Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.

Thinking and Riding

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Vespa GTS scooter parked at a quarry.
Overhaul the scooter or just ride it?

Pondering Maintenance

The GTS is running great. But I’m doing a lot of thinking and riding. Thinking I should do some serious service on the scooter yet riding it gives no clue that it needs much of anything. And with 45 thousand miles on the clock and on the road since January of 2007 I wonder if it’s worth doing much of anything to it.

What have I been pondering? Well, a valve check for one. It’s never had one. Ever. It starts fine. Runs fine. Why bother even though it is suggested to check them every 6000 miles or so.

New front shock maybe. New steering bearings. New rear brake caliper. The list goes on and on as my logical mind runs down an engineering checklist.

My free spirit brain says ride it until it explodes and then buy another.

Thinking and riding is what I do. I would like to do less thinking about service and maintenance.

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The Eveready Vespa GTS

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2006 Vespa GTS 250 on lift in shop
My 2006 Vespa GTS at Kissell Motorsports getting its annual Pennsylvania Safety Inspection.

Eveready Vespa GTS 250 Keeps on Ticking

Once a year, Pennsylvania requires motor vehicles to undergo a safety inspection. And for some, an exhaust system inspection for emissions. Motorcycles and scooters are exempt from the emissions test. I know a lot of riders that never have their bikes or scooters inspected. When I recently acquired my father-in-law’s Vespa ET4 I noticed it had not been inspected since 2012. So unless you’re stopped by the police, it’s difficult to see those stickers on a motorcycle, unlike a car where their bright colors are visible on the windshield.

I have mine inspected regularly at Kissell Motorsports, not so much for safety since I do those checks routinely myself, but rather because, well, I’m not much of an outlaw when it comes to rules. It’s probably related somehow to my aversion to high speeds and roller coasters.

My friend Andy’s GTS in the Garage of Despair, machines waiting for service.

While at Kissell’s waiting for my GTS I noticed a couple of Vespa scooters in the repair cue. The GTS belongs to my friend Andy and has a mystifying starting issue that has been difficult to resolve. Paul spied the scooter outside over the weekend at a Kissell Motorsports event and it appears it is ready to return home. Good news after losing many weeks of riding.

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Do I Really Need a Royal Enfield Himalayan?

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I’ve been riding my Vespa GTS scooter on dirt and gravel roads for 15 years. Why do I need a motorcycle for those rides?

During a ride last August on my 2006 Vespa GTS 250ie I finally came to believe two things:

  1. Riding on rough, unpaved roads, the scooter in not the best choice of vehicles.
  2. I want to explore the dirt and gravel tracks that I’ve largely ignored for the past 15 years.

And as a result of the experience that day on my Vespa scooter, I began to think I needed to sell my BMW K75C motorcycle and buy a Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.

A ride on my Vespa led me toward a Royal Enfield Himalayan.

It took a few months before I made a final decision, but the Himalayan was the right fit for how I ride and where I want to take it.

Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you want to see more videos of the Vespa and the Himalayan in the coming weeks and months.

Thanks!

A Scooter Video on a Cold Morning Ride

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Writing about riding a scooter or motorcycle in the winter is one thing. Showing it in video gives a more visceral experience. On this particular morning I planned to ride despite sub-zero temperatures. On a sunny day, despite the cold, it’s not so bad.  Have a look at this scooter video and imagine what a decision to ride the Vespa in the winter might look like…

Riding in cold weather isn’t for everyone and should be approached cautiously. When asked I always tell people don’t do it, especially if you’re impatient or if you don’t think you can radically change your riding style.

Often it’s best to just stay at home.

Vespa GTS scooter on a snowy winter ride

Generally speaking — I advise against riding in the snow.  It requires so many changes in behavior, technique and mindset that most riders I’ve met just aren’t willing to make.

Make Mistakes

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contemplating a handIf I’ve learned anything in life it’s that I make mistakes.  Albert Einstein counseled people to make them as part of a method which makes life richer, deeper, and opens doors otherwise invisible.  I was pondering this idea while trying to ease my frustration at line of little mistakes and misjudgments that are maddening.  Ordering the wrong parts, staying up half the night instead of sleeping, neglecting new ATM cards until the bank decides to cancel everything.

My own magical thinking leads me to believe that things will just work out.

Dog in a fairy ringJunior is oblivious to the fairy ring he’s laying in.  I asked him to pose for this picture, a momentary break from our repetitive exercise of hurling and retrieving tennis balls.  Come spring there fairy rings, elf rings to some, will burst forth as a line of mushrooms.  The biology is more complicated than I want to go into.  Being able to see them is a gift of my wife  Kim and her naturalist ways slowly rubbing off on me.

Junior reminds me of mistakes, especially in timing related to inadequate sleep.  The less sleep I have the less time there is for the two of us to run wild.

Dog displaying lazy behavior

Junior reflects my own laziness and sloth of late.  And I’m sure it’s fueled some of the mistakes I’ve been making, especially in regard to installing the heated grips on the Vespa.  It’s still in the garage in pieces and at the rate I’m going it will fall in line between printing my daughter’s prom pictures and finishing the darkroom sink.

I’ve been waiting for over a week for some Posi-Tap connectors only to discover I ordered the wrong size.  With my patience exhausted I just grabbed the quick splice connectors I had on hand and started the electrical work.  It wouldn’t be as “perfect” as I imagined but would likely work just fine.

KOSO heated grips controllerSuccess.  Switched power to the grips and all the lights are on.  So the power is wired correctly.  Was working a bit on the grips.  Have to do a bit more sanding before I can push them onto the bars.  Ran out of energy, heard the whisper of the easy chair.

One step at a time I’lll get the project finished and i’ll probably continue to make mistakes…