Newbee here, just wanted to say hello

Surfs up · Post by **Surfs up** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:08 pm

I'm a newbe to this forum and find it very interesting. I just purchased a Pamplona for my wife (married 2 months) and a Blackjack for myself

I dont have pics yet cause they are still at the dealer getting prepped. Also, the Pamplona is a Christmas present for my wife and I have to hide it until then. Kinda sucks cause the weather over here (Southern Cal) has been nice (80's), but I'm gonna wait to surprise her or at least try. She always says I give away the surprise.

I will be using my scoot to check out the surf in the mornings (we live 1/2 mile to the beach). I found a local dealer who actually makes a surfboard rack specifically for the Buddy

I assume my wife will be using hers to go to the local market or coffee shop. Also, we live on Main Street in Huntington Beach and often hang out there so we can definately cruise to HB pier.

I have never been interested in scooters until about 2 weeks ago. Our neighborhood had a community garage sale and one of the homeowners was selling a scooter (chinese made) for about $500 with the a surfboard rack. I was really stoked on it and was gonna buy it on impulse but my wife, being the great woman that she is, said "just relax, do a little research first, then you can buy one". She was absolutely correct because now that we have 2 Buddy's, I would have been totally bummed out with that impulse buy

My research has led me to this site and am now realizing that there is an entire Scooter sub-culture comprised of very cool and interesting people. I say that because I read the posts and see the mods done to these lil scooters and realize the passion you all have. Its great. I am also on a Porsche forum and while they too are passionate about their vehicles, I find that a lot of they guys on the Porsche forum are bragging and showing off. . who has this mod and what they paid for it, what watch they are wearing and how many they have, what other cars they drive, and so on and so forth. I mean, I love my car too, but it can be too much at times.

That being said, I am happy to have found this forum and look forward to being a part of this new sub-culture and possibly meeting some of you.

Ron aka "Surfs up"

ERik3tb · Post by **ERik3tb** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:23 pm

Welcome!

You'll find the scooter culture to be extremely open and friendly for the most part. We do have our own subsets that do get a bit uppity. But those tend to be the "classic Vespa only" crowd.

Also, I strongly recommend both you and your wife enroll in the Motorcycle Safety Course. You'll learn so much more then you ever thought you might.

ScootStevie · Post by **ScootStevie** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:33 pm

Alright Surfsup, good move buying the buddy's. I live in Long Beach, and the wifey and I scoot down to HB on occasion. It's nice riding along the beach. Good luck with everything!!

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:55 pm

Hey there Surfs Up and welcome. You have two great scoots and it sounds like you have the perfect location to ride.

Rob

fobbish · Post by **fobbish** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:33 am

Welcome! I wish I had a scooter when I lived in West LA. The only thing I regret about my buddy is not getting it sooner. Have fun and ride safe, man.

gr8dog · Post by **gr8dog** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:46 am

Congrats on the scoots, Oh, and I have a Timex Expedition ($35) which is about 6 years old. Only one. Sorry for the bragging.

chloefpuff · Post by **chloefpuff** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 1:02 am

Welcome to scooting! You are going to have a blast!
I'm already jealous, because my husband doesn't scoot. You're going to have so much fun scooting together.

Ms_Kady · Post by **Ms_Kady** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:42 am

Welcome to the forum! I see you're in Huntington Beach! I'm located here in Irvine over by Newport Coast. It's nice to see another OC resident on the forum!

Did you by any chance get your bikes over at the Harley Davidson in Irvine? That's where I got mine and there is a Black Jack there that has already been sold, but hasn't been picked up yet because they are doing some mods to it first.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 5:21 am

Hey, Ron, Welcome to the forum!

Once you and your wife get comfortable on the scooters, consider checking out the LA Scooter Group and the Long Beach Area Scooter Group.

A lot of people (myself included) thought they'd just ride their scooter to certain places or to do certain things… then next thing you know, you're riding it everywhere, all the time, wanting to go farther and explore… And living in SoCal there's little to stop us from riding year round.

Trust me, there's nothing like your first ride around the Palos Verdes peninsula or up the PCH!

Surfs up · Post by **Surfs up** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:09 am

Thank you all for the warm welcome. Yes, we have to get licenses and school is a great idea. Ms. Kady, got the Pamplona from Terry from OC Genuine (Santa Ana) and the Blackjack from another place. I have yet to go to the Harley store in Irvine. Where exactly is it?

Yes, looking forward to giving the Pamplona to the wifey. Was thinking about giving it as an early Christmas present with a big bow, but we'll see how it goes. Too bad I discoverd the scooter world so late in theyear. Can't wait to meet some of you guys. Also excited about the surfboard rack. So if you a guy cruising a Buddy down PCH in a wetsuit and helmet, that would be me . . .

I've also checked out alot of pics of various Buddy's on this forum. WOW, very cool mods & paint jobs.

Thanks again everyone!!

