Scooter in the Sticks

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

Royal Enfield Himalayan or a Honda 125 Trail?

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2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan
Is it time to downsize?

Surprised at How Fast They Get Heavy.

It was only a couple years ago that I felt the BMW K75C was getting too heavy to handle. Plus I wanted something to ride in the mountains. Not on rough trails or single track. Just the many dirt and gravel forest roads. And the Royal Enfield Himalayan was a good choice for me. And I have to add, I love that motorcycle.

But…. There’s always a but. Especially when I get older. I don’t feel the same kind of “heavy” I did with the BMW but I definitely have become more aware of the weight of the Himalayan. On a good day I’m not sure if I could pick it up after a drop. And definitely not on a bad back day. And if it fell on my my aging bones might be more prone to fracture. Just what I need as I ride on the path towards age 70 this year.

So I’ve been doing some thinking and scheming and prowling of the internet.

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Winter Motorcycle Riding

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BMW K75 motorcycle on rural road on a winter day.
Winter motorcycle riding brings many challenges.

Cold Weather Concerns

With the thermometer hovering at 40F and the roads mostly dry, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to ride the motorcycle to drive the moisture from the oil, exercise the battery, and make room for some fresh gasoline. And like so often is the case when I decide to “take a quick ride” to keep the motorcycle in good riding condition, I neglect to weigh all the conditions related to winter motorcycle riding.

For me, what I usually neglect to consider is my physical readiness to ride a motorcycle in cold weather. And for most riders, 40F qualifies as cold.

The first ride of the season is always problematic for me. I get cold easily and regardless of how well I gear up, it’s a shock to my system. And on this day, I made a few estimations of necessary gear that were just wrong. Maybe 5 years ago they would have been right. But not now. Time is taking its toll.

Part of the attraction of winter motorcycle riding for me is the competition that’s created between me and the elements. That competition has pushed me to ride in extremely cold weather, snow, ice, and places I probably should have made other plans.

So that’s often how it starts; a quick ride to accomplish some imagined task, a look at the weather with a self-confident “I’ve got this,” and a hurried donning of gear with little serious evaluation of what’s to come.

Regardless, it was a fine winter day to be out in the world on a motorcycle.

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The Road

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BMW motorcycle along a road.
Riding a motorcycle on the long road is a gift to relish.

The Long Road

The road is a text, a dense book waiting to be discovered, examined, and evaluated. Riding opens the door to a learning process that promises a rich reward of experience and insight.

At least that’s how I see it.

I know riders who experience none of these things. Their motorcycle or scooter may be a means to invoke an adrenaline rush. Or perhaps an excuse to socialize. Or posture and strut. While I’ve felt the thrill of adrenaline, interacted with others, and have proudly displayed my hi-viz jacket, none of those actions are what motivates me to ride.

The road is a landscape for learning.

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Riding a BMW K75 Motorcycle

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1992 BMW K75 motorcycle
My “new” 1992 BMW K75 motorcycle. A birthday present from my wife Kim.

A Birthday Present

Every year for the past 15 years when my wife asked me what I want for my birthday I would reply, “A motorcycle.” This year she said, “Okay.” I’m now riding a BMW K75 motorcycle.

The machine will join my beloved Vespa as partners in exploration, adventure and joy as I prowl the landscape of central Pennsylvania. I’m excited to investigate how these two nearly polar opposite vehicles will affect my experience on the road. I know how it will affect the physical aspects of riding, but it’s the mental and psychological effects that are of interest. Will the same serenity I find on the Vespa occur with the BMW?

This post will be short because I don’t have a lot to say.

Yet.

But here are a few ideas and revelations that led to the decision to ACTUALLY buy a motorcycle when I am so happy with the scooter.

As I’ve thought about motorcycles I rejected the idea of big and powerful to instead find something small and nimble. Like the Vespa. But then it occurred to me rather recently I was just trying to duplicate the Vespa experience on a motorcycle. So when it came time to actually buy something, it seemed more experientially interesting to acquire something that was the polar opposite of the scooter — big, heavy, powerful and not so nimble.

So now I will be riding a BMW K75 motorcycle. A 1992 BMW K75 motorcycle is pristine condition with 16K miles on the clock. I’ve only put 100 miles on it so far and won’t be doing a lot of riding until I have Kissell Motorsports do the Pennsylvania Safety Inspection along with a few other service needs in early August.

And then I start sharing the road with my Vespa. I’ll be riding a BMW K75 motorcycle and hopefully have something interesting to share from that experience. Scooter and motorcycle.

New adventures ahead.

Entry Level Motorcycles and Chick Bikes

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Paul Ruby with vintage and modern Vespa scootersThinking About Size

I shouldn’t be surprised how many ways there are to dismiss people and things with a word or a gesture.  Humanity revels in differentiating one group from another.  On a near insignificant level it happens with motorcycles and scooters.  “That’s an entry level bike,” or “That’s a chick bike,” can be taken in a number of ways.  At least the first phrase.

Entry level can refer to a machine that’s easy to handle for a beginning rider — light, nimble and manageable power.  Or it can mean a first step in a series of machines leading to a logical end — an arbitrary assessment by the person applying the phrase.  Usually it means a path to a larger, more powerful machine and assumes bigger is better.  And then entry level can be applied as a dismissive term — only losers and cowards, the Casper Milktoasts of riders would even consider such a machine.

The more straightforward dismissal is to refer to a motorcycle as a chick bike — as if I real man would not be caught dead on such a device.  I always wonder if women riders have some similar dismissive terms for various motorcycles and scooters.  I know they have them for pick up trucks and the boys that drive them.  Often it’s just a hand signal involving the thumb and index finger.

Scooters are all entry level machines from one perspective.  And even among scooter riders there’s a hierarchy.  The only chick scooters seem to be the pink ones.

When my friend Paul and I rode to breakfast last weekend I was in the odd position of having the “big” machine.  The Vespa GTS 250 dwarfs the 1965 Vespa.  But the real story — the vintage Vespa moved along just as fast as the new one on the roads we traveled.Continue Reading