When I changed the head gasket and timing belt on my Mazda truck about four years ago I swore I would never again work on a motor vehicle. The one time high school romance of laying under a car sweating and cursing and getting rust in my eyes and a full time fragrance of petroleum oozing from my hands was gone.

So why am I wrenching on the Vespa? Short answer—-it is part of the riding experience. Not a requirement but I feel connected to the scooter in a way I don’t in a car. And to fill out that connection I need to know how to perform some simple maintenance and repairs. So I started with changing the engine oil and transmission oil.

True to every other mechancial task I embark on I find I do not have the right tools. I scratch my head at this because I have a giant Craftsman tool case, the one on wheels that you can put air tools and sledge hammers into. (Sledgehammers are for emergency use) The thing is stuffed with sockets and wrenches and so many odd tools that surely I am ready for anything.

Surely not.

Almost everything I have is SAE. The scooter is metric. I have a simple collection of metric sockets and wrenches that range up to 19mm. The oil plug is 24mm. Adjustable wrench can’t quite grab because the oil filter is in the way. Can’t get the oil filter off because I don’t have an oil filter wrench that small. You see where this is going.

In a fit of focused rage I twist the filter off with my bare hands. I am startled that I could free it without leaving any flesh of protruding metal. The adjustable wrench does not have enough leverage to break the plug free—no doubt coroded tight from salt from winter riding. A moment of insight brings a big SAE box wrench that sort of fits and I break the plug free. Oil drained, filter replaced, oil added and I am finished. I feel comfortable that I could do this laying along the road with a minimum of tools.

The rear hub oil requires a 6mm insert. I use an Allen wrench and pliers to break it free. By this time the engine is cooling and the transmission oil drips like sap from a tree.

Next time the change will be quicker, smoother, I’ll know what to expect and I will have the right tools. I am ready for something more complicated in another 1000 miles—spark plug and drive belt.

I feel better about the scooter right now. And I feel better about my place in the riding experience.

I woke to perfect weather for a couple experiments. Rain and heavy showers. I recently acquired my new First Gear Kilimanjaro 4.0 jacket and I wanted to see how it performed in the rain. My third rear tire is down to the wear bars and I wanted to check traction on wet roads with less than ideal tread. The temperature was in the low 70’s so I removed the liner before pulling the jacket over my new, red, Top Secret Scooter Club Rally t-shirt. I rode up the street in a driving rain and I knew that by the time I returned home I would know for sure how reliable this new coat would be. I also was wearing my Tourmaster Overpants and Wolverine Leather boots. While the pants are supposed to be waterproof I know by previous experience that they leak through the seat after an hour or so in a hard rain. Nothing serious when the weather is warm but perhaps problematic if the temperature was 35.

The first thing I noticed was I could feel the rain pounding my skin. My old sailing foul weather gear was thick and worn over my armored coat insulating me from any physical sensation of the raindrops. But without the liner the rain stung a bit until I got used to it. I never went faster than 50 but I bet it would be hard to take at a sustained speed of 60 or more. Thank god for scooters. After two hours or riding in sustained rain the First Gear jacket kept me dry and warm. The only wet spot was wear my shirt was tucked down into the pants.

When I shed the overpants my jeans were soaked through the butt and down to my knees. At first I shrugged it off as the leaky seat. When I was hanging the pants up to dry I realized the top zippers were open and water was probably pouring into the openings. Oh well…

I hung up the jacket to dry and it felt odd. The right outside pocket was full of water—about 16 ounces. I left that flap open and water shed by the jacket flowed right into the pocket. The pocket liner is waterproof! The lesson for this is to make sure the gear is properly rigged. Good rule for sailing. Same applies to riding.

I noticed no problems with the tire either in traction or it’s ability to push through water without hydroplaning even with the reduced tread. I really like the grip and feel of the Pirelli SL38 tires but I want more mileage. The annual safety inspection is due in September so I will have a Continental Zippy 1 tire mounted on the rear this time. Hopefully I can get an extra thousand miles out of one.

Only saw two riders on the road, or at the Sheetz store pumps more precisely. Two Harley riders with significant others on the back. They were part of a poker run though turn out was bad. This is probably the hardest rain I have been in and the Vespa was a champ. I slowed considerably on the twisty roads and ran the high beam to help others see me. The bright yellow jacket really does leap out of the grayness.

