How did you get started in scooters?

sbebenelli · Post by **sbebenelli** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:04 pm

When I bought my Italia I had never seen a Buddy, or been on a scooter.

I've never been a motorcycle person and someone mentioned to me one day that scooters get 100 mpg and it's like it made a switch in my head go off. From that point on I started reading about scooters. Other than Honda or Yamaha I didn't know anything about different brands or what was good or bad.

I went to our local Honda store and all they had was an Elite 80. I thought it was the ugliest thing. I then went to the Yamaha store and they had several C3's & Zumas. Just not what I was looking for.

After visiting all the scooter forums I could find and reading for hours I decided I wanted a Buddy International. I liked the looks and loved the whitewall tires and didn't see much negative talk about them.

I went to their web sight and the closest dealer was 70 miles away. I called and they had all the International models in stock. Keep in mind this is while everyone on here couldn't find one! After much debate on green or red I choose the Italia.

This was on a Wednesday I told him I'd take the Italia and would be in on Friday afternoon to get it. He said he'd have it ready to go for me when I arrived.

I show up, look at all the different scooters in person, decided I made the right decision, he showed me my scooter, let me take it for a spin around the parking lot, signed the paperwork, loaded it up in my truck, drove home, and let it set for 4 LONG days while I took and passed the written motorcycle test and then took the driving test.

I have drove it anytime I could in place of my 12 mpg truck. After a month I still look forward when it's time to go somewhere when I'll be riding it.

We live in a town on less than 30,000 people. I'm seeing a few scooters running around town. I don't know if it's more than usual or if it's because I notice them now that I own one. As far as I know I'm the only one in town with a Buddy.

ERik3tb · Post by **ERik3tb** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:17 pm

I want something different. All around, you see harley's or crotch rockets. I just never wanted something that was so. ...... Typical .... I guess is the best word.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:42 pm

How did I get started?? Well, WAYYYYY back in the 60's I remember sitting at the window in my grandmother's apartment in downtown Denver and watching for Vespas and Nash Metros. I was maybe 9 or 10 and just thought those two vehicles were the bomb! Guess I never got over it. I was just out of high school and going to a broadcasting school in Denver...commuting some 60+ miles one way from Conifer in my VW bug, but always found time to stop several times a week at the Vespa dealership I'd found just so I could drool over a brand new Rally 180.

Never got over it.

--Keys

BadWolf · Post by **BadWolf** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:52 pm

I bought my first scooter for my 18th birthday. It was a 1964 "pile" Li125 Lambretta. I bought it as a fashion accesory and i like tinkering. Fasr forward a couple years later and i'm still buying Piles and pretending to workon them.

ScootLemont · Post by **ScootLemont** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:09 pm

I sold my 79 Fiat Spider last summer & spent the winter looking for a new toy
Started looking at scooters in January - bought in March
Love it & its more fun that the spider
(but not as much fun to wash - washing a 25+ year old italian car is like foreplay - guys, you know what I mean)

nrg70 · Post by **nrg70** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:20 pm

I was 14 when my mom's ex-boyfriend ( we were visiting and picking up some stuff ) handed me the keys to his new scooter , this was 1984 so I dont know what type it was. I took off against my mother's wishes and felt a sense of freedom I can't explain. It never left me, even after all these years . I swore I would own one someday. Finaly, I own my Italia 150! I'm an adult now, but feel like that 14 year old everytime I ride it!

enzomatic · Post by **enzomatic** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:20 pm

When I was in 9th grade a bunch of mods saved me from getting jumped by nazi skinheads, fell in love after seeing a rally of vespas surround these guys in lifted trucks and scare them off. Got an old yamaha riva 50cc when I was 16 from a neighbor for $95, my brother got it impounded by jumping off curbs into traffic with it. Owned a car but didn't drive much through college, mainly bus or bike, I graduated (full time job/no tuition) so when my friend was getting rid of a buddy she had for 3 months (I convinced her to buy it in the first place) I was able to pick it up for 2k.

johnny_buddha · Post by **johnny_buddha** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:30 pm

For me, it astarted when I was on vacation back in the early 2000s. I was on this Thai island called Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. We rented scooters for about $4/day and at first, it was pretty scary but after a few hours, a total blast. We were riding 4 speed manual Hond Waves (or something similar), 125 or 150 cc, can't remember. You had to shift with your left foot, but not like a traditional motorcycle. You pressed forward with the ball of your foot to shift up and pressed back with your heel to shift down, and just let off the gas while you were shifting. They also had larger wheels like the Kymco People.

