Unburdening the Vespa GTS Scooter
A month ago I decided it was time to remove all the gear from the scooter that keeps me warm and toasty in cold weather. The Tucano Urbano muffs and Termoscud apron. A few days of warmer weather and a gut feeling it was time had me reach for the tools and return the GTS to its normal naked self.
Five minutes of work and I’m ready for warm weather.
Through Another Winter
My riding winterization succeeded again. All the machines were routinely ridden through the winter and easily started when asked. The only hiccup was the Himalayan battery seemed unexpectedly weak one morning. A few hours on the trickle charger has seemed to cure that. I have to say I hate batteries when they get older. I am carrying the Anti-Gravity jump start battery on rides now. Except on the Honda and Kawasaki. They both have reliable kick starters.
A Library Ride
The Vespa always makes me smile. I was talking to someone yesterday about the meditative qualities of riding and could not help but think of how the scooter can transform the most mundane tasks into something joyful. Like this ride into town to pick up a book at the library. Nothing special about the route or the scenery. Just the magic of the experience piloting the scooter.
The current book — Walter Isaacson’s biography of Benjamin Franklin.
Stopping to breath in spring.
Energy Rides
I took a meandering route home to avoid the hustle and bustle of humanity on the direct route. And if you wonder why I photograph my scooters and motorcycles so much, it’s not so much to share my experience as it is to remind myself of how special riding can be. Standing under the white pines, breathing in the scent of needles and blossoms I’m transported to a place of calm that I have a difficult time finding otherwise.
You have to ride and stop and look and engage the senses to appreciate the magic of riding. It happens on the road in motion. It really grows stronger when absolutely still.
Food and Drink: A Part of Riding?
I’m never sure if I ride because I want to get food and drink? Or it’s just an after effect of being on the road. Whatever the motivation, I find it enjoyable to sit in a cafe and watch the world and its people.
Another stop at the Pump Station Cafe. My scooters and motorcycles are a familiar sight there now. Despite the thousands of dollars I have surely spent there by now I don’t regret a penny. And I will continue exchanging coin for experience until such time my body or mind can’t make their way through the door.
The Enchantment Machine
I’ve been affected by my Vespa GTS scooter. It has transformed me into a calmer, more relaxed human being. The scooter has slowed my mind to the point I can see and understand what is happening in the world and in my heart. It is the best medicine I have ever taken.
Have you taken your medicine?
Yes. But mines a stimulant. I had the 170cc scooter out a couple of times lately and it made me smile. Somehow it seems a little perkier than I remember it was in the Fall. Either my mind is playing tricks or the many times I started it over the Winter to warm up has loosened it up some more. My experience with GY6 engines has shown that they continue to loosen up for a long time. My last one was a whole lot stronger at 10k miles than it was at a thousand. It made for some fun rides when I finally broke it loose from the garage and was running around the local curves without thinking “This thing is so small” as I had previously.
I certainly am stimulated by a ride. It gets my mind and body moving. And it always makes me smile.
I’ve noticed the Himalayan seems to be loosening up. Feels more powerful and smoother as I put more miles on it. I’m only at 3K though so I have a way to go perhaps.
Steve;
You have mentioned the “meditation” experience before, and I savor your writings every time you bring it up. That is exactly what I experience, as well as the simple joys you spoke of in this posting about just stopping along a rural road or enjoying a bite somewhere along the way. For various reasons I haven’t been able to partake in these blessed experiences lately and I miss it all terribly.
Hopefully I can return to it soon. Thank you for such a beautifully written posting.
I hope you can find your way back to the road. Can’t imagine how unsettling it would be for me to not have the opportunity to ride.
And thank you for the kind words about the post. I appreciate them.
Thank you for another journey down tranquility lane.
Glad to provide the ride.
Hey Steve, Amen to all said and to the other folks posts as well.I have said this many times before so glad I found Scooter in the Sticks when I did each one is always so I get it as you paint a picture and share your thoughts on two wheeled adventures and life in general. Warm weather ahead and much good rides to you sir and all that get it too.Dr. Don Etheredge
Thank you Don. It’s good to know you see the picture I try and paint.
Warm here too though it appears we’ll have some rain and thunder every afternoon for the next few days. I’m typing fast before the power goes out!
Re. That first picture. Nice diverse collection you have there.
Love those kick starters!
For me it seems to be the ideal collection. Something for almost any ride I want to make. Sitting here now with Google Maps plotting a trip along part of the Mid-Atlantic BDR for Paul and I on our Honda Trail 125 motorcycles. I think we’ll do two of the expert sections. That should be fun. And nice to have a bike with a kick start in case the battery goes bad!
Steve, so well spoken as usual. I have an appointment this morning for wind therapy and am very much looking forward to sunshine and light traffic.
Wind therapy. Good medicine. I had some thing morning.
Love the kickstart on my CT and use it most of the time, definitely takes me back and its use provides a bit of a buzz too. Didn’t realize the W650 was equipped with one, food for thought that? Ride on Steve👌
I’ve only used the kick start once on the Honda. Maybe I should try and do what you do and see if I can get the buzz too!
Same with the W650. Kicked it once. Maybe I’m lazy. I’ll try and use them both more often and see how it makes me a better man!