My First Scooter

Idaho Scoot · Post by **Idaho Scoot** » Thu May 21, 2015 12:13 am

I wanted to thank everybody here for the information they have provided. I have been reading posts here for months. Last week I purchased my first scooter from the great folks at "Scooters of Boise". It is a 2015 Matte Black Hooligan 170i. I have named it "Rowdy". I have posted several pictures in the scooter Gallery and I will repeat some of them here. It has been a lot of fun so far.

Idaho Scoot · Post by **Idaho Scoot** » Thu May 21, 2015 12:17 am

A few more Pics.

Tam Tam · Post by **Tam Tam** » Thu May 21, 2015 2:42 am

Congrats on the new scoot! I had to do a double take to see it was a Genuine. I did look it up on the website and have to say that yours looks damn sharp with that windscreen. (Not to be negative; I just never cared for that kind of fairing/headstock when the headlights are set into the front body). But hey, with yer windscreen, it looks smooth.
Break it in right!

Wingscribe · Post by **Wingscribe** » Thu May 21, 2015 12:29 pm

Lookin' great there!

I was very close to getting one when a used Buddy came up on Craigslist, and I will always wonder "what if?" (Don't tell my scooter, she will get jealous).

I would greatly appreciate any comments (good or bad) that you have about the Hooligan...

Thanks for posting the pics.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Thu May 21, 2015 1:49 pm

I agree...looks slick with the windscreen and rack. Congrats and thanks for the photos...best views I've had of one yet.

Don't forget to give us that first real ride report!

skipper20 · Post by **skipper20** » Thu May 21, 2015 5:03 pm

Idaho Scoot wrote:I wanted to thank everybody here for the information they have provided. I have been reading posts here for months. Last week I purchased my first scooter from the great folks at "Scooters of Boise". It is a 2015 Matte Black Hooligan 170i. I have named it "Rowdy". I have posted several pictures in the scooter Gallery and I will repeat some of them here. It has been a lot of fun so far.

Great write-up and the pictures are fantastic. Congratulations on the purchase. One problem though - NOW I WANT ONE!!!

Bill in Seattle
'12 170i Italia
'09 125 Tangerine Buddy (possible trade-in on a Hoolie?)

170Irene · Post by **170Irene** » Thu May 21, 2015 8:14 pm

Congratulations! Your ride looks sweet!

Berner · Post by **Berner** » Thu May 21, 2015 9:06 pm

Nice photos!

Did all of those Genuine badges come standard or did you add them?

Greyscoot · Post by **Greyscoot** » Thu May 21, 2015 10:32 pm

I was wondering about the genuine logos also. Mine didn't come with them, but mine is a 2014. Maybe they are something new. I have the windshield and rack, too. Plus a top case.

Enjoy your scoot and welcome to the Hooligan crowd.

Happy scooting!

Idaho Scoot · Post by **Idaho Scoot** » Fri May 22, 2015 3:44 am

Greyscoot wrote:I was wondering about the genuine logos also. Mine didn't come with them, but mine is a 2014. Maybe they are something new. I have the windshield and rack, too. Plus a top case.

Enjoy your scoot and welcome to the Hooligan crowd.

Happy scooting!

I did indeed put on a few stickers. I got them from Scooter Lounge online. They are stickers for a Blur. The White ones on the sides, the gray one on the fender and a badge below the odometer. I feel that the Genuine Scooters should shout the brand name.

Thanks for all the feedback everybody.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Fri May 22, 2015 5:35 am

Congrats on the Hooligan. My next scoot is down to three choices and the Hooligan is among the three.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Fri May 22, 2015 1:11 pm

A friend of mine once said:

"the Hooligan looks like something Robocop would ride if he was a pussy!"

We still like it.

enjoy the ride!

Elder Scoot · Post by **Elder Scoot** » Fri May 22, 2015 1:31 pm

Congratulations. You'll enjoy the Hooligan even more as you put miles on it and it breaks in.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Fri May 22, 2015 5:09 pm

skully93 wrote:A friend of mine once said:

"the Hooligan looks like something Robocop would ride if he was a pussy!"

