Zuma owner is thinking of a V125...needs advice...

[larry-new]

Hi, all

The winter in Buffalo has not been too bad so far, so I have not been super busy with my plowing business, and equipment has held up o.k. so far...

I called my Yam dealer...he is getting in ONE (!) Vino 125....he said to trade in my 2004 Zuma (925 mi, cherry stock) it would cost me $1495 for a 2005 Vino 125...

How does that deal sound....I had a BLAST with the Zuma, going all over, on 30-35-40, and, yes, briefly, 45mph roads. That last was a bit hairy, as I was concious of my bike being at the limit with no reserve to get out of anything...

What , oh experienced ones, will a V125 give me ?...(250# rider) I know that the Vino has a higher GVWR, so I MIGHT be able to have a rider occasionally...while with the Zuma, anything more than a child would be over limit... How would off the line and top end be with this 125cc?

Anbd while my Zuma remained stock, I devoured everything here aboput mods...performance mods, esp....is the Vino moddable?...does it even need any?

I await the fruits of your collective experience...

Tak

Larry

[Davey-boi]

Two-strokes are zippy, and the vino125 will actually take off slower than your stock zuma.

The vino125 will hit around 60mph, but 55mph is more realistic.

As for the deal, I have no clue. I'm always gettin ripped off :angry: !!!

[Aviatrixie]

$1495... sounds like after you crunch the numbers you're taking about a $1000 hit on your almost new low milage Zuma. Not surprising with a dealer trade-in (he has to make money reselling it), but you'd probably do a lot better selling your Zuma outright.

Everyone seems to love their Vino 125's, but I hear they are hard to come by, as Yamaha severly limits the number that dealers can get. If you want it you probably should jump on it quick.

[isoscelesjones]

is $1495 the out-the-door-price? or do you still have to add tax, licensing, etc? If $1495 is the final price, then realistically your getting around $1100 for your Zuma trade-in (considering the final price on a Vino 125 would be around $2600 to $2700 after tax, licensing, etc.)

I'm inclined to say that with the way depreciation is on scooters, it's seems a pretty decent deal.

As far as performance, the 125's off the line speed sucks, but once you get going, it can really gallop. I'm basing this off competing with my Dad's '05 Zuma. My brother will usually race me on it - he'll beat me in accelerating off the line every time, but I catch up pretty fast and eventually kick his *****

[sooznd]

Larry- sounds like a pretty fair deal to me, too. I 've heard of Vino 125 owners paying $2700 and some closer to $3 grand out the door for theirs (msrp is $2499). so hopefully your $1495 price includes everything.
Like Davey-boi said--you'll probably average 55 mph.
Also, the seat on the 125 isn't all that comfortable 2 up for long rides, for short jaunts it'll be ok.

[marylandmark]

Nice scoot but for me 2 different animals.

If I wanted a motorcycle then I would buy one- not just an over-grown scooter. I feel like I lose the "scooter experience" if I was on a larger bike. Just my .01 cents- all on how you feel about it....

[Davey-boi]

Haha, but weren't you taking about fully modding your scoot a while back Mark?!?! Lol :spiny: !

Wouldn't that lose the "scooter experience"? :rolleyes:

[isoscelesjones]

With respect to size, I think the Vino 125 and the Zuma are very closely matched. When I think "over-grown scooter" I think Burgman 650. haha! Now, that's a monster scoot!

[marylandmark]

Haha, but weren't you taking about fully modding your scoot a while back Mark?!?! Lol :spiny: !

Wouldn't that lose the "scooter experience"? :rolleyes:

I would look at getting this 125 now that I see the size of it- I saw pics but thought it was HUGE like the Majesty- but it is not.

Nice scoot but still prefer the take off of a 2 stoke....

[larry-new]

...helpin' a dude out like you do ! :worship:

The V125 is not a bigger bike...I've sat on one...it is probably lower than the elevated foot/angled platform of the Zuma... the tyres ARE smaller...

Don't get me wromg, i love my Zuma...i'd even mod it up to get the extra margin @ 40mph....but....I have DEVoured the threads on mods...and I get the impression that they tend to be a pain in de butt...like, I really don't want to be fooling around with carb jetting....this thing is twist & go, right?

I would bite the bullet :army: IF a mod could be installed, and it would run without too much futzing...whaddya think? I don't need 55mph, but 45 would be nice...off the line is just fine now...the card don't touch me...

Larry

[Cubist]

I've got a Vino 125, and it's my daily rider. I've now put nearly 3000 miles on it. I've also had a Zuma in the past, so I'm pretty familiar with the differences. I weigh 260lbs, and neither machine had a problem moving me around. The Vino 125 gets you a cruising speed of about 44mph. I see top speeds of 53 on level surfaces, with nearly 60 going downhill/wind at your back. The 125 doesn't overwhelm with power by any means, and the earlier poster was correct in saying that it doesn't take off as fast as the Zuma. Still, I prefer the 125 overall, and at the moment, I'm looking for a way to tune it. All I'm really looking for is a little more torque to get up the hills where I live.

[larry-new]

hopefully there will be a cadre of 125 owners soon that can help with minor tuning and hop-up....what about the stock tires? Must one stay with 3.50-10, or ?/ what is the next size up?

[Cubist]

I think we'll have to wait a bit more before the aftermarket accessories come out in any way. The 125 is only now being marketed in other countries(Taiwan for starters). They still aren't sold in the UK or France or Italy. All the accesories for the Zuma make me wanna buy another one, but the problem is that all they really get you is 125ish top speeds.

As far as the tires are concerned, I've replaced my rear one with a Dunlop, but only because of a leak. I never felt the OEM ones were all that bad. They certainly aren't as much an obstacle to better performance as the pipe or the carburateur.

[XPS1210]

not a speed problem but handling... The handling is improved in all weather conditions with new tires...

The stock tires are okay for dry pavement and packed dirt... other than that they aren't very good...

there isn't a "performance" upgrade with the tires, simply a handling upgrade.

[larry-new]

according to the size charts on Dunlop's website, 3.50 corresponds to 100/90, or 110/90. Most tires in this size are 51J, the 51 is the load rating...about 430lb., and the J is the speed rating, 62mph.

[XPS1210]

yeah.. mine are J rated... I don't think you can find a scooter tire rated for much more than that... but... the biggest kicker is to find something that is 4 ply or more... and then you should be okay for excess of those speeds... IMO anyway...

[Cubist]

Going faster than 55 on tires as small as the Vino's isn't the safest thing in the world. The few times I've been up to 60 or more, I felt that my general stability was tenuous at best. At the end of the day, the 125 has small tires and a short wheelbase, two things that'll put you in the ditch in a hurry if you don't watch out at higher speeds. Having said that, I've spent hours looking for any kind of performance mods, pipes, carbs, whatever, but in my case, I just want some more torque. The 125 makes good power, it just needs more to maintain speed on hills and be a bit faster off the line.