Scooter vs Motorcycle revisited

There's a modest financial improvement in my life which will allow me to get a motorcycle or scooter after all.  Once things settle down with the funeral and associated legalities, including my divorce, and I've gotten a new windshield, a set of new tires on the car, verified the shocks are okay, and check the brakes to insure they still have proper thickness on the pads, after all that sensible stuff with my daily driver car.

Only then can I sign up for motorcycle safety class, pick out a helmet, jacket and gloves which ALL FIT, and proceed with learning how to ride. That Guy(tm) tells me that the new Ninja 300 trounced the Honda CBR 250 in sport bikes. Having two more cylinders at higher compression and another 50 cc's of displacement might have something to do with it.

This is, however a weekend race ride, not a "commuting to work and back on a warm spring/summer day" ride. I'm looking for the latter, for those times when I don't want to pedal but still ambitious enough for two wheels. I still plan to bike to work at least once a week. It's really good for me and gives me days of lower blood sugars, which is healthy. I have to turn down my insulin pump for about 3 days after bicycling.

I love the LOOK of the Vespas, but I can't help expecting the price to crash because they're the same Tupperware(tm) plastics as the cheap scooters, so you're paying that extra $3500 for what exactly? Service plans? What if you like doing maintenance and grease in your pores makes you happy? This is why I enjoy my bicycle. Vespa's markup makes Hondas look reasonably priced, and they're about $1000 more than they're worth, too. Considering the prices and the quality of the roads, I'm really inclined to think hard about the Suzuki TU250X, assuming I'm the right size for it AND its actually available for sale unlike what the website claims at the same time they're saying they've got them in their show room. WTF is that?

I still need to visit the used motorcycle place and consider used scooters, assuming the engine is cold and I can start it so I know it works. When I get frustrated with these and the worries of spare parts, I look back at the MadAss 125 and think that's the best deal. Big wheels, full suspension, disc brakes, and still very light and able to carry a bag of groceries and climb the local hills. It's a Monkey Bike, but it does the job of a commuter and they'll ship to my door with a crate for $2500. That's a lot less "oh, we have a $700 delivery and dealer prep fee on top of that $4500 for the Vespa itself" which makes my jaw clench in anger. I really think White People should snap more often so we return to be properly feared. Maybe that's over the top, but we've been really easy going for a bit too long.

I'll look at this more intently once work and the funeral stuff is more settled.