The Story of Arturo

I am in my late 50’s and all my relatives & friends tell me the same thing: “You are crazy for wanting to ride a scooter”!!!

Unknown to them, it has always been a deep seated desire of mine for many, many years, to own and ride a scooter.

I am not and never have been a fan of motorcycles, but scooters….YES!!!

Now that all my kids are grown up and on their own, its Daddy’s turn to get his very own toy.

I read and devour every article I can find on “scootering”, both on-line and published magazines.

A very pleasing finding I have encountered as I go along my “Discovery of Scootering” is how friendly and helpful every one is.

Scooter people are really “COOL” and more than willing to share information, insight and “pearls of wisdom” with anyone seeking assistance.

So it does my heart good and encourages me even more in my quest to get a scoot, plus the fact that my youngest son, age 27, is having way too much fun with his Honda Met & Stella scooters.

One thing I have found, much to my dislike, is that the majority of scooters are too tall for me.

I am 5’ 6”, weigh 185 pounds (depending on how many tacos I have consumed) and with a leg inseam of 29”.

Most scoot seat heights are 30” plus, with really wide seat cushions, making it very difficult if not impossible, for my feet to touch the ground “flat footed”.

So, my selection is limited to say the least. Still, I have some good choices below 30 inches:

• ·         Honda Helix (kinda geeky but very reliable with a definite “cult” status)

• ·         Yamaha Morphus (very low & very cool looking)

• ·         Suzuki Burgman (WOW)

• ·         Honda Reflex (Baby Syilverwing)

• ·         Honda Silverwing (mucho nice & speedy)

My other alternative would be to undergo the very painful, expensive & long process of “Extension Surgery” where they surgically implant steel pins into your legs, attach them to steel wires, weights and “stretch” your bones to gain another inch or more in height. (Is this possible for any other anatomical body part I wonder)?

I have also read that some riders remove some or most of the stuffing from the padded seats to reduce the height, but then one loses the comfort factor.

Other riders have mentioned the “compression factor” when one actually sits down on the scooter and this plays into ones ability to touch “Tierra firma”. Maybe I need to eat more tacos and add another 10-20 pounds. A delicious thought.

The attainment of my goal is still in the “Wannabe” stages. I have yet to take the Motorcycle Safety Riding Course (which I hope to do so in the near future) and then I will either have to rob a bank or sell my soul or my body (neither of which will get me much money) to obtain the finances to buy the scoot.

I have encountered some nice people and made some friends along my journey and for that I am grateful.

In the mean time, I will keep “reading” until I am able to start “riding”.

Arturo Cortez

Arturo's "Scooter Puppy"

When you "Join Us" at JustGottaScoot.com, you receive some little trinkets if you tell us your favourite scooter animal. Arturo said he was a scooter dog and, as you can see in the picture, has put his trinket to good use!

Arturo Gets a Scooter!