The saving money on gas myth and my first 200 miles w/buddy

[natrone06]

I turned 28 this month and had a mid life crisis. Ok maybe not a actual mid life crisis but what led me to randomly buying a scooter were feelings Im guessing pretty similar to that of a 50 year old man buying a mustang convertible out of the blue. I needed a change, something exciting, something completely un...me?

So Scanning craigslist in the Madison, Wi area I came across a 08 buddy 50 with 4 miles on it. After test driving and pretending to know what I was looking for with empty statements like "it runs real smooth" and "The engine sounds good" I bought it!

These are my 10 observations after owning and driving a scooter for the first 200 miles.

#1 - NO ONE WEARS A HELMET! I think its a culture thing out here in the college town of Madison but I have seen maybe 2 of 50 moped drivers wearing a helmet. On my first commute to work fully helmeted, death gripping the handlebars and concentrating on the road like nothing Ive concentrated on before, another scooter rider pulled along side me. A gorgeous young lady in a sundress, sandals and sunglasses, talking on her cell phone as she zipped around. Are you kidding me? I could only laugh.....and stare

#2 - Um scooter riding is way too much fun. Driving to and from work is now my favorite part of my day. That leads me to #3.

#3 - How do you save money on gas when you take daily joy rides and always take the scenic route?

#4 - Hills suck in a 50cc.

#5 - Wind is kind of scary on a scoot.

#6 - I think Im going to own a scooter for the rest om my life.

#7 - My gf now wants a scoot. Uh-oh what did I start?

#8 - I got caught in a severe thunder storm tonight and it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. Hail on a scoot hurts too.

#9 - Did I say riding a scooter is tons of fun!?

#10 - This is the way I drive to work through the UW arboretum.

Thanks for reading.


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[Syd]

Perhaps the laws where you live allow (require?) you to register it as a moped, but in general, we say 'it's not a moped, dammit!'.

[natrone06]

Fixed. Im new to all this lol.

[Capt_Don]

Yeah mopeds are trying really hard to be motorcycles, scooters are just being scooters. moped owner for many years...

[squidsie]

Love your story! Lovely photos!

[amy]

Such a pretty commute!

Is there a helmet law in WI?

[skully93]

Even Miah doesn't always wear a helmet. It's a personal choice, but our traffic here is too insane for me not to wear it at all times.

I've ridden the tar out of mine, and not including some decent miles on my Kymco, I've ridden 3500 miles so far since mid-Jan.

You don't really save money, because there will always be new gear/accessories/mods to do and long trips to take! But, it's so much fun...

[natrone06]

No helmet law in Wisconsin. Just recently read a article about it.
http://www.jsonline.com/business/some-m ... tml?ipad=y

[Grant H]

I just moved to Madison 4 months ago and just bought my first scooter. Buddy 170i in Italia just like yours.

Yeah, no helmet laws here in WI.

[jmazza]

Great write up and observations. I stare at the front range of the Rockies during my commute but yours is just gorgeous.

I sort of fell into riding a scooter in a similar way. Car died, we really didn't need two of them, I'd always been interested in scooters and wanted something different. Now I'll likely always own one as well.

Looking forward to reading more great stories like this one!

[chub1965]

welcome aboard.yes hills do suck on a 50cc.you will get used to the wind after awhile and i bet you were glad for the helmet in that hailstorm.

[Mousenut]

Those are the roads I need more of!

What is that diagonal white line set in the road? Tortoise crossing?

[natrone06]

Lol Just a place for people to cross who are walking through the trails.

Best part about driving through the arboretum is that they block cars from going all the way through. You must exit the same way you came in unless you are a runner, biker, scooter. This cuts traffic down to almost 0. I stood in the middle of that road taking pictures for a good 5 -10 mins with no cars coming by.

[Wheelz]

Natrone, think of it this way.
If you wanted to go "joy" riding in your car, how much would it cost you in gas to do so?
Right there is your savings on gas....

Great write up though, keep scooting and in afew months I suspect we will see the "So I added another scooter I didn't need" post, it happens to the best of us I assure you.

[Grant H]

Here's your solution. Give your 50cc Buddy to your GF. Go out and get yourself a 170i Buddy. Trust me man, for around Madison, the 170i is the way to go unless you are only in downtown.

[jackstraw]

Here's your solution. Give your 50cc Buddy to your GF. Go out and get yourself a 170i Buddy. Trust me man, for around Madison, the 170i is the way to go unless you are only in downtown.

Fully agree!
Everybody wins!
You will be her hero! You get to climb hills FAST!

[jrsjr]

#10 - This is the way I drive to work through the UW arboretum.

Nice write-up! Too bad about that awful route you have to ride every day!

[Southerner]

Ah, the 50cc Buddy, the gateway scooter. Now you're hooked.

[MYSCTR]

Really loved the picture - so under the Italia IOC first - and that story is so awesome yet typical too.

Enjoy the ride. You will save fuel costs at some point. We paid for our scooters the first year in gas savings alone before we started any mods even with all those extra little side trips.

Start shopping now - the right scooter will come your way.

[ericalm]

Nice write up! Congrats on the new scoot.

When I was in WI last month for Amerivespa, most riders wore helmets. Of course, most of us were coming from other states. But even in Chicago, most locals I saw on scooters had helmets on, which was surprising. I did take a couple short trips in WI sans helmet but it really makes me uneasy.

