Simple Pleasures Are the Best: Yamaha C3

Yesterday I brought home my little bundle of joy that has been on lay-away since around Thanksgiving: my Pearl White 2011 Yamaha C3.

I became enamored with this little scooter when I did my scooter quiz about it a few months ago. The more I read about the C3 ("C Cubed" or the "Giggle" in Europe), the more I became intrigued.

Fat tires, low center of gravity, low seat, vast under seat storage, fuel-injected, 3 valves, 4 strokes, water-cooled, 115 mpg, and a reputation for blowing the little Ruckus and Met out of the way with it's reportedly rapid take-off and strong push to it's max speed of 40-45mph.

Oh, yeah, and a "hoot" to ride! Who could forget that part?

So I was interested and I wanted to see one, sit on it, maybe test ride it. Well, first thing I learned is that Yamaha only sold it from 2007-2011 in the US. It is still very alive and loved and healthy all over the world ("Vox" in Japan), but not here. It's engine lives on in the Zuma 50F and the Vino, but "Boxey", as it was lovingly called, is extinct on Yamaha showroom floors.

I looked and I could not find one anywhere. So I posted an ad in Craigslist asking if anyone had one for sale or simply to look at. Within 24 hours I got a response from my Yamaha dealer about 5 miles away! Evidently he had this little gem hidden away in the back storage room. My luck!

I went down, it was a leftover 2011 Pearl White beauty, and he took a deposit. The rest is history mostly composed of weekly payments and waiting. I got a little discount and I got my brand new Yammie C3.

Later I will do a ride report, the why, and what not, but for now here are pics. Note the puppy paws motif with the black and white motif of the scoot itself. I like clean, crisp lines. Perhaps that comes from living among the Amish all those years.

And oh yeah, it IS a HOOT to ride!

Scooter Quiz #4

*See if you know the answer to the quiz question and post your response. I will post the answer in a few days...


This scooter was introduced in 1961 and tried to hog the scooter scene by riding through the Mojave desert:

Can you identify this scooter?

ANSWER: The Harley-Davidson Topper!

The Topper was the only scooter that the Harley-Davidson company ever produced. It was introduced in 1961 and sold through 1965. It was a 165cc 2 stroke engine and required the rider to start it much like a lawn mower with a rope-recoil device. The engine was air cooled, but possessed no fan. Cooling was accomplished by the forward movement of the scooter into the air.

The gas tank held 1.7 gal, the seat height was 30 inches, the tires were 4.00 x 12 inch, the CVT transmission got it up to 46 mph utilizing a 9 hp engine.

"In 1959, a Topper was ridden from Bakersfield, California to Death Valley and back without repair or adjustments requiring tools. The route went through Trona, through the Mojave Desert to Stovepipe Wells, on to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level, then to Whitney Portal, 7,851 feet (2,393 m) above sea level on the side of Mount Whitney, after which it returned to Bakersfield.[11]" (from Wikepedia)