Yamaha offers two styles in the 50 cc class of scooters for 2016, both under the Zuma banner. The Zuma 50F has tough, off-road styling and the 50FX is the sporty-looking sibling. Each with its own style, the Zuma scooters offer a stepped two-up seat, locking storage and a four-stroke, fuel-injected 49 cc engine for awesome fuel economy.

While everything is the same, the Zuma 50F and 50FX give two distinct vibes with just a couple of differences between them. The Zuma 50F gets that off-road look from twin headlights and a luggage rack on the rear grab bar. The sporty 50FX has a single headlight and a grab bar sans the rack.

Yamaha starts out right with a proper subframe as opposed to a unibody assembly that uses the sheet-metal body panels and pinch welds for rigidity. What this means to the buyer is that body panels may be replaced without major cutting, welding and painting operations, so a minor fender bender won’t break the bank and put you upside down on your investment. The factory laid out the frame and fuel tank with center-of-gravity, ease of mounting and handling concerns in mind — all-important aspects for the scootering crowd.

A 49 cc mill drives both the F and FX models, and the one-lung, four-cycle mill comes liquid cooled and fuel injected to keep the plant compliant with emission regulations and public demand. The 19 mm Mikuni throttle body aspirates through a sound-attenuating airbox with a quick-access air cleaner element. A SOHC actuates the three-valve heads, and a transistor-controlled ignition (TCI) provides maintenance-free operation.

The engine cranks out three pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm, but don’t laugh; at a hair over 200 pounds, this is enough power to zip around town and exploit traffic openings as they present themselves. This power feeds through a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) for twist-n-go operation without the need for a clutch lever or shifter, so the rear brake lever moves up to the clutch slot handlebars for bicycle-style braking.