Anyways, it was a total blast venturing in the jungle, coming across little rural huts and houses, seeing water buffalo, elephants, all while in sandals, no helmet and adjusting to riding on the opposite side of the road. We would do this for about 2 hours everday. Took about 4 hours to go around the entire island. And it costed about $1 to fill up back then.

Here's a pic of me "offroading". So glad I didn't dump it in the mud.

sargelee71 · Post by **sargelee71** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:04 pm

I was born in Viet Nam and started riding standing up on the floorboards of my cousins' Vespas by the age of about 3. LOVE scooters and have always loved them--always thought I wanted a Vespa, in fact.

Forward to adulthood and for the last 7 or 8 years, I've wanted a scooter--still "dreamed" of Vespas--vintage and shifter. Finally, at the end of April, it was time. Gas prices...blah blah blah. Having known about Scooterworks since about '95/'96, and because it's 10 minutes from my house, I headed to their website and then to the dealer. And, as someone who researches anything thing I'm thinking of buying, I did just that. All points led me to BUDDY and I've been a happy camper since. Ken, from Scooterworks, could have sold me a Stella (recall my vintage Vespa fetish), but convinced me on a Buddy being a good first scooter. I love that guy...and all the guys and gals at Scooterworks.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:08 pm

From a young age, every time I saw one, I just swooned. Motorcycles never thrilled me (there are many which now do), but there was something about the style and grace of scooters…

Flash forward to the '80s, when I started getting into 2-Tone and second-wave ska. (I'm not any kind of mod purist and I either missed out on or ignored most of the third wave stuff after Fishbone. So I'm not trying to claim any cred here, and I can't name all the Toasters singles or whatever.) Anyways, I was very attracted to the style and aesthetics of scooters and learning that there was some kind of culture attached to them heightened my interest.

Over more than 20 years, I had, on several occasions, considered buying one, collecting catalogs, magazines, and so on. I was even trying to buy an Italjet Velocifero when they came out. Vespa returning to the US fed my scooterlust even more. But, for whatever reason, it just never happened.

So I had to wait until I was fully grown. Unfortunately, the scooterlust will not be satisfied—maybe ever. 'Cause I want more.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:50 pm

I grew up overseas and traveled all over while growing up. Thailand, Japan, Spain, Italy, France, Jordan, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, Israel, ......you get the idea. All of those places had lots of scooters. I loved them. Then I came to the states and everything was giant iron. Too big and too heavy. I never lost my love for the little scooters that could. They're just too fun and make too much sense.

LisaLisa · Post by **LisaLisa** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:20 am

A very cool guy (Matt Myers) opened up a very cool shop. He had the right attitude. He wants to put people on scooters.

So since I had the spare change, and because I could, I did.

Yeah, and Audrey Hepburn had something to do with it, too.

sunbunny · Post by **sunbunny** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 1:36 am

I was 12 or 13 and my mom bought me Saint Bernard puppy that got big quick. To take him for a walk, my dad bought me a Honda 50 (roughly 1984-85). I used it to drive to friends house and around where I lived. I loved the freedom especailly since I shouldn't have been driving till 16.

Fast forward to now... My husband has been saying for the last few years "lets buy a Harley" or "why don't you by a dirt bike and ride with me?" I wasn't thrilled about shifting gears, as my last dirt bike I lost it in heavy sand and hit a tree! So I started thinking about how I loved riding my scooter (very easy) and how if he wanted to he could make his honda 450 street legal. So I started looking and was about to put a deposit down when I found a 07 rattler for sale. Took my son with me and bought it. Now he loves it and rides that to school instead of his truck. I can hardly ride it since he is always on it. My husband is not too happy since its "not what he was thinking of"

And I am thinking of going back to put a deposit down for another scooter!

Redd447 · Post by **Redd447** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 2:21 am

Gas hit $4/gal.

That was my breaking point. Something had to change and change now. I could no longer stomach paying the devil so much money just to get where I needed to go.

I didn't have the $$ for an electric car, so that was out (for now). I've always liked MC's, but never owned one and had only ridden a scooter once (vacation rental). I hit the net and was quickly surprised to learn that MC's struggle to get 45mpg.

