Modern Buddy

i bought one of those scooter locks. which is really just a glorified bike lock. being that i live in an apartment i dont want all the little hellians running around with no parental supervision trying to sit on "the cool motorcycle thingy" ive been locking it under the stairs to the rail. maybe im a lil obsesive but it makes me feel better even though i live on the third story. i can still look over the balcony and make sure eleanor is ok while i have a smoke or whatever. sooo where do u put uuurrrrr buddy????

The garage, of course. (With the cars outside... )

i have secured underground parking at both home and work.

Right now it's parked in the scooter shop's repair bay. Something about a lack of spark which makes it not run...at all.

Usually, it's parked in the garage (in lieu of letting my daughter park her car in the third bay).

ECS

i have a secured lot under my apartment building that they let me park in for free because "it is JUST a scooter"...

anyway, when at work I park it infront of the front door where the office receptionists can keep an eye on it

whilst shopping i park either on the sidewalk, or in motorcycle parking areas when available. I have also been known to take up full sive parking spots when I am going to be very near to the scooter, ie coffee shop or at an ice cream place, so I can watch people get mad that I am taking up a full size space. I mean if I had taken the cage I would have taken up the space anyway...

If (like many apartment dwellers) you don't have a garage or other secured parking, there's definitely a bit of a balance between finding a place that's off the street, and safe and a place that's not so hidden someone could spend an hour hacking at your locks and not be seen. Some of it comes down to knowing your neighborhood. If it's an area where things like bicycles are routinely ripped off, or cars are frequently broken into, then off the street but visible and securely locked to something big and hard to move would seem the way to go. In a gated complex, where vandalism or tampering may be more of a concern than theft, then a very well-lit space as close to the building as possible might be the way to go. I also think a cover is a decent deterrent for a lot of mischief and vandalism which are often crimes of opportunity. Look for one that locks at the bottom.

Where would one park his/hers scooter if they are going to school?

I get to park in the garage and in secure parking at work with camera and guys watching the cameras!

If i didn't have that it would be parked somewhere with 3 or 4 locks on it! (disk lock,front fork chain to something solid, cable lock to cable to something solid and maybe another one for fun somewhere!)

garage!

At home either in the garage on in the driveway. If I leave it in the driveway I lock it.

At work I park it in the garage in our building. It's a Rattler 110, and the 106cc engine prohibits it from being parked on the sidewalk in Denver. There's a huge bike rack just inside the garage and it's surrounded by yellow-box and abutted by disabled parking. They let scooters park in the yellow-box and come and go over the loading dock so we don't mess up their revenue numbers by taking tickets and not paying them. Rather cool.

At home - in the garage. And on the opposite side as the MP3. I don't think they like each other.

Out in public - any damn where I please. I'm a huge fan of rock star parking. Although I do get nervous at the grocery store I frequent. They have a large DIY propane filling station right next to the front door where I park. All of the "DANGER" and "No Smoking" signs scare me a little. But I like to live life on the edge

PortlandRider wrote:Where would one park his/hers scooter if they are going to school?

Haha, I'm thinking I'll just chain mine to the bike rack when I'm back at college. We had a rash of bike thefts early last year; I'd hate to leave Ronnie out unprotected with inebriated frat boys running around at night.

For right now, I park anywhere I see a bike rack (not necessarily near the rack or taking up rack space); I figure if bicycles are allowed, my scooter should be fine. Otherwise, motorcycle parking is good, or at the grocery store I'll chain myself to the cart corral.

krysbrezinski wrote:

PortlandRider wrote:Where would one park his/hers scooter if they are going to school?

Haha, I'm thinking I'll just chain mine to the bike rack when I'm back at college. We had a rash of bike thefts early last year; I'd hate to leave Ronnie out unprotected with inebriated frat boys running around at night.

You might want to check with your campus security about where to park because when I started working at my current campus, I was told "no two-wheeled vehicles" allowed on campus except bicycles. After speaking to the director of security, I got a waiver and the security guys gave me rock star parking that they watch all day long...they even gave me my own orange cone to block the space when I'm not there!

Because your Bud is a 50, it may not be a problem, but it never hurts to ask. My friend parks her 50 in a special "for Beth only" spot on her campus after speaking with security.

siobhan wrote:You might want to check with your campus security about where to park because when I started working at my current campus, I was told "no two-wheeled vehicles" allowed on campus except bicycles. After speaking to the director of security, I got a waiver and the security guys gave me rock star parking that they watch all day long...they even gave me my own orange cone to block the space when I'm not there!

Because your Bud is a 50, it may not be a problem, but it never hurts to ask. My friend parks her 50 in a special "for Beth only" spot on her campus after speaking with security.

Hmm, I hadn't considered that. Thanks for the heads-up.

I do know a couple boys with Kawasaki street bikes they ride around, so I'm sure having Buddy wouldn't be a problem; still, you might be right about parking limits. They'll tack on fees wherever they can, I'm sure, so maybe I will have to pay for a parking permit. Which will be stupid.

At home, it sits in the garage.
At work, my company's parking lot. I can see it thourhg my office window and it is in a safe area of town. No additional locks, just the steering lock.

At home: Garage

At work: The parking lot my company pays for. The lot attendant lets me park it right by the booth so he can keep an eye on it for me. Nice guy. Without him I'd definitely lock it.

DJE

After it cools down, it's parked in my living room

At home it's in the basement. Door leads right to the side yard. Nevertheless, Scootle is parked on the center stand with the steering wheel lock engaged.

At my girlfriend's, I park it in her garden and lock it to a tree. It's not visible from the street and IS visible from her bedroom. Lock goes through the rear shock.

