Back when I used to ride motorcycles I felt that scooters were more dangerous -- you could get up to a pretty fair speed on one but they don't (or didn't at that time) have the handling and braking of a motorcycle. I have a friend who got a very nice, very large scooter a couple of years ago, and he tells me I'm behind the times. I think scooters are likely better if you're just traveling around in neighborhoods or in very urban areas w/lots of stop and go....a small motorcycle seems better if you're going to "go" more than "stop."