Scooter

I’ve managed to put nearly 200+ miles on my new-to-me Scooter and live to tell about it. A business model for domestic pet-watching, walking, running (AMPS+) can be put together in a couple hours when living compact metropolitan area. In a sprawling metropolis it’s not quite as simple. Without discipline to draw firm geographical lines the business suffers amoeba-like growth. My model over the last year (one year exactly!!) has included virtually 100% referrals; very limited cold-calls or marketing-type clients. 

Referrals mean a constant network expansion; saying yes to something just a couple miles out of the boundary helps the business and builds (or solidifies) another relationship.  It also opens the potential for a referral back inside the boundary (crossed fingers!). However, it also adds an unplanned element of increased time and expense.  Have yet to figure out how add more time to the day but adding a high-powered moped to the mix helps on the expense side!

With my latest AMPS+ business tool I’ve come full circle. I was a punk middle schooler when somehow my brother and I managed to convince our folks we needed to own mopeds. Back in the day the choices in our are were mostly limited to Yamaha and Honda’s. We opted for red and blue Honda Express’.  How we didn’t break bones on those things escapes me. No training, no helmets, no common sense. We were doing something right. Retiring those was tough but I’m sure the couple of bucks made on the sale went to a good cause. Probably a new pair of tight 80’s jeans. 

Graduating to full-on motorcycles was the next step. A series of Honda, shaft-drive, liquid cooled cruisers were my choice through the years. Magnas and Shadows specifically.  Those were great bikes taking me through school and several years beyond. A few crashes, a lot of speed and a pile of near misses. I hung up my helmet on the last one in 2000 after running through a few of them over fifteen years. Still amazed I escaped that period in one piece. Mmmmmmm…………a lot of smooth speed. Mmmmm.

Through all my moves I’ve maintained my two-wheeler operators license just in case. Ever have one of those life things……just in case I think I’ll…….   This is one of those. Through the years I’ve been on a couple quads, bikes and three wheelers but never felt the strong tug to pick up another bike. Until now. 

Cruise Home From the Seller’s

Walter Admiring the New Wheels

Life in the desert seems designed specifically for all things two-wheels. Motorized or not; with a crazy number of sunny, warm and bug-free days every single year it seems a crime to not want to fly down the trail or road with the wind whipping by and the sun toasting your arms and legs. Pedal power carries only so far in this geographically spread community and combined with my need to meet deadlines and do it all on the cheap got me looking for solutions early in the year. Within a couple months I knew about all that was needed about Scooter Nation and where I might fit. Makes, models and sizes unlike old-school mopeds or the big-bikes. Name brand, off-brand, loud, quiet, sleek, traditional, local or www.whereverIfindone.com. Learned about all of it. I walked into what seems to be a great deal on a nearly new second hand and still under warranty. What’s not to like?  

I don’t really fit into the club……….yet my KYMCO Like 200i makes me feel a part of something. Especially when I’m zipping around Campus/mid-town. At 75+ MPG it’s tough to argue against it. After a few hundred more miles we’ll check back in with some stories to tell.

AniMal