Long distance 2 stroke vs 4 stroke 49cc

[Zip Ties n Superglue]

So I'm looking at getting my next scooter in the spring or sooner XD . Now my last scooter was a chinese 49cc 4 stroke jonway agility scooter. I drove 500 miles a week and had 8-9000 miles on it installed a bbk and then sold it( needed the money badly had a car and didn't use they scooter as much. Now I don't have eather). Now I'm going to be driving shorter distance 35 miles to work then 35 miles home. Now I don't care about speed I'm looking into reliability I also like working on them so I know that a chinese scooter they can take a lot of tweaking I just never worked on a 2 stroke before and was thinking about giving it ago. As far as I've read on 2 strokes ( other then adding oil in the tank ) the piston rings go faster. But what about on my miles that I will be doing? Over heating? And what about rejeting is there an oil jet or is it premixed prior to the carb?
Ps I ride rain,shine,cold,hot,day,nite. The coldest I road was 28F

[dwint51]

with a two stroke you don't have to adjust valves and as far as pistons wearing you can get a 70cc piston ,rings,cylinder and head for less then $100.00 but they are cheap.i would get a Athena.when your only working with 50cc on the street I would go two stroke but that's just my opinion

[rks]

Commute 70 miles a day on a 50cc?..... You are a brave soul, don't think I'd attempt that....but then, I'm an old fart.

[kz1000st]

The problem with a two stroke road machine is twofold. First is fuel consumption. Firing every stroke and inefficient burning will give you less mpg no matter what the scribes or experts say. Been there.
Second. A two stroke engine is lubed by oil contaminated with fuel. I had reasonable luck back in the day with two strokes by keeping the revs down. Since it doesn't have valves it's easy to over rev and that adds to wear on engine bits. I have a Kymco two stroke in my possession and it will rev to unbelievable speed for the size. I can see that the rider has to be the rev limiter......or else.

[scootercapecod]

I just bought a new Genuine Roughhouse 2T and it's not only reliable but I have yet to open it up to WOT to see top end, that said I can go 1/2 throttle and she cruises along at 40-45

[kz1000st]

Here's my take on this "Reliability" question. Everybody has had the issue spoon fed to them so long by dealers that they actually believe them. I'm here to tell you after decades of experience that 30,000 miles on a scooter is NOT outstanding. A good starting point, but not a milestone.

In the age of throwaway motorcycles, ie. the 1970s, I had a Kawasaki 500 last 30,000 miles with nothing more than routine maintenance. I sold it to ride something bigger but it was good as new with all original engine bits. the next bike, a 1979, lasted 125,000 before I sold it and I recently saw it on Craigslist for sale with even more miles.

If I was a dealer I would want everyone to believe that a scooter won't last as long as a modern automobile. It's good for business. Even a Chinese scooter, with sensible use and regular maintenance, will last 100,000 miles. At least the engine. It's the stupid things that wear out and cause people to seek a new ride but all motorcycles are like that. Switches, chains, seals and other things pop and people say, "I'm not fixing it. Time for a new one."

Craigslist is littered with good bikes that need nothing more than a brake pad or stator that someone won't fix.

A Genuine Roughhouse is a fine little machine, but at that price it darn well should be. BUT. Will it need a rebuild long before a Kymco Agility 50. Absolutely.

A two stroke fires every stroke putting stress on everything in comparison to a four stroke at the same RPMs. A two stroke is also spraying gas and oil at its piston rings while a four stroke runs straight lubricant.

What does that mean? A Roughhouse should last 50,000 to 75,000 miles before the bike needs a top end rebuild. The Kymco 50cc, probably around 125,000 to 150,000.

Reliability isn't what a scooter or anything does in the first year. It's what it does for ten to fifteen years. There are almost no two stroke Kawasaki, Suzuki or Yamaha two strokes out there from the 1970s. There are, however, legions of four stroke Hondas from the 1960s and 70s. There's a reason for that.

[scootercapecod]

Well, I've had my experiences with both 4T and 2T and i prefer the 2T simply because of the instant power

[Irish]

Originally Posted by scootercapecod

Well, I've had my experiences with both 4T and 2T and i prefer the 2T simply because of the instant power

I've been riding & working on Motorcycles since I was 15. I'm 71 now &
I don't know that much about scooters but with Motorcycles , I much prefer a four stroke! As far as instant power , A four stroke (if tuned correctly) can also have instant power! The main difference is that a 2 stroke relies on RPM & a 4 stroke uses torque! Irish
P.S. Mainly it's just a matter of preference!