HELP! Long ride with no experience in my future! Tips?

[chas]

OK here's my story: I've been lurking here for quite a while now but never posted because, well, I never got around to buying a buddy.....that is, until now. I won't bore you with the details but I found a good deal on a black 125 and I'm going down to pick it up right after work today so I won't miss out on the deal. In my haste to find and purchase the perfect buddy, I COMPLETELY neglected to figure out how the hell I'm gonna ride this thing once I bought it. I digress. The long and the short of it is that I have about a 30 mile drive on my new buddy to get it back home and I have never ridden a scooter before. I don't think shipping is an option in this case and I don't really know anybody who could drive it back to my house for me. Fortunately the weather is going to be just about perfect today as are the road conditions but other than that little bit of good news, I am largely on my own. I certainly am not opposed to taking my sweet time getting back and taking things really slowly but frankly I'm a little bit...how you say...nervous. What do I need to know? How would I best go about avoiding death and/or (but not limited to) dismemberment?

Also, I'd just like to apologize ahead of time for any mistakes or for any protocol I may have breached by starting this topic but I couldn't quite find any other topics that shed enough light on my situation. Hopefully there is some FNG clause here that would get me excused for any transgressions.

[ed85379]

Call Genuine road-side assistance. Ask them what local service they use to haul broken-down scooters. Call that local service, and have them pick it up from the shop and deliver it to your house. I'll cost money, but it maybe worth it to you.

Actually, if you have already purchased the scooter, they may cover it as part of the included road-side assistance. You will need your VIN if you want to try that.

Genuine Roadside Assistance
866-311-8982

[Lotrat]

Find a friend with a pickup truck and offer him/her gas money and/or beer.

You can rent a pickup truck from Uhaul for $19.95 a day + $0.59 per mile.

[theflash784]

Do you have a vehicle with a trailer receiver? You can rent a U Haul pretty cheap to bring it home or you can get a cargo rack that will slide into your receiver for around $50. That's how I brought mine home when I first bought it. You will need some rachet straps for either options to hold it down. You could check with your dealer to see if they would deliver it or have a tow service service haul it for you. Have you ever ridden a scooter or motorcycle before? If this is your first time riding, I would really encourage you for your own safety to find a different way to bring it home. There was a thread here yesterday about a young man who was killed in an accident just after buying his motorcycle and riding it home. Please don't be that person.

[Drum Pro]

I did the same thing lol... I just paid the dealer to ship it to my house. Other than that buy some gear at least a helmet and ankle boots, find a parking lot a do a little practice. Or if you don't have a mc permit just pick a lane and stay in it. You'll be breaking the law though. Maybe you could ask the dealer to ride it to your place if it 's not over the hills and far away....

[2wheelNsanity]

I found a friend with a pick-up. It cost me $75 dollars in gas and $45 for supper, all in all a good deal.
As far as learning to ride a scoot, it only takes a few runs in a parking lot to get the feel of it, easy as pie .

[TVB]

At the 11th hour, my scooter dealer offered to drop my new Buddy off at a car dealership they own, fairly near my house. But until then. I was faced with the exact same dilemma you're describing, about the same distance. So I got on the map web sites and found the absolutely smallest, slowest, quietest roads that would get me from the dealer to my house: the less traffic the better. I also found a nearby church with a parking lot I could practice in until I got comfortable enough to hit the open road. And if I didn't... I'd still be close enough to bring it back and ask them to hold onto it until I was.

But that won't be necessary. If you've ridden a bicycle before, you already know the basics. It's mostly a matter of getting a feel for the scooter, and that's what some time in a vacant parking lot can do for you. If it's 30 miles, I assume someone is going to be dropping you off? If so, they could follow you (a few car lengths back), which would help to keep other cars off your tail. Just go at whatever speed you're comfortable going. In the short term it's better to piss off a motorist or two because you're going "too slow" than to freak out or make a rookie mistake because you're going "too fast".

[Girlxobscure]

If its from a shop ask if they deliver. I bought a Stella today and they're delivering for free and I'm not even in the same town.

[keith1295]

Get it towed to your house... You should learn in a controlled environment....

