Decisions......Hmmmmm?

Vento Scooter R4 Triton 2005

Supposedly, I am all grown-up now, but all I want to do is play. If my character stays true to form, when I am eighty years old, my Christmas wish list will still include at least one present that can be purchased from Toys-R-Us. From conception to date, I figure that between gifts that were given to me and those I bought myself, I have been entertained and amused at a sum that could have paid for my college tuition three times over. I'm almost embarrassed and disturbed by this correlation, but what the hell, you can't take the money with you when you die. Now, baby boy has got his eyes set on a new scooter with chrome exhaust, mag wheels, and racing decals.

Now this won't be my first scooter, I had one when I was fourteen. It was a black Honda with baskets on the side, which I used to deliver the local newspaper with. You couldn't tell me I wasn't the coolest paperboy there ever was. I don't remember how much it cost, I put up $250.00 towards the purchase and my parents paid for the rest. But I can't imagine that it cost anything close to what manufacturers are asking for now. I've been doing some web research on scooters, and some of the prices on these things are ridiculous. There is no way a want-to-be motorcycle is suppose to cost a third or half the the price of a new car. So I have set a budget price of $2000 as my limit. Now there are quite a few choices of scoot-peds in this price range, but right now I have narrowed it down to the Yamaha Zuma II and the Vento Triton R4.

These little crotch rockets go about 40 to 45 miles per hour on a level street surface, but with a few modifications such as a 70cc speed kit, you can trick it out to go 60 to 70 miles per hour. Just don't let the Motor Vehicle Administration know about your little handy work. But the best feature of the Zuma II or Triton scooter is no-hassle-parking, and door to door service at 70-80 miles to the gallon. So to hell with parking enforcement and rising gas prices.

Now if anyone out there knows a good reason why I shouldn't consider the Zuma II or the Triton let me know. I don't have a personal attachment to either one, so I'm not beyond changing my decision. Just don't suggest any Chinese or Korean brands please, not that I have anything against these countries, but making motorized vehicles is not their forte.