Nine years ago, the first winter on the Vespa LX150, seems like another life, another world. The protection scheme was different from top to bottom. No winter riding jacket yet, just my summer vented one along with a Mountain Hardware windbreaker underneath. And the black gloves were good to about 4oF but hardly useful below freezing.
Saturday morning I’ll be retrieving the Vespa GTS 250 from Kissell Motorsports. The sun should be out so the 0F temperature won’t seem so cold. The scooter will have a new fuel pump and Heidenau snow tires so I should be in good shape. And the frigid weather will give me an opportunity to really test the heated grip/Tucano Urbano mitt combination.
So tomorrow will be a return to Oz of sorts, a chance to pretend I’m younger, more organized, and ready for anything…
The 150 trade in?
You could always take the Vino out from time to time to enjoy the good, old days. No to mention saving wear on the 250.
The Vino belongs to my daughter. I’m just late in returning it to her. Had some little maintenance to attend to — oil change, adjust the headlight. So it will be gone soon.
Maybe that means there’s room for something else.
I killed my Vespa LX150 in December of 2006 while attempting to replace the drive belt. The dead scooter was traded for a brand new Vespa GTS 250ie, my current ride. You can ready more about that sad story on the post titled Non-Riding Adventure.
Looking forward to the full report on the repaired GTS 250. With the latest front moving through, it’ll be a great opportunity to test the new setup.
Rode today. Everything working great. Hooray for heated grips. Hooray for snow tires, hooray for muffs on the handgrips!
Not sure, but there seems to be something wrong about the idea of snow tires for your scooter, but I love it!
I keep my actual snow riding to a minimum and then usually on roads and lanes with little to no traffic so I can “experiment”. But the real advantage of the snow tires is the extra traction they provide on dry, cold roads. The rubber is softer and stickier. Regular tires loose their grip a bit on really cold pavement.
So, how’s the Vespa?
It’s all finished and back in my garage. Rode a bit today under a clear sky and bright sun. That always helps buffer the 13F temperature.
Scooter starts right up, sounds good, no check engine light now, hopefully I’ll have some issue free riding for awhile. Technician indicated I should change the rear wheel bearing in the spring when I take off the snow tires.
Hi Steve,
Enjoyed reading this blog entry much. Always fun to see a Circa photo…reminds us how far we have come and how far we have to journey still. As for the cold and the old gear back then, well, it is back then 😉 the bones didn’t notice it so much some nine years ago –
Lordie knows I relate! I tell myself you are never too old but my bones just start laughing at the thought!
So I ask, Are we ~old~ yet? Naw! Not A Chance!!
Most days I don’t feel old but on some really cold, windy, biting icy ones I have to wonder…