ok so i was gonna buy a buddy..............

[sins tailor]

i sold my old vintage yamaha riva 180 deluxe........basically cause i did everything possible to make it perfect and it still wouldn't start without some sort of jerry rigged device.........i loved it completely........and it was a ball to ride and drive..........the reason i came to this forum was that for the money the buddy seemed to be the best possible option..........and i wanted a new scooter instead of an old messed up bike that needs a work around...........what i found was basically..........foreign pieces of crap..............that suck.........vintage bikes that were way overpriced.......and new good scooters that i would like to have but don't have the money,or were underpowered (i even would have preferred an elctric one to skip gasoline altogether)...........so anyway........
the buddy is pretty much 2,900 or more out the door...........and i kept looking on ebay and craigslist for something good and cheap..............i got 1800 for my old scooter..........so i had money for a new replacement.............

i had friends ask me why don't i just get a motorcycle ??
and the reason is that they were way more expensive (also less storage room and not as fun) ..........i prefer scooters...............but i decided to look into all the options possible..............scooters and motorcycles.............and i did find a couple of nice lookin motorcycles close to where i lived...(one honda and one kawasaki)..(so no shipping charges)...that seemed prettty cool..............my original plan was to do a downpayment on the buddy.........and make payments...........but if i could find something as good.........which i could buy outright i'd go for that..........if slightly used...............

so i ended up buying this..........it's almost a scooter.............but it's a motorcycle..........(i know).......(shame on me)..........but it's a 125cc like the buddy........will go 65 miles an hour like the buddy........and i've seen reports of up to 90 miles per gallon.........also like the buddy..........
yes i know the scooter world and mororcycle world are at odds..........but i didn't care as long as i could get the speed and mileage i need..........and for the least amount of money spent.................... so i ended up getting this...........

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... AMEWN%3AIT

for a total of 1,375.00

it's a 2001 kawasaki eliminator............with only 1,860 miles.........looks great........the ebay guy has 100 percent positive feedback.....and from what i can find about these bikes...........they are great starter bikes..........and are even used as trainers for dallas police department............... like i say it was about half the price of the buddy.............and yet has the same power,mileage etc as the buddy...............maybe i messed up...........but i gotta go with what i can afford...............the reviews call it a "baby harley" and they call it the most comfortable.............and easiest bike to ride ever..............it looks great.........and it seems to be really reliable.......and mostly an excellent bike..............i would have preferred a scooter..........but i think i got a great deal .............now my question is...........

should i have held out for the buddy..........or do you you think i got a good deal ?????

[sins tailor]

it's a kawasaki........so plenty of dealers and network...............unlike many scooter brands..........parts and service should be no problem..........
and it's really cool lookin.........won't get the usual laughs you get from riding a scooter.......(though i don't care much about that).........still........i think i did good...........i'm gonna pick it up tommorrow.............(the biggest drawback to me is the constant shifting)..............i would have preferred the usual automatic that scooters offer..........also the storage that scooters offer...........(none on motorcycles)...........but all in all.............for the money...........i think it's pretty cool..........


give me your opinions................

i probably won't visit this forum much after this since i didn't get the buddy...............i wanted one.............but i gotta go with what money i had.................

your opinions ?????

[mybuddy]

What do you want our opinions for? It's your money, do what you want with it.

At least you got something with two wheels instead of four.

[dudley]

I have admired the Kawasaki 125 for a while, it has garnered great reviews as the ultimate 'starter bike', though i have only seen it in photos it does look sharp. as long as you are happy, you made the right choice.

[AxeYrCat]

as long as you are happy, you made the right choice.

There's no way to say it any better than that.

[xkennx]

it's a kawasaki

You will be amazed how much abuse that bike can take and keep going. A large number of motorcycle safety courses use the eliminator bike, MSF stands behind them. Great for riders with short legs also or someone just starting out.

No matter what people might say, its a great bike to get from point a to point b. Not going to have the style or the cult following as a vintage or modern scooter. Either way just try and enjoy what ever you buy - after all thats the whole point of why we are here.

[sins tailor]

thanxs...hey i can always try it for a while........then resell it later and get a buddy...if i decide...buddy is still first on my list.........though if they made the honda c3 in a higher displacement ????

[sins tailor]

