Scooter Gear - Genuine Blur SS 220i
We bought a new 2011 Genuine Scooter Company Blur SS 220i from F&T Valley Motorsports in Pharr, Texas in February 2011. This was right as gas prices hit $3.29 a gallon for regular unleaded. We had sold our previous scooters, a pair of 2008 Honda Ruckus 50cc bikes and were in desperate need of replacements. This scooter is for Jerry, we'll get Cynthia a new one as funds become available. Anyway, on with the review!The scooter brand is "Genuine" but it is actually made by PGO in Taiwan. Over there it is called a G-Max, in the US it is the Blur. Genuine Scooter Company is just an importer and they don't actually make anything. They do specify certain features, designs and quality requirements. Everything made in mainland China is utter and complete crap, whereas the majority of things manufactured in Taiwan are of very good quality. That's just my opinion, although I think it is dead on.
The bike is a 220cc sport scooter. It is one of the few scooters available from any manufacturer that the average man won't look like a sissy boy riding. We went with a larger engine as there are times when I want to get somewhere quickly. With a 50cc bike, I was limited to about 35 MPH. On this one, I can do 35 MPH if I want to and I can also do 75 MPH if I want to.
Fit and finish on the bike is very nice. Everything aligns as it should, there are no gaps where there shouldn't be and you're not going to have nuisance breaking of latches, plastics, etc. In the case that something does break, the generous 2 year warranty (that includes road side assistance) will cover you. Standard exclusions apply as with any warranty. The only "catch" with the warranty is that you must have the scooter serviced by the dealer at least once before you reach 500 miles. Hopefully, your dealer won't try to charge you several hundred dollars for an initial oil change.
The instrument cluster is both analog and digital (see below). The digital side has your fuel gauge, speedometer, odometer, trip meter and clock. The tachometer is analog. When you turn the key to the "on" position, everything lights up and the tach flips up to max then back to zero. The digital display will show GSC for a second then return to the normal readout. All this takes about 3 seconds, and this is when it is safe to start the scooter. Just pull the left brake handle and press the start button and it starts.
The scooter idles at about 1800 RPMs and once you give it a little throttle, it eases off. It won't shoot off the line like a motorcycle but it is not slow by any means. After the initial jump off the line is when it really will get up and go. The digital speedometer is very optimistic like most scooters. Confirmed using my GPS, the following numbers show the differences. The first number is the speedometer display, the second number is the actual MPH. 12/10, 35/28, 45/38 and 50/42. I haven't been over 42 MPH yet since I am still in the break in period, but it looks like it will be about 9-10 MPH optimistic at highway speeds. To me, that's excessive but it is good info to know. Your bike may vary, so do your own testing.
There's room under the seat for a full-face helmet but little else. Your fuses are also under the seat in a separate area for easy access. There's even a night light and a cigarette lighter outlet in there, which is handy. You can add a trunk to the scooter for more storage but it defeats the sporty look if you do. There's also a windshield kit for it if you need one of those. There are plenty of flat surfaces around the handlebars to mount a suction cup cell phone holder or GPS. However, it is almost impossible to get tie downs in place if you plan to carry the scooter in the bed of truck like we do. It can be done, we did it, but it is a pain getting them off and on without pinching anything.
There's a forum for genuine scooter owners at ModernBuddy.com. The Buddy model is Genuine's top selling scooter, hence the name of the forum, but they have a section for the whole line-up. Genuine sells parts and accessories for their scooters and that is one of the reasons the brand is popular. They don't quite have the following that the Ruckus has, but as word gets out, they will.
Overall, we are very pleased with the new scooter and are eagerly looking to get a Buddy 170 for Cynthia when we can afford it. If GSC would send us one, we'd be happy to review it and promote them as we travel the country in our motor home (hint hint). LOL.
The Blur is great looking, sporty and carries us around with ease. We average about 67 MPG with normal riding. So far, we are quite pleased with our purchase (MSRP was $3,899). We did our homework before buying and you should, too. Genuine has a good line-up of scooters and they are fun to ride and more importantly, reliable!
The Blur specifications are as follows:
- 220cc oil/air cooled four-stroke engine
- Fuel Injected
- Automatic, Variable Ratio
- Front & Rear Hydraulic Disk Brakes
- Visit the official Genuine web site for more information.
Overall, we give the Genuine Blur a 5 out of 5!
