03/30/06 10:10 - ID#37291

buffalo is too god damned small

I am going to tell you a little story about Buffalo, which happens to be approximately this [] big.

Around St Pat's day, we ran an article

about Dave Moore, the uillean piper for Jackdaw. As a byproduct of the multimedia segment of the website, I came into an advance copy of their newest CD, which I promptly copied and gave to (e:dragonlady7) , who generally likes Celtic music, both classic and modern.

(e:dragonlady7) then promptly wrote

some

reviews

where the words "anemic version of the Dropkick Murphys" were uttered.

A couple weeks pass. A couple

anonymous

comments

show up on (e:dragonlady7) 's blog, saying you know, this may not be the best material for first impressions, maybe you should see Jackdaw live - signed "the bagpiper."

So I come home and she says, "Check this out! Do you really think that's him?" And I say, [shrug], I wouldn't be surprised. Buffalo is, after all, this [] big.

The sun sets and rises. The guy I bought my scooter from

is hosting a grand opening party for his new shop. So we show up, hang out, good times ... and I'll be fucked if that one guy doesn't look familiar. No shit, it's Dave Moore, who bought his '77 Li150

from the same guy I bought my Stella

from.

Turns out he's a really nice guy, and we hung out and bonded over scooters and Celtic rock and accordions, and those poor little girls with the bright orange and green dresses and the curly wigs that always end up at Irish festivals. A good time

was had by all.

- Z

jenks writes at 08:17:09 04/02/06 - Comment #6018: Ok, so I'm biased b/c David's a friend of mine, but he's a great guy. And I am no Irish music conoisseur, but Jackdaw is definitely fun to go see live- and he's right, the Swannie shows are prefereable to the (ick) crocodile shows. I too tend to avoid chippewa.

kara writes at 08:08:50 03/31/06 - Comment #5968: J has as (real) motorcycle, but it's a 650cc - one of the smaller ones - and I can't move it around the garage without risking serious injury to the bike and to myself. A little scooter would be perfect for me.

zobar writes at 07:48:04 03/31/06 - Comment #5966: All scooters are road-legal, but their requirements depend on engine size. A 50cc scooter is considered a "limited use motorcycle" with a top speed of ~40mph and requires no special licensing, insurance or registration. A 150cc scooter is considered a "motorcycle" with a top speed around 55mph, requiring a class M license, insurance (mine is $75/yr), and yearly registration. That having been said, most of the scooterists I know get away with a class M permit, which is much easier to get.

The other big choice is automatic ['twist & go'] vs manual. Most new scooters these days have a simplified automatic transmission, making them very easy to ride, especially in traffic. Others think a manual trasmission like mine is more fun. I haven't really formed an opinion one way or another, but the manual is more difficult to use and more dangerous if you screw up [more on that some other day].

Other specs, which are about average for a 150cc scooter: 10hp; 75-90mpg; 1.25gal tank; 250lb dry weight; max capacity 350lbs; and they've got plenty of pep under the hood [more on that later, as well].

If you want classic styling, there was a guy there with a Yamaha Vino :::link::: last night that looked really hot; if you want classic operation as well, Stella's :::link::: engineering is, in my opinion, superior to Vespa's. If you want an actual Vespa :::link::: you've got to go to Fairport :::link::: to get one, but they have some very nice scoots as well.

If you've got any more questions, ask me or give Percy a call :::link::: . I'll talk yer ear off - I just started last fall and I still think it's the greatest thing in the world.

- Z