles. I also would not be towing a cargo trailer but that is me, just another hassle, a lot of people tow cargo trailers and a lot of people have motorbikes myself included although if someone wanted to buy them, I am not attached. I could happily live without them, wouldn’t miss them.
