Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: wheel rim size and safety, scooter, wheel

Question
Wheel rims for scooters come in various sizes from 10" to 16".  Is there any difference in safety for one size versus another?  I live in Bermuda where the roads are very winding and the top speed is 30 MPH.

Answer
Not so much safety as stability. Smaller wheels make the bike less stable in a straight line--more twitchy, quicker to turn. Larger wheels have more gyroscopic momentum, which makes the bike more stable in a straight line, but takes more work to turn.

Bigger scooters that can move at highway speeds are better with bigger wheels. Smaller scooters (80 cc and under) are probably better off with smaller wheels.

Pat