Honda Metropolitan Thoguhts

[Shawn808]

Hi Everyone
I was just wondering what you thought about the Honda Metropolitan. It has a 4 stroke engine and honda quality.

http://powersports.honda.com/scooters/model.asp?ModelName=Metropolitan&ModelYear=2005&ModelId=CHF505

Kind of has the Retro look like the Vino, but more modern. (kind of like how the new vino is) any thoughts?

I am thinking the 4 stoke engine maybe the future since the new Vino is also going to have this type of engine.

[Zuma88]

it sucks! tops out at 25mph and the performance parts all are about 300.00 unless you get the variator for 85.00
if you wan't the classic look get a vino the can atlest do 35mph

[isoscelesjones]

The metro's good if you don't have to get anywhere fast. The four stroke engine it has is really underpowered... but on the plus side it doesn't pollute like a 2-stroke. For similar neo-retro styling and more power you might try the vino 50cc - or even the 125cc. I love my 125, but you'd need to get a motorcycle endorsement for the 125.

But I don't want to say the Metro is a bad bike. One of my neighbors has one and rides it too work nearly every morning, which happens to only be about 10ish blocks away via low-traffic sidestreets. So he can get by with his Metro doing low speeds.

I guess if I were going to recommend anything, I'd say get a Vino 125. They're kinda hard to get, and you'll probably have to wait for a while... but they're totally worth it.

[Zuma88]

hey whats you vino 125 top out at?
the 3 i have drivin only did 65mph i wiegh 195. i was wonder i had been looking in to a 125 and ther top speed is only around 55-68mph form what i have found.
my zuma does 65 and dose it in 5'6secs

[marylandmark]

I ride with some chicks that have Metro's (not sure if I or II..) and my stock Zuma runs circles around them.

Fun still but just no balls.

[Zuma88]

I had razz and it had the exhuast off and i raced a metro 1 and won easy.

[isoscelesjones]

Thinking about Honda Metros for the Scooter/Coffee shop? How's that coming along anyway?

[Shawn808]

Hi
Thanks for remembering isosceles, well yes I was thinking of starting out with 2 or 3 rentals at my coffee shop and see how it goes. I heard that 4 strokes are kind of like cars where you have to change oil and such and reliablity is a bit better, and I dont want my rental customers to go all crazy with thier scooters. So the slow speed and such is kind of a good thing.

I dont want to spend too much and honda is known for their reliablity. I am hoping that maybe some University students may park their cars at the mall I am in and rent a scooter to get to school because parking at the University is hell.

The only thing I am concerned about is the liablity insurance. Knowing some of these students they may tend to just leave it parked with the key in or try and do stunts with them. Or worse yet get into an accident. So I am still thinking about the rental part of the bizz.

I am going to probally just try and make a new sign and menus and put the scooter parts like oil, grips, mirrors, tires, battery, jet kits and such on it and see what the response is. If there is demand for the little things I may start selling the larger items.

No installs or matainance though, too much stress. Just running the coffee side of it now is pretty time consuming. I hope that works, if demand is there MAYBE I will get a tech, but employees cost $$$

Thanks again for remembering. I will try and keep you updated.
Shawn C.
Owner Gotta Java Espresso soon to be "Vino Scoot Cafe"

[King Vino]

I looked at the Metro, but said the hell with it, I always laughed when people came in to the YMC shop and asked if we could derestrict them since we all laughed at the poor bloke. They're hopeless.

[Zuma88]

you can get big bore's for them but the are 450.00 and ther exhuast are about that to form battle scooter store.

[ibagwan]

My wife and I both have Metropolitan I scoots and we love them! I can get up to about 42mph on mine and she can do 45mph (she's smaller). We ride them every where and have never had a problem in 4 years

[monkeywrench]

i have a 2006 met 1 and yes there r a few things to get it to go a bit faster without spending any money. 1st there is a restrictor plate in the intake take that out. and then up jet to a 50cc ruckus jet main jet witch is 75. take the outer drive face of the front ver side. and there will be about a 3/32" lip on the belt side of the ver drive face shave that lip off until your even with the drive face. this will give you a cool 47 48 mph with fresh belt of course. and that's on flats take off is still good so. just to get that with aftermarket would be about $100 to $300 dollars. and this is just labor and know how.

[JunkyardDog]

The Honda Metro IS a quality scooter, but it is the slowest scooter on earth, at least in acceleration. A 50cc Zuma will blow it away. It is so slow off the line that it is downright dangerous in town, even where the speed limits are 35-45. The problem is not it's top speed, which is around 40 mph, comparable with other 50cc scooters, but the fact that it takes about 2 minutes to reach that speed. In stop and go traffic with lots of stop lights, you are in serious danger of being run over from behind when the light turns green. I had rigged the turn signals on mine to function as 4 way flashers, which I kept on at all speeds below 30 mph, That helped some with safety, but you still needed to wear earplugs because of all the cagers blowing their horns at you.

There is no practical way of getting more power out of a Metro, people have spent hundreds of $$$ on them, got a little more performance, but with a major reduction in engine life and reliability. If it were me, I'd spend that money on a larger scooter. My Vino 125 easily runs at 55 mph, and gets there fairly quickly. And it will run forever, and only costs a few hundred more than a Metro.