[david12df]

google maps ,side streets home,early morning ride ,you might have to

leave the bike outside the night before,make sure nice weather
and when you get home spend 50bucks on something .

or craigslist motorcycle towing

[JHScoot]

I would not do it. Especially if riding in traffic. I have had more then one person tell me they know of people who think "it's just a scooter" and say "well I have ridden dirt bikes all my life" not get two blocks down the street before dumping the scoot. For whatever reason. Maybe this thread will help you decide? Someone who bought their FIRST MC at a DMV on rode it home. Well, tried to:

topic21728.html

And yes, a scooter is just like a motorcycle in this regard. People don't care its's a scooter. Nor a lamppost or the ground. If you hit something or fall, that's it.

Get it delivered, towed, or find a willing expereinced rider. I know if I was near OC right now I myself would say "hold on, dude. I'll ride it for free to wherever you want!"

I mean, it is a Buddy, after all. I should pay YOU to ride it!

[chas]

Thank you everybody for the advice and responses. I am buying it used and it's a 2010 so I don't think I'll have Genuine's help here but I do think I'm gonna try and find a way to get it to my house without actually driving it there myself. I would be pretty bummed if I smashed it up on the way home and even more bummed if I smashed myself up in the process. I think, to a certain degree, I will have to play some of the decision by ear depending on the circumstances at the end of the day.

[ed85379]

Thank you everybody for the advice and responses. I am buying it used and it's a 2010 so I don't think I'll have Genuine's help here

You could still call their road-side assistance and ask what local service they contract with, so you will have someone to contact with the vehicle and know-how for transporting a scooter. A little less risky than 2 guys in the back of a pickup.

[chas]

Thank you everybody for the advice and responses. I am buying it used and it's a 2010 so I don't think I'll have Genuine's help here

You could still call their road-side assistance and ask what local service they contract with, so you will have someone to contact with the vehicle and know-how for transporting a scooter. A little less risky than 2 guys in the back of a pickup.

Good call. I think I will probably start there actually.

[michelle_7728]

Probably this is way late, but if none of the options listed above work for you, maybe you could pay the person selling it $100 to deliver it to you and then you could give them a ride home (if they don't have someone that could follow them there, that is).

...or, perhaps you know someone with a motorcycle license that could ride it home for you, for a free dinner or something?

[chas]

Ok so I bought my Buddy 125 and I got it home no problem via pickup truck. No problems no hassle. I was out riding it around the neighborhood later and laid it down while making a left hand turn haha! Turns out Armor-All'd tires aren't conducive to making turns. I didn't even think to look for waxy tires when I bought it so I guess that's what happens. Bent my front rim and cracked a bunch of plastic around the headlight but other than that my scoot will survive. Probably gonna take me a week to get it fixed unfortunately. Also, I'm pretty sure I cracked a rib. You guys weren't kidding though, when I WASN'T falling down I was having a blast! I logged in 60 miles before I fell and would have kept riding through the night if I hadn't have went down first. I can't wait to get back on and go (after degreasing my tires of course).

[Mutt the Hoople]

Hi Chas! I only got my buddy in February so I am still a newbie ... Semi newbie myself. I know what most of the mom era here are going to tell you once they read your most recent post --- TAKE THE MOTORCYCLE RIDING SAFETY COURSE!!!! I have not done it but I am signed up for it and really looking forward to it. Until then I have been very cautious about the conditions I will ride in. And I go out fully geared, (AGATT... You will see that referred to here meaning All Gear All of the Time), with the exception that I ride in jeans... I don't have riding jeans or pants but for the first time ever I am getting a tax refund. I am so glad you got someone to deliver your scooter to you. I worried about your situation and was concerned you may try to ride it home yourself Buddys are deceptively easy to ride and I think it gives new riders a false sense of security. I know it did for me. I rode home from my dealership back to my apartment, and it is only a few miles but on a major road and it was a baptism by fire. I made a 4-5 mile trip into a 8 mile trip taking the slowest side roads. The next day I was almost in an accident as I was going down a road that has an exit for the Interstate coming on to it. I was coming through the intersection, made it fine, a guy in a sedan comes of I-70 slows down as he has a red light. An SUV comes off right behind him. The light turns green and the car slowly drives through the intersection at a normal pace but because the SUV driver was a stupid person texting on her phone she never noticed the red light, she never slowed down, and she rear ended the car (I saw it go down in my rearview mirrors and had a few seconds to get out of the left of center part of the right hand lane into the left or the car would have been pushed into me. The SUV driver had to be going 20-25 when she rear-ended the car who was doing 5-10.). I am really glad I was not hurt. Luckily I did the right thing but it was more out of instinct rather than knowledge, and my quick move to the left lane could have easily resulted in a spill especially had there been a bit of oil in the road. It was pure luck.

