MaxiScooter Choices

Welcome to ScooterMaxi where we have conveniently split up your choices between Middleweight Maxis and Big Maxis, making the ever-expanding selection of large scooters in the U.S. market a little easier.

The middleweight division of MaxiScooters is a crossroads for so many interesting paths: new learners, urban commuters, smaller riders, weekend enthusiasts, club riders, and just-plain fun-seekers. And you can brag big-time to your Prius-owning friends because you’ll be getting gas mileage that’s at least 20 percent better than their hybrid vehicle. 

A generation or more ago, people typically first learned how to handle two-wheelers on the street with an under-400cc UJM – universal Japanese motorcycle. What little is left of that great standard ride era has been left largely for safety training courses from the MSF – Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Middleweight MaxiScooters are a great size of bike for learners – the 21st century UJM for so many new riders.

As you look over the various scooters on this site, don’t restrict yourself to a particular engine size. Differences of 100cc in displacement often translate into only marginal changes in performance.  Accounting for weight and engineering differences, you might find that a 400cc class scooter performs similarly to a 500cc.

In general, the Big Maxis we list are great all-around rides. Not only capable of tooling around town running quick errands, these scooters are designed for hitting the high road and touring for great distances on the freeway. Looking at a Big Maxi for the first time, it isn’t at all unusual to hear the uninitiated exclaim, “That’s no scooter – that’s a motorcycle!”

Indeed, large scooters have more in common with motorcycles than the prevailing notion of a small scooter in America. Further, we are seeing a blurring of the lines between motorcycles and scooters as engine displacement increases and motorcycle automatic transmissions (continuously variable transmissions – CVTs) become increasingly common. In fact, many buyers of Big Maxis are veteran motorcycle riders who are looking for an easier-handling, more convenient alternative.