And, thanks! The new ride is an ‘07 Piaggio X9 and — while it does the traditional buzzing and sputtering at townie speeds — get it on the highway and it hunkers down and acts like a big bike. And so far it appears to have plenty of oomph for those mountain roads, though I haven’t taken it through any of the notch roads. Yet. ;)

I’ve been on a ‘05 Vespa PX-150 since October. Granted, I’m more of a “city dweller” than you are up there in the Vermont mountains, but it’s definitely been “a hoot” for me too. I especially love the obnoxiousness of the two-stroke engine buzzzzzz.