Yesterday evening I stopped to inspect the artillery pieces that would be part of some Civil War event at the Pennsylvania Military Museum today. The light was nice, drew out the Canon G9 to create the quintessential Civil War Vespa image only to find the SD card was absent from the camera. Luckily the iPhone was in my pocket so I was able to satisfy my photographic hunger at some level.
It was just starting to rain so I hurried home to the warmth and protection afforded by middle class living.
This morning Junior and I visited the men huddled under a tent awning trying to stay warm and dry. Weather makes friends of the worst enemies because I saw Union and Confederate soldiers in that group. I asked how they keep their powder dry and was told the cannon charges were inside plastic bags and then wrapped in aluminum foil. With aluminum foil not being invented until 1910 and who knows when the first plastic bag appeared I wanted to ask a question. But Junior insisted we move on to the ball throwing part of the day.
He remains impervious to the rain, wind, and creeping cold that these kind of days deliver.
Anyways, I have been getting a lot of grief lately about passing on that 1988 BMW R100 GS. Some of it from myself too. One thing that comes up over and over is the limited capabilities of the Vespa. Having put over 30 thousand miles on modern Vespa scooters I can find only two limiting factors:
1. It is impossible to ravage the speed limits on the Interstate highway system. Just not enough power.
2. Stream crossing ability is limited.
3. Riding over big obstacles is problematic.
Other than that you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything that time, money, and skill will allow. And I won’t go into the many other things a Vespa can accomplish that I don’t ever see anyone on motorcycles doing around here.
Whenever I hear the limitations argument I always think of Walter Muma, the fellow who rode his Honda moped from Detroit to Alaska and back — 11,500 miles. And he did it in 1978 when those Alaskan roads really were adventure territory.
I understand why people want big cushy bikes — it makes things easier and more comfortable. And it allows you to compress distance when you have limited time. And specific machines can enable to to pursue certain kinds of performance if that’s your goal.
Calgary photographer and Vespa rider Sergei Belski recently completed a 4400 mile trip on his GTS 250ie. Looks a lot like mine. And he travels light. Check out his site. He makes some nice riding pictures.
It’s stuff like this that makes me smile a bit when guys pigeonhole the scooter as an “around town” thing. It’s that kind of thought process that has them thinking a Harley 883 is a “girl’s” bike or that anything less that 1000cc is underpowered. Exactly how much do these guys weigh?
So, just sitting here, eating, wasting time, watching the rain come down, and waxing philosophically about riding and adventure. Hell, I should gear up and go for a ride. We’re only supposed to get another half inch of rain in the next hour or so.
How bad can it be? I’ve got those great German tires on the Vespa after all…
Now I’m wondering how gun powder was kept dry back in the day — not enough to seek out the answer, but enough to hope Dom will know the answer and pipe in.
I agree with your analysis regarding the limitations of the Vespa, even if I’m still working on how two became three, but I suspect that is part of the mystery. And, non of these limitations impact my riding much, if at all. Alas, only having 101cc rather than 250cc does present some other issues. Oh well.
And, I’m glad that Junior’s attitude about “rain, wind, and creeping cold” is working on you. Scoot! Scoot!! I mean what’s an half inch of rain in an hour 🙂
~Keith
Without googling it, my guess would be powder horns back since the the colonial days and large amounts carried around in powder kegs….rain interfered a lot with warfare back in the day….now, not so much.
I recall seeing pictures of leather variants of powder horns, no idea how effective they were when it rained or they got wet.
On the subject of preferring scooters to larger motorcycles….you’re right Steve in knowing what you like and sticking to your guns as it were. We were merely trying to get you to add to the arsenal….
Dom
Redleg’s Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Circle Blue: The rain didn’t stop the canons today. I heard them thunder several times. Junior never flinched. He isn’t too moved by sounds.
Your modest machine demands patience and perseverance. I admire someone who can stick with that.
I never did take that ride. Spend the entire day at home save for a quick trip to the grocery store…
Charlie6: I think I have seen Matthew Brady photos showing kegs of powder. Makes sense that they would haul it that way.
When the US Army shows up here next month for the 28th Division ceremonies with the M119s that they use for a 21 gun salute I’ll check and see how they keep their powder dry.
