Piaggio X9 250 SL

A review of my current bike, which I have had since mid June.



2004 Piaggio X9 250sl - Lemon Yellow

Two months, 2000 miles.

On the way home from passing my test I dropped into my local dealers to see what they would offer me in part-exchange on my Vespa. I was very impressed with the offer I got and snapped up a three year old X9, a bike I know a lot about, as the Stig has had one since 2003.

Cosmetics

Personally, I have always liked the looks of this maxi-scooter. The lines from the front look very much like any touring motorcycle, and even from the rear it doesn't look too much like a typical scooter. The bike is large enough and plastic enough to get loads of respect from car drivers, other scooter riders, and even sports bike riders who probably don't realise until too late that it is a scooter.

Storage

Having been spoiled by the GT the underseat storage does seem small, but it is easily big enough for a full-face helmet plus armoured trousers, or several bags of shopping, a twelve pack of larger or whatever.

Speed

The Honda 250 in this model of X9 is not a very sporty engine. The bike takes off only a little faster than the GT, but acceleration in the 20-60mph bracket is much better with useful overtaking acceleration when travelling at speeds up to 50. Top speed is not outstanding - it comfortably gets to an indicated 70, and then bogs down a bit. The digital dash keeps track of maximum speed so I know I have done 85 mph on it.

Handling

This bike is incredibly easy to ride unlike the GT which handled fine, as long as you worked at it, the X9 just instantly goes exactly where you want without you having to think about it. Very steady in turns, very quick to stop. The linked braking system means the bike can be braked when banked in turns without any risk of the front locking up and doesn't even upset the turn meaning that even if you make a mistake, the bike is very forgiving. Despite being a heavy bike the centre of gravity is very low meaning the bike is very easy to handle, especially at low speeds where you can keep your feet up when almost stationary.

Economy

Having done a lot of London commuting along with several long weekend runs the economy seems pretty constant regardless of the sort of riding at 70mpg. This means the bike does about 200 miles before the gauge gets into the red zone. The service interval is 6,000km, but additional oil changes are required at 3,000km. With these regular oil changes these Honda engines can last over 40,000 miles. The oil changes and gauze cleaning can be done yourself easily, which can make servicing much cheaper. The belt should last 12,000km, but my girlfriend's X9 did 18,000km on the original belt before it was changed. Unfortunately the belt on the Honda engine in these early X9s are pricey and can double the cost of a service.

Comfort

When I first rode it I was a bit disappointed with the comfort. Other riders had told me how riding an X9 was like riding an armchair. Instead I found the backrest uncomfortable and the leg room cramped. I was used to the bench seat on the GT which meant I could sit as far back as necessary, rather than fitting into the bike as made. However, over time my body has bent into shape and I now find the X9 very comfortable for longer rides. The adjustable screen is a major enhancement and ensures a good view over the screen whilst most of the wind and buffeting goes over your head.

Reliability

Unlike the last two bikes which were bought brand new - this one was three years old with 18,000 miles on the clock. The dealer had serviced, MOT'd, fitted new belt and rollers, new air filter and new rear suspension and provided a six month warranty. Shame this didn't stop me running out of petrol on my first commute because the fuel level sensor didn't work, or being unable to go for a ride on one of the few dry days in July because the battery failed. The Dealer, Ewell Scooter Centre can't be faulted though - they fitted a new fuel sender and replaced the battery after checking the charging circuit, all at no charge to me. The right front brake got a bit noisy after 1,200 miles, turned out to be worn out pads, which were easy to change myself.

Commuting

Despite being bigger than the GT it is actually much easier to filter riding the X9. It is less twitchy so is easier to steer reliably into small spaces at low speed than the Vespa was. Weather protection is much better, as is visibility and road presence. Vehicles of all types see you coming and get out of the way. Fuel economy on commuting runs is also significantly better then the Vespa, whilst other running costs are about the same.

General Riding

The bike is much better suited to out of town riding than the Vespa - more capable of motorway/dual carriageway speeds, more stable on loose services, and generally much less tiring over long distances.

Fun

In some ways it is less fun than the Vespa - the predictability and steadiness make riding the bike a little less of an adventure than I wasused to. But the predictability and steadiness, along with the greater presence and visibility mean I feel much safer riding it. That means I go places and ride in ways I would not do on the Vespa so overall I am getting much more fun out of this - as indicated by the speed at which then ext oil change approaches.

Value

As this bike cost me less than £200 after I part exchanged my Vespa, along with the better economy, and that fact that the Vespa was just about due for another service means the bike hasn't really cost me anything, but is much superior to the GT.

X9s are easy to pick up cheaply, and well maintained ones run on to good mileages. Unfortunately they can be prone to electrical and other faults that can be expensive, and some part, like the digidash and the drive belt are expensive. So the bottom line is that you can get a good deal as long as you make sure you are not buying a lemon. I good service record, or a good inspection is important. I only bought this one because it had new belt and suspension, otherwise a bike of this mileage could get expensive very soon.