There are some clear geographic and cultural differences at play in what/how much gear riders wear. While helmets are required in CA, I often joke that the closer you get to the beach, the less gear you see on riders. The t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops riders are far less common inland.

Different traffic and road conditions definitely affect attitudes about gear, too. I noticed a few days ago that while I was quite comfortable not wearing a jacket much of the time in Lake Geneva, in LA I got anxious riding 2 miles from gym to home without a jacket.

Many of those who don't wear helmets are sadly misinformed about the risks, which are significant even at 50cc speeds. Others know the score but just don't wanna. Do what you think is right!

[natrone06]

Lmao I had hard enough time explaining to myself, friends and gf when i bought this scooter. I can't imagine trying to explain a 2nd one in less then a month of ownership. I think I'll derestrict 1st and see how that is but you never know

Thanks for the welcome guys/girls. I hope to be fairly active around here speciifically with pictures of my scoot in different places.

[Diblit]

guaranteed that those people not wearing helmets will wish they were if/when they need it!!

and, there's no need to justify buying a scoot! before i bought mine i came up with all kinds of reasons why i needed one...to save on gas, to get around easier, etc....but, the real reason to have a scoot is to have fun with it!! i got mine about a month ago and have 1,000 miles on it already, so i'm not really saving money on gas....but i am having one heck of a time!!!

[pugbuddy]

When I was in WI last month for Amerivespa, most riders wore helmets. Of course, most of us were coming from other states.

Yep. When I was in WI for AV2012, I was surprised at how many Buddy owners there were in town (as in "lived in town"). One of the storehands told me they have sold 1400 Buddys in a town of 7400!

I can see why though; there was a lot of great country to ride through! Enjoy the scooter and ride safe! Check in and let us all know how it goes too!

[ender07]

Awesome! I got a 50cc St. Tropez and a 50cc Roughouse in Sun Prairie. I am moving into Madison on the West side between Verona Rd. and South Gammon, if you live nearby and want to go on a ride sometime I would love to do it!

Originally it was my wife that wanted to get a scooter for commuting from work/school, but now I got one as well and we have already taken a trip through the UW Arboretum, it was quite beautiful. I actually took one of my cover pictures on facebook with my St. Tropez on the trail there like you did.

I noticed as well that almost no one wears a helmet in the Madison area. Although I tend to be a culprit at times with the shorts and short sleeve tees when its 102 degrees out, I always wear a matte black German WWII'esque half helmet with some bobster "bugeye" goggles! Hope to you see around town.

[350kmi]

I hadn't realize there this many MB folks in Madison. My GF and I would likely be out for a group ride sometime if anyone is interested.

I agree that helmet usage is quite low in Madison. It does seem to increase slightly the further from campus you go. Higher usage with commuters than students, perhaps? I always wear a helmet, but ride 35-40 miles a day as a commuter. It feels safer and also has the bonus of a face shield, which is quite useful against bugs and frigid weather.

natrone06: If your Buddy 50 is still restricted, derestricting it will certainly help on the hills, more power to climb as well as better momentum going in to it. My derestricted 50s can manage 30 mph on most of the hills around town with a bit of a run up. Do you know where the previous owner of your Buddy bought it? I believe the local dealer (Scooter Therapy) derestricts all of their 50cc scoots before they leave the shop for the first time.

[ender07]

We should schedule a group ride some day! I have Thursdays and Fridays available if that work for anyone.

[350kmi]

I just started a new thread over on the rallies/events/meetups forum section if any other MSN people are interested in riding.

[KABarash]

Welcome to our 'fold'

I turned 28 this month and had a mid life crisis. Ok maybe not a actual mid life crisis but what led me to randomly buying a scooter were feelings Im guessing pretty similar to that of a 50 year old man buying a mustang convertible out of the blue. I needed a change, something exciting, something completely un...me?

I bought my Buddy a little over three years ago as a 49th birthday present to myself. I was feeling 'empty nester' like as my son was deployed to Iraq at the time and I was left home alone.

#1 - NO ONE WEARS A HELMET!

It's a choice.

I think its a culture thing out here in the college town of Madison but I have seen maybe 2 of 50 moped drivers wearing a helmet. On my first commute to work fully helmeted, death gripping the handlebars and concentrating on the road like nothing Ive concentrated on before.

College kids act and feel invincible.

A gorgeous young lady in a sundress, sandals and sunglasses, talking on her cell phone as she zipped around. Are you kidding me? I could only laugh.....and stare

I would have stared too.....

#2 - Um scooter riding is way too much fun. Driving to and from work is now my favorite part of my day. That leads me to #3.

#3 - How do you save money on gas when you take daily joy rides and always take the scenic route?

I've always said, "even after a lousy day at work, the ride home makes it all feel 'right' again"

#5 - Wind is kind of scary on a scoot.

You'll become accustomed to that.

#6 - I think Im going to own a scooter for the rest om my life.

Me too......

#8 - I got caught in a severe thunder storm tonight and it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. Hail on a scoot hurts too.

Yep, I have twice. Once, the next day I had pea sized bruises all over my arms and torso.... The second time, I had to pull over, no shelter, the hail stones were almost as big as golf balls, I wanted to crawl up into my helmet!!

#9 - Did I say riding a scooter is tons of fun!?

ABSOLUTELY

#10 - This is the way I drive to work through the UW arboretum.

I'm jealous! Best I see is downtown Harrisburg and the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island.