Lil Buddy · Post by **Lil Buddy** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:11 am

Hello, and welcome

I just typed this while wearing my new limited edition Swiss manufactured, platinum World Première watch that I paid $700,000 for. Once I get done typing this I'm going to go install a driver-controlled, pushbutton-operated, hydraulic, height-adjustable front suspension that raises the front bumper two inches, so I can make it over speed bumps on my Porsche Carrera GT. I could have got a killer deal on it because I am so cool, but whatever, it only cost me $22,010.56.

google this stuff, its for real

cmac · Post by **cmac** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:17 am

I want to go surf in cali one day

Surfs up · Post by **Surfs up** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:42 am

Lil Buddy . . . exactly

Cmac, north west swell is hitting this weekend, should be 5-6 foot faces, maybe a lil over head

Jump on a plane, you'll be here for the swell

dwayneed · Post by **dwayneed** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:34 pm

ERik3tb wrote:Welcome!

You'll find the scooter culture to be extremely open and friendly for the most part. We do have our own subsets that do get a bit uppity. But those tend to be the "classic Vespa only" crowd.

Also, I strongly recommend both you and your wife enroll in the Motorcycle Safety Course. You'll learn so much more then you ever thought you might.

You ain't kiddin'!

Most of the crowd I run with are 2 stroke/Vespa riders. I am already getting flak for my Black Jack! It is all fun...

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 3:29 pm

Surfs up wrote:Cmac, north west swell is hitting this weekend, should be 5-6 foot faces, maybe a lil over head

I have only body surfed in CA and that was like 6 years ago. All I remember is the waves were better than Pcola,
the sand is not nearly as soft and it has little black dust that sticks to your skin. and it was COLD.

easy · Post by **easy** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 5:18 pm

just wait till you realize that a scooter is more fun than a porsch. The car sets in the garage jealous of your scooters

Surfs up · Post by **Surfs up** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:35 pm

Dewayned, how do you like your Blackjack. Got any pics?

Krusty, So Cal gets really good waves in the winter months, but you are right, the water is damn cold at times and the 1st head dunk will usually give you a lil brain freeze

But the waves can get soooo good.

Surfs up · Post by **Surfs up** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:37 pm

Easy, funny you should say that, I barely drive the Porsche anyway. I'm always driving my SUV cause I have a surfboard with me about 90% of the time, including the office. Sometimes I'll go surf during lunch time.

Dont get me wrong, its fun to drive, but its so modded, its a lot of work to drive.

Sombre-clair · Post by **Sombre-clair** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:46 pm

Welcome to the forum

Also I want to see pictures of your buddy with that surf board mod when you get it! (with the surf board on it) Good luck!

Surfs up · Post by **Surfs up** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:44 am

Sombre, as soon as I get it set up, I'll post a pic.

dwayneed · Post by **dwayneed** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 5:17 pm

Surfs up wrote:Dewayned, how do you like your Blackjack. Got any pics?

Krusty, So Cal gets really good waves in the winter months, but you are right, the water is damn cold at times and the 1st head dunk will usually give you a lil brain freeze But the waves can get soooo good.

No pics yet, it is stock though. I do have one issue, the front directional lights on the body are not working. Thankfully the directional lights on the handlebars do. Item one on my first service visit!

Lil Buddy · Post by **Lil Buddy** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 6:33 pm

Those are stock blinkers. They do not meet the DOT specs (to close together) so the DOT blinkers are added and the stock ones are unplugged. If your handy, you can do some rewiring to get them to work. If you don't want to cut into your electrical system, check out the adapters I build to bring them back to life.

Just click on my signature below. It will bring you to all of the options I currently offer for the Buddy.

Ms_Kady · Post by **Ms_Kady** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:32 pm

Surfs up wrote:Thank you all for the warm welcome. Yes, we have to get licenses and school is a great idea. Ms. Kady, got the Pamplona from Terry from OC Genuine (Santa Ana) and the Blackjack from another place. I have yet to go to the Harley store in Irvine. Where exactly is it?

It is off of the 405 on Irvine Center Drive. They have a huge showroom and right in front center are all the Buddy scooters. They actually sell quite a few and can also do installation. They also sell accessories. Just got my Prima bag from them.

Have fun riding your scooters! I'm sure your wife will love it!

dwayneed · Post by **dwayneed** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:54 am

Lil Buddy wrote:Those are stock blinkers. They do not meet the DOT specs (to close together) so the DOT blinkers are added and the stock ones are unplugged. If your handy, you can do some rewiring to get them to work. If you don't want to cut into your electrical system, check out the adapters I build to bring them back to life.

Just click on my signature below. It will bring you to all of the options I currently offer for the Buddy.

Don't mean to hijack this thread but good info! I can't believe I didn't notice it until after 250+ miles. I need to re think my pre ride check!

myras_girls · Post by **myras_girls** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:21 pm

Welcome to scootering! I love it much more than I ever thought I would. And you made the right decision by doing your research before buying. Your wife sounds like a very smart lady!

Enjoy the ride!