I expected better and I didn't think 40-45mpg was enough improvement over my honda accord (30mpg hwy) to be worth the expense. The next logical thing to look at was a scooter. This forum helped an awful lot. I settled on the Buddy and luckily Tulsa Scooters had ONE left that they were willing to part with. It was destiny. The clouds parted, the sun beamed down...somewhere there was a choir singing. Anyway, I bought the Bud for sheer utility and it turned out to be an absolute blast to ride. Although I do miss the radio on the way to and from work, I actually enjoy the trip now.

Someone mentioned in another thread having buyer's remorse on every major purchase he had ever made....except the Buddy. Whoever you are, I'm right there with you!!

BeetleGoose · Post by **BeetleGoose** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:23 am

Very interesting stories! I'll add mine.

Back in the late 70's as a very young child in the Philippines, I'd been fascinated by anything with 2 wheels. I remember catching bike rides from my uncle when he would pick me up from pre-school. This was also the same uncle that drew me a motorcycle (he studied architectural engineering). I remember staring at that drawing and thinking "Wow!"

Fast forward to the mid-80's and finally learning how to ride a bicycle all by myself. Then the movie "Top Gun" came out. It had two things I enjoyed seeing in action: fighter jets and a motorcycle. Side note: part of my username is inspired by my favorite character in the movie.

I finally learned to drive a car and mostly forgot about owning a motorcycle. Mostly it was because of everyone telling me how dangerous it was. As a fan of some anime programs, I got hooked on two animes: Witch Hunter Robin and FLCL. Both programs which to some degree had Vespas. I remember though, just as dangerous as a motorcycle... or is it? But alas, it was just a pipe dream, or so I thought.

I eventually made up my mind to get a scooter and not a motorcycle after comparing the two on actual practicality and relative safety. In my head, I worked out that for me, scooters were going to be safer. What really got me to get a motorized 2 wheeler was a recent experience I had. Call it a mid-life crisis (even though I'm not mid-life) - I call it more like an awakening - but I decided to skydive after urging from my friend. Indeed one of the most thrilling experiences ever. After that I decided that I was going to start doing what I want.

Dibber · Post by **Dibber** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:24 am

The first bite was back in 1973 when a guy in my company (Navy Seabees) bought a Vespa. I thought it was the coolest thing around. However, my friend all wanted motorcycles and like a dumb ass, I bought a motorcycle too. I have always liked scooter, but just never bought one. Many years later I got married, had kids, and now an empty nester...yahoo! Butthen my wife really didn't until we went to Key West, FL in the winter of 2007 and in June of 2007 we went to
Scooterville, MN and bought 2 Buddy 125's. Easiest sale ole Ed ever made. Now my wife and I are hooked. It just took me a long time to finally get one. Morale of this fable is to say screw your friends and buy what you want...don't wait...life is to short as it is. Scoot on Dudes!

DennisD · Post by **DennisD** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:44 am

Something about the sound of that Salisbury when my neighbor kick started it and said to hop on for a ride. He had just bought it and was going to restore it. Yeah, we crashed when the brake cable broke and the downhill run made a 90 degree onto a brick street. I ran home crying. That was in 1959. Something about the sound of the kick starter and the motor and that centrifugal clutch. Still hear it. Still love it.

PasadenaSue · Post by **PasadenaSue** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:13 am

Interesting stories! I first got hooked on scooters when I lived in Europe in the late 70's. (There is something about scooters in Italy that seems so darn romantic.) I started riding motorcycles when I was 12 (older brothers) and have had a motorcycle or two around since college. But scooters are just a different breed.

I guess I was bored last year as I was surfing the net looking at Vespas (I will own one some day) but I wanted something less expensive to start out. I started out looking at Bajajs, and then found a comparison between the Buddy and the Vino. That got me thinking about Buddys. Once I actually saw one at the dealer, well, let's just say that it was the closest I have come to making an impulse purchase.

It wasn't love at first ride though. I thought the suspension was horrible! But after riding it for a few days, there is a soft spot in my heart for scooters.

(OTOH, I just bought my first Harley. Let's see which one I have in a year...)

PasadenaSue

addictionriot · Post by **addictionriot** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:21 am

I had $3300 to blow...?

And my landlord showed me his Vino.

I never thought in my life that I would drive a scooter or motorcycle. I went online and guess what the first page was? Genuine. I fell in love with the Italia but I figured I would never get it.

Visited a Vespa dealership, thought they were pretty but a little too much $$ for my taste..

Almost bought a Lance and a Sunl

After searching around and finding out that Genuine was the best value I was sold.

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 8:38 am

BeetleGoose wrote:Back in the late 70's as a very young child in the Philippines, I'd been fascinated by anything with 2 wheels.

