The view in my rear view mirror. That’s not a funeral procession, it’s my friend Paul Ruby hauling my Vespa in for repair. His big blue truck doesn’t fly along as fast as some motorists would like. I finally gave up trying to fix the scooter myself, resignation and acceptance.
A lot of email has come my way about the mechanical problems. I will have to post a more detailed description of what happened. It’s not a design or reliability failure of the machine. Responsibility rests solely with me and my slothful approach to taking care of mechanical business.
I could fit the GTS into the back of my van if I removed the windshield and mirrors. And if I had a ramp. The big blue truck solution was easier — just cheated the scooter in between the sidewall and a panini press. (Paul makes a living selling stuff on eBay).
Kissell Motorsports. THE place to find BMW, Ducati, Triumph, Vespa and URAL. It’s like a candy store for grown men. And women I guess though I seldom see any female riders there. They’re probably all out riding and not wasting time drooling over machinery.
But I digress…
Inside, in the back, in the garage, someone will have a look at the Vespa and figure out what it will take to get me back on the road.
Here I am, sitting on the back of Paul’s truck with a dead Vespa inside. The last time I sat like this my LX150 was inside. I didn’t know it at the time but the drive belt change I attempted a day earlier led to the complete and total destruction of the engine. I also led to the acquisition of a new Vespa GTS250ie. The thought was going through my head about what I would be getting next. And I still don’t know the verdict.
If you want to read that old sad LX150 story, a reminder to anyone attempting their own maintenance when they are a sloppy worker like me, it’s called NON-RIDING ADVENTURE.
My poor Vespa. It’s in the place where Ducatis go to die. Like a bright colored metal elephant’s graveyard. At least that’s what was going through my head when I made this picture.
The plus side of hauling an ailing scooter or motorcycle into a dealership is you get to immerse yourself in a sea of dreams. Paul pointed out a lovely BMW 1200 RT that he would like to trade in his K1200 for save for this comment, “It costs more than a new Honda Accord.” Craig Kissell can spot non-buyers like Paul and I a mile away.
I left with this list rolling in my head:
Triumph Bonneville
Triumph Scrambler
BMW F800GS
BMW F700GS
Vespa GTS300
Triumph Tiger 800 in Phantom Black
Stay tuned– the mechanic should be returning with a verdict soon and I”ll know if I’m sentenced to life on a Vespa or sent to some alternative mechanical system.
Having watched Jason the Scooter Whisperer change drive belts on modern Vespas more than a few times, I’m afraid I’m having a hard time thinking of how it could’ve gone so horribly wrong for you. Now that he’s in Tacoma, I will have to do more of my own maintenance once I get another scooter, so I imagine I will have to tackle the job at some point. At least now Piaggio is willing to admit 12,000 miles between belt changes will not bring about the Apocalypse.
Hope Kissel can get you back on the road without making too big a dent in your wallet…
__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool is still here!
Hope you get it back on the road soon and without having to part with too much of your hard earned!
Interesting you have the Triumphs on your list – the Scrambler is currently the top of my list for my ‘big bike’ upgrade from the little Ninja 250, with the Tiger 800 in close second (but resigned to the fact that I think its going tobe too tall). Damn fine bikes – perfect for relaxed blatting around the countryside.
No contest Steve, a new vespa 300. nothing else will make you happy. Nothing else is so photogenic.
What, no Ural?
Triumph Tiger 800 in Phantom Black would be a nice alternative!
Interesting that the Bonnie was the first bike on your list…
Yeah Steve, no Ural?
dom
Redleg’s Rides
Steve:
You’re teasing us . . .
Hope the fix is something so simple that a blindfolded monkey could have done it
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
The red bike makes a great photo element, and maybe those willow branches (other site) WOULD have looked better on a Vespa, but I’m glad you TOOK a shot you COULD take! My yard guys found a 2 foot high curly willow a few weeks ago, when they were clearing out brush along my stockade fence. I had never seen one, did not know my yard had grown one. I found two images online, one of an iced curly willow and yours of remnants of one in leaf.
Thanks for sharing!
