Yamaha adds scooter fuel mileage estimates to its website
Yamaha is not the first manufacturer to tout the fuel efficiency of its line of scooters, but it is the first to go so far as to list the estimated fuel mileage on each of its website's product pages. Scooter riders will be happy to see that Yamaha is claiming 124 miles per gallon from its Zuma, though its two-stroke engine likely emits more pollutants than a comparable four-stroke. Thankfully, both the Vino Classic and C3 use four-strokers and still do better than 100 miles per gallon. If higher speeds are a necessity for you, perhaps the Vino 125 will do with its 96 mile per gallon rating and 50+ mile per hour top-speed. Moving up the line, the futuristic Morphous and its 250cc four-stroke engine manages 56 miles per gallon and is freeway capable. Yamaha's top-of-the-line Maxiscooter, the Majesty, offers a 400cc engine which still delivers over 50 miles per gallon.
The fuel efficiency of various scooter models has been under discussion as of late. Most outlets agree that 100 miles per gallon is only really possible on 50cc machines, but their larger brothers are still capable of figures which are well beyond what the average automobile is capable of. We'd expect other manufacturers to follow Yamaha's lead in making fuel efficiency a selling-point for scooters and small-bore motorcycles as gas prices continue to climb.
[Source: Yamaha]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GoodCheer 9:31AM (4/29/2008)
"Yamaha is claiming 124 miles per gallon from its Zuma, though its two-stroke engine likely emits more CO2 than a comparable four-stroke."
How exactly do you propose that would come about?
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Mort 9:35AM (4/29/2008)
ICE scooters are a two edged sword. They burn less fuel, but they have no catalytic converter, so they burn dirtier. Also, I wonder how many miles you can get from one? I had a Yamaha 250 that starting going downhill fast at about 5000 miles. When you add all that in I keep coming back to conservation + an electric bicycle.
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racer008 10:15AM (4/29/2008)
^2
Scooters are subject to pollution control as well. The Vino125 has a sealed air box and a catalyst exhaust.
They "can" get 100mpg but only in a flat area realistically. I modified my CVT transmission on mine so it runs at a higher RPM, because I need to go up large hills in the mountains of pennsylvania. It now gets about 75-80 mpg, will go 60+ mph on a flat, and about 43 mph on a STEEP hill.
Also there are many people who have theirs over 20,000 Miles and they are still running strong. This is a very solid engine, and they aren't the 125s of 20 years ago, technology is advancing!
It is satisfying to fill up my 1.2 gallon tank with regular once a week! (less than 5$ a week)
For more info you can check out the following:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Vino125/messages
http://www.provoscooter.com/vbull/forumdisplay.php?f=73
http://www.scootertime.net/
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Mort 10:31AM (4/29/2008)
Thanks #3.
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Duncan 10:55AM (4/29/2008)
@GoodCheer Just let it go. Basic knowledge of engines or even cars in general has never been a prerequisite for becoming a writer at ABG.
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Jeremy Korzeniewski 11:03AM (4/29/2008)
Sorry guys, that was a simple mistake. I know it doesn't emit more CO2. The 2 stroke does emit more pollutants. I'll fix that right now.
JK
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Michael Hippenhammer 1:35PM (4/30/2008)
I had a 1983 Kawasaki GPZ305 that got 80 mpg consistantly. The worst I got was 59 mpg in which I had driven every day doing over 110 mph. Gas was .89 cents a gallon... sorry I was day dreaming of the good ole days.
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Glenn 1:36PM (4/30/2008)
The Morphous get's 56 MPG, bah my 03 Suzuki SV 650 get's 57 MPG, it's 90% highway but at speeds of 70-80 MPH. It ain't no scooter and can hit well above 100 MPH if need be.
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Lawrence Phoenix 12:49PM (4/30/2008)
My old Honda Helix,which they've been cranking out virtualy unchanged for 22 years now,has 23,000 miles on it. With one up at 55mph on the flat it'll spit out an honest 68-70- mpg from it's 250cc one lunger. Aside from looking like something out of a feverious George Lucas Land Speeder dream these little jewels will hit 100,000 miles with nominal attention and are as reliable as a gas oven. Downside, a Soccer Mom in a Suburban can reduce your carbon footprint to "0" in a nanosecond..
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Harvey 1:40PM (4/30/2008)
My 96 inch Harley gets 45 miles to the gallon thru the mountains in AZ
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