Tina pointed out to me the other day that I haven’t ever made a post about my new scooter.

I typically drive a dark blue 1996 Ford Explorer XLT. It gets about 15 MPG and has a trailer hitch. I love SUVs in that I can haul people, things, and trailers. Gas prices, though, have caused me to rethink my love.

A couple of months ago, one of my co-workers (Adam) at DuPont was pointing out that he saw some scooters on KSL.com for $950. The company was based out of Roy and sells various kinds of boy-toys, among them, scooters.

Other conversations led us to discuss how other companies sell scooters for 2-3 thousand dollars, and so comparatively, a scooter at this price is outstanding. The thing only needs to last one-third to one-half as long as the expensive models to justify the cost.

Also, regarding justification, I cranked out the math. If the scooter gets 80 MPG, gas costs $4 per gallon, I drive 300 miles a month, wear & tear on the Explorer + gas is roughly $0.50 per mile, etc. I would need to drive the scooter for 8 months for it to pay for itself in cost savings (That included tax, title, and registration). If I drove more, it would pay for itself even quicker (5 months if I drove 500 miles per month). Fortunately, I only live 1.3 miles from work and don’t drive much anyway.

I am now the proud owner of a 2006 SunL SL150-12B. It is a 150cc, 4 stroke, air-cooled engine. Max speed is 59 mph, although I’ve only seen it do 52. I imagine 59 would be downhill with a tail wind.

Bridget loves putting on my helmet. I used my old Arctic Cat helmet since I don’t own a snowmobile anymore (that’s a post for another day) and the colors match. Here’s some pictures of her wearing it.

Note the gang sign.

I wouldn’t typically have gotten this bright green color. I personally think that scooter drivers look like fags driving around. Since I don’t have to defend my manliness and want very badly to be seen by other drivers, I was okay getting something so bright. People can think what they may, I’m thinking 80 MPG as I drive around. It just makes me want to groan, “Man! 5 dollars to fill up my tank this time! This is out of control!” I’ll do it overly loud, too, so that the husky, greasy guy in the wife-beater filling up his gas-guzzler can hear me (and hopefully not kill me).

Please don’t run me over if you see me.

Did I mention Tina is also working on getting her motorcycle license? I wonder if anybody will care about the carseat strapped to the back…

Please don’t run Tina over, either.