Vader 125 for commuting?

[newbrider]

Hello everyone,

I sort of stumbled onto this bike and there's quite a lot of people posting vlogs on youtube and it has me wondering about the feasibility of this bike for commuting.

I live in a city with limited parking. And this small bike looks like it could easily be brought into my place at night. And i live roughly 15 miles from work with the ability to take city streets the whole way there.

So my questions are:

1. I'm 6'4 240ish, how much will this bike struggle to move me?
2. is it reliable enough for a daily short commute?
3. Being in California, is it better to find a dealer or will it still be street legal if i order one online?
4. Can these do highway speeds??

[wheelbender6]

I think the Vader would work fine if you commute on roads with a speed limit of 50mph or less. Back in the 60s, there was a guy that commuted to our high school on a Honda CT70. I've never owner a Vader but I have commuted on a 125cc scooter for a few years.
I don't think a 6'4" rider will be very comfortable on a Vader, but it would probably be OK if your commute it only 15 minutes.
The Kymco Spade would be better for somebody of your height, but they cost around 3 grand.

[jsumd]

Here is my personal experience. I've got about 1k miles on my vader and have owned it for about a year now.

In stock form roads over 45 are really going to be nerve racking. It simply won't be able to keep up.

BUT with a simple front sprocket swap you will see a good 5 mph faster without running the bike ragged. I am 5' 10'' and weight 240 and the bike has no trouble hauling me about 50mph comfortably. I use mine for communting about 10 miles back and forth from work daily. It hasn't let me down yet.

I think what is going to get you is your height. I think you will be very uncomfortable and feel like a gorilla riding a banana.

[lildew]

I am 6'5 and around 215 and have a Vader and have no problems I did buy a different seat since I am tall and the factory seat kinda sucked for me but runs fine you do have to do some things to it when first get it to make it run a little better. Boom is in California if order from them I don't remember what part and is all street legal in California. I would defiantly say if your not very mechanical savvy save your money and just buy a z125 or an actual grom.

[newbrider]

I am 6'5 and around 215 and have a Vader and have no problems I did buy a different seat since I am tall and the factory seat kinda sucked for me but runs fine you do have to do some things to it when first get it to make it run a little better. Boom is in California if order from them I don't remember what part and is all street legal in California. I would defiantly say if your not very mechanical savvy save your money and just buy a z125 or an actual grom.

I’m fairly handy. I work on cars for a hobby.

What kind of things need to be done? And is the common carb upgrade a necessity?


There’s a dealer near my gym that sells the bike under the moniker “hellcat”. I’m going to try and check them out on Saturday. Probably not buy since they want like $1800 for one.

[culcune]

Hellcat is the taotao brand, not the Boom branded Vader. Hellcats go for around a $1k online from So. Cal. online dealers http://www.superiorpowersports.com/125cc_Gas_Motorcycle_p/tt125mc-hellcat.htm or http://www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/482/products_id/21346
and here is the Boom Vader from powersportsmax for about $100 cheaper http://www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/482/products_id/20474

Personally, I would probably lean towards the Taotao Hellcat since it seems like the Vaders need seemingly a lot of prep. Then again, once the members who bought the Vaders sorted them out, they had good experiences, and there have not been many members with Hellcats with as long experience to compare, but I have a friend in the powersports industry who used to deal in Chinese product (still does indirectly but now deals primarily in Taiwanese scooters but can deal in Chinese goods) and he has always had much nicer things to say about Taotao than Baodiao/Boom, and in fact will still deal in and sell Taotao products but not Baodiao/Boom products. Where in Cal are you?

[dh]

I had a chance to kick tires and sit on a boom at a local dealer and I was surprised I fit on that thing no problem and Im 6'2. I would definitely do a 15 mile commute on it.

Since you mentioned highway speeds and being in CA..... I just posted in web deals a link to a new 2016 SSR snake eyes 250 bobber for $1999 in Simi Valley. That should be able to cruise at 70 plus no problem.

