Buy new now or used later?

Discussion of the Genuine Buddy, Hooligan, Black Jack and other topics, both scooter related and not

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SheZAAM!
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Buy new now or used later?

Post by SheZAAM! »

Ok...first some background. My husband and I have been traveling the country for a year in our motorhome. Alas, the fun is coming to an end and we have to get jobs. I'm currently in Denver, where we'll be settling down next spring. But for 6 mos. starting Oct. 1, we'll be in Tucson working. For tax purposes, my legal residence is in S. Dakota. My only other scooter experience was a 1987 Spree I had in college for 2 years..

So, do I buy new here in Denver, drive up to S. Dakota (400 miles ea. way) to get a motorcycle endorsement, buy a carrier, and take it down to Tucson. Or do I buy used in Tucson, and drive it around for 6 mos. w/out an endorsement, taking my chances on getting pulled over?

Cost difference:

1) New (125-150cc) moped= approx. $2500, carrier $300, gas to SD & back $100, motel in SD $100. Total= $3000

2) Used (125-150cc) moped= $700-1000, then sell it before leaving Tucson.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
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ctpaddler2000
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Post by ctpaddler2000 »

I would not recommend riding w/o an endorsement. I am not some legal nazi or anything like that. Just look at the worst case situation. You might think that it is just a ticket. But the ticket is just the start. They will tow the scooter. Now you are looking at towing fees, storage fees, possible damage to the scooter. Some states might even consider it an arrestable offense for driving w/o a license. I got pulled over 20+ years ago on a motorcycle w/o an endorsement and consider myself lucky that I got away with just a ticket and tow fees.

Now think about the worst case. You are riding along. A kid on a bicycle rides in front of you and you crash into him/her. You are fine, the kid goes the to hospital. The family of that kid sues you for every penny you have and that motorhome ends up on ebay. You would not stand a chance in court. The lawyer would wheel in a crippled kid in a wheelchair. Then the jury finds out that you are not trained, licensed, or certified to ride that "motorcycle". It is a person injury lawyer's dream case.

Rob
nausicaa
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Post by nausicaa »

You should see what they do to people who his a motorcyclist. My aunt had to pay for years after hitting one with a car, she was a legal driver too with insurance.
My wife grew up in Japan, she was hit by someone on a motorcycle over there as a child and that was a big mess too.

I'm with ctpaddler2000 on this one.

Accidents happen when you least expect them, right?
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angieyou3
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Post by angieyou3 »

First I want to know how I can get away with not working for a year and traveling the country. :P

Next, I would say that is a personal decision. We can lecture you all you want, but in the end, you make that choice. Personally, I have driven around my buddy w/o an endorsement for a couple months now. I will deal with the consequences if they come.
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hangukhurley
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Post by hangukhurley »

Yes, I would definitely wait until you can get a motorcycle endorsement, or least a permit, if I were you. I didn't ride my husband's Honda 80cc until AFTER I passed my written permit test. I wasn't going to take a chance in you-know-what getting into an accident or seriously injuring myself when I wasn't qualified to drive anything bigger than a 50cc. Since then, I've taken the MSF course and got my endorsement and it feels great!

Just my opinion, but it certainly seems to be the majority thus far.

:wink:
- hangukhurley & Frenchy...Pretty in Pink!
macgawd
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Post by macgawd »

ctpaddler2000 wrote:I would not recommend riding w/o an endorsement. I am not some legal nazi or anything like that. Just look at the worst case situation. You might think that it is just a ticket. But the ticket is just the start. They will tow the scooter. Now you are looking at towing fees, storage fees, possible damage to the scooter. Some states might even consider it an arrestable offense for driving w/o a license. I got pulled over 20+ years ago on a motorcycle w/o an endorsement and consider myself lucky that I got away with just a ticket and tow fees.
I would first recommend finding out whether your state actually requires an endorsement before going through the hassle of getting one. All states are different, and have different requirements--in Tennessee where I live, no endorsement is required for a bike that has 125cc's or less.

I'd be interested to know if any scooter riders have actually been ticketed for speeding on their scooters. I know some have had parking tickets, but speeding tickets? I find it hard to believe that this would happen, for several reasons:

1.) It's a scooter--it isn't a motorcycle, and so isn't capable of extreme speeds at which cops would feel motivated to write a ticket.

2.) The speedometer on scooters can be over-optimistic by as much as 10-15%, meaning that even at the top end of the throttle, you'd barely be breaking the speed limit on most two lane surface streets anyway.

IMO, the only realistic reason I could see getting a ticket for riding a scooter is for impeding traffic.

Michael
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vitaminC
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Post by vitaminC »

macgawd wrote: IMO, the only realistic reason I could see getting a ticket for riding a scooter is for impeding traffic.
If you're in a part of town where the limit is 25mph, I don't think you would have much trouble doubling that on a Buddy 125.

Check your local state regs, but a bit of training and a proper endorsement is very rarely a bad thing...
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