July, 2008...."Honey, I'm taking a ride up to Surfside Scooters to see some "higher-end" scooters -- Don't worry -- I'm just looking..."
So I took a nice drive up to Surfside Scooters at 524A Northlake Blvd , North Palm Beach, FL. They were REALLY nice, knowledgable, and patient with my hundreds of silly questions. And then they said "You can try out any scoot in the store!" I took a test ride on my 2008 Genuine Buddy 125cc scooter...which adopted me and made me take it home. MY Buddy! Look at the happy face on me - riding in the wind and having fun while STICKING IT TO THE GAS MAN!
*I* am being green. And a lot of you are too!
My Buddy gets about 100 mpg on average so far, and I've bought gas 5 times as of 8.25.08. So I've spent about $25 in gas this period as opposed to (calculated) $340/month for my SUV. That's a savings of $315! My scoot will have paid for itself in gas savings in less than 2 years!
This scooter is REALLY fun to ride around town. It will do a solid 60+ mph, but not recommended for the highway. In Florida, they drive FAST...so no, I'm not on the highway. :)
This really well-built scooter comes with a 2-year parts and labor warranty, as well as free roadside assistance for 1 year! That's really cool!
I just graduated my Motorcycle Safety Foundation course, and I received my Motorcycle Endorsement. It was a fun course over the weekend, too. It is required for all scooters over 50cc by law. I also wear full protective gear while I'm riding - full face helmet, jacket, and gloves to protect myself. Already it's like simply putting on my seatbelt, and I won't ride without it, so I'm trying to be very safe.
My very first ride was from the dealership to my house...a short 38 miles! It turned out to be the most wonderful "break-in" ride for both myself and the scoot! I live in Boynton Beach, Florida and the shop was 38 miles North, and just a couple of miles from the coast. There's a road that runs along the shore (A1A) and I got to really enjoy the ride and scenery riding home. I have added a rear trunk that will hold my full face helmet, or a bag of groceries or a laptop, along with rain-gear and other goodies stowed in the very large storage compartment under the seat. I'm good to go. I'm having fun, and being Green! 
A big thanks goes to Joseph and Don of Surfside Scooters. They took the time to get me completely situated with the new scooter and all it's controls, etc. before my adventure home. This is the kind of personalized service my software company provides, and it's refreshing to run into people who take the same amount of care with their customers as I do for mine -- and in return, they have gained a new loyal customer!
Along with Genuine, they sell Vespa, Aprilia, Kymco and some others, and like I said before it's a great place to learn about and buy a new scooter. I highly recommend them. www.surfsidescooters.com
