Heya, forum. My name is Midnight Drifter. I go by this alias pretty much everywhere. I even occasionally prefer being called 'Drifter' in real life in lieu of my real name; strange one I am, huh? I'm 21 3/4 years of age, male. Born in Kentucky, but spent 99.8% of my life being raised in not-so-good ole Jersey.
I live up to the definition of the term "Drifter" typically more in the traditional sense than in the 'modern' sense. More on that later. I always enjoyed the feeling of running out the door on anything but a late fall to super-early spring night, climbing behind the wheel and just seeing where I end up in the next hour or two. As I like to say, "I go where the night takes me"... hence being a Drifter.
I've been through a lot of cars in my short time on the road, and racked up tons of miles; I think I've driven roughly 70,000 miles. And the variety is wide; A '97 Supra, a '93 Legacy L, a '87 Corolla, a '87 Supra Turbo, a '86 Grand Marquis, a '85 Century and finally my latest - hopefully permanent with no blown engine or accidents - ride is a 2010 Toyota Yaris 3 door. 3 of 'em have been slapsticks including the latest addition, the other four slushboxes; I blew the Mercury's transmission through trying to emulate a manual shift.
I've got a line of work, but it ain't much; just .45 over the federal/state minimum. (yeah, New Jersey sucks with wages, too) Still, it keeps the car payments in check and still affords such luxuries as an almost full-time diet of fast food and an unlimited usage Blackberry. Am trying to move up, but I may need to seek higher education since a high school diploma really doesn't do much these days. I've always been into tinkering with - and more importantly, driving or riding - cars and stuff, and also enjoy Anime and games. Most definitely a Generation Now, I am although I am finally starting to appreciate all the stuff that came BEFORE I was born (as opposed to just those lovely, boxy '80's cars).
Well, enough of that static; onward to the main attraction - as in, why I'm here. The general rule of thumb tends to be, if there's an enthusiast following for something then it must be good. OBVIOUSLY there is an enthusiast following for the Buddy or else I wouldn't be here! I've never heard of Genuine scooters before but I must thank my fiancee to getting me into scooting. I've always loved motorbikes; in fact, I had a Honda XL350 right up until I was old enough to drive (so it ended up being sold for the Supra instead of me tagging it :/), but I always thought scooters were just toys until I discovered she was using hers for daily transit and loved it. Now with gas prices reaching higher levels, and me just kind of getting frustrated at dense traffic the urge to scoot hasn't been greater. Motorcycles are just too clunky and now that I KNOW there's models that can keep up with Speed Limit 55, I want to RIDE!
So here comes the decision... or rather, indecision. When I was at a scooter shop in downtown Philly I couldn't make heads or tails between a Black Jack, a Sachs MadAss, a SYM Symba and a gorgeous Bajaj Chetak. (what a funny name, by the way) Would have considered the Stella if it wasn't nearly 4k out the door O_O
The Buddy (in general) I wanted because it offered something more substantial than my motorcycle test-bike (a Vino 125) but still had the convenience and seamlessness of a modern bike.
The MadAss was... well, flat out mad. It looks like an absolute thrill although its lack of displacement kind of makes me think twice, along with the lack of bodywork for heavy rain-riding. At least those airdam things offer some kind of leg protection. It's still one awesome concept and, since I typically work until 10PM or later, the bright headlights are an EXCELLENT bonus!
The Chetak looks and acts just like a Vespa, although it sure don't sound like one. Still, the novelty of a 4 speed twist grip shifter and the raw authenticity of the machine is something to behold. I'm not sure if they're even good quality models though, never heard of Bajaj but considering it's already 9 years old and still running like new implies it's at least of moderate quality.
Finally, the Symba. The 110cc engine makes me think twice... but then I remember, it's a Honda engine more or less, and there's a nearly unlimited aftermarket for it! On top of that, I always considered it the 'metro' version of my Trail 90, minus the handy dandy 2 speed stump-pulling transfer case. That gives it tons of sentimental appeal because I just love my 90 to bits and am going to hate parting with it since I was given it without a title.
So the question is... which path is the right one? To ease confusion, let's set the basics:
-I commute to work about 12 miles in one direction. Average speed limit is 45, with there being a short stretch of 55 zone on the way home. (Work is southbound on a divided highway)
-I'll be riding in all conditions where it's above 15* farenheit and there's no ice warning, not currently snowing and at least a bit of salt on the ground below 25* - and pretty much all the time when it's not freezing.
-I would consider being able to travel the Garden State Parkway as a nice bonus, so a machine that can maintain at least 60 flat out for stretches of 20 or more miles would bump it into a 'hey, I don't need the Yaris to go to the beach!' territory, and make seaside summer parking a breeze
-I'm seeking minimal maintenance; I don't mind changing the crankcase with some fresh Royal Purple every 1,000 miles but I worry about a Vespa-bike's transmission cables and clutch wearing out.
I am considering holding off for the Buddy 170i because from what I've been reading that thing should be able to cruise at 65 without being flat-out all the time, and it IS interstate legal. Question is, should I?
I don't quite have enough credit right now in spite of my car loan to make any moves, but I'd love to hear which decision would be the wisest for the long term.
*= the modern term for 'Drifter' is one who kicks their car sideways around corners and makes lots of noise and tire smoke. I do a lot of that, too.
p.s. If anyone's interested in a '79 CT90 that to the best of my knowledge just needs an ignition coil to run (very weak spark), a '84 Yamaha BW200, a '96 Honda Z50R that needs some TLC, a '83 Suzuki Quad Runner 50 or an '00 Polaris Xplorer 4WD quad, I'm trying to get rid of all of them to make some garage space. Right now, I don't have enough for my future scooter! LOL!
The company name Bajaj is from the founder (an associate of Gandhi), and Chetak was the famous horse of an old Hindu war hero and ruler.
I'll "never" use that, but it's there in case all hell breaks loose in my life.
