Asian people depend more on their scooters than perhaps anyone in the World. It's quite common to see an entire family-piled onto a scooter with groceries. The roads are rugged, the cities' jammed with traffic and the climate is harsh: they're built to take a beating. The Belladonna RV150; designed in Italy, assembled in India, and up for it in New Zealand. The world has gone global baby.

Nevertheless, we are confident in stating the scooter has been diligently tested in our own country, in fact up and down the country many times over. For the record, Auckland to Wellington, inclusive of a half hour break at Ohakune, 9 hours, 16 mins, 3 tanks of gas and roughly $28.

The Belladonna is built to last, reliable, it looks great, it represents serious value for money and comes with a 10000km, 12-month warranty.

Finding a manual geared scooter is not easy; manufacturers continue to dictate production of autos for the masses, the traditional manual geared scooter is becoming a scarcity. Speak to any scooter purist and they will swear by the need for control. Would you want a sports car with automatic transmission? The Belladonna manual shift allows you total control and really makes her a pleasure to ride. Anyone who has driven a car with a clutch will easily learn to shift the Belladonna. Changing down a gear for rapid acceleration and engine braking will soon become second nature.

Whilst impressive new developments continue in scooter technology, with increasing change comes obsolescence and redundancy. The Belladonna remains part of a classic heritage, there are millions of these scooters worldwide and LML continue to produce hundreds of thousands every year, production of parts will be assured for decades to come. The belladonna has a twin sister scooter introduced in the USA in 2002, it is the largest displacement two-cycle motorbike to be offered in the USA in over a decade. In fact, it is the ONLY two stroke larger than 50cc in the USA. This is due to compliance by the manufacturer LML to meet USA's stringent and onerous emission and quality standards, thanks to LML's clean-burning reed valve engine.

The Belladonna continue the legacy of simple, basic and low tech scootering. Belladonna is a two stroke, reed valve induction, 5-port engine, a culmination of over 20 years of development. It is a simple, tried and true engine, simple to work on, simple due to minimal moving parts and simple because it is cost effective. With simplicity comes reliability. With reliability comes respect.

New technology counterparts are far more complex, often with a sophisticated electronic inclusion, expensive 4-stroke technology and consequently more things to go wrong.

Yes, for as little as $500 deposit and $45 per week over 24 months, or $34 per week over 36 months,  you can take a brand new Belladonna away subject to credit approval.

Yes, any motorised two-wheel vehicle above 50cc requires a motorcycle license. The Belladonna is suitable for riding on a learner L motorcycle license.

The Belladonna is more than capable of sitting at Motorway speeds; it is highway legal and has a top speed in excess of 100kph when fitted with a Sito exhaust.

You may be tempted to grab that inexpensive 50cc scooter option; a decision you may well learn to regret. For much the same price and the minor inconvenience of sitting your Learner Motorcycle License, you'll soon discover the freedom a 150cc can offer. 50cc motorcycles by law are speed restricted and cannot exceed 50kph, this can often lead to becoming an obstruction to the flow of traffic around you. Auckland is a city where its' roading network and motorways operate intimately; to not engage the motorway system is certain frustration, surprisingly enough, the lack of intersections and exposure to oncoming traffic often makes for a safer place to be.

Auckland is more than just urban grid lock, it happens to be surrounded by fantastic countryside and exciting rides into the wilderness, take a pillion passenger and join one of the many scooter club day rides for a Sunday excursion and discover a new found liberation. On a 50cc you soon discover the speed-restriction a handicap.

You choose to mount your scooter, not to keep up with traffic, but to usurp traffic, to be independent of it and have confidence to always stay ahead of traffic. To be first at the lights, to be first in the queue and leave behind forever those stressful distant horrible nightmares of traffic jams.