Motorcycles. I still want one. Almost called Craig today to see if the R100 was still around. Looked at a KLR, a V Strom 650, and an MP3500.
Then I went and watched television. Ordered a Givi E370 topcase for the back of the Vespa too.
Busy day…
I’m glad you’ve moved off the plain of indecision regarding top cases… the $199 Givi is better in every possible way than the $417 Vespa-brand accessory, which I only have because it came with the GTS and it’s too banged-up to fetch any reasonable amount of money. Our friend Chuck has the 47-liter version, which looked kinda big on his GTS, but not on his MP3.
__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool
Steve,
I’m pleased that you are sticking with the GTS. Not that I’d love to own and ride a BMW myself, I’m just afraid that you’d abandon the Vespa posts in favor of the fast lane. Your Vespa posts have been an inspiration to me for keeping my small wheels on the road.
Bill
Steve, if its not too late to cancel your Givi order, you might take a gander at bestemusa.com’s offerings. The topcase on the back of Vikki the V-Strom was from them and I like it a lot.
Re modern artillery pieces and their ordnance, it’s all kept in weatherproof tubes. The charges are in the form of tubular bags, numbered and used as needed in terms of desired range for the projectile. The M119 is the newest light howitzer in the Army’s arsenal and I’d left the Army before it was deployed so I could be wrong.
I had a chance to fire and be part of a student gun crew on the M105 Howitzer in training, all the way to the 8″ Howitzer on the self-propelled track and they were a “blast”, pun intended. It took two of us to manhandle the 8″ projo or “joe” into the feed tray of the howitzer….quite the experience.
Interesting memories brought back by your posting, thanks.
dom
PS: I have faith in you, one day you will succumb and get a motorcycle….Sure you’re Vespa is very reliable, but all things wrought by Man are fallible….Vespas included. : )
Think “Spare Bike”
Redleg’s Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
A couple of corrections Steve, it was the M102 model of the 105mm howitzer that I trained with and the ammo is basically packaged with the projo, like a really big bullet. I can’t recall now how charges are adjusted but am pretty sure they’re taken out of the casing before the projo is loaded into the breech.
Remember the movie “The Straight Story”?. That guy traveled hundreds of miles on a riding mower to visit his brother which was a heck of a lot slower than traveling on a vespa!!
Orin: Took me years to decide to get a topcase. In part I don’t like the way they look but function has won out over form. The Givi should be here Tuesday. Mounting looks easy enough. Hooking up the brake lights is another matter.
I looked a long time at the bigger one including some pictures on the Modern Vespa site showing how it looked. But the smaller one should suffice.
I didn’t order the matching silver cover though. I’ll see how the straight black one looks first. If it is as ugly as I think the silver cover won’t help…
eyeballbill: I’m content with the Vespa. The future might change but I am still intrigued with how the scooter handles, what it can do, and the sense of adventure it engenders.
Charlie6: Thanks for the mini-workshop on artillery operation. It is interesting to watch. This morning Junior and I waited around for almost 40 minutes for them to fire the canon. Turned out the Civil War officers were training the gun crews on the ways of operation. Six men on a canon crew and they each have specific duties. It’s choreographed like a dance with all the activity. Guess that’s how they were able to get the 1 minute interval between firing.
You keep wishing and maybe someday you’ll see a motorcycle appear on Scooter in the Sticks that doesn’t have to be returned after I ride it…
hrw115: That’s me. I am just like the guy on the straight story. Stubborn and focused on a goal!
Steve, the only limitation with scooters is in people’s heads. And really, how often do one need to cross a stream or ride over a major obstacle, and how many ‘real’ bikes (and their riders) would struggle with exactly that.
Only a few days ago me and my better half joined the ranks of the Vespa riders. It is amazing what this two-wheelers are capable of: fairly good protection from rain, stability on gravel and dirt roads, maneuverability, fuel economy, you name it.
Yes, it might take longer to get anywhere, but isn’t the reward in the journey? And thanks to the elegance of Italian design you will arrive in style.
Howdy, I’m a longtime lurker, love your blog, and am a fellow scootician, albeit at a slower pace on my Stella 150.
