Boots for Every Ride
Whether on a scooter or motorcycle my rides begin the same way by putting on boots and other riding gear. Then checking out the machine to make sure everything is working as it should. I’ve met more than a few scooter riders who believe a scooter is inherently safer than a motorcycle. All I can say is if you come off the scooter at 35 MPH the pavement doesn’t care whether you were on a Harley or a 50CC scooter. It’s perfectly happy to grind away your flesh and break your bones. Personally, I treat the preparation for a ride the same on my Vespa GTS 250 as I do for any of my motorcycles. In that regard a scooter is no different than a motorcycle.
Ease of Use
If you’ve never ridden a motorcycle, it’s difficult to understand how comparatively easy it is to maneuver a scooter around at slow speeds. My Vespa GTS 250 is more than a hundred pounds lighter than my Kawasaki W650 or Royal Enfield Himalayan. That light weight combined with its small tires create a nimbleness in use that makes it easier to handle in any situation. Whether a quick U-turn or getting it quickly parked along the road a scooter is the clear winner in the ease of use category.
For stopping to make photographs this really makes a scooter different from a motorcycle.
Physical Feelings
For me, the biggest difference between a scooter and motorcycle is in the physical feelings while operating the machines. I love riding motorcycles, shifting up and down through the gears, listening to the engine, and knowing I am commanding a machine. While in no way a substitute for exercise, riding a motorcycle is clearly a physical act with all parts of the body playing a role.
A scooter is different because the body is less involved in operation. The feet are quiet with no responsibilities for braking or shifting. Hands and fingers do a lot of the work. The smaller tires on the Vespa are nearly hidden from view as you look ahead to the road giving a feeling that movement is more like flying than riding on a machine. And if the exhaust system remains stock and relatively quiet it’s easy to be continuously embraced with a feeling of sweeping freedom as the scooter goes down the road.
I can feel a similar effect on a motorcycle but the spell is more often broken by the need to change gears, the sound of the engine, or just seeing parts of the motorcycle while riding.
Emotional Differences
Lately I’ve been riding my motorcycles more than the scooters. Getting on the Vespa again reminded me of how different it is to ride. Unencumbered by operating distractions of a motorcycle creates a broader stimulation of the senses. And that triggers a range of responses from appreciating the world in which I exist to an existential thrill at being alive and riding on the earth. I just end up feeling grateful for all that I have.
I can’t say I don’t have similar feelings while riding a motorcycle, but they are more frequent on a scooter and much easier to access.
Utility
Scooters are my first choice for heavy lifting — chores and errands that require hauling things around. I can carry seven bags of groceries on the Vespa. That’s won’t happen on any of my motorcycles. And for really cold weather, snow, and ice, the Vespa is easier to equip for such things and far easier to maneuver in the ways necessary for success. I don’t even try with the motorcycles. And of course, it’s great for hauling a Christmas tree home.
Choosing to Ride the Vespa
When I got up in the morning I wanted to ride to breakfast somewhere. One of those delightful trips, alone with my thoughts, no specific destination in mind, and being open to whatever the road revealed. Any of the five machines in the garage would work. Each would leave me smiling and happy. A friend told me my collection satisfies specific riding styles. He was speaking of their ability to tackle the physical requirements of a ride. What’s less obvious though is how each has a unique voice on the road and subtly changes the experience of the ride one from another.
I was feeling light when I walked out to the garage and the Vespa seemed the perfect choice to enhance those feelings.
After a pleasant journey through the rural countryside I found myself at Bonfatto’s Italian Market & Corner Cafe. A fine place to sit outside and watch the world go by as I enjoyed an egg, cheese, and smoked pancetta on a croissant. While there I had the chance to enjoy a passing train. There’s something about trains that just draws me in.
Trains strike an interesting chord for me despite how loud they are.
Is This Why I Ride?
After breakfast I began to wander home. It didn’t take long for that old pattern to emerge whispering it was time for hot tea and sugar. The voice would have me indulging three times a day if not more. The Vespa was happy to oblige my obsession. Thankfully none involve speed or reckless riding habits. I wonder sometimes if riding is just an elaborate ruse to eat.
A scooter is different from a motorcycle. I can’t say better or worse because so much depends on the situation. If I had to limit myself to one machine for the rest of my riding life, it would likely be a Vespa GTS scooter. It will handle a far wider range of riding situations adequately than anything else I own.
Thankfully, I don’t have to make that choice right now.
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“If you’ve never ridden a motorcycle, it’s difficult to understand how comparatively easy it is to maneuver a scooter around at slow speeds.”
First off, with practice a motorcycle will turn just as tight as a scooter. Go to YouTube and see Police officers turning inside a tight cone circle on a Full Dress Harley. Second. I’m betting with a little practice your Trail Cub will make the Vespa seem like a Harley in a tight maneuver.
As a person who started out on dirt bikes a competition I enjoy the machine aspect. Shifting gears and hearing the sounds is like music to me. I don’t even turn on the radio in my car. I like to hear the engine so I know when to shift my six speed manual box.
It’s too late to prognosticate but I’m thinking you would have had a lot less to wrote about all this time if the Blog was called “Honda Rebel 500 In The Sticks” as, believe me, maintenance is so much lighter on a motorcycle.
Forgive my negativity though, There’s new starter motor lying over there waiting to replace the burned out one in my scooter. Removing the old one was so much fun. Lying on the asphalt driveway removing the old one since the scooter components are such a joy to remove. It seems that the engines went in first and everything else was built around it. Unlike motorcycles with their engines exposed.