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 Hello everyone. Great forum. I love the helpfulness I've seen while lurking.

 I'm on the verge of buying my first scooter. I've been driving a car for some thirty or so years and haven't been on anything two wheeled apart from a bicycle, but have decided to take the plunge. Currently I'm tossing up between the Bug Espresso and the Bee Wee. I'm aware of the differences in engines (two/four stroke) and engine capacity, and find them both aesthetically lovely (providing the Bug is ivory or the Bee Wee is red!), but wonder what your thoughts are in terms of safety and reliability.

Edited to add: I'm a tall female, average build, if that's relevant to which I ought to get. I'll mainly be riding from the upper-upper North Shore of Sydney to Macquarie Uni. No freeways necessary, although Pennant Hills Road is 70 k/h.

 Thanks in advance.

 Cheers,

Lomandra

 A lot depends on your intended usage. 

Both scooters are great scooters in their own right,  the BeeWee is a very chuckable fun machine but I'd hesitate if I wanted to use it regularly on a freeway due to it only being a 100cc,  the Expresso is probably a better choice if you want to want to do higher speeds such as freeway work,  the Expresso also has the advantage of bigger wheels which are probably better at coping with pot holes etc, 

But then the Expresso does not have the Yamaha brand name which probably has better re-sale.

Either way,  you've picked two worthy contenders for your hard earned dollars.

 Thanks, Kiwiscoota. I just edited my post as you were replying. I am starting to veer towards the Espresso, I think. I suspect it might be better for getting me out of any sticky situations. You agree?

The Bee Wee will sit on 80kms all day long. Max speed is about 95, maybe 100 with a good wind, downhill.  It's a sneaky little bugger, and I find it always sneaks up to 80, without me realising it!  Around town I am always on 70-80, and sometimes I find myself doing 70-80 in a 60 zone, because of its sneakiness.

The only way to decided what is best for you, is test ride both.  It will handle your 70km zones very easily

Given where you are riding,  I would lean towards the Expresso because of it's slightly heavier weight which helps stability in windy conditions and it's larger wheels which will cope with rough road surfaces especially at 70 km/h on Pennant Hills Rd. 

As always it's nice to have some extra reserve power for emergencies.

I have a BeeWee as a second scooter, and have ridden the Espresso will come with a 4 year warranty, and is a 150, 4 stroke so cleaner to run. I love the beewee, but the espresso will be the better scooter.

Cheers. 

 Excellent advice, all--thanks.

Tomorrow I'm going to take a look at both. I'll let you know which I decide on!

hey lomandra, i live on the northern beaches and ride my beewee to ryde and castle hill every day with no drama`s. and you don`t have rosevile bridge or mona vale rd to deal with!!

i don`t know about every scooter out there, but i know i love my beewee and that blue ones are the fastest

I think there'll be more leg room on the Espresso possibly? Being tall you will definitely appreciate that. Infact I would suggest you look at the LeGrande. It may not look as nice as the two you've mentioned but has plenty of legroom, massive storage for riding gear so you don't have to lug it around & enough energy to get you well away from the loons.

If you're definitely stuck on the two you've mentioned, go for the Espresso.

 I would go the Espresso, being a cyclist, the larger wheels will give you the same feeling and stabilty that you are use to.  My wife had one and I enjoyed riding it

I'm a new rider and have a beewee and it's loads of fun, it loves going above 70 . When I was looking at scooters two months back, I liked the espresso too, the seat was softer, more leg room, big wheels and 4 stroke. I didn't buy it due to several reasons, including budget and the brand, even though the specs are much better, I prefer the peace of mind of a yamaha. But you should really go test drive a beewee at least, it's really zippy and fun.

i dont like the beewee but i'd take it anyday ovet the bug garbage thing, i've done heaps of km on a few brandnew espressos and i hate them....

get the beewee change the tyres and put a cheap pipe on it and it will smoke the espresso easy and be heaps more fun to ride...

and if you ever feel like you want the espresso to go a bit faster, bad luck cos it's a lot of work for a small gain, where as the 2t yamaha is easy with heaps of oprions out there to increase the performance of it, just look at the vids on youtube

kiwiscoota:

the Expresso is probably a better choice if you want to want to do higher speeds such as freeway work,  the Expresso also has the advantage of bigger wheels which are probably better at coping with pot holes etc, 

This is probably a dumb question....but I noticed that the Espresso's tires are narrower than your standard 10" or 12" tire (and even more so than the motorcycle tires).  I've noticed the difference between say, my pushbike 26" tire and my VS125 12" tire when I'm cornering.  I can lean the scooter over more than I would dare on the bike.

I don't know if it's just me getting more confident on the scooter, but I feel more stable leaning into corners at faster speeds (I suppose it's all relative).  Or does the width of the tire matter i.e. the wider/fatter the tire, the more contact with the ground when cornering?  If so, is the Espresso's cornering ability compromised by the larger but thinner tires?

WYSIWYG:

I've noticed the difference between say, my pushbike 26" tire and my VS125 12" tire when I'm cornering.  I can lean the scooter over more than I would dare on the bike.

Probably more to do with the weight of the scooter, than the width of the tyre.

WYSIWYG:

If so, is the Espresso's cornering ability compromised by the larger but thinner tires?

Not at all, they are skinnier to make them easier to steer at low speeds because the larger diameter is harder to turn. The added diameter helps with high speed stability & the ability to overcome lumps & bumps easier.

Hope that helps.

By the way, I'd go the Espresso over the Beewee.