What would I change?

The engine could do with a bit more life - the later X9 250s (the Evo model) has a different engine with more go - but mainly I would change the seating position slightly. The seat needs to be able to go back further if there is no pillion passenger. I would also change the mirrors - they look huge and well placed, but give a very poor view of what is directly behind you unless you spend ages moving them around and put up with your body blocking half the view. I also find the speedo to be a bloody long way away! At 5'10" I can see it over the digidash, but I understand some people have trouble seeing it at all.

Overall

These bikes were sold as premium long-legged commuters and that is exactly what they are. They are perfect for the 25 mile round trip I do, and could easily work well for a commute three times that. Well designed for motorways or dual carriageways, and spacious and protective enough to make sure you get to work dry and tidy, and get home with your shopping. They are getting a little long in the tooth now, but they can be snapped up for not a lot of money and are well worth considering for the longer commute with a little spare for the weekend jaunts.

Vespa Granturismo 125

My next bike was the Vespa - which I have ridden for most of the time I have been writing this blog.



2005 Vespa Granturismo 125 – Smoke Grey

Two years, 18,000km

I decided it was time to move on to a bigger scooter. Booked my CBT and took it on this brand new machine. I considered many alternatives, and have never been especially keen on Vespas, but the size and comfort of the bike, along with its highly visible front and rear lights convinced me to buy one.

Cosmetics

What can you say? Love or hate scooters, you have to admit there is something appealing about the smooth curves of the Vespa styled scooter that Piaggio have been making variants of since 1946. This particular model is larger and heavier than most Vespas, but it also has a modern four-stroke water-cooled engine. The exhaust paint lasted longer – but like the Zip, this needed constant attention. Other than the exhaust the build quality and quality of finish on this bike is excellent. There are loads of opportunities to customise Vespas – whilst most London commuters customise theirs by sliding them down the road, I customised mine with a handmade fabric seat cover from scooterseatcovers.com.

Storage

A large under seat space is great for carrying stuff, but there is not enough space for a full-face helmet. The dealer threw in a top box as part of the deal, so with the huge box, the under seat storage, the glove compartment in the leg shield and a shopping hook there was almost no limit to what this bike could carry.

Speed

A bit of a halt on pulling away whilst the clutch engaged, but after that it pulled well up to over 50mph. Easily fast enough to beat most cars away from the lights, and fast enough to keep up with the traffic on all but 70mph roads. Top speed was just above 60, but fitting a Vespa sports screen not only made dual carriageway riding more comfortable, increased acceleration above 40mph but put more than 5mph on the top speed making 70mph possible.

Handling

The suspension and larger wheels give the bike a much more certain feel than the Zip ever had. Cornering was very precise, but I found that I had to use very deliberate counter steering to get the best out of the machine. I rode the bike outside London many times taking it as far as Brighton down narrow windy country roads. It was very comfortable and very capable of handling some terrible road conditions!

Probably because the bike is quite heavy, and only has 12” wheels, but handling was very dependent on the type and condition of the tyres. It ran very well on Michelins, but the original Savas had it sliding around in the wet. The tyre on it when I sold it were Cheng Shins – never heard of them before – but the only thing I could get when stranded by a rear puncture. They proved very good with very precise handling even in the wet and so I replaced the front with one when the time came.

Economy

Fuel economy was about 58mpg but this varied a lot with the type of riding. Stop start London traffic gave about 55mpg, but a day out in the country cruising at 40-50mph would get better than 65mpg. Servicing was more expensive than the Zip, with oil changes needed every 6,000km. None of the parts that needed replacing, including the belt and rollers at 12,000km, were very expensive. I got £1200 exchange when I sold it so twenty months use only cost me £1400 in depreciation – not bad for a bike with 18,000km on it with the 18k service needing to be done.

Comfort

Very comfortable – a good wide deep seat and plenty of leg room. There is plenty of room to move about and change position to avoid cramp etc on long journeys. The suspension gives a good smooth ride on all but the roughest surfaces. The 125 engine works hard so the bike does tend to be a bit noisy.

Reliability

The battery died after 13 months, and the centre stand pivot needed constant regreasing. Other than that nothing could be faulted.

Commuting

A perfect city commuter. Lots of storage, big and visible, very manoeuvrable, quick to change direction etc. The big widely mounted mirrors give a great view of what is going on behind. The only real thing against the bike is that the servicing costs and fuel economy can be beaten by other similar bikes from Japanese manufacturers, and being a Vespa you get absolutely no respect from other riders.

General Riding

With the sports screen the bike is easily capable of going wherever you want. It will cruise on motorways etc at between 60 and 70, it will safely manage steep windy roads etc. The excellent front and rear disk brakes give great confidence, and the bike always feels very stable.

Fun

This bike is great fun to ride, very easy to manoeuvre and with great comfort. As an all round bike, that has some style, character and history, riding this was always fun.


Value

Nearly two years of ownership, 18,000km and the dealer that serviced it was prepared to offer nearly half its original price as part exchange on another bike. The running costs were higher than some other similar commuting bikes, but overall this bike was excellent value.

