What to get.... Yamaha Zuma 125, Piaggio Liberty 150i or s, Kymco Like 150i or the Genuine Hooligan. (2025)

Only YOU can determine which scooter configuration is most compatible with you personal preferences!

Include Sym-Lance in your research.

I have a Like, 150i, used to have an Smax and considered buying a Liberty and Hooligan and have sat on but not ridden them.

Performance wise the Smax will smoke any other 150cc class scooter. The Liberty, Hooligan and Like are probably pretty close but the Zuma at 125 cc probably lags behind.

Since I do my own servicing I look more at how easy it is to do and how frequent. The Smax was pretty easy to service but had pretty frequent (recommended) service intervals. The Like has more frequent oil change intervals but longer between valve check. Doing the Like Valves seems to be a real Pita unless someone discovers a shortcut....it is still new. I think the Liberty has the longest service intervals.

I'm 6-2 and fit the best on the Hooligan. The Like and Liberty are OK with the Yamaha's having the most cramped riding positions.

The Smax has outstanding brakes. I have had some ABS issues with my Like so until the dealer sorts that out I'll hold judgement on the brakes. The Hooligan brakes get great reviews.

The Smax has a rough ride with Like being slightly better. The Liberty and Hooligan will have the best ride (according to reviews)

They are all good scooters. Ultimately how you fit will likely be the determining factor.

I'd go in order Piaggio Liberty but that might be too tall for your wife, Genuine Buddy good fit for your wife and since it comes with a flat seat plenty of space for you to slide back for comfort, Kymco Like with the Yamaha coming in last. All of them outperform the Zuma stock and I'm not a fan of after market mods to make up for lack of stock performance. Having said that only the two of you can decide what will suit you best because all of them are good options.

I looked at the Liberty but bought the Like. I thought the Liberty was prettier but not prettier enough to overcome Kymcos advantages of F & R disc ABS and nearly $1000 less out the door price.

The ABS actuates when it shouldn't. It's an intermittent problem. The brakes themselves are outstanding. They feel even stronger than the ones on the Smax. I also don't like the combined braking feature. Other than that I love the scooter. I have taken it on gravel roads and even through some mud. I expect to go touring on it. My ride report will give you some of my experiences with the Like: https://advrider.com/f/threads/full...-the-rocket-city.647784/page-95#post-36610077

I also did the same things with my Smax and Super 8. Small scooters are far more capable than most people realize and are an absolute blast to ride.

"The ABS actuates when it shouldn't. It's an intermittent problem" Now that is scary. You mean it leaves you without brakes, or with diminished braking ability?

To the OP, IMO all of those scooters are too small to carry a passenger on. I have owned a Zuma 125, and I barely fit on it by myself. I have owned a few other 125-150 scooters, and on all of them I had to sit right on the back of the seat. Even my Vespa GT200 does not have room for a passenger with me on it. Yes I am 6' 240, so I am a little big for a small scooter. But I would definitely check out any scooter you are thinking about buying, and have your wife along to see how you both fit on it. I would also check out the manufacturers rated load capacity, and allow about a 30% safety margin. I have ridden the PCH many times. You will want enough power and acceleration to keep up with traffic, and I have never had a 125-150cc scooter that would do that even with just me on it. You might want to consider used and get a bigger scooter. I personally don't like maxi scooters, but if I were going to carry a passenger, I wouldn't want anything else. Just to put things in perspective, I have taken my 130 pound daughter for rides on my Vulcan 750 motorcycle, and it bottomed out on every small bump. It was plenty fast enough, but handled terribly. That was a total load of 370 pounds, and it's max load capacity is 400 pounds.

I've got the noedoo system, not because I wanted it but because I wanted the white 2019 scooter a lot more than the red 2018. Those were the only ones in stock at all close to me.

I posted some dash pictures of the noodoe functions on the like 150 thread.

It's a $400 up charge over the standard dash setup. I honestly don't think it's worth it. Your phone is a lot better at displaying navigation info. Not sure if noodoe even works if you are out of cell coverage.

You have to get noodoe if you want the white or grey colors. Red or blue come with standard dash and is $400 cheaper.

By now you should be up to your ears in our collected "wisdom", which boils down to - "Go try them out and then you decide." None are junk, all will start and run, but like new tennis shoes they are all different and only you can try them on and pick your favorite.

Just be careful not to fall for the excuse that you can get after market gizmos to make a bike that doesn't really do what you want a little better. They won't. You'll spend more money, waste more time, and finally buy a different scooter. Some of us "advisers" will tell you otherwise, but if you don't plan on doing your own mechanic jobs in your shop, my feeling is just skip that whole choice.

^ there's some wisdom worth more than you paid for it.

Hooligan get the Hooligan, we now have over a dozen scooters in our tours and the Hooligan is the best in everyway. I have no idea what this over heating thing is we have two Hooligans now and have pushed them 2up on very hot days with no issue, I think that was a roomer that got out of hand. We have tried all brands for a reason looking for the best. At Hill Scooter Adventures in Hill, NH we have settled on Genuine Roughouse 50 and the big scoots the Hooligan and zuma 125s and that's where we are staying Genuine and Yamaha for us. We do a lot of gravel roads too, so maybe that's why they fit us so well. Good luck and try a Hooligan out it's worth the extra $$