The rust on my Vespa is a direct result of harsh condition use over many years and a near complete disregard on my part for cleaning or caring for the machine. So I’m not troubled by it. But I have seen photos of much newer scooters in salt-free climates that have terrible rust issues. It’s shocking enough that I wonder if I’m not getting the whole story. Hard to trust the reality of things when you don’t have all the information.

Snow riding is challenging but I have to admit that as I get older my tolerance of the cold along with interest in going out to ride is fading. I have some GripStuds for my winter tires but am not sure I’m going to install them. I may just turn into a fair weather rider…

Well, I suppose the bigger joke is riding in snow to begin with. Even aggressive winter tires only do a little to improved traction. Chains and/or studs would be the only thing that would make a remarkable difference in traction.

That said, the real secret (in my opinion) to riding in snow and ice is speed. And by speed I mean slow, slower and stop. I’m fortunate that I live in an area with many options to get from A to B with many of them extremely lightly traveled. So I can go slow, stop, push on by foot, pull over to puzzle how I’ll get through something and generally not have to worry about traffic. For many in serious suburban and urban areas this just isn’t an option when traffic flow is forcing you on or will run you down.

Regarding tires, the winter Heidenau tires I have a big and sticky. So even on dry, frozen pavement they have a lot more traction that regular tires. The aggressive tread pattern in good in slush and wet snow. On hard packed snow and ice — nothing helps. Forward motion is a dicey endeavor.

Thanks in advance.

Laurence Alter

I wanted to ride in the morning but I see more snow in the forecast.

I’ll just keep rolling the scooter out of the garage and ride until I can’t.