[lildew]

carb upgrade to me is for sure a necessity. the other things you will have to do is engine mount bolts and bigger sprocket 16t is what I would recommend if do buy one right away.

[letsride]

All this talk of these Mini's is gonna make me get one!

[newbrider]

Hellcat is the taotao brand, not the Boom branded Vader. Hellcats go for around a $1k online from So. Cal. online dealers http://www.superiorpowersports.com/125cc_Gas_Motorcycle_p/tt125mc-hellcat.htm or http://www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/482/products_id/21346
and here is the Boom Vader from powersportsmax for about $100 cheaper http://www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/482/products_id/20474

Personally, I would probably lean towards the Taotao Hellcat since it seems like the Vaders need seemingly a lot of prep. Then again, once the members who bought the Vaders sorted them out, they had good experiences, and there have not been many members with Hellcats with as long experience to compare, but I have a friend in the powersports industry who used to deal in Chinese product (still does indirectly but now deals primarily in Taiwanese scooters but can deal in Chinese goods) and he has always had much nicer things to say about Taotao than Baodiao/Boom, and in fact will still deal in and sell Taotao products but not Baodiao/Boom products. Where in Cal are you?

I’m surprised that there is a difference. I’d assume that the base bike comes from the same factory and the names/decals are changed by the companies that buy them.

Thanks for the links. I’ll definitely buy through one of those links if it works out. I’m up in the Sacramento area.

[newbrider]

I had a chance to kick tires and sit on a boom at a local dealer and I was surprised I fit on that thing no problem and Im 6'2. I would definitely do a 15 mile commute on it.

Since you mentioned highway speeds and being in CA..... I just posted in web deals a link to a new 2016 SSR snake eyes 250 bobber for $1999 in Simi Valley. That should be able to cruise at 70 plus no problem.

Thanks for the input on the fitment.

That looks like a good deal for that bike, but I can’t stand bobbers. Those SSR cafe style bikes look really cool though.

[newbrider]

carb upgrade to me is for sure a necessity. the other things you will have to do is engine mount bolts and bigger sprocket 16t is what I would recommend if do buy one right away.

What happens with the engine mount bolts? Are they just cheap and break?

[dh]

Hellcat is the taotao brand, not the Boom branded Vader. Hellcats go for around a $1k online from So. Cal. online dealers http://www.superiorpowersports.com/125cc_Gas_Motorcycle_p/tt125mc-hellcat.htm or http://www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/482/products_id/21346
and here is the Boom Vader from powersportsmax for about $100 cheaper http://www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/482/products_id/20474

Personally, I would probably lean towards the Taotao Hellcat since it seems like the Vaders need seemingly a lot of prep. Then again, once the members who bought the Vaders sorted them out, they had good experiences, and there have not been many members with Hellcats with as long experience to compare, but I have a friend in the powersports industry who used to deal in Chinese product (still does indirectly but now deals primarily in Taiwanese scooters but can deal in Chinese goods) and he has always had much nicer things to say about Taotao than Baodiao/Boom, and in fact will still deal in and sell Taotao products but not Baodiao/Boom products. Where in Cal are you?

For shorter rides in LA traffic I was considering the Boom for $1300 Out the door(local dealer) but thought a Taotao 150 Lance might be the better value at around $700ish. Seeing these sub $900 online prices makes me think the Boom/Hellcat is an even better value and probably more fun than a scoot... I do like the rain/wind protection and storage convenience that comes with the scoot though for commuting purposes.

[lildew]

What happens with the engine mount bolts? Are they just cheap and break?

Yea they are cheap grade 8 bolts I replaced them and broke many more good grade 8 bolts but my riding style effects that. To me, this is a must for safety its only 2 bolts. I can tell anyone who is interested in one of these bikes literately everything grom part related will fit wheels hubs swingarm bolts rear sets. I have replaced a lot of parts with grom parts will little to no modding!