Pattaya motorbikes are not the same motorcycles you’d want for America’s highways.  Neither are scooters with their floorboards. Even though Honda and Yamaha are trying to convince you otherwise.   They are totally inferior to a Honda, Wave, Yamaha Nouvo, or Honda PCX.

Pattaya motorbikes–Forget those scooters with floorboards

But what the hell, if you really want to buy a scooter go for it.  Just don’t expect it to be as stable or safe.  But it won’t handle anything close to an underbone style of motorbike.  If you really prefer a Vespa with its pygmy tires  or a  Vespa Japanese copycat as a Honda Scoopy, Yamaha Filano, or Yamaha Fino,  buy it.  After all it’s a free world.  If you really prefer that sixty year old technology who are we to stop you?  But before you buy into it, you should familiarize yourself with what a true underbone is and its terrific contribution to motorcycle technology.

The popularity of motor scooters emerged from the ashes of World War II

in the form of the Vespa which helped put Italy back on wheels.  Italy was devastated by the war.  And most Italians were too poor to own cars.   The solution to Italy’s postwar transportation problems  came from the fertile mind of Enrico Piaggio  when he masterminded the Vespa.  It was small.  It was cheap to own and operate.  And it had cool flowing lines that appealed to both men and women.  Moreover, the engine and transmission were entirely enclosed.  So there was no oily chain resulting in both driver and passenger being able to keep their clothing unsoiled.   In 1946, the Vespa had very small 8 inch diameter wheels that gave it the high speed stability of a roller skate.

When I was a boy growing up I thought they were cute.

 But I never forgot my Dad’s telling me how unstable those roller skates were due to their small tires.

As a young man, my Dad had owned Harleys, and even though he considered all motor bikes to be dangerous he singled out motor scooters to be the absolute worse of the lot.

In 1958 Honda introduced its Super Club which would transform the entire worldwide motorcycle industry during the 1960’s.  Until then, the motorcycle market in the United States was dominated by Harley Davidson, Triumph, BSA, and Norton.  It was a relatively small market that had a bad boy image as motor cycles then were associated with tattooed, motorcycle gang types.  In those days both the British marques and the Harleys dripped oil from their chains and other mechanical parts.  The Super Cub looked like a girl’s bicycle with a motor.  It was light weight, extremely reliable, it could get over 200 miles to the gallon.  But it couldn’t even do 50 miles an hour.  Honda then went through a 12 year advertising campaign while popularizing such slogans as “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.”

The design of the Super Cub was revolutionary.

It had a fully enclosed chain.  Its engine comprised the lower portion of the bike’s frame.  It had large 17 inch diameter tires.  Thanks to Honda’s placement of its engine and transmission in a far forward position with the chain driving the rear wheel.  Such was not the case with a Vespa which coupled its back wheel directly to the engine’s transmission.  The direct drive of the Vespa did not allow for large diameter tires, which is why even today Vespa only have ten inch diameter wheels on most of its models.

The result of this revolutionary small motorcycle is that Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki were able to completely dominate the motorcycle market

of both the U.S. and the rest of the world.  Harley, Triumph, Norton, and BSA faced nearly complete extinction.  As for Vespa.  It never was even in the running with the Honda Super Cub or with its descendants from  the Japanese Big Four.

Take a good look at the picture above.  Yamaha Nouvo, a Honda PCX, and Honda Wave,  are simply more powerful  incarnations of the Honda Super Cub.   In the picture Honda has removed  the upper cowling.

 There is virtually no major mechanical differences between the so called “Real motorcycles” and such underbones

“real motorcycles” place the gas tank directly between the driver’s legs.   Whereas  underbones place the fuel tank  under the bike’s seat.

An underbone’s large diameter tires coupled with this  upper bracing gives it far superior handling and stability to a Vespa or Japanese Vespa look alike.   It is true that many modern day scooters with floorboards are now able to offer larger diameter tires than a Vespa. This is due to their utilizing belts and chains instead of a Vespa type direct drive system.   Nevertheless, all motorbikes that have floorboards lack this upper bracing.   So there is no way that such a scooter can corner like a true underbone.  Or come close to offering the same stability.

So here’s the bottom line on Pattaya motorbikes .

All scooters, such as a Vespa, Yamaha Fino, Filano, Honda Scoopy or Honda Click are  inferior to underbones.

Most of them have a single weak rear shock.  They  usually have smaller tires.  And they just plain lack all that upper bracing, and for good reason.  It costs money to put that bracing into a bike or a second rear shock.   In a world where money is number one this means more profit per motorbike.  Provided that motorcycle manufacturers can convince enough dumb people to buy such inferior products.

If you want  one of the finest Pattaya motorbikes for city  driving that is stable at highway speeds, stay clear of scooters with floorboards.

Click here to read Jack Corbett’s Best Motorbikes for Thailand’s Cities