Just a quick update.
Wind was coming out of the west at a steady 20 to 30 miles per hour yesterday with gusts to 40. With temperatures hovering around 29° F for most of the day and calls for snow showers I finally left the house around 2PM for a long loop around town and then to Barnes and Noble for hot chocolate. Simple plan, simple ride. Stopped near a local quarry to see if there was anywhere to ride the Vespa that I hadn’t found previously. Enough No Trespassing signs dissuaded me from any of those routes.
The Vespa GTS responds more slowly to the wind. Where the LX150 is jerked around on the road the GTS feels like it has been slowly pushed making it feel more stable in the wind especially crosswinds. Because I can ride faster I end up feeling just as beat up as on the smaller scooter with the wind hitting me squarely in the chest. I suppose the smart person would consider a windshield. I’m not ready for that yet.
The road surface was dry but there seemed to be a lot of salt dust considering we have had no snow. The road crews must be bored enough that they salt each time a snowflake is threatened. My route wound back and forth from one side of town to the other trying a variety of streets and roads. The GTS does everything the LX150 does and more. If I find fault with anything it is the smoothness (or lack of) of the ride. While smoother than the LX150 the front end seems to vibrate as if the tire balance is off. I can’t tell if I am expecting too much, the road surface is rough, or the scooter is actually generating the vibration. I’ll figure this out over time.
Rode past Beaver Stadium, home of the Penn State Nittany Lion football team. The sun was shining down on Happy Valley so I had to take a look.
Eventually arrived at Barnes and Noble along with every other person unwilling to go outside so I scrapped any plans to hang out in that crowded venue. Made my way home and there the scooter has remained. This morning the temperature was 15° F with wind and the threat of snow. I had enough to do today that I never got out to ride before the snow came down. The weather forecast calls for snow and freezing drizzle overnight so I don’t expect to be on the road. I’m getting antsy to go. A long trip. A long winter trip to parts unknown….
I always found it was better to ride faster if the wind was not coming from the front or rear, as it required less correction at higher speeds. Not sure how wind affects the Vespa “sail”, but I just assumed it would respond the same as a motorcyle, or maybe a bit worse with more area for wind drag. No?
Funny you mentioned B&N. A friend of mine was there yesterday as well and said it was packed. No empty cushy chairs – never a good sign.
Regarding the wobble, its a known problem, you’re not alone.
http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=106826#106826
That longing to find what’s over the horizon… to just ride a long ways. I know what you mean.
John
Steve – this is what you need. Don’t know where you’ll take it though… the NAT?
In the second paragraph you talk about what a “smart person” would do, then state you are not ready to be smart. HUH? That does not sound like the thoughtful and considered Steve I know. Must be new scooter syndrome…..
pitchertaker
tinker: The Vespa responds the same as a motorcycle in the wind. Riding faster makes it seem to move smoother but I suspect the amount pushed off course is the same. I tend to slow down when the weather intrudes.
gina: It was busy! That underwater scooter looks scary.
david: I’ve read about the wobble and I think this is something else. I need to ride a lot more to get a feel for this new scooter.
John: Since the scooter is new and shiny I haven’t been taking it out in the slush and wet. Once I get it in my head that it is broken in I will take those rides over the next hill.
pitchertaker: I’m stubborn about things that offend my aesthetic sense. Like windshields. You know what its like and how much grief you’ll go through to get something that feels and looks right….
Reading and enjoying your wonderment all over again.
Michael
Key West
Steve;
Interesting comments about vibration. I use to have two Vespas, a P200E (200cc single), and a P125X (125cc). I eventually sold the P200E because the vibration just kind of wore me out…the P125X is much smoother. There is a trade off, of course, the more powerful P200E was much better when mixing it up in higher speed traffic…the P125X is more suited to quiet back roads.
For what it is worth, your blog has inspired me to visit my local Vespa dealer…he has a gorgeous plum LX150…
In any event, your blog is an absolute joy to read.
Jef
Steve, your impressions of the GTS250 are interesting to me… I have serious lust in my heart for one of those, though I’d go for a red one.
From one scooter blogger to another, I invite you and everyone to check out my blog, Scootin’ Old Skool, where I relate my experiences with my PX 150.
Take care, and keep them wheels on the pavement!
__Orin
In Texas, we don’t know what cold really is, but I’ve ridden with a windshield on all my motorcyles, and now on my P200 and LX150 for the last 30 years. I’m amazed that with all your COLD (burrr) weather up there, you don’t have a windshield to deflect the wind off of you. Is it just cosmetics, or is there another reason?
I also would like to know what contributed to the ‘death’ of your LX150.
jimdrich@hotmail.com