All Vespa riders experience it, moving through the world, minding your own business when suddenly you realize the Vespa frightens a big segment of the riding world. Most of the BMW riders, some of the sportbike riders, and almost all the Harley-Davidson riders.
At a fuel stop I realized a large contingent were huddled on the far side of the lot awaiting my departure, like nervous Wildebeests waiting for the lion to leave the waterhole.
It’s a sad statement on the riding world…
Roarrrrrrrrrr!
VStar Lady: I was gone before they felt comfortable making any noise!
So do all Vespa riders enjoy intimidating other bikes? Make sure you never break down or they may gang up on you…
RichardM: Riding a Vespa takes a special kind of rider. The physical, emotional and spiritual burdens are great. How does one go about minimizing the intimidation factor? I wear a bright yellow and black clown suit hoping to take the edge of the machine.
I imagine they stood back in awe, sensing those hours in your recent past when you rode, nay, commanded the elements as you sat astride a beautiful orange Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig….. That aura remains with a rider long after the rider leaves the adventure -seeking influence of such mighty steeds and your soul must have projected this onto the crowd of wildebeests, making them cringe as they know only the shortest routes between the local watering holes, knowing then the high mileage and all-weather riding you represented while next to that Vespa. I pity them, it’s good you showed restraint.
Charlie6 (Dom): I can still feel the URAL experience in my core. My body is storing it for some reason I don’t understand.
Seriously though, I did get a few sneers and chuckles from the other riders. Never understand the need to make fun of others. It’s so much more satisfying to make fun of yourself.
That’s probably just me…
I’ve known since I bought my first real motorcycle in high school that Vespa’s have cooties.
Imported “proper” scooters/mopeds
scare most operators of motorcycles.
Simply because said owner/operators feel threatened by something they are unable to understand and hence control.
Then again the Vespa is a proper
scooter; everything else is something else.
Doug: You’re not alone in this knowledge. I think the problem lies with the misperception of cooties. Long thought to be a state of being frought with negative ideas science today is being to decode the roots of this condition and evidence is pointing towards cooties actually being something akin to the conditions affecting the comic book character X-Men.
Bryce Lee: Proper or improper — something sets them off. I bet there is a PhD paper out in the world deconstructing the relationship between owners and riders, I mean Harleys and Vespas…
Just to clarify for any skim readers — my experience in the world has been riders, regardless of what they ride, have been uniformly friendly and supportive of other riders. There have been rare exceptions on the individual basis but generally everyone I encounter is positive. This includes motorcycle gangs, sportriders, auto drivers, truck drivers and Harley riders. They each have their preference but don’t preach.
Sometimes questioning about the Vespa fueled by limited understanding of scooters can SEEM condescending but it’s usually lack of knowledge or good natured ribbing. I feel it’s my job to not be thin skinned.
I know I have cooties…
Thanks for starting my day with a smile!
Canajun: Glad to be or service!
Haa. You drum to a different beat. Just be sure you can quiet that cat before you take on more dogs then you can handle.
Steve, I’ve found acceptance, hospitality, neighborliness and a host of other virtuous behavior from a variety of other riders-whether I’m on my 50 cc Genuine Buddy, my 1985 Honda Shadow 700cc, or something else. When I take the Buddy 50 to the dealer (Seacoast Harley Davidson) for service in the winter, 112 miles one way, I don’t have to wait long! (I wonder if they think I use training wheels, having come from the Vermont border.) Has your Fall foliage peaked there, yet? Maybe I’ll see you when you’re en route to Maine, one of these times.
Steve, in truth, I’ve found as you have that almost universally the motorcycle guys I know don’t care what someone rides, the fact it’s on two motorized is what counts. Scooter kulture is different than motorcycle culture but it seems to be an apples and oranges thing, both good, just different.
For the record, the Honda Helix scooter on which I motored about for a while had no cooties. Must just be a Vespa thing.
Being originally from Europe, this attitude towards Vespas/scooters here in the States was and still feels totally foreign to me. I think the worst for the Harley crowd is being stuck at a red light with me next to them. The great lengths most of them go to to ignore me is alternately comical and pitiful.
And the first time our then-neighbor saw me out with my Vespa, he (who goes dirt-bike riding on the weekends with his stepson) had a look of pure disdain on his face and uttered “What’s that thing?”, with the word “thing” being almost spit at me with complete disgust.
Huh? Seriously – what’s it to you, and why do you feel so threatened by it? Peace, brother…