Not to sound morbid, but read the entire "who's crashed" thread. Read it thoroughly from beginning to end. It is eye opening. You may as well get some insight from those who crashed and shared. Also read up on the proper gear.

And it says a lot for just how fun the Buddy is when you can have a very painful rib after a fall and still want to go right out. I was wearing a 3/4 helmet and had a bug bounce in my mouth... I spit it out with a big smile and thought WoooWhooooo ... My first bug! Considering I will not go near anything red or pink at Starbucks now because of the food coloring derived from a type of beetle, but something the size of a small June bug hits my teeth riding my scooter and I spit it out like it was a watermelon seed... Not a care in the world.

Welcom to the forum... I am sure you will find this to be a very nice, very informative, and very HAPPY group.

[chas]

Hey thanks Mutt!

I couldn't agree more about the deceptive easiness of the Buddy. I just hopped on and took off. I would hope that this is my "sobering moment" that everybody gets during their riding career and that I got it out of the way with only some road rash and a cracked rib or two because that's not all that bad and the lesson about the seriousness of this whole business was certainly learned.

Oh, by the way, I was cracking up about your bug experience and it hurts to laugh.

[Mutt the Hoople]

Btw.... My evil iPhone, HAL, changed what was supposed to say "members" to mom era... Which is oddly appropriate. I think HAL's autofill needs to be recalibrated but sometimes the changes are so funny I think I'd miss them.

[skully93]

Speedy healing Chas!

At least you got the 1 mandatory spill out of the way. Now, like all Buddy owners, you will become instantly attractive and rich!

[DIZZEE1.6]

I'm glad someone mentioned the rider's safety course. When I lived in Texas I was married, and my father-in-law lived very near by. Him and his wife both had Harley's in the garage and soon him and I were going out regularly into the hill country off I-10 near San Antonio and riding the saturdays away! It was great, as I have had my own bikes in the past. but he still insisted I take the course at our Javelina HD dealership near by. At first, I wasn't excited at all thinking I didn't need it, etc. Well, he paid, I went, and it was a great 2 days! I thoroughly enjoyed it, met some cool people, and learned A Lot of things in the process. It wasn't even expensive and they provided lunch as well as a bike to do drills and practice on ( a single-cylinder Buell ), great teachers, and a nice facility for the indoor portion of the class. I highly recommend you check it out!

[AlleyOops]

I'm glad someone mentioned the rider's safety course. When I lived in Texas I was married, and my father-in-law lived very near by. Him and his wife both had Harley's in the garage and soon him and I were going out regularly into the hill country off I-10 near San Antonio and riding the saturdays away! It was great, as I have had my own bikes in the past. but he still insisted I take the course at our Javelina HD dealership near by. At first, I wasn't excited at all thinking I didn't need it, etc. Well, he paid, I went, and it was a great 2 days! I thoroughly enjoyed it, met some cool people, and learned A Lot of things in the process. It wasn't even expensive and they provided lunch as well as a bike to do drills and practice on ( a single-cylinder Buell ), great teachers, and a nice facility for the indoor portion of the class. I highly recommend you check it out!

I just took the course this past weekend... learned a TON, more than I expected. Totally worth the money.

[ericalm]

Also, I'd just like to apologize ahead of time for any mistakes or for any protocol I may have breached by starting this topic but I couldn't quite find any other topics that shed enough light on my situation. Hopefully there is some FNG clause here that would get me excused for any transgressions.