In the city, I put one padlock through the front disk and attach one end of a NY Chain to that. Then I take the other end of the NY Chain and lock it around a parking meter or a street sign or a fence (A BIG FENCE). The scoot is also left with the steering lock engaged and up on the center stand or on the kickstand, depending on the surface.

Elsewhere...

Supermarket. Center stand, steering lock, sidewalk.

Coffee Shop. Quasi space with other scooters or motorcycles, on kickstand, steering lock. Visible from inside.

Post Office. Full space, steering lock.

Sushi restaurant. Full space, steering lock.

Social media breakfast. Sidewalk, locked front disk to street sign, steering lock.

In many cases I also leave the helmet on the underseat peg.

No issues yet. Plenty concerned and still pick spots inside venues that allow me to see Scootle with a quick glance.

chain it up under carport or in garage if at home.
if not at home then wherever i want (Xena disc lock +alarm and NY Noose)

scootersRhogs2,

It sounds like for your apartment complex locking your Buddy underneath the stairs is the most secure, protected space for your Buddy. If you have not already done this, here are some additional suggestions:

- Make sure that you have theft coverage on your Buddy’s insurance policy. Scooters are a very attractive target for theft.

- The lock that I have is the New York Fahgettaboutit chain lock made by Kryptonite. It is a big, heavy lock and chain. The lock comes with an Anti-Theft Protection policy – if your scooter is stolen then Kryptonite will pay your insurance policy’s deductible. I have a $500 deductible on my Buddy so Kryptonite will pay the $500 deductible. Kryptonite makes you submit a bunch of paperwork to register for the Anti-Theft Protection and a bunch more paperwork if your scooter is ever stolen. Hopefully I will never have to use this.

- Get a scooter cover. A scooter cover is not going to deter anyone from messing with your scooter but I feel that it does cover up and hide the Buddy a little.

To answer your original question, my Buddy is parked in my garage.

Under the stairs at my apartment with wheel lock, center stand, a lock and cover.
To get it under the stairs I have to push it up two steps on to my patio then under the stairs. There are four foot high bushes in front of it.
Stairs are right in front of my livingroom window.
If someone did want to steal it it would be very loud and would take them at least 15 minutes.

At work in covered parking spot just big enough for 'Inspector Clouseau', with the wheel lock and the glorified bike lock.

At home, it's in the garage. But elsewhere I just park in normal parking spots, typcially I try to keep it back a bit so it's easy to see by maniacs whipping into parking spots. Except at Target who has bicycle spots I use, and at Woodland Hills Mall which has those little claustrophobic motorcycle parking spots right out front.

I try not to take advantage of sidewalks and such due to my feeling that if I park like a dork, the chances of someone messing with it are greater.

I am trying to get permission at work to park under the side covered "smoker area". But have not got the nads up to ask the management just yet.

I'd really like to see more places offer MC/Scoot parking. Esp with the larger numbers of folks with 2 wheeled macheens.

The only exception to me is the larger "hogs" which are huge and easily take a whole regular spot. I'd be upset if I went to the MC/Scoot parking to find one single monster bike taking the whole thing up with no concern for others.

Most everywhere I just park on the sidewalk against the building, with the wheel locked towards the building. I try and do this where there is a security camera nearby, in a well-trafficked area. There aren't too many places around here with motorcycle parking or a bike rack. If I see my friend's Mini Cooper parked downtown, I share the space with her. At home it's in the garage, and the cars (except the Porsche) are in the driveway. I have occasionally chained it to a lamp post, or other large object. I almost never use the center stand because I'm a wuss and have a hard time getting it up there I'm lucky to live in a relatively low-crime area. I park at the scooter dealer's a lot also. I think they like it because then I can talk about how awesome the Roughhouse 50 is to prospective customers. I have yet to have any store owners tell me not to park right in front of their building, and I don't believe I have ever parked in a parking space.

When I'm out of town it's squished between the cage and my apt building, I can't even get it out w/o moving the car. I really should get a lock for it, I work at high schools and was sure someone would mess with it but it's never happened (I've even left stuff in the glove cubby w/o a problem). On campus I park with the other scoots (there are a lot in Santa Cruz) or some motorcycles, at my other job at the pizza place I park at the bike rack, banking that the security doesn't know the engine size rule for parking there (less than 50 is legal, I ride 125). Other places I'll find somewhere to squeeze, find another bike to share with, or take my own damn spot. Never use the sidewalk, and I always have a cover on it when at home.

scootersRhogs2 wrote:i bought one of those scooter locks. which is really just a glorified bike lock. being that i live in an apartment i dont want all the little hellians running around with no parental supervision trying to sit on "the cool motorcycle thingy" ive been locking it under the stairs to the rail. maybe im a lil obsesive but it makes me feel better even though i live on the third story. i can still look over the balcony and make sure eleanor is ok while i have a smoke or whatever. sooo where do u put uuurrrrr buddy????

The first place I thought to park mine was underneath the stairs to my apartment, but upon asking management about parking (which I probably shouldn't have done - if i didn't ask, they wouldn't have known I even had a bike), they said that's not allowed. Anything that contains gas cannot be parked under the stairs/in an entryway or on patios as it is a fire hazard. As unlikely as that sounds, it kinda makes sense and this might be commonplace across the board at other apartment complexes just not enforced as strictly. I haven't heard any reports of Buddies or any other scooters spontaneously combusting and burning an apartment building/complex to the ground. So you might want to check with your management office to make sure it's ok to park/store it under the stairs. I'd hope they would give you a warning first, but they might just have it towed outta there. Just a heads up.

S.S.

At home; in the garage – at work; in the motorcycle parking area – no thieve will find it amongst all the large bore bikes.