Had to tell you about a little jaunt I had a few weeks back. Ran into a couple on one of those Can Am things and a Sportster. So I thought, why not, say Hello.
The guy was as old as dirt. He could hardly swing his leg over the Can Am. The lady proceeded to tell me she “customized” her pipes. Said it was to make it sound like a Harley. To which I replied that it sounded like a Harley when it was stock. That changing it not only made it NOT sound like A Harley but that without rejetting there was a chance the pistons could be toasted. She just looked at me like I was from Mars. The old guy on the Can Am wouldn’t look in my direction. She looked over to the Vespa and said, If you don’t own a Harley you wouldn’t understand. I reached into my wallet and pulled out the five motorcycle insurance cards, thumbed through to the Harley and showed it to her.
Why aren’t you on that instead of… That? She pointed to the blue scooter.
Because I’m not concerned about what people think of me. I’m concerned about what I think of me.
I walked back to Kythera to hear them take off with as much muster as their ill concieved images could drape over them.

Riding is about riding. That’s why you succeed. Its why so many here who also write about riding are inspired by you.

As am I.

Harv

My moto shop will give out a scooter if your bike has to stay overnight. I might try this next time. I think I would really miss shifting gears? Even when I’m in sixth gear, I will downshift just to change gears…Is that a nonissue for you.

As always, enjoyed the images!

-Jeremy
http://pullings.blogspot.com

Vespa, I don’t think that is ideal though, because they are quite expensive. For less money, a Honda Reflex ABS or Suzuki Burgman ABS would offer more room to grow, while still being beginner-friendly, and also adding the security of ABS.

For the folks who really do enjoy the extra involvement that goes with shifting I think a 250cc dual sport bike, such as the Yamaha XT250 is perfect. Bikes that are built to handle dirt tend to handle tip-overs better than pure street bikes. (Vespas included, with their monocoque bodies)

I cannot deny that Vespas have a sense of style that cannot be duplicated by the Japanese scooters. They look sharp & stylish without looking like origami.

A guy on a 250 Honda scooter rode the whole thing. In bedroom slippers, no less. Although they were pretty wet sometimes!

I guess there’s a moral there somewhere. Kind of like my middle son. Bought bigger and better electric guitars and amps. Thought it would make him better. He wanted a short cut.

Turns out, if we’re not enough with it, we’ll never be enough with it.

Probably true with bikes, too.

To Orin: Your scooter will keep up on the Banfield just fine. I rode it last night at 7 PM between I-5 and I-205. Never got over 25 mph!!

As for riding a GTS on freeways, I’ve been doing more of that since I landed in Portland than I was doing in Seattle. It helps that freeway drivers in PDX are rather more laid-back and easygoing (and that the pavement’s in much better shape), but the fastest, most direct way downtown from my house is I-84, aka The Banfield.

Expect a bunch of traffic to this post. I’ll be making a note of it today.

__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool”

Our freeways are much less congested than those near cities. And speed limits are often closely enforced to you don’t feel overwhelmed on the highway.

But even with bigger motorcycles I find I don’t want to ride on the freeway. Perhaps if I needed to get somewhere fast I would but aside from my commute to work the rest of my riding is either errands or riding for the sheer pleasure of flying… And what fun is there flying along on a freeway?