My new Buddy!

It's MINE! Mineminemineminemineminemine!

I picked up my new Buddy 125 today from my friends at Scoot Richmond. My dad and I went down there with his big pickup truck and brought it back.

Chelsea brings the bike out:


There it is!! Hanging out in the shop...


I got the rundown on the buttons, switches and operation of the bike from super-helpful scooter guy, Brandon (I think that was his name....), and learned how to take the bike off and on the center stand and the side stand. Then my dad backed his truck up to the loading dock and he and Brandon got it in.
Getting it tied down in the back of the truck...it literally didn't move at all as we went down the road. I learned something new, too, that you should tie the bike down so the forks are compressed and it won't move.


We got it home and my husband and my dad and I rolled it out of the truck using a ladder and a board. Yay! It's living in my garage right now because, well, this is Richmond, and I am terrified someone will rip it off, even right out of my backyard.

Of course, I would have to pick up my new scooter on the day that a major winter storm is coming to the area, but heck, I love snow, and we don't get that much in our winters, so I can't complain. My husband and I did each get to take the Buddy out for a spin around the neighborhood before the snow started. I love it, but MAN! It was C-O-L-D!!! I really wished for an Armadillo coat and a lap blanket, and some windproof gloves. I couldn't even manage to get much over 28mph because I was frozen. :(

Not too frozen to smile, though....


I'm thinking about personalized tags...maybe PKINPI? GR8PKN? Must think more on it....

Helmets Obtained, Jackets tried on

In our quest to approach our scooter-riding safely and incrementally, we have obtained our helmets. Purchased at Ultimate Cycle, here in Richmond, we got a Fulmer for me and a not-as-large-as we-thought HJC. They are both full-face with flip-up face shield, and very comfortable. Also, not too dorky-looking, which is very important. Heh. (Not really....ok, well, sort of....)


One other piece of equipment Travis and I are both looking for is a decent armored riding jacket. Both of us have fit issues; his are related to the fact that he is a largish individual with broad shoulders, and mine are related to the fact that I am short with brood shoulders. Also, I do not like pink. Apparently my not liking pink is some kind of affront to the motorcycle jacket industry, as women's gear tends to come in various shades of white, pink, or baby blue. While the men get the pick of a variety of decent colors, women have to scour the internets for attire that will not make them (me) look like ten pounds of cotton candy stuffed into a five-pound bag.

We ended up shopping at our favorite scooter shop, Scoot Richmond, last week. We periodically go in to visit with Chelsea, who is as cool as they come, and to pet the scooters that we are saving up to buy. Chelsea definitely had a number of solutions to our jacket dilemmas, and none of them involved pink. She had me try on a few Corazzo jackets and a giant Armadillo parka (warm as hell!), and I have found that I can wear a men's size small and still have all the armor in the right places. Joy! Travis tried on a few jackets too, and found a few options as well.

I checked out Corazzo's site when I got home and discovered that the 5.0 comes in a number of nice colors...one of which is flaming bright orange! I love it! Next time I go into the Scoot Richmond shop, I am going to try on a 5.0 and see how I like it, because this looks like my jacket! It is pricey, but armored, and if it is comfortable and good-looking, well, it's worth it.