I am delighted to know what the little tree will look like over the coming year.
Donna, Michigan
I’m with looby; the Vespa 300.
At least you’ve had a go to fox it yourself and learnt something new even if that wasn’t a positive thing!! Anyway I hope you get the Vespa fixed
Orin: I reassembled the kick start part incorrectly which allowed the pulley assembly to wobble a bit on the splined crankshaft. Sixty miles of shaking effectively wore off the splines and gummed up the works. The engine needed a new crank and major rebuild so I traded the remains for the GTS.
Got a call from Kissell today — looks like it might be as simple as a bad battery. That’s good news.
Charlie: I’ve always loved Triumphs — first, as a kid, the way they look and sound. As a rider, the new ones are really great performers. If money were no object I would look at the JACK PINE version of the Scrambler that Hammarhead Industries puts together.
When it comes time to retire the GTS250 the 300 is the leading candidate. I’m still smitten by the Vespa look and performance in the modern line.
RichardM: No URAL. They were fun to ride for a few days but I want to be able to lean!
Maggie: I love those Triumphs. Great, great bikes. But then, I haven’t ridden a miserable bike. Well, the Triumph Sprint GT was uncomfortable…
Charlie6 (Dom): As long as you are riding, writing, making photographs and blogging the experience — why would I ever need to get a URAL???
Brooktown Geezer: I should have qualified the list with “In no particular order”. If I had a big pot of money I”m not sure which one I would grab first.
bob skoot: The dealer ordered a new battery. Once that’s in they’ll determine if all the problems have gone away. If so I should be riding again soon.
Coop: What happens when a Vespa GTS400 comes out????
Lol W: I got the sparkplug lead fixed and that was a positive experience. The rest of it was just accepting that it’s out of my control what else goes wrong…
Such a sad tale; and yet realistically, perhaps for the best.
Your employment is keeping you
occupied, and suspect if and when you arrive home, the last thing you want to do is fiddle with some form of mechanical device. You have an evening repast, sometimes from a waring oven as once again you were kept late at work; you eat, maybe let your good wife know you love her, talk with Junior or maybe play catch. Then you just want to sit and relax.
Household chores, family responsibilities, and then maybe to bed. The next day more of the same. You relish your Sunday mornings coffee, same town of employment but for a whole different reason.
You make thoughtful notes, prepare yourself with excuses for not doing the picture a day with the three prints project, sip your beverage and wait for friends.
And the unwell scooter sits, awaiting the hand of the owner or now the mechanic who shall put things right. During our lives we infrequently have to admit sometimes we can not accomplish all which we would like to be able to complete.
The scooter repair is one of these; allow somebody with experience do the dirty work so to speak.
Perhaps one day soon you’ll do that Sunday morning journey, on an operational scooter, to
a place of respite, to speak with friends and enjoy the day.
They have to wait until they get a battery in?? Couldn’t they just jump it with a donor battery and tell? If it starts and runs, voila. If not start looking elsewhere for a mechanical fault.
Dear Steve:
I have to used to looking at your blog for new episodes again. You looked like cannibals had just eaten your best friend when you were sitting in the truck.
And now the issue is just a battery?
Honestly Steve? All that drama for a battery? What happened to the K75 you were looking at?
Fondest regards,
Jack/reep
Bryce Lee: You’ve done a fine job summing up the general pattern of thought save for the occasional mental recriminations focused on laziness and sloth.
The scooter is back and I have been able to sneak some short errands by Vespa into the evening.
And so it goes, a slow return to a riding life…
kz1000st: That’s what they did and determined it was the battery rather than the more expensive alternatives. The repair I did wasn’t involved in the problem — just a perplexing coincidence.
Dear Mr. Riepe: The battery was an add on to the original issue which I did successfully repair my own bad self.
The drama was tightly confined to the test drive upon which the battery decided it had reached it’s limit. I did learn a valuable lesson though– you can push a Vespa a long way. I suspect I could have gone two or three miles before thinking hard about a truck or tow. Try that on a K bike.
The K bike was sold. Now that the Vespa is back on the road all other machines look, well, impotent… *grin*