Gilera Runner 125 SP Reviews - Page 2 of 2

Normal wear and tear punctures, bulbs blown.

Has been excellent, 20,000kms so far and no mechanical problems at all.

This scooter is the best 2 stroke available without a doubt, and will stay that way as you can only get 4 strokes now, which are rubbish. I had the Runner VX 4 stroke - big problems from the beginning.

Very nippy, even with my 15 stone carcass on board. The brakes are excellent, the handling is not great, but this is due to the small wheels. It could never compete with the big wheel bikes for cornering stability.

Super reliable, no problems in 20.000kms.

Good paint as long as you don't get a dayglo orange version, which fades badly.

Easy access to bulbs, fuses etc.

HIGHLY sought after by thieves. If you don't have a garage, don't get one!

Rough handling, but much more chuckable than four strokes due to its light weight and stiffer suspension.

Class leader in its day, need I say more?

I have yet to be beaten by another 125 scooter off the lights. The only thing that has beaten me was another 2 stroke runner.

Excellent potential for uprating. The engine is highly tunable and there are lots of after market kits about. Look for Mallosi 172cc kits if you want to go quicker. These are reputed to the quickest things on two wheels off the lights when tuned.

Only problem is theft. You have to be aware about where you leave it, and always lock it to immovable objects. Even then it does guarantee that the panels will be stolen. I recommend replacing the standard fairing screws with security screws, and fitting an alarm and immobiliser, and a marking system ie. Datatag. You cannot be over secure with these.

Part of the stickers fell off by themselves, some of the bright orange discoloured with time, even though the bike spent most of its life garaged.

I really loved this little scooter and was very sad to see it go! Bought it at a bargain price off the 2nd owner who had only covered 800kms in 4 years (the bike looked like new in all areas, especially engine/underneath). I ran it for a year and sold it for a small profit.

The 125 2-stroke engine is very quick for a 125 and is fun to drive, plus makes the typical 2 stroker noise and smell, if you like that sort of thing. I used it daily for commuting within London and it never missed a beat.

Compared to my 50cc Vespa, it used much more oil (normal apparently as it's a high output 2 stroke) and it had much harder suspension. The brakes were fantastic, maybe even slightly overpowered as it was easy to lock the rear.

The worst thing about this scooter though is that it's highly desired by scum kids who will do anything to steal it. Make no mistake, this is one of the top 3 most stolen scoots out there. Ultimately this was the reason I sold it, not having a garage neither at home or work meant that I was always stressing about it so it had to go :-( Were it not for that I'd still have it now.

The only other bad thing was that it's not made of great plastics (see re fading above), no watch (very useful on a commuting vehicle!), and not much space for carrying stuff round.