I got back out on my scooter today! The sun was shining (though not quite as warmly as I’d hoped), and I just had to scoot. I ran some errands, and it was wonderful…

Cold, though. But that was OK. It felt so good to be motoring along again, just my 2-wheeler and me, with the wind whipping against my face in all its glory.

Not much more to say than that, but I hope to repeat the experience this coming weekend, when temps are rumored to be in the 50s.

Till next time, Kathi

Ooh we! Genuine Motor Scooters has made some exciting changes in their Buddy line this year. Almost makes me wish I’d waited to buy mine… almost. :)

First off, their color line is almost completely different. Black is still in there, but it no longer has the silver accents. Also, the pink and the cream are gone. Red, which was experimental last year, is now mainstreamed. There’s a new light blue and a seafoam green. The one in the pic above that looks school bus yellow to me they’re calling orange, but it’s definitely NOT last year’s true orange! All the vintage styling is still there. In addition, they’re claiming improved performance, though I didn’t see any details on that.

PLUS… what was a limited edition last year, my Series Italia, has now become a whole new line of Buddy, the Buddy International! It now comes in 3 color choices, one of which is still the olive green you see in the header above, and these are the other 2:

The blue combo is called the St. Tropez and the red is the Pamplona. Besides the new colors, the Buddy International’s engine has been bumped up from 125cc to 150cc for a little more oomph. With the whitewall tires and air horn, this Buddy is really appealing. Oh, and one other thing… the Series Italia Buddy now comes in the little 50cc size too, so if a full-powered Buddy is too much scooter for you, you can still have sharp styling and retro looks with what Genuine is calling the “Little Italia”.

So… is a Buddy in your future for 2008? For more information, and reviews, visit this Buddy page on my site.

Ah… it’s sad. I haven’t been on my scooter since the end of November. I live in Boise, Idaho. When I moved here 6 months ago, everyone I talked to said “Boise doesn’t get much snow… we have really mild winters…” OK, so that should mean if I’m willing to bundle up, I can still ride my scooter through most of the winter, right?

Wrong! We have had snow every single week since before Christmas. Never a huge amount, but enough to make it unsafe or too messy to ride the scooter. Not to mention the fact we’ve had a fair amount of subzero temps. Even bundled up, I don’t think I’d enjoy riding in those conditions.

So, my poor little Buddy sits dormant in the garage, waiting for warmer, drier climes. They’ll come again, I know it. But, meanwhile, I sure do miss scootin’!

Have you bought a scooter yet? If not, now is the time to start doing your research, so that when spring comes and scooters start to populate the roads again, you’ll be ready to make a decision. Many of the pages on my site can help you with your research. Start with my Types of Scooters page and move on from there. I guarantee there’s tons to be learned on my site!

Enjoy, and until the temps rise and the snow stops flying… keep on dreaming of scootin’!

Until next time, Kathi