Just wanted to make a correction, though. The moped Muma took on his 11.5k trip wasn’t a Honda–it was a Motobecane Mobylette–so he made that trip on a French moped, no less. I’ve got a Mobylette, myself, and owning it makes the scope of that journey all the more impressive.
I’ve also had the BMW temptation for a while, myself, largely because I love the boxer twin, having driven a Citroen Dyane as a daily driver for a stretch, but also because my main riding buddy is a R100 rider. He’s got a second one, and once in a while, I bow to his need for masculine compensation and ride the other R100, but I’m always happiest to get back on my Stella, which just feels right, and comfortable in the same way my first Vespa PX, a well-traveled ’80 P200E, felt. Just like a pair of comfortable shoes, really.
I get off the borrowed R-bike and take one zip ’round on the Stella and I can’t believe people prefer such enormously heavy things. If riding a motorcycle is like piloting a fighter jet, riding a scooter is like being a bird.
Dear Mr. Williams:
I think you did the right thing by turning away from the siren song of the BMW crowd. They think they are so cool with their bizarre -looking motorcycles that have all kinds of stupid options on them. I saw a K75 rider the other day, who had a pork-grinding, sausage-stuffer mounted on one of his side cases. I was riding past on my Vespa when this human sweat-bag said to me, “Want eight-inches of BMW pounding pork sausage, sweetie.”
I knocked him off the K75, pulled his pants down and spray-painted his butt blue. It took three full cans of Rustoleum!
Later that day, I came across a circle of eight GS riders. They were sitting on their bikes and having a wine and cheese party, while a hair stylist moved from bike to bike, giving each rider a $150 haircut. Why would you want to be anything like these people?
I have since joined a group called the Vigilante Vesper Virgins. We are 8 women, aged 24 to 86, who are opposed to motorcycle facism and sexual gratification (that requires reciprocal activity). We applaud your efforts to lead these German pork- pounders on, without ever giving in to their “Knights of SeigFreid” nonsense.
You are our hero.
Sincerely,
Helen Zinski
Dear Steve:
The strangest thing happened to me yesterday… I hardly know where to begin. But I had to ride through a stream and cross a major obstacleto escape. Thank heavens I was on a BMW.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
No need for a bigger bike. You may already be familiar with this site: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201349. Bigger is not always better. I’ve read that Moped Trip (to Alaska) over and over.
Reminder, I met you at the MotoQuest symposium. If you need something to put you to sleep, here’s my Alaska trip story: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=618407
~Robert~
SonjaM: The two Vespa scooters you and your husband have look fantastic. You can appreciate the capabilities they have and how they differ from motorcycles. Each have their own character.
I agree, taking longer in a journey is a great reward. I hate rushing, on the road or otherwise.
Joe Wall: Glad you made the decision to transform yourself from lurker to, well, whatever you are now. Always nice to have input from a creative soul here to help offset the accumulation of faux masculine energy.
Your closing comment about the difference between the heavy motorcycle and scooter is perfection. As many times as I have returned a big bike to Kissell Motorsports and jumped on the Vespa it was never as clear as you wrote — the scooter is like being a bird.
Absolutely perfect description. After the heavy machines riding the scooter is like freedom….
Thanks so much for sharing that.
Dear Mr. Zinski: Your anonymous post, while insightful and full of truthful observation, is problematic because it has a familiar tone, one I don’t want to identify for fear you are the real McCoy so to speak.
So I will accept your kind words of support. I was never in danger of becoming one of them just as I am never in any real danger of becoming one of any group. My aversion to group activities (singing, laughing, carrying on) and desire for solitude protects me from such folly.
I’m just as distant I suppose from the scooter culture. So if I had a BMW I would just be this outlier coopting their machine without paying proper homage.
Good luck to the Vesper Virgins. Sounds like a fine group of women. Continue to not take any guff from the likes of, well, you know who to not take guff from.
Dear Mr. Riepe: You have so not crossed a stream in this century.
Poppawheelie (Robert): Thanks so much for sharing the Minimalist riding thread. I had never seen that. Certainly fits well with the sort of riding I do.
I took a quick look at your Alaska trip. Amazing feat from where I sit. I will have to sit down and read it more fully when I have some time.
Glad we got to talk at the MotoQuest event and hope to run into you again soon!
i really glad to see this post, thanks for sharing it.
regards
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