good dealership in SF Bay Area?

sjs1967 · Post by **sjs1967** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 5:24 pm

Hi Everyone.
New poster here. While in Italy I fell in love with riding a scooter and am looking to get one soon. Does anyone have opinions about dealerships in the SF Bay Area? After researching, I think the Buddy 125 will be a great choice for me as I'm only 5'6" and looking to commute to work using a road with a speed limit of 45 mph. It's about a 12 mile commute.
Also, I'm going to take the training class and was wondering about boots. They say "no fabric" but does that apply to suede? Do suede boots offer enough protection?
Thank you all and hopefully I'll see you out on the roads soon!

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:51 pm

Is the San Francisco Scooter Center still open? According to Genuine's site, that is the only official dealer in San Francisco.

sjs1967 · Post by **sjs1967** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 8:11 pm

it is still open. Do you know anything about it? San Jose Genuine Scooters and California Speedsports in Livermore are closer but if the SF dealer is good it's not too far.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:01 pm

Can't say as I know either one, but be patient, somebody from your neighborhood will likely chime in with a suggestion.

And welcome to Modern Buddy, sjs. This is one of the best forums of any kind in the intertubes. I think you'll like it here.

sjs1967 · Post by **sjs1967** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:19 pm

Thank you Syd. So far this is the best place I've found for information.

Quinndoggie · Post by **Quinndoggie** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 5:27 am

I bought my 170i at the Scooter Center in San Jose. They are mainly a BMW motorcycle dealer, but also carry Vespas, Genuines and the Piaggio Fly. They didn't negotiate very much on the price, but everyone was friendly and took the time to patiently answer all of my questions as a prospective new scooter owner.

I haven't been to the SF Scooter Center so I can't speak to their sales dept. I did see the Genuine 125 and the Piaggio Fly for the first time in Livermore but it took forever to get someone to talk to, even though they didn't seen busy at all, so I went home, got on Modern Buddy, did more research and decided the Buddy was for me. Thought I'd get the orange 125 but decided on fuel injection.

I'm 5'2, wear boots, and live in Fremont

If you have any more question for a local let me know.

Laurie

C2 · Post by C2 » Tue Apr 15, 2014 7:16 am

I bought my 2009 Buddy125 from Barry at SF Scooter Center, and had my last major servicing done my them. Barry runs a great shop and is very knowledgeable about all of the Genuine scooters; it's all they sell. He and his team are also the experts on vintage Vespas and Lambrettas... and they have their own vintage museum too!

I've also had work done at SJ Vespa/BMW as they are a great deal closer that SF Scooter Center; I'm in Palo Alto. They are an OK shop, but I don't feel the same great vibe from them as I do SF scooter Center... but they aren't bad.

You can't go wrong with Barry and the team at SF Scooter Center.

sjs1967 · Post by **sjs1967** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:58 pm

Thank you Laurie and C2. Very helpful info.
So Laurie, why did you decide on the 170i instead? I am leaning towards an orange 125 (Giants colors!)
C2, how do you like your 125? Would you have preferred the 170?

qballfc · Post by **qballfc** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 5:36 pm

SJS, the dude at the Scooter Centre in SF seems like a very cool dude, seem real knowledgeable and all I saw were Genuines. I bought my Blackjack from San Jose Vespa and they do have smaller collection of Genuine's than SF Scooter Centre. I don't think you can lose either way. But if you want to buy used

I have the Blackjack for sale!!! hahaha

Quinndoggie · Post by **Quinndoggie** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:11 pm

sjs1967 wrote: So Laurie, why did you decide on the 170i instead? I am leaning towards an orange 125 (Giants colors!)

I thought about it... either way I knew I wasn't going to do my own maintenance, with the exception of oil changes (maybe), so I went with the 170i because friends who ride motorcycles said if I could afford it to go for it. They said quicker response off the line, less problems overall...

This is my first scooter so I have nothing to compare it to other than a friend's 2013 Zuma 125 fuel injected... the 170i is quicker. I still love the orange. Go Giants! Whatever you choose you will be very happy.

thehypercube · Post by **thehypercube** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 12:03 am

Got my Buddy 125 new from Barry in 2008. Great shop. Great mechanics. It's really tiny so dont expect a "sales dept" etc. Small crew, each wears a few hats. 17.5k on the odometer - they've kept it running like clockwork.