After much apprehension I decided to take part in the Top Secret Scooter Rally in State College, Pennsylvania. That doesn’t seem like a big deal considering I am a member of the Top Secret Scooter Club and that the rally was taking place practically in my back yard but I just wasn’t sure if a rally was my cup of tea. The quick answer was that I had a great time.

About 25 scooters made their way to State College either under their own power of riding on trailers. Everyone got together on Saturday morning at our local Vespa Dealer, Kissel Motorsports, to get ready for the ride out to Bald Eagle State Park where we would have a picnic. This was the first time I ever road in a big group and not only was it fun but I also have a better understanding now of why a gang might get together. On the road the group becomes a big organic organism of its own. You sort of take over the road. Real different from all the lone riding I do.

There was a diverse group a people at the rally and there were lots of interesting stories about rides and scooters. Mike Giblin rode his 50cc Vespa ET2 up from Gettysburg, a two hour drive by car over some pretty big mountains.

He described the ride on a 50cc scooter as an oscillation between motor vehicle and bicycle. I found a lot in common with his thoughts about riding. “The ET2 forces me to truly budget my time. Every choice of route and ride is important and you have to pay attention.” It is exactly how I feel about my own riding. As a member of the Three Mile Island Scooter Club he also garnered the “Best Modern Scooter” award. His scooter had that beautiful pearl finish.

Sarah Sheber took top honors for the longest ride to the rally covering 207 miles traveling from Philadelphia on her Bajaj scooter.

It was her first long ride which she described as, “Good, beautiful, challenging.” When I asked what her next adventure would be she replied, “The ride home!”

There were a lot of vintage Vespas and Lambrettas at the rally. Anne Cox (right) is seen here with her blue 1976 Vespa TS125 scooter talking with Amy Wesa. (Amy is a Ph.D. cancer biologist who happened be driving the truck and trailer that the blue Vespa traveled on from Pittsburgh.

It was amazing the breadth of backgrounds of the people attending). Anne’s Vespa took top honors for “Best of Show”. Judging had to turn on the wicker basket mounted on the rear rack.

There is too much that went on to put in this blog. More pictures will be available at Scoot.net and I am working on an article to send to one of the scooter magazines. But if you are considering a rally I think you should move ahead with scooter speed!

The Top Secret Scooter Club did a great job putting their first rally together. A lot of credit goes to the core organizers and other members who helped make the rally a success. They’re seen here in front of Paul Ruby’s big blue van which served as the sag wagon for any scooters that died on the ride.

From left to right are Corey Maass, Ralph Womeldorf, Brooke DiLeone, Antonio Moore, Cliff Hixon, Ryan Badowski, Lindsey Cecelia LaBella and Paul Ruby.

Best Rally Ever!

Now that the temperature has plummeted below 90 degrees F I figured it a fine time to begin preparing for the onslaught of winter. The Vespa is in good shape and will be mechanically prepared, and I am mentally ready for the drop in temperature, but if there was a weakness in my winter riding it had to be riding gear. I need three things—winter riding jacket, heavy winter gloves, and new riding boots. After long consideration of a variety of jackets I purchased a First Gear Kilimanjaro IV jacket. Waterproof, armored, insulated, lots of pockets, and yellow and black too!

I tried it out for the first time on Saturday when I went for a ride with my father-in-law Bob. The temperature was 49 degrees when I left the house at 7:30AM and I pulled the new jacket on over a T-shirt. Felt warm and comfortable at 60 MPH and in my completely unscientific manner figure the coat would be warm down to about 35 degrees with just the T-shirt and easily down to 10 degrees with my long underwear and windproof Mountain Hardware jacket underneath. And no need for any raingear!

The big surprise was that the jacket was comfortable as the temperature warmed and it was not until it hit 74 degrees that I thought it might be time to open some vents. I think for the money this will be a fine jacket for my needs. Next on the list in a pair of Tourmaster Winter Elite gloves.

The ride took me 50 miles to meet Bob at a Sheetz convenience store in Bellwood. From there he led me up the mountain into the watershed area of the Tipton Reservoir, one of Altoona’s water supply areas. The road wound through the forested areas of one of our State Game lands before cresting a high valley and beautiful lake.