What would I change?

Being so heavy for a 125 the bike could do with being more powerful as at times it is a bit sluggish. However, the restriction in power is a legal one so I think the one thing I would change, is taking my test earlier, then I could have ridden the 200cc or 250cc versions of this bike! I did make some modifications – I removed the strap from the seat – it serves no purpose but is bloody uncomfortable if you sit a way back on the seat, and I fitted the sports screen which as mentioned, increased performance, economy and comfort at speed.

Overall

An excellent all round scooter perfect for commuting and going further afield if you have not yet passed your full motorcycle test.

Piaggio Zip 50

The first bike I commuted on was a Zip 50 so I thought it would be worth writing a review of that machine -



2003 Piaggio Zip 50 – Dragon Red

2 Years, 13,000km

I bought this brand new when I realised the cost of my annual season ticket to central London was going be more than buying a scooter. I had ridden a little before when I was in my late teens, but this was my real introduction to scooter commuting. I kept this bike for nearly two years doing 13,000km, riding it on the full moped license I was granted when I passed my car test in 1990.

Cosmetics

Not much to be said here – small simple and technically uncomplicated bike using a two-stroke catalysed engine. Piaggio have been making and selling loads of these for years. As with all Piaggio painted exhausts, this needs repainting regularly. It goes from black to rust red in the first couple of months and is expensive to replace. I took to rubbing down with a wire brush and painting with exhaust paint every three months or so.

Storage

A helmet sized storage area under the seat – easily good enough for lock and chain, a couple of bags of shopping etc. I once managed to get a laptop in there but can’t work out how I did it! There is a storage hook in front of your feet for larger items, and a small glove compartment in the leg shield which I only discovered when it popped open when I hit the curb!

Speed

This is a restricted 50cc bike so what do you expect? Zipped nicely to about 25 then crawled to its maximum speed of about 33. It got faster with each service and would do nearly 40 by the time I got rid of it. It was still restricted and I have no idea what the dealer did to speed it up. Once had to slow down for a speed camera in a 40 area but that was on a very long steep hill! Don’t even think about overtaking a moving vehicle!

Handling

Very light, very manoeuvrable. It went round corners very nicely but had a tendency to slide when pushed. I also didn’t like the way the handlebars seemed to twist with every bump at higher speeds (like 35!). The brakes were adequate – nothing special, but with the bike being so very small, and so very small, the brakes never had much to do.

Economy

I got about 60mpg with all the riding being on London’s congested streets. Servicing (every 5000km) was dirt cheap but synthetic two-stroke was needed at about a litre every 1000 miles. The belt lasted 10,000km and cost virtually nothing. The tank was good enough for about 100 miles before needing to be topped up.

Comfort

As a large heavy bloke I thought this would be a problem, but the bench type seat meant I just sited further back A bumpy ride with the small wheels etc but I never got cramp.

Reliability

Apart from a loss of power in the rain, and poor starting when wet this bike never had any problems I nearly two years of regular use. Both problems were solved by spraying damp start sealant all over the HT leads and other electrics.

Commuting

For short journeys in urban areas this would have been a great cheap and effective way to get around. However, I couldn’t really recommend this for doing the 25 mile round trip I was doing every day. The bike is too small and too slow and had no presence on the road meaning people pulled out on me all the time and would try and force their way past – even through gaps that were not big enough. From the front of the traffic you can pull away from the white vans and the 4 x4s but they will soon be on your number plate desperate to get past. The performance is not good enough for any road with a speed limit above 30mph.

As it was the depths of winter when I first got this machine I bought a tall screen for it for protection. Whilst the screen was great at keeping me warm, and was especially good at keeping my hands warm, when it rained at night or when the sun was bright but low down it was impossible to see through the screen. I got fed up of looking round the screen at night and took it off .It was easy to replace for those few weeks in winter when the cold really got too much for my hands. The rest of the time I just didn’t use it.

General Riding

I only rarely took this on roads I didn’t know or on roads outside London. The performance is not enough to give any room for manoeuvre and it is too easy to be bullied by faster traffic, which is how I hit the curb.

Fun

As long as you stick within the bike’s limits this machine is great fun – one of the reasons I stuck with it so long. The bike is so small and light it is very easy to ride.

Value

Cheap, cheap cheap – but does not keep its value well – Despite being in almost perfect condition and fully dealer serviced with a year manufacturer’s warranty still to run I got less than 30% of its value part exchange. I would have got no more on Ebay, probably a lot less.

What would I change?

The bike as restricted is just not up to being safe on the roads so I would just change the whole bike! Other than that, the lack of a clock niggled - wearing proper protective gear made it difficult to read a watch, and with bus lane time zones etc it was worth paying £20 on a small waterproof stainless steel clock which I fitted.

Overall

Stick to the short city commutes it is designed for and it will serve you well. But this is a poor excuse for a motorcycle and should only be considered as a last resort for the seriously skint.