Thinking of buying a 4 Stroke Scooter? Follow this one piece of advice, you'll be a happy scooter rider. Brendon Watson Most scooter over 50cc are now running clean, green 4 stroke engines. There is so much choice these days that many buyers can easily become confused when beginning the search for a scooter. The amount of marketing material is astounding, some of the claims made by this marketing material is even more amazing.
We are often asked what the best scooter, helmet, tyre, glove, etc. The simple answer to this is there is no best scooter, helmet, tyre or glove. Really the best scooter, helmet, tyre of glove are the one that suits your needs best. What is best for one person is not necessarily the best for another person. We find people like to make their own decisions based on their own research. Rather than tell you what is best we prefer to give you information to help you make your own decision. It's the HQ way.
We have found there is one simple piece of advice to ensure you are getting a good quality 4 stroke scooter that will last. Buy one that has a proper oil filter, many 4 stroke scooters are fitted with engines that do not have proper oil filters, instead using a cleanable strainer.
Have a look at the picture, on the left is a simple metal style strainer, on the right a proper oil filter. The oil in your engine passes through these "filtration" devices, the engine relies on these to separate contaminants from your oil. What is immediately obvious is the proper oil filter can remove much much smaller particles & contaminants from your oil meaning cleaner oil. Engines are basically metal on metal inside & can produce tiny "shavings". A proper oil filter is much more likely to catch these & other contaminants than a strainer meaning these shaving are less likely to be circulating around the sensitive bearings & internals of your engine.
This may seem overly simplistic advice & a pretty broad sweeping statement but it's pretty much on the money. I can't think of one Scooter with an engine that has a proper oil filter that has a negative reputation for reliability. When it comes to engines without proper oil filters I simply cannot make the same statement.
published 2/10/2009 |