I'm a fairly new member of the Genuine Scooter family, and everyone at Vespa Portland and Genuine Scooter Co has been so very kind and welcoming to three new members of the Buddy 'Clan'. This experience is like meeting a new family members for the first time and being very glad and thankful about it. We all know some of our "relatives" are, well, lets just say 'Genuine', and we are three professional women who work hard in Portland, Oregon, so we deserve to play hard too, and our Buddy life is a great way to recreate anywhere. Reading and listening to videos on both the Genuine and MB websites is interesting and inspiring. Here's our story:

Once upon a time a lady in Portland, Oregon found a Red 125cc Buddy scooter on CraigsList in the late summer of 2008. By the following spring, she managed to share this great hobby with two friends, and two more Buddy's are on the Portland streets. We have a great time scooting on the weekends and evenings over the countrysides, racking up a few thousand miles since early April.

As we each individualized our buddy's, we became a team of "flying" ladies and not only do our Buddy's 'gently' reflect who we are, but our new nicknames do to: the red Buddy is known as LadyBuddy (a few ladybugs on the Buddy), the 50cc green Italia International is known as "HummingBuddy" (hummingbirds), and my ride, a white 125cc Buddy is now "BuddyFly" (butterflies). As our Buddy spirit has grown a bit over time, and we are now quite sure that we are going through some kind of "crazies", but we are acting like kids again and having so much fun with these Buddy's that we don't care . We love them, and the 3 of us turn heads wherever we ride. — Jeannie

Hi! I just listened to your interview with David Harrington and really enjoyed it. I love my black Buddy, so I enjoyed all of the Buddy history and tidbits. Thanks for taking the time to talk. My husband and I really have no complaints at all with our Buddy and it's performance. It's really so easy to ride, and the seat height is a big bonus for me being only 5 feet tall.

Thanks for selling a great scooter! — Jackie

I LOOOVVVEEEE MY SCOOTER!!!!!!!!!!!! I am 48 years old and I have done lots of things including run 19 marathons and I have never had so much fun as riding my buddy! Thank you for making such an fantastic little bit of joy!

My friends, who are scooter/cycle people say that everyone does it (drop) in fact, they said best to just go ahead and drop it and get it over with...hahaha..... It is just a little scratch but it broke my heart b/c I love it so much.

Thanks again! — Lisa Kay

I ride year round here in Cincinnati, and I love Metro Scooter. Just got a message from a new rider who was inspired to buy his Buddy from seeing mine parked downtown. — Kevin Eddy

LOVE YOUR PODCAST but.........I LOVE MY BUDDY MORE!!!!!! I have been a Vespa Family for years and got my first Buddy and I LOVE it. You have made a GREAT SCOOTER!!!! I bought my Buddy from Alex at Motorsport Scooters in San Diego.

Hope Stella gets to come to California!

Thank You, — Pat Gordon

I picked up Buddy Lightning back in August 2006, never having previously ridden a motorcycle. 15 months and 7,868 miles later, I am Buddy Lightning's biggest fan! It is my daily commuter to employment 25 miles North. I've enjoyed every moment of it and it has really given me the opportunity to explore my surroundings much more than I ever would have in my car. Thanks for bringing such a fine machine to the market. Thanks again and keep up the excellent work. — Brett

My scooter was purchased the first week of June from Bill at Twist 'n Scoot. He is a great guy! Now have 2700 miles on it, and have only filled my cage once since I got it. — David Womack

 These are our first scooters and we love them. Keep up the good work and looking forward to what 2008 version brings to the Buddy. — Dan & Vicki Reynard 

My name is Jackie Mancini and I have an awesome story to tell you! So, for as long as I can remember, I had wanted a scooter.  As a little girl I watched Roman Holiday and Audrey Hepburn was my absolute hero, riding around on a scooter and looking awesome and beautiful.  As I grew up, my love for scooters became more mature, and although it remained about style, it was also about alternative transportation, conservation, saving money and saving the world! The thing is, I was also a pretty heavy smoker, almost a pack a day, and had been that way for about ten years (and I'm only 24!)... So, one day I got tired of being more out of breath than everyone else, and I got tired of my boyfriend and my family members being concerned about me and most of all I was tired of not living EXACTLY THE KIND OF LIFE THAT I WANTED TO!  So!  I sat down, I did the math, and realized that if i quit smoking, the money that I would save on cigarettes would subsidize more than HALF of a scooter payment!

On September 3rd I stubbed out my last cigarette on my way home from work and drove Scoot Richmond, the local genuine dealership and i bought a 2007 Buddy 125 Italia!  I got my motorcycle license and I scoot EVERYWHERE!! Yayy!! I haven't had a cigarette since that day, and I won't ever again, and it's because I wanted a scooter, and I made a promise to myself!

Thanks Genuine, for making an AWESOME scooter that I love, and for helping me quit smoking!

Love and hugs, — Jackie Mancini