Though I've never seen them, there are very active vintage and modern Vespa groups in the Philippines. They have a web forum, hilariously called Vespinoy. (Some members post to ModernVespa on occasion.) I'd really like to hook up with them for a ride on my next visit, or at least visit 2211, the dealer in Manila.

BeetleGoose · Post by **BeetleGoose** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:28 pm

ericalm wrote:

That would be a sweet decal to put on a scooter. Hey thanks for that link.

BeetleGoose · Post by **BeetleGoose** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:31 pm

BeetleGoose wrote:
ericalm wrote:
That would be a sweet decal to put on a scooter. Hey thanks for that link.

Hmmm... would probably only work with a Vespa though. Fortunately, I've been cooking up something to put on the Buddy.

maribell · Post by **maribell** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:19 pm

BeetleGoose wrote:
BeetleGoose wrote:
ericalm wrote:
That would be a sweet decal to put on a scooter. Hey thanks for that link.
Hmmm... would probably only work with a Vespa though. Fortunately, I've been cooking up something to put on the Buddy.

That would be an awesome decal. MY boyfriend is Filipino, and he couldn't dislike my scooter more. It means I am just going t o have to get one in a more masculine color down the road. Like a black Stella.....

Charles Kegel · Post by **Charles Kegel** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:55 pm

My wife is from the Philippines (Cagayan De Oro City, Mindanao) we see some nice motorcycles there and shops with all types of accessories, but no twist & go scooters however I did see them in Manila.

Text trip I’ll look them up should be fun!

Chas

kazoo · Post by **kazoo** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:28 pm

The Stella brought me in.

Tenchi · Post by **Tenchi** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 6:13 pm

I wrecked my motorcycle and ended up in the emergency ward on an ambulance. I promised my wife I wouldn't get another motorcycle, so now....I just scoot.

justscooten · Post by **justscooten** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:54 pm

it started in the 80s with the yamaha razz and the honda spree. well thats what my friends had i had a yamaha qt-50 moped and then a honda urban express deluxe. there was about 5 of us that had mopeds or scooters back before we got in to cars or could drive. i never got that razz (that what i realy wanted back then) and 3 years ago it just kind of hit me at work doing my job day dreaming and WAM POW !!! the angels sing and all that.

the word (SCOOTER) comes out of my mouth. and that was it. it took 2 more years of begging the wife. and saveing to get back on two wheels this past feb.( and there was 9in of snow that day) i got my 07 blur and i just turned 1010 miles today.

olhogrider · Post by **olhogrider** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 12:29 am

After 20 years of riding Harleys and almost 20 years on other brands, I bought a scooter. I was just looking for something cheap to ride to the train station. Turns out I'm a scooterist at heart.

betsy q. bramble · Post by **betsy q. bramble** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 12:58 am

When I first started art school, I got a job working the desk in the admissions office. One of the admissions coordinators had a red Stella. He got teased about it but I was always infatuated. He would tell me about rallies he would go to, and show me pictures, and the whole culture behind scooters really intrigued me.

I hate cars, and always have. As soon as I had enough money saved up this year, I started really exploring scooters. Vespas were more than I wanted to pay. The other name I knew was Lambretta, but that fizzled out for me, too. Then I remembered that ol' red Stella and looked into what company made those.

I love Stella's, but my conscious hounded me quite a bit about it's 2 stroke engine. What's this other scooter Genuine makes...the Buddy? Lame name but let's check it out...

true love.

newslinky · Post by **newslinky** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:23 am

I needed a solution to my gas expense problem. My daily communte is 25 miles each way and so I put on at least 200 miles to get to commute every week. Add in other driving and I am filling up around once a week in my box for over 65 a week. I researched and found the scooter to be a very viable solution as they could be bought for a relatively small initial investment and Vespa's have been around for a long time with a great track record. While visiting a Vespa dealer I was introduced to the Buddy by the dealer. Being highly recommended and having as positive of feedback as the Vespa's everywhere I looked I decided to go with a Buddy! I have nop regrets at all and fall more in love with my Buddy every time I ride.(Which is as often as possible)

Post by **polianarchy** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 3:32 pm

This is how I get my scooter started:

Insert key into ignition.
Rotate key clockwise.
Flip kill switch up.
Engage brake lever.
Press power button.

Wait, what?

zemacar · Post by **zemacar** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:42 pm

I used to visit my father in northern MN every summer and he always had MCs. He got me a minibike when I was twelve. I dumped it and skinned my knee. In later years, his health failed and he started riding a Honda Helix instead of a MC. That was fun to ride on country roads.