I think it would be more fitting to say the Hooligan looks like something Robocop could ride if he was comfortable with his manhood. Or exoskeleton. Or whatever.

Elder Scoot · Post by **Elder Scoot** » Fri May 22, 2015 8:35 pm

k1dude wrote:
skully93 wrote:A friend of mine once said:

"the Hooligan looks like something Robocop would ride if he was a pussy!"
I think it would be more fitting to say the Hooligan looks like something Robocop could ride if he was comfortable with his manhood. Or exoskeleton. Or whatever.

You just nailed it.

Idaho Scoot · Post by **Idaho Scoot** » Sat May 23, 2015 7:32 am

BuddyRaton wrote:Don't forget to give us that first real ride report!

Okay, here goes with some background. As a teenager I road scooters at a summer camp. It was a blast. I think it was a Honda(?) I then saw scooters as real cool in the Who movie Quadraphenia. But as a Teenager my mother had told me to never ride motor cycles. Those warnings from her stuck in my brain for years. But as the years go by, a person starts to see dreams and opportunities slip away. Last year I decided that I was going to finally get a Scooter. I am now 52. I looked into a small investment in an inexpensive Chinese Mail order scooter. But my research kept delivering warning signs to stay away. I wanted quality and dealer support. I then looked real closely at Vespas. I was all determined to get one of those, but I do not have a local dealer and the model that I wanted (Gts 300) was larger than the budget I wanted to pay. I knew one thing for sure. I wanted my very own brand new scooter. There are many nice used ones for sale around here. (Perhaps I will get a used Buddy next.)

I decided that I would plan on a purchase from a local Scooter dealership. There are Suzuki and Honda dealers here. I am sure they are fine dealers. But they appear Motor Cycle minded and the line up of scooters that I saw at those places just did not appeal to my gut feeling so much.
I went to Scooters of Boise which deals in SYM, Lance and Genuine Scooter Company products. I got in a long conversation with Ryan who works there and recommended Modern Buddy as a place to learn more about Scooters and Buddy Scooters in particular. I took that advice and started reading up. I also took close hard looks at all the scooters in the SYM, Lance and Genuine line up. I really had a tough time over months deciding upon a Stella, a Lance Cabo, A Buddy 125, A Buddy 170i, A Lance PCH or Cali Classic...or A Hooligan 170i. I scoured the internet and Youtube to find out everything I could on each of these. My final decision came down to this: I am 5'9" and 250 lbs. I needed a scooter with Duel suspension, disk breaks front and back, 12" tires and fuel injection. As much as I hope to lose weight, I wanted something that could handle my dense weight now.
Here locally in Boise, the traffic and grid is not that bad. However the drivers are freaking stupid, selfish and in la la land. It is important to me to have enough power and handling to get out of a jam if needed. The Hooligan fit the bill. I then needed to decide to choose the color. I had a tough time between the Matte Black and the Titanium. I went with the Black. I felt that it offered more sticker decoration theme possibilities. An expanded Genuine Scooter Theme, A Batman Theme or a Darth Vader Theme ...or a combination Theme. Whatever choice I make, it will all be fun.

I now knew what the money amount I needed to save. I saved my money and planned for the windscreen, the Cowell protectors and back rack. I special ordered my Scooter a couple of weeks ago and Scooters of Boise had it ready to go in 5 business days. Quite a fast turn around in my opinion.

I currently have my motor cycle permit. I can only ride in the day until I get my license. I work weekends and I am having trouble aligning my schedule to spend a weekend on the Idaho Star training course. I would love to do it. It is just a challenge of scheduling. I think I will attempt to get my endorsement and still get the safety training.

The day I picked up my Hooligan, I was a bit nervous. I had not ridden a scooter in 35 years. I was properly prepared with a motorcycle jacket, gloves and helmet. I started out on side streets. I was pleased that I felt I had balance at slow speeds and fast speeds. On the trip home, I was very thankful at watching several youtube videos because I had confidence in what I was doing. I got home and was pretty happy about it.

