Comments on: Lion and Wildebeests

By: Schnarpsel

Schnarpsel — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 15:59:31 +0000

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...

By: Doug

Doug — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 07:34:28 +0000

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.

By: Bob Olcott

Bob Olcott — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 02:09:33 +0000

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.

By: Fretful

Fretful — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 18:05:41 +0000

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.

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 16:33:30 +0000

Canajun: Glad to be or service!

By: Canajun

Canajun — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 14:07:35 +0000

Thanks for starting my day with a smile!

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 12:05:49 +0000

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...

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 12:00:44 +0000

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…

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 11:59:27 +0000

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.

By: Bryce Lee

Bryce Lee — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 04:59:28 +0000

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.