Idyllic Scene to a Vespa Drop
Moments after making this photograph I dropped the Vespa. First time in ten years. The first time was inexperience in the snow. This time stupidity.
I had ridden off the road just a hundred feet on a little shale covered farm lane. Other than the steep rise when leaving the pavement it was a farm lane like dozens I’ve ridden on before. A few pictures, a look around and then back on the Vespa to be on my way.
Simple. Predictable. Nothing unusual.
Error Number 1: Saving time.
Instead of following the lane to it’s natural connection to the road I decide to take a shortcut and descend down the side of the lane to the road. This will save me 15 seconds.
Error Number 2: Miscalculating traction.
The descent off the side of the lane was steep and the loose shale and my street tires combined to create a nice sliding experience.
Error Number 3: Not paying attention.
I didn’t recognize the slide. As I was descending and turning I was late to realize the front wheel wasn’t really turning but sliding down through the loose shale. And the scooter was moving toward laying on it’s side. Put my foot down to keep the scooter up but at this point it was too far over and too heavy to hold up. I just gently lowered it to the ground.
Result: Some adjustments in my future.
The scooter was barely moving during this entire event. Virtually stopped when I eased the Vespa to the ground. I remained standing throughout. Picked up the Vespa and put it on the stand to assess any damage which I assumed would be negligible.
I was wrong.
At first a couple more little nicks on the paint. Nothing new or special. Right mirror needed to be adjusted. Engine started right up so I figured all was right with the world.
I was wrong.
Damn if the front wheel and handlebars were out of alignment. When the wheel was straight the bars turned noticeably to the right. Not sure whether this happened on the way down to the ground or picking the scooter back up by the bars. Both trips involved a lot of pressure. Straightened it a little on site but will need to loosen the headset to fix.
Rode another hundred miles or so and the scooter felt and performed fine.
Lesson: It’s the little things that get you.
I replayed the event in my mind. If I had only just followed the lane to the road instead of taking the short cut. If I had more aggressive tires. If I had been paying more attention. If I had been riding a KTM. If I had a rule to never ride off the pavement.
One thing’s for sure — this was a rider induced event. I can see how even at a very slow speed a lot of things suddenly unfold that quickly become manageable. It’s important to think about how the same can happen at speed on the road. Best to make good choices instead of bad.
The first time I dropped the Vespa was similar in that things developed so quickly. I’ve linked to that story below. I was inexperienced then and riding in the snow.
This time I have no excuse.
Bad Vespa rider…
If, If, If, you are not alone in your plight Steve.We have ridden or did ride have done similarly.
In my case it was a long (3/4 mile) rural drive, covered in small gravel,less than one inch in diameter, and polished smoothly. Nice to drive a car on, develish slippery fo a motorcycle, and yes over i went, along one ortwo others also trying to ride the drive to a friend’s birthday party
We ourselves were somewhat uncsathed; thankfully all the machines were big’
Goldwing in my case, Harley Dressers for the o thers. Found it was far easier carefully riding on the verge and in the grass up to the house.
And then leaving afterwards at night, real slow back down th e grass covered verge…
It just irks me that I was so sloppy. Just no reason for it. Oh well, things happen.
Riding on the gravel you describe would be miserable.
It’s always underestimating the gravel.
Easy to do.
Shame on you Steve. If you had any feelings for your Vespa you should have feigned a faint beside the poor beast like a good military man ,apologizing profusely to it before rising and brushing away the dust from its wounds. Then murmur something along the lines of, “See, it can happen to the best”.
Recover quickly poor Wasp.
I did everything wrong in those few moments. Any day now I expect a Piaggio rep asking for my Vespa card…
it’s not a vespa until it has a scratach.
sounds as though the loose headstock absorbed some energy and prevented worse.
Then mine is definitely a Vespa John.
Don’t let the “if only” monster get you. We’ve all dropped our bikes. Makes us more humble.
Trying to let the monster go. And humble is always a good path…
It’s all part of the adventure. At moments like that & I have had a couple, I have to push my fathers voice out of my head. “There is no such thing as an accident! Accidents are caused by being careless.” He was far softer than is mother.
Life is messy.
I can’t imagine my father’s voice. He would have hated me riding. So would my mother.
Careless is right in my situation.
Stuff happens, focus drifts….at least it wasn’t a R1150RT on a snow-covered hillside, now that was a mistake.
I would have never ridden up there to begin with on a R1150RT. Then all would be fine.
Anyone who has ridden as long as we have will have similar stories. When we’re lucky that moment of inattentiveness will merely result in some embarrassment (like when I dropped my bike on a loose gravel parking lot in front of a few dozen witnesses) or a few scrapes and some minor wrenching. It’s all part of the experience.
I know you’re right but I can’t help but second guessing a little. Next time…
I figure those drop marks make the bike yours, gives it some history… the learning nicks and scraps of time and life…its natural.
