Chic, euro, eco friendly wheels

But mostly just CUTE!

I've been wanting a scooter for quite awhile, but because there's always something better to spend my money on, I've never seriously considered it. Recently however, I've decided that because of my current stage in life (single, good income, lots of local activities, low living expenses, etc.) this really was the ideal time to go take those ski trips, get that scooter, and take those electric bass lessons while still being able to save and be responsible with my finances.
Mom and I had been on a scooter kick a few summers ago and she'd actually gone to a few stores and gotten information on them, helping me realize (probably not to my benefit) that having one for my own wasn't such an unattainable goal. Recently a friend of mine purchased a Vespa (so incredibly cute and totally fits her!) once again "reviving the fire" to get one for meself. Just about a month ago, I (totally on a whim) decided to stop into the third street motorcycle store (I can't remember the name) and look at current pricing, styles, etc. Because I'd looked into them a bit in the past and I've had friends with scooters and motorcycles, I had a pretty good idea of what I would be getting into and was able to ask (and get answers) to practically every question possibly related to scooter ownership. After about 45 minutes of looking at the machine specs, helmets, jackets, licensing requirements, recommended servicing calender, price sheets, etc, etc, etc... I walked out of the store with the very exciting and scary idea that I'd have a scooter by the end of the summer.
Dad, of course, wasn't entirely thrilled when I came home and started talking about my latest idea. He isn't exactly keen on any of us riding around on public streets amongst cars on fast, small, totally open bikes. He also, being the good dad that he is, didn't want to see his daughter go out and drop several thousand on a new "toy" just because it was cute. He was never completely against it though, so when he gave me the "Okay, I'm gonna ask the dad questions: ....how much does it cost?" and I was able to give him everything he would've wanted to know and more, he seemed quite satisfied and I got the silent "I'm still not a fan of the idea, but you're good to go."
Sooooo - skip ahead a few weeks - I'm signed up for Basic Rider Training to get my license next month. I'm looking into jackets, helmets, and gloves. A friend has offered to store the scooter in her barn during the winter months. I've been collecting tips from my other scooter owning friend. And I've pretty much got my scooter budget totally ironed out.
It's terribly exciting.
I've been seeing scooters all over the place. It's fun to see how other people gear up for them and where they ride them. It's also been nice to have a visual on what other drivers will be seeing when I'm riding around.
I'll be getting the Honda Metropolitan. It's about $2,300 at the place here in town. All the servicing and repairs can be done right at the store, so close by and convenient for me. It's gets about 100 miles to the gallon. It requires virtually no maintenance compared to my car. It can only carry one passenger and has a lockable seat trunk large enough to hold a full face helmet.

So, here it is!!!
(Ain't it cute!)
You can use the link to get a 360 of it. I'll be getting the Ghost color (as shown below) :-)



http://powersports.honda.com/2009/metropolitan.aspx