BeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeWeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, it’s obviously a competition we don’t know about; that’s right scooter manufactures are in a heated battle to come up with the world’s daftest names. Yamaha are now in the running. I’m not sure if they can take out the all time leaders; the “Man Boy” and the “Duck”. Just imagine a friend asking you what you’re riding. ‘Oh..ahh I’m riding a Man Boy’. Your friend looks on in shock and says. “Really, I didn’t know you’d been to Thailand”.

Let’s get into the meat. Forget the name, the BeeWee is a fun bike to ride. This little scooter is an inner city traffic weapon. You’ll go from mere commuter to a road carving battle warrior. Well, you probably won’t be that cool; I mean what kind of road warrior rides a BeeWee. I can see Mel Gibson standing there talking to Humongous the leader of the underworld. “You think you can escape in your Interceptor?” Mel would be like, “ahh yeah like, I’m not driving the interceptor anymore, I’m on ahh…a BeeWee. Look, I know it sounds a bit naff but it’s great fun…ahh come on guys stop laughing at me…okay okay it’s a bit gay. Ahh hell, you’re right I’m a girly wee man boy… just kill me”

Mel Gibson would ride a BeeWee, he’d buy a black one and peel off the BeeWee stickers. If you even mentioned the name he’d probably just shoot you…or bash you with his bible. It’s not just the strange looks of the Beewee that give it street cred, it’s the way it rides. The 100cc two stroke motor is surprisingly peppy and makes the much loved two stroke buzz. I imagine the high reving sound of the engine implies more speed as by numbers alone the BeeWee isn’t terribly rapid. Off the line it’s considerably slower than it should be due to a poor choice in rollers. These could be easily changed to increase the bikes speed off the line. As it is the BeeWee gets up and starts moving once you hit about 30kph (18MPH). It tops out around 90kph (56MPH) so is actually useable on the freeway/motorway provided there aren’t any major hills on your commute.

The large sidewall tires on the Yamaha give a surprisingly nice ride for such a small scooter. They simply iron out most of the road imperfections you’d feel on a similar sized scooter. The tires also seem to provide strong grip regardless of the fact that they’re a wet weather design. Braking wise the BeeWee is a bit of a let down. In keeping the BeeWee to such an aggressive price Yamaha had to skimp somewhere and it appears they did so with the front brake. Don’t get me wrong, the bike stops well enough it’s just the front brake requires more effort than some. It’s possible a simple pad material change could solve the problem.

Ease of use wise the BeeWee is pretty solid. I imagine most people would find the Yamaha pretty easy to live with. The scooter weighs in at fairly light 91kgs but feels lighter as it’s nice and easy to move around when parking etc. Seat height is about perfect at 765mm and means people of nearly any height will find the BeeWee easy to ride. There’s a seat release off the key, a small glove box up front and a nice set of clear but old school gauges. Fuel consumption is also superb for a two stroke scooter. We returned 2.9L/100kms (81MPG) on out test which is the best result we’ve had so far for a large cc two stroke bike.

The bad bits. There’s not really much wrong with the BeeWee, as I mentioned earlier the front brake could be stronger and the initial acceleration is a bit on the weak side. I’m certain both of these issues could be solved once you owned the bike. What can’t be fixed though is the riding position. It’s certainly a deal breaker for taller folk. If you’re under about five foot ten you’ll likely squeeze onto the BeeWee just fine. However, it you’re taller than that then certainly look at a different scooter. If not you’ll be riding on the pillion seat as your legs will hit the console if you don’t. The bike will take a pillion just fine, provided you’re both shortish. Sadly the two large headlights are a bit narrow beamed for my liking and don’t light up enough of road's edges especially while turning.

Summing up the BeeWee. If you’re looking for a small inner city scooter with style and a more exciting engine than the average dull four stroke then the BeeWee should be on top of your list. If you’re a tall lad/lass then move on to something like the Vespa S 125. Finally, the best part of the BeeWee is it’s price. In most markets the BeeWee is simply incredible value. It’s without doubt one of the best value for money scooters on the market. Try it.

Price	NZ $2,995 Aus $2,995
0-50km/h	7.6 Seconds
0-100km/h	---
50-80km/h	12.5 Seconds
Lap Time	---
Fuel Economy	2.9L/100kms - 81MPG
Speedo Accuracy	50kph displayed = 46kph actual
Pros:	Fantastic value for money, unique style
Cons:	Small floor area, not for tall people
Handling
Performance
Fuel Consumption
Value for money
Ease of use
Styling
Build quality
Overall Score	79%

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written by Rick Rudge , January 12, 2011

Here in the States, it's called a Zuma.

A lot of scooter riders go for the naked look of a Honda Ruckus, while others like a little bit of locking storage space that the Yamaha Zuma has to offer. I was discouraged from the Ruckus when I found out that many owners soup-up their Ruckus by engine swapping it with a Zuma's engine and calling them Zoomers.

I quickly fell in love with the Zuma's styling, the very comfortable seating, and the peppy speed of this little 50 cc. It's low maintenance, air-cooled, 2-stroke engine is unbelievably easy to work on and since it's a well established Yamaha product, it's very easy to find parts for it, both Yamaha, as well as OEM and third-party customized parts.

Outside of bicycles, I'm new to scooters and motorcycles. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to get started in scooters by buying the Zuma. It's CVT automatic transmission makes it so easy to ride, and since it's an under 50cc engine, I don't need to have a motorcycle endorsement on my license (check your local DMV for rules in your area). If you're considering buying a Zuma, I recommend getting onto the Zuma Forums web site to learn more about it.

http://www.zumaforums.net/

The Zuma has an oil injection system so there's no mixing oil into the gasoline. It does it automatically. The Zuma also has front disc brakes that have unbelievable stopping power.

A reality check: I don't know where Yamaha get's it's mileage rating. I don't get anywhere near 123 miles per gallon. My actual mileage is closer to 72 MPG, which is still, pretty damn good. My maximum speed on the flats is 37 MPH with it's stock engine. There are ways of getting even more speed out of it, but right now I'm too new to scootering to be interested in that just yet.

The Zuma also comes in a 4-stroke 125 cc scooter if you really need to go faster but want to keep that same Zuma styling. But, for me, I'm really quite happy scooting around inner-city traffic with my Zuma 50 cc.

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written by James Martin , June 19, 2009

I just recently purchases an '05 BWs here in Canada, the 50cc model, and I have to say, it's a great scooter all round. Im a beginner, never been on a scooter before, and this model is very forgiving and a joy to zip round on.

My only complaint is the dorky stickers, I removed mine the 2nd day I had this little monster.

8/10, and thats being critical.

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