The New Toy

Tonight I got a ride up to Bradford to pick up my new toy - a 2006 Honda Reflex motor scooter. This isn't mine, but this is what it looks like:

Perhaps I shouldn't say "toy" - it has a 250cc engine and should be capable of highway speed without a problem. I took all back roads between Bradford and Cambridge; I'm not yet ready to try it out on, say, the madness of I-93. Total distance - a bit over 36 miles. I got home at dusk after a very enjoyable ride.

I have a lot of to-do's:

• Get the scoot inspected. I have until next Monday.
• Get a decent protective jacket (something like this). I have a lightweight leather jacket I used for the ride home, but a modern jacket with elbow and sleeve protection, a back stiffener, etc. would be safer and more cooler (leather gets hot!).
• Replace the lights (tail, turn and running) with high-intensity LEDs. Visibility matters!
• Get some reflective tape to stick on my helmet and various parts of the scoot.
• Spend a couple of hours removing access panels and just looking at things.