Scooter and shelter

[frugal90]

Don't think we will be able to afford a car when we eventually become swallows. Was thinking of a 125cc scooter instead. Is there anywhere that sells scooters, will keep them serviced, will garage them when we are not there and will provide a recovery service if needed. Does this exist?. Also I have only owned motorbikes in the dim and distant past - many of the seemed to be amazingly un-reliable. How reliable is the modern scooter? Or do I just dig deeper and go for the little car? We plan to be in Cyprus for maybe 4 or 5 months per year ish. Thanks for any advice.

[waddo]

Go for a little car - the more steel you can get around you the better! The roads and the driving are not suited to staying alive on a scooter, I would love one but only if they banned all other vehicles from the roads!!

[Maisiemoo]

We spend 5 months a year in NC in 2 chunks of 10 weeks or so at a time. We decided not to buy our own car but hire a budget car for £10/11 a day. The reason for this option was no MOT, no tax, no insurance and no servicing costs. The other bonus was when we had an accident recently it was all taken out if our hands and dealt with by the car hire company with a replacement car provided at no extra cost to us. I certainly would not recommend a scooter for the reasons Waddo gave!

[charlie]

I had a Yamaha 100 scooter for 5 years while we lived there. Just brilliant, cheap to run, reliable and bullet proof. The only thing you must do is use synthetic 2 stroke oil, the other stuff is too thick and it clogged up my oil pump. That was the only problem I had. Cheap insurance and tax. Parks anywhere. When we went away I parked in the kitchen ! Really avoid the Chinese imports. I got mine brand new in Nicosia by the traffic lights. As for servicing, its just a spark plug and brakes !!

[johnerebus]

Harvey Dunbar, known on this forum as Cyprusharv, tel 0533 8456 019, does all you ask for in your post. I bought my scooter from him 4 years ago.

[David]

Charlie, ... got to agree with you scooters are a great way to get about if you feel comfortable with them had one for ages and great for everyday use also very good for getting out and about doing a bit of exploring.

[charlie]

Good to know that Harv is still there, he used to servicing on my Yamaha.

[Ragged Robin]

It may depend on what months you are going to be here. Do remember that on a scooter you are exposed to the weather. In mid summer it is not a good idea to be in direct sun for long, and something like motor bike leathers must be like wearing a personal sauna!
In winter it is cold and we get heavy thunder storms and torrential rain. The roads often potholed and in summer skiddy with dust and in winter with mud!

As others have suggested the driving here is frightening evenn in a small car. If you do get a scooter make sure you are highly visible to driver both in cothing and positioning. I have seen motor bikes hide slap bang in the middle of a windowless van and too close, and then suddenly dart out to overtake - how oncoming cars who could have had no idea he was there managed to avoid them I shall never know.

Unless you already know the country well, it might be worth hiring a small car for your first visit , when you might want to carry stuff for the house anyway, and then looking round for a scooter if you think you could cope.

[Mimi2]

We decided to buy an old car. Paid under 2k for a 1992 Nissan. Has never let us down. Road tax 85tl, insurance 250 TL
Giving major saving on car hire. You don't need a posh car here it will only get damaged!

[Ragged Robin]

The problem of a small old car is"that there are too many "off road" vehicles plus some status cars, that think they bought the road and have no respect for other road users - smaller cars , scooters, cyclists or pedestrians. Your are at constant risk of being forced off the roa by one of these who wants to speed down narrow village roads, and their headlights are so powerful they can blind a smaller oncoming vehicle, particularly on hills where the headlight can go straight into the other drivers eyes. Another form of amusement can be to "tailgate" a smaller vehicle, refecting off the rear view mirror and fillling the car with light, thus ruining the drivers night vision. Again particularly dangerous in bad weather and onnarrrow country roads with no pavement used by pedestrians But I suppose the same would apply equally if not more so to scooters.

Sorry Frugal, I dont mean to put you off, just that you should be aware that this is no longer a comfortable country for small vehicles. On the other hand the advantage of a small car, even more scoooter, is that these monstrosities often take up all the parking spaces, and you may be able to sneak in spaces to small for them ! `