Breaches of protocol? This is the kind of thing we're here for! Have you seen some of the nonsense other people post?

(mostly kidding!)

Ok so I bought my Buddy 125 and I got it home no problem via pickup truck. No problems no hassle. I was out riding it around the neighborhood later and laid it down while making a left hand turn haha! Turns out Armor-All'd tires aren't conducive to making turns. I didn't even think to look for waxy tires when I bought it so I guess that's what happens. Bent my front rim and cracked a bunch of plastic around the headlight but other than that my scoot will survive. Probably gonna take me a week to get it fixed unfortunately. Also, I'm pretty sure I cracked a rib. You guys weren't kidding though, when I WASN'T falling down I was having a blast! I logged in 60 miles before I fell and would have kept riding through the night if I hadn't have went down first. I can't wait to get back on and go (after degreasing my tires of course).

Crap, you crashed before I had a chance to chime in at all here.

Sorry to hear this. Sadly, such crashes among inexperienced riders are not uncommon. And though this does you no good now, almost every time they've received no real riding training or instruction.

But that won't be necessary. If you've ridden a bicycle before, you already know the basics.

I often hear this and I will never agree with it. Far too many new scooterists (who can probably ride a bicycle) go down while trying to figure out how to ride on their own.

Knowing how to ride a bike teaches you nothing about throttle control and braking 300 pounds of machine with a front disc and rear drum. Though the principles of turning are similar, most people aren't aware of how they turn a bicycle. And executing those turns on something as large and heavy as a scooter is entirely different. On a bicycle, you screw up and need to correct, it's much easier. You need to stop and put your foot down, it's probably not going to get crushed.

If you can ride a bicycle, you can probably learn to ride a scooter. I don't think that means it's a good idea to just hop on and go figure it out yourself.

[Raiderfn311]

Eric, I practice going with the flow of traffic. Little or no brake.

[TVB]

If you've ridden a bicycle before, you already know the basics.

I often hear this and I will never agree with it. Far too many new scooterists (who can probably ride a bicycle) go down while trying to figure out how to ride on their own.
Knowing how to ride a bike teaches you nothing about throttle control and braking 300 pounds of machine with a front disc and rear drum....

Except that by "the basics" I actually meant "the basics", not "everything you need to know". I meant the principles involved in keeping balance on two wheels, leaning on turns, hand-operated brakes, and all the other stuff that most bicyclists spent so much time learning when they got their first bike, and without which you almost certainly will go down on a scooter. Basics. But unless I'm just incredibly brilliant and unusually lucky, for some people that bicycling experience - combined with a great deal of caution - can be enough to start riding a scooter with. Certainly not for everyone (I have a friend whom I'm making take the MSF course before I'll help him even shop for a scooter) but it has worked for me.

[chas]

I don't think that means it's a good idea to just hop on and go figure it out yourself.

Whoops! Too late... For the record, I rode successfully for somewhere between 50 and 60 miles before I fell and I must say, to the untrained eye I almost looked like I knew what I was doing. It was the most fun I have had over a stretch of 50 to 60 miles in my entire life. I'm officially addicted.

[ericalm]

I don't think that means it's a good idea to just hop on and go figure it out yourself.

Whoops! Too late... For the record, I rode successfully for somewhere between 50 and 60 miles before I fell and I must say, to the untrained eye I almost looked like I knew what I was doing. It was the most fun I have had over a stretch of 50 to 60 miles in my entire life. I'm officially addicted.

Good to hear!

There are many, many low mileage used scooters on the market around here because so many people buy them, ride them once, get scared or fall, then sell them.

[Collette]

I don't think that means it's a good idea to just hop on and go figure it out yourself.

Whoops! Too late... For the record, I rode successfully for somewhere between 50 and 60 miles before I fell and I must say, to the untrained eye I almost looked like I knew what I was doing. It was the most fun I have had over a stretch of 50 to 60 miles in my entire life. I'm officially addicted.

Man I'll never forget my ride home from the dealer. Breaking short, wind in my eye, sweating, and smiling like a kid under the helmet (I still do that now) glad youre good though