Motofino Retro 125

[funderp47]

My wife and I own two Motofino Retro 125's, purchased in March '06 from Worldwide Distributers in GA. They now have a little over 1000 mainly troublefree miles on them.

My wife's has had NO problems whatsoever. Mine had slightly raised edges around three adjacent holes on the front brake rotor that caused a squeak, squeak when moving very slowly. Chamfering the edges of the offending holes with a dremel tool took care of that. My speedometer once refused to go above 30 mph, but chucking the cable in a drill and spinning the heck out of it until it suddenly jumped to about 70 mph cleared that up. Something causing it to stick, I guess. That was 500 miles ago.

In both instances, according to the parts department, replacement parts were available. I also asked about a number of normal wear and tear parts, and was told they were available. I was also glad to hear replacement body panels already painted could be had much cheaper than trying to repair the originals.

They will run 50-55 wide open, but are basically good 40-45 mph scooters. We really enjoy them for just puttering around.

[funderp47]

Our Motofinos are now two years old but have only 4000 miles. The ONLY replaced parts have been spark plugs and a headlight bulb on my wife's scooter. The original Torch brand plugs were replaced with NGKs with no noticeable difference. The Torch's are now spares. They have never seen anything but 87 octane fuel. They've been ridden from sea level to 5000 feet.

I ordered three bulbs and two CVT belts from Worldwide, and discovered upon inspection the belts are not yet needed. I asked about various parts, and was assured they were available. I was ready to spend the money for some other spare parts, but was advised they were available and to not get them yet based on the distributor's history of lack of failures, and their quick delivery if needed.

The ordered parts arrived two days later.

We generally take long rides on rural roads at 30-40 mph on sightseeing adventures. They have served that purpose well. My only complaint is the hump in the seat, which does not bother my shorter and lighter wife. I may do something about my seat sometime.

[einism]

I have a friend who sells motofinos and he has very few coming in for repair and all of them are regular maintenance issues, normal wear and tear. cant believe they arent a major player in the scooter world.

[funderp47]

I would like to say it was superior judgement and experience that caused me to order two Motofinos.

But actually, I was ignorant about Chinese scooters. I had seen various name brand scooters that had the same look and seemed to be basically identical. I figured it was similar to the MTD/Murray scenario in lawn products that had basically the same parts but different names.

The guy I talked to at Worldwide answered my questions best and made me feel the most comfortable of the online dealers I called. They arrived two days later, well packaged, no damage. I had to install the front wheel, fender, battery, mirrors, and hook up the speedometer cable. I think they are assembled now.

I put gas in them and cranked them up. I only took the panels off for a better inspection later after doing some internet research and reading horror stories. I did nothing and put the panels back on. Ours have been crank, twist and go ever since.