We all hate doing it be we all do…it.
Brent
Like scars on a warrior telling tales..
I feel your pain. Done stupid things a few times now. OTOH, nothing beats bad judgement like leading your wife up a winding, rain-washed gravel incline. Only bruises, luckily.
Sorry for the off, but it’s always a learning experience, and if nothing else makes the rest of us feel better about our own.
Definitely fortunate to not involve Kim in that foolishness.
If I dropped it a few more times just think of how much I could learn!
I like what everyone else said. Let me summarize: Oh well. F__ it.
I’ll add my usual optimistic everything is okay two cents: You could play life safe and stay on the porch or you can live fully and ride down the hillside because it’s fun. Boom.
Couldn’t have phrased it better.
Paul is a philosopher.
I’ve pretty much forgotten about it. At least until I walked in the garage this evening and saw it sitting there with it’s broken nose…
Nothing a good ‘plastic surgeon’ can’t deal with.
Hah. I need an orthopedic surgeon for this fix. Cosmetically the Vespa is lovely. I may wait a bit and have it done when I need the oil changed…
I have had a few drops, one of them was exceedingly embarrassing, it was in front of my instructor colleagues and it was a stupid mistake at that. We’ve all be there and will be there again at some point. Just shake it off and keep on keeping on.
Definitely shaking it off and still moving.
We’ve all done it. The first scooter drop I did was reaching for a glove that fell away from me onto the foot board. I reached too far to get it, lost my balance and we both fell. In the driveway with my wife in the window. If I had but put the sidestand down it wouldn’t have happened. My China scoot bears the scratches to this day and runs just fine.
Exactly. Those little actions will get you.
Sounds like you and the GTS came out relatively undamaged. That is good.
Other than dirt bikes, I’ve only ever put a scratch on two bikes. The first was in 1978 when someone backed out of a fraternity house in Athens GA right in front of me and my 1976 Kawasaki KZ900. The bike was totaled; I survived. The second was in 2004 in Gettysburg, PA while riding through the battleground park looking at the monuments, etc on my 1996 HD Ultra with my then-girlfriend on the back. We intended to stop for a moment, so I pulled to the side of the park road, and if you’ve ever ridden through the park, you may recall that the sides of the road drop off precipitously. I went to put my feet down, but there was nothing under my right foot! We did a slow motion lean over. No paint was damaged, but there was a small scratch on the right rear bag guard. My pride bore the brunt of the incident. Thankfully, several very nice people ran over and helped us right the bike.
So, yes, it happens to all of us. We learn from it and move on.
No damage to me other than my pride. Scooter can be fixed. But like you say, things can happen unexpectedly leading to big results. I’ve learned and am moving along.
Well, Melody has a few very minor scuffs/scratches. Probably hardly worth mentioning, except they weren’t put there by me, but by some joker in an apparent attempt to make off with her. The real damage – bent left brake lever and sheared-off left-rear reflector – have since been taken care of.
There have been any number of totaled front bicycle wheels, plus one bent frame, accompanied by lots of assorted bruises and contusions, from both head-on and broadside crashes over the years, all but one of which was caused by carelessness on the part of The Other Guy (yes, always a guy). In the cycling world, of course, it takes all kinds, whereas in the motorized world, ostensibly one must demonstrate a minimum level of competence before you’re let loose with a pair, or set, of wheels; how one displays said competence is, of course, another matter.
Hope your GTS mends nicely, and quickly. And, yes…watch those “shortcuts.”
I’ve been lucky so far that no one has caused me harm on the road. Or damaged the scooter through any direct actions while it was parked. And thinking about all my other vehicular enterprises, I’ve had one accident in a car back in 1976 (my fault), one unfortunate scrape on the VW Campmobile in a muddy field the day I passed my driver’s test in 1970, and nothing on bicycles since the 1960s. I have more sports related injuries than anything else. Those were a combination of self-inflicted (pole vaulting) and inflicted by others (football). Never really liked sports. Still don’t actually — playing or watching. I’m too lazy I guess.
Anyways, the GTS is fine to ride. The alignment is cosmetic. I’ll get to it eventually.
Hmm…pole-vaulting? I’m practically cringing at the thought…
Youthful ignorance. Took that up with the track team in high school. No training or coaching — just hand you a pole and hope the upper classmen show you how it’s done. No airbags then — just sand, saw dust, or if you were lucky, shredded foam rubber in the landing pit. And the first pole I used was aluminum — not much flex and a real jolt to the back if you didn’t do things right when planting the pole. That’s how I injured my back. There was one fiberglas Browning Skypole (think that’s what it was called) and it had a little more flex. I abandoned pole vaulting after the injury for the relative safety of high jumping and triple jump. I stunk at both…