bought the bike today........drove it to work straight from the dealer..(a very honest and reputable dealer).......completely paid for...inspected,registered etc. and all for 1300..........damn beautiful bike..........i got 3 comments on the way to work.........i got one little girl crossing the road in front of me and she said "beautiful motorcycle".....made me feel good, cause kids always loved the scooter and i thought i would lose that........also got the thumbs up from a couple mexican lawn crew guys...........nice.........so not only do i still get the kids diggin it........now i got the biker guys diggin it too.........it's a whole different ride.........lotta shifting........a lower seat.............a different look.......a different feel........bigger wheels..(17 inch instead of 10).........more seat room .........and what really amazes me.........first of all....this thing is basically brand freakin new....(it looks factory !!!)(clean as hell).(CHROME EVERYTHING)....it's not even broken in at 1800 miles..........next........i can't stand up on the pegs like i did on the scooter cause they are far more forward like a chopper.........it is really light and balanced...(lighter than my scooter by about 100 pounds)......very easy to sit on and ride..........when i'm movin it's like it drives itself........and i'm just sittin there...........once i got to work i showed it off and everyone thought it was a better deal...........people said i was joining the hells angels...........and my old boss (a biker dude) thought it was about a 500cc or so..............and yet it's a 125.............
the whole experience is so different from a scooter..........
and the facts are kind of amazing.............first of all it's freakin tiny...........smaller than the scooter.........and also the engine is actually smaller and less powerfull...........but the truth is the smaller the engine the better the gas mileage.........and i don't really have any desire to go past 60mph anyway.............so it's all good ...yet i still get the 80 to 100mpg that i got with the scooter.........and maybe even better due to the shifting..............the brakes are way better (disk)..........the look is astounding people everywhere.............everyone thinks it's a huge powered bike when really the only thing smaller is a crappy underpowered scooter that might go 30mph...........it's probably the smallest powered bike they make....but it looks like a very,very small harley sportster...(huge big fat gas tank)......it's almost a magicians bike.............super small........very low power.........very high mileage........yet you get the respect and looks that come with a much bigger bike...........and also i have discovered a few things.........first brand new these bikes are only about 2500 bucks..........a real deal..........and yet you got more dealership and support than any scooter period..(cheaper parts and repair).....(insureance is nothing).......second.......i found out that the dallas police department bought 500 of these last year to train biker cops on........so yes they are that good........extremely dependable..........and will last basically forever..........
now the other thing that amazed me was that i really liked the quietness of a scooter as oppossed to a motorcycle........and yet this thing may actually be even quieter.............it is astoundinglly quiet........and idles even lower than the scoot........pickup is good and i can leave most traffic behind if i pop clutch at full throttle..........but full speed takes a bit of time.........not that big a deal.........
the first two things i miss about the scooter were one.. i miss the automatic..........but really the shifting ain't that big a deal once you get used to it...........second and most important........no damn storage space !!!! i had to walk to the store to get beer........(when i could just use my trunk on the scooter).........but i'm sure i can get a work around for that somehow........(anyone know of any solutions for storage on small bikes ?).............so anyway........it's an amazing little bike........cool lookin as all hell.........gets looks and comments everwhere i go........everyone thinks it's way more powerfull and bigger than it is due to the look....and i now get more respect from biker types and less giggles than i did on the freaky lookin scooter...........now for comparisons.....

it's less powerfull and less fun than the scooter..............
i used to actually look forward to taking breaks at work to ride the scooter cause it was just so much damn fun to ride....(constant smiles)..(going slow and looking at the clouds was always a major plus for my old scooter)...and you could easilly go extremely slow and turn on a dime........i could go where no motorcycle could go.......and park where no motorcycle could park.........i used to frequently go onto sidewalks and around parks..........
and i really loved riding it.......so much so that i would look forward to the rides all the time i was at work...........
scooter are just more fun period.........and are just more
maneuverable..........also scooters are cool and kind of denote an anti macho stance which fits in well with my personality........being a musician..............also the fact that you can customize them in infinite ways....is cool.........the storeage is better..........and the whole scooter crowd is more suited to my personality than the usual macho biker crapolla..............

on the plus side..........it rides like a cadillac..........smooth as all hell..........i have no fear on this thing........whereas on the scooter it felt like it was gonna turn left or right at anytime..............also cornering was extremely scarey on the scooter..........and this thing just takes them like butter................i feel way,way safer on this than i did on the scooter.........seems way more stable...........and if i was to have to take a long ride .......i would fell way more safe on this.........the stability seems way more improved.........it feels like it will not give me any trouble at all.............and yet the scooter always felt like it could flip if i hit the least little bump..............also the engine access is way,way better than the scooter..........i can adjust the idle as i ride.........whereas on the scooter i had to remove about 6 piece of plastic to just adjust the idle.............also on the scooter there was no choke.........it was automatic........(a major pain in the ass).........either it worked or it didn't and you had to rig some kind of work around.............on this bike.........it's right there on the carb...........you can choke it or not with a switch of a lever...............(very cool).............
next....the controls on the bike and scooter are about the same.............same turn signals.............same light etc.....so i was used to it in no time..............

in summation...........

the scooter was more fun and more cool...........but the bike is more safe and more stable.............

i looked forward to riding the scooter more and had more fun riding it..........

but the bike feels safer and more stable.............

crowd appeal is about equal...........
price,mileage and power and price are about equal.............

basically if i had my choice i would have gotten another scooter...............

but what i had at the time money wise..............this was a better deal...........
and i'm not really disappointed.............
though sometime down the road.......i may still get another scooter...........

i'm diggin the bike........and i feel safer on it.....and people seem to think it's better.....

but truthfully i enjoy the scooter experience better
it was just a matter of finance at the time...........
and like i say.........i'm not really disappointed..........

i am really diggin this bike..............but i also really dug my scoot...............

money being no object i would have preferred the scooter................

but all in all it's still one of the best cheap bikes out there.............and is cool lookin as all hell.............and is really a great ride................

choice alone.........i would have gotten the buddy.........

but that was maybe close to 3000 out the door........
this was 1300 total...........

i feel safer and people tell it's better.............but really in my heart........i would prefer the scoot..........if i could afford it..........


end of story.............

i'm not at all unhappy with what i got............