New to this

motorhead · Post by **motorhead** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:38 pm

So I just picked up my spanking new sea foam green buddy yesturday and drove it home from the dealership, it was on this 7 mile ride home when an ambulance ran me off of the road and into a garbage can (no damage to my bike, but a heck of a gnarly bruise on my shin) So what advice can be give to a new buddy owner as far as handling the bike, any tips, tricks or pointers would be helpful!

justscooten · Post by **justscooten** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:42 pm

first id start by taking legal action on the ambulance company. then practice practice practice. is all you can really do. or take a msf course.

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:44 pm

Congrats on the new Buddy and welcome to the board!

There's all kinds of advice all over the board... start doing some searches for "tips" or "new rider" or something and just start reading. Almost everything here is useful.

Start with the "For all new members/owners" thread at the top of the forum. Lots of great stuff there.

Here's a few tips that always get handed out
Look into the MSF course in your area (MSF Basic rider course)

Get good gear- many of us here would recommend a Full Face helmet, gloves, jacket, and boots. As you've already learned, a crash can happen at any time.

Make sure you follow some sort of break-in period- vary the throttle a lot (don't stay at one speed for a long time), keep the wide open riding to a very minimum, always let the scooter cool fully before heading back out on it.

Might want to look into a lock if you are keeping it outside.

Start giving Genuine more of your money by buying accessories!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. But even before I got my Buddy I read just about every thread here and learned so much. So just start hitting various threads and you'll learn a ton.

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:34 pm

If you've just started riding, I'd advise staying off roads with traffic as much as possible until you get some more practice in. Learning to turn properly generally takes a little time and is best done in a parking lot or isolated area. The Buddy is very easy to learn on, but as we've discussed in past threads, this sometimes leads to "deceptively high confidence," meaning people ride in traffic, etc. before they're really ready.

There are a lot of good tips in this MSF manual:
http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/Scoote ... screen.pdf

Also, check out the book Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough.

Both discuss methods for mastering basic turns. Hough's book goes in depth on a lot of other maneuvers, though, and includes some good riding exercises.

And, if 2 people recommending it wasn't enough, 'll be the third: take the MSF Basic Rider Course.

madtolive · Post by **madtolive** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:23 pm

yay, another seafoam green! welcome to mb, +1 on all the previous replies.

i'm pretty nervous about driving the bud home from the dealer too, and i already took the msf course.

i hope your shin feels better soon!

brimstone · Post by **brimstone** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:24 pm

me three......welcome and take an msf as soon as possible. other then that, take it easy, ride around your neighborhood, avoid sharp turns on gravel or sand too. i've seen a couple of my friends eat it at slow speads on both on their scooters. congrats again, ride safe and have fun.