QLink Commuter 250 in all its retro glory
Published by Crystal November 26th, 2007 in scooters.
Happy Cyber Monday! Usually my shopping obsessions have to do with pink helmets and jackets, but my latest fixation has been with the QLink Commuter 250. Every time I walk into my brother’s shop, I see its picture on a poster he has in his showroom, and every time, I think, I really really need one of these crazy looking things. With a price tag of $3,199, I’m seriously thinking about it.
Reminiscent of the Honda Helix, the QLink is a 244cc 4-stroke, single cylinder, liquid-cooled maxi-scoot that claims 70 miles per gallon, and has a 3.2 gallon fuel tank.
I loved riding the Vespa GTS, but it was very difficult for me to even tippy-toe it, even after I altered the seat. The QLink has a seat height of 28.7 inches - that’s just a little bit higher than the seat height of my little Honda Metropolitan. It weighs in at 373 pounds.
I like that it has two trunks - one on the body of the scooter, and one detachable trunk with backrest and built in speakers. Oh yeah, you heard me: built-in speakers. Adding to its funky 80s style is the included combo FM radio/cassette tape player which seems like a strange choice for a music player these days. I’m not sure if it includes an MP3 hookup like some of the QLink motorcycles have, but still, it has built-in speakers.
The most difficult part of this purchasing decision would be color. I absolutely love the yellow one, but the Commuter in white would look a lot slicker with all the pink gear I already have. Not that you can’t mix yellow and pink together, right?
4 Responses to “QLink Commuter 250 in all its retro glory”
- 1 Pingback on Dec 10th, 2007 at 7:13 am
Wow, this scooter is SWEET! I’m really impressed with your narrative of about all the features. I’m considering what scooter to upgrade to from my 50cc rig. This scooter is on my list of scooters to investigate. I love visiting your site because I learn about all the new upcoming items.
Thanks a ton
Lexie
P.S. I say go for the yellow. Pink and Yellow look good together you just have to be adventurous to see it.
I hear good things about QLink. You’ll probably be happy with it.
I own a Helix, so I can offer a few tips if you decide to get a Commuter.
Buy good tires. I don’t care what kind of deal the dealer comes up with, it’s a 45 minute job to remove the rear tire and another 45 minutes to put it back together. You’ll want a rear tire that will last, because you’ll spend a lot of time changing that 10 inch rear tire.
Practice turning. The wheelbase is longer than a Harley, so the handling is nothing like your Vespa. It’s really smooth through the turns, but it takes some space to do it.
The Helix is a bit of a dancer. Cross winds push it around a bit. Leave it alone and she’ll always recover. Trust the bike to take care of you. For a long term fix, take off the mirrors and trim strip, push the windshield back until the rear corners touch the tops of the turn signals and mark new mounting holes. Have your brother help, because this is easier with two people. Finish removing the windshield, redrill the holes and trim the bottom edge before remounting the windshield. Then tilt the handlebars back to just clear the windshield at full turn. Check both directions to be sure it clears. Don’t be like me.
This eliminates the lane dancing and makes the bike completely stable at highway speeds. It also reduces the turbulence over the top of the windshield considerably, making the whole ride more comfortable.
And if you like the yellow bike, buy it, but if you feel artistic you might also consider buying the white bike and painting pink accent stripes and contrasting panels to match your riding gear.
How about power? My wife and I have a combined weight of 400 pounds. Will this bike handle us up hills?