For years, I drove past a Vespa dealer twice a day on my 20-mile commute to work in Seattle. I liked them, but never really thought of getting one.

Then last year I got a job with my own city government. 3-mile commute. I never would have commuted 20 miles on a scooter (respect those of you who do), but I figured I could do 3. The day I accepted the job, I finally stopped at the Vespa store. The salesman told me I was too short to ride a Vespa. I was crushed. I wanted that purple one (since they didn't make the vintage green anymore). He said, don't worry, there are other scooters out there, and named a few (probably Vino & Buddy, but I wasn't listening).

Husband researched seat heights and I bought a Honda Elite 80 on CL. It took too long to get running, so I didn't ride it to work. (I could be there while that thing was warming up. Pictured myself alone in the City Hall parking lot late at night trying to coax that Honda to life.)

Last winter, thought I'd sell it, but decided to take the MSF first and give it a fair chance. They gave me a Vino to ride in the MSF. That was it. Some scooters start right up! Scootering is fun and I want a Vino, I thought. Researching those led me to the Vino vs Buddy comparison, then to my Buddy dealer (6 mi. away!).

hackett · Post by **hackett** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:55 pm

LisaLisa's husband is an old friend of mine, and he was in town visiting his father over Memorial Day weekend. He wanted to spend the day in Nuevo Laredo and asked if I wanted to go. Driving down, he was waxing romantic about the Kymco People 250 he'd just bought, which wound up stirring the long-dormant scooterlust I'd had for most of my life. I started reading up about scooters and entering numbers into a spreadsheet.

Less than a month later, I'd passed the MSF course, gotten my license, and bought a new Italia.

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:29 pm

hackett wrote: Driving down, he was waxing romantic about the Kymco People 250 he'd just bought, which wound up stirring the long-dormant scooterlust I'd had for most of my life. I started reading up about scooters and entering numbers into a spreadsheet.

Less than a month later, I'd passed the MSF course, gotten my license, and bought a new Italia.

Scootering is viral.

paint_lick · Post by **paint_lick** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:33 pm

Italy plain and simple. First went in 95 and was fascinated by all the scooters. Everyone rode them, wasn't like it was here when only a few (dare I say it) "cliques" rode vespas. I loved Vespas and still do but me and my fellow skateboarder friends always referred to people in my area that rode them as "mod tards".

Determined to go back to Italy I managed to move there in 2000 for more than a year. Was living my dream - good food, easy living, siestas, wine, and an old raggedy 73' (?) Vespa my neighbor loaned me. Driving that thing through the Tuscan countryside with my lady friend, never knowing if it was going to leave us stranded was the best.

Fast forward - moved back to the states, got a real job and still love riding, bought a buddy cause when I first saw it I thought it was silly looking and everything but "cool"(just kidding). Mainly, I liked the Genuine Scooter reputation and mission and it's just a damn fine scooter. I still laugh when I see mod tards, and they laugh at me. But man, they have the best suits and the sharpest looking machines...

jmsmith802 · Post by **jmsmith802** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:04 pm

Scooters have always been appealing to me. Sense I was little I always got excited when I saw one, esp. vespas. Well I finally got my first scooter a couple of months ago, my buddy 50.. And I'm sure i'll be working my way up the scooter chain over my lifetime.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:41 pm

Strange as it may sound, scooter and motorcycles weren't a part of my life as a kid. I knew about them. Harleys were badass cool and Vespas were continental sophistication. Never saw one as being part of my life.

Fast forward to just before I was thirty. I'd gone through a lot of growing up in those years. Moved out of my parents' place, did a two month trip to Israel, had held down a responsible job for several years, even got a girlfriend. Something in me clicked that it was time to start living life. Skydiving was out because I hate jumping even from diving boards. Hiking...er, no, I enjoy ten minute showers each morning. Scooters...hmmm. I fixated on them (despite my mother's cries of "neuro ward!") I ended up getting a 50cc Vino. I moved up to a motorcycle license a couple years later because I found myself venturing out of the city a lot.

Haven't looked back since then.

Eazy · Post by **Eazy** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:38 am

I'd been riding motorcycles for a long time but never owned my own.

When I turned 18 I got a loan and I could either buy a sport bike or scooters for me and my then girlfriend.

the scooters won.

Modern Buddy

How did you get started in scooters?

How did you get started in scooters?

My start on Scooters....