The weather was getting windy and cold. I decided to still take my scoot back out for another run. I went out on some country roads near my house. The roads were rough and choppy, the wind was strong. I was riding at about 48 MPH on the speedometer in a 40 zone, I do not have GPS but I figured that was kind of close to the speed limit. The choppy road was less of a problem than the wind. The wind made me want to ride faster. My girlfriend called me and it was time to come home. Dang it.

The next day brought rain and a long work shift. No scootering that day. The next day was a long Saturday shift. When I got home, I took the scoot out for a spin. I noticed that my biggest struggle was my turns both left and right and at different speeds and angles. This is my issue and not the scooters issue. I have focused my practice on this over the week and feel much more confident now.
The next day was another long day and bad weather. No scootering. On Monday I went for a ride after work on a wonderful sunny evening. I ended up the ride at a store near my house. When I left the store, my scooter would not start. I was crushed. I have the 2 year road side assistance but I was less than a mile from home. I called my girlfriend. She came to the store and gave my scooter a jump start. I was dejected. As I rode home, the scoot died a couple of blocks from home. I pushed it home in shame. I was pretty sure my stock battery was either not fully charged or crap. I stewed the next long work day. After work, I went to a store and bought a battery tender. It did the trick. The scooter has not had any problems since. I still think the stock battery may be crap, but I start each day with a fresh charge.

I do not have experience to relate or compare my scooter with other scooters. I can say this. With my dense body weight, this thing climbs hills no problem. It takes the curves of winding roads both uphill and downhill very well. The brakes are exceptional. Acceleration is very good, I have been able to keep up with any traffic I have encountered. I even got caught in a serious rain down pour and had no issues.

I do not know what the top end speed is yet. I will need to get my first oil change and test the waters. I will need to set up a GPS to get a gage on reality vs the speedometer.

Anywho. That is my scooter life story. I take it on my work commute for the first time tomorrow. Kind of excited for that.

Thanks everybody.

Clydeo · Post by **Clydeo** » Sat May 23, 2015 3:21 pm

I don't own a Hooligan, so all I know is what I have heard or read, but there is evidently a wired connection on the Hooligan battery that other bikes don't have. The dealers are supposed to take care of this while setting the bike up, but as the Hooligan is new model, evidently the techs haven't gotten the word. At least three hooligan reviews I have seen refer to this issue: all three bikes simply wouldn't start due to the lack of a charge on the battery. The good news is that there is probably nothing "wrong" with your bike: it mostly likely just needs to have a stray wire hooked up properly. BTW, thanks for posting your impressions of your new bike. My motorcycle riding days are numbered due to arthritis, and the Hooligan is a strong candidate for replacing my Suzuki.

Whimscootie · Post by **Whimscootie** » Sun May 24, 2015 4:07 pm

Beautiful bike, awesome write-up!

Hope you have a safe and wonderful summer of riding!

Idaho Scoot · Post by **Idaho Scoot** » Thu May 28, 2015 12:51 am

I picked up Pizza today and used my floor board cargo net to bring it home.

laurfunkle · Post by **laurfunkle** » Thu May 28, 2015 4:23 pm

Idaho Scoot wrote:I picked up Pizza today and used my floor board cargo net to bring it home.

Yes!! Just did the same thing (minus cool cargo net) on my Buddy yesterday. When I was leaving the valet guys that I had parked it next to asked how I was gonna "fit it on that thing". I smiled and said, "Where there's a will there's a way!" and proceeded to scoot off into the sunset.

still shifting · Post by **still shifting** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 9:41 pm

Cargo nets and bungee cords what did we do with out them? What did we do before duct tape, when Hemp ment Rope. R

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 11:10 am

still shifting wrote:Cargo nets and bungee cords what did we do with out them? What did we do before duct tape, when Hemp ment Rope. R

Remember the first unwritten code of scooterists! You never "lend" a bungee cord...once you give it to someone consider it a gift...you're never going to get it back...don't worry...the scooter gods will reward you in the future!

still shifting · Post by **still shifting** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 7:07 pm

Ah yes thank you for reminding me of the Scooter Gods. R

thumper650 · Post by **thumper650** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 2:21 pm

How'd that pizza look by the time you got it home?

Modern Buddy

My First Scooter

My First Scooter

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