This is the store close to where i live. The guy who works in there is extremely knowledgeable. But it appears all they do is sell top name brands, like Vespa:

http://www.nohoscooters.com/

I've found some rather lengthy threads on a scooter site on Lance, a Chinese import. Monterey Park is the Chinese neighborhood maybe 1 hour from where i live. and I've found a couple stores from that neighborhood online, like:

http://www.scooterdynasty.com/

The only problem is that I know for sure that 150cc and less is not allowed on freeways. So I'd have to figure out how to get the bike from a store there to my house.

I bought a padded seat today for my bike. I'll try riding in one day next week to see how it goes. But the big drawback to riding in a bike is that I've been playing raquetball after work. I could easily do it riding a scooter from work to the gym, then home. But unless I could get one of the guys i play with to let me put my bike in his SUV and give me a ride home, I wouldn't want to play on the days i rode my bike in.

>This is how I roll:
>
>http://www.scootervillemn.com/scooters/kymco/people_150.html
>
>I got mine 6 or 7 years ago and I am very happy with it.
>
>I'm not sure what the laws in CA are but here anything over 50cc is treated as a motorcycle so you need a special permit/license. 50cc can park anywhere you can park a bike, it is usually not a problem to park a 150 anywhere but there is a chance of getting tickets.
>
>If you want to go on any road with higher than a 35 mph limit get a 125/150. I would not go with the cheapest scooters but I would also avoid paying for a brand, Vespa.