At the tender age of 57, I sold up my Subaru WRX wagon, after having had two Porsches, and took the beginner MSF course in upstate NY at the local community college last June. It is a very good foundational course. I bought a used ’96 Triumph Trophy 900 as my first cycle with 33,000 miles on it. I geared up from leatherup.com getting my jacket, boots, gloves, and helmet from them. Pretty well satisfied with that gear, so far. Full face helmet fogging is an issue but one learns to flip up the visor when approaching just about any stopping situation fairly quickly.
The question of choosing between a scooter and a motorcyle is that, if you have to ask you need to qualify a bit more as to why you are asking. Scooters will get you from point A to point B and will get more miles per gallon than most any motorcycle. If you are not into adrenaline rush and the visceral thrill of riding on two (or three) wheels, a scooter should suit you just fine. It sounds as though, with your stated objectives, you are inclined toward a scooter and that’s just fine although, if you think it would be “fun,” a cycle might be the better option.
I opted for the fairly large cycle because I’m a fairly big person (6’1″, 220 lbs). I was hoping and expecting to get in the low to mid 40’s for mpg but am only getting in the low 30’s and I have not been cruising all that quickly or being all that aggressive in my acceleration. Whatever you are considering getting, try to find an online user group specific to the brand and, if possible, model(s) that you are interested in. The Triumph Trophy on-line user group was and has remained invaluable to me as a new rider for its many technical and other insights.
If I was doing it over again, cycle-wise, I would probably look for something with a smaller displacement (in the 600cc-750cc range) and hope for better (i.e., lower) fuel consumption. Unfortunately, at least by my perception, many of the smaller cycles are “crotch rockets” and I prefer a cruiser style, sitting upright rather than leaning forward hunched over the fuel tank all of the time. The choices are many and there are smaller displacement “cruiser” style cycles so don’t let my generalization about crotch rockets discourage you. Your size, age, level of fitness, and spirit of adventure are all factors in making such a choice. Many people of smaller physical stature enjoy their motorcycles just fine. I seldom see large people on scooters, for that matter I don’t see many people on scooters anyway.
For whichever style of two wheeled conveyance you are considering, make sure that the seat is comfortable, and that your sitting position in relation to the handle bars, hand, and foot controls is not, in any way, cumbersome. It’s a lot like adjusting the seat in your car relative to the foot pedals and steering wheel and making sure that you can comfortably see out of the windows and rear view mirrors – it’s just that on a scooter and cycle the seat position is fixed and your body and limbs have to adjust to the spatial relationships that are required to safely operate your conveyance of choice. On a bicycle you can adjust the seat height and choose your frame size and style, on a cycle or scooter you cannot adjust much of anything – you have to choose the correct size and style from the outset, it will not adjust to you, you have to adjust to it and moving your behind fore and aft is about the only choice you will have.
Check out what the local MSF course you plan on taking is using for it’s training rides. Where I took my course they were all 250cc cycles, even for those who planned on getting scooters. Don’t let that surprise or discourage you. Once you’ve been on a cycle you may reconsider the scooter option. A small cycle will give you fairly low fuel consumption (i.e., higher miles per gallon), perhaps not as good as a scooter, but will probably reward you with a more satisfying riding experience, in my humble opinion (imho).
Tom