I made this image of the two Vespas waiting in the shadows.

Ten miles further down the road we stopped for breakfast at a little country diner. A small group of Harley’s and other V-twin bikes were parked outside and when I passed the table of riders on my way to the bathroom they all gave me a nod which I can only read as some acknowledgement of being out on road so far from town even if it was on a scooter.

Bob still enjoys his scooter and I made this picture of him when we stopped to look out over Glendale Lake at Prince Gallitzin State Park.

We wandered through the hills for another hour until I took my leave and rode back home. Another 140 miles of riding. Vespa ran well, new jacket was perfect, and I soaked up some more riding that I can only call magic.

Since I purchased the Vespa I have fretted over the adequacy of its 149cc engine in terms of performance and durability. A quick look at the riding world tells me that nearly everyone else on the road has opted for more power. The same evidence exists in the cage world. Obviously need and experience points to larger and more powerful machines.

There are a few people on the road with scooters, bicycles, or walking but it hasn’t done much to calm my fear that I made a terrible error in chosing a scooter. This past weekend I got up early and decided to ride for about four hours. The ride provided some interesting data related to my concern with power.

On the road at 8AM heading east for a quiet, relaxed ride. Five miles from home I notice my glove box is hanging open and my registration and insurance information are gone. Luckily a retracing of the 5 miles found the paper laying on the road at around mile 1. This sort of thing used to drive me out of my mind but I found this little side adventure just more reason to ride.

I rode up Brush Valley and turned north at Livonia to cross the mountains towards the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The roads seemed abandoned with almost no traffic until I neared Lock Haven. I stopped at a Sheetz for a breakfast sandwich and while sitting outside in the shade three Harleys rode up each carrying a passenger. I always marvel at the physical prowess of people who can ride with short sleeves when the temperature hovers around 60. I’m wearing overpants and a windbreaker under my riding jacket.

After breakfast I ride through Lock Haven and head north on Route 120 which hugs the river into the mountains. I have the road to myself and wonder why they bother paving it. I catch up to a group of Goldwing riders and lose them only when I make an illegal stop on a bridge to make a photograph.

I decide to ride up to the top of Hyner View which looks out over the river valley. It’s about a 1300 foot climb along a winding road.

Saw no one along the road or at the overlook despite the fact that the weather was beautiful. As I left I passed a lone BMW rider at the bottom of the mountain.

From there I rode on to Renovo, an old lumber and railroad town.

I’m not sure what people do in Renovo now. I suspect most commute to Lock Haven or other places of employment.

I cross the river and head south through Sproul State Forest. This road is remote. No powerlines, no houses or buildings, just empty. My kind of place.

A few whitetailed deer walking on the road reminds me to slow down and pay attention to detail. This is not the sort of place you want to be falling down. Last week a rider lost control of his bike and went off the road. He was found several days later after the birds and animals had some time with him.

Passed a lot of old and abandoned businesses and I find the slow decay of our past intriguing.

Pennsylvania is loaded with areas undergoing this kind of transition. It’s good to see before it ends up a commercial cobweb of Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and Home Depots without a sliver or personality or community.

Without going into a lot of detail the ride was relaxed and with the exception of climbing one hill at 40 MPH I never felt I needed more power. Still the power issue remains. And I can’t quite figure it out. Here is what I know. In terms of performance the Vespa will out swerve and out stop most more powerful bikes on the road. Both these activities are definitely safety features. It will not give throttle response to “speed away” from trouble. I remain dubious about this as a safety feature. I have heard the same thing about cars over the years—“I need that power to pass”. Yeah right.

Moving away from the purely safety issues into speed issues I think bigger engines are at there best. If you want to ride on limited access highways at sustained speeds of 60 MPH or more a little scooter is not the choice to make. If you need to commute at cager speeds then you need power. But I don’t want to ride on those roads and when I do it not to rapidly get somewhere but more a change of pace. I rode on I-99 on the way home but had to get off after one exit because a bee got under my helmet. I hate hearing that buzzing sound when the thing was sort of trapped near my ear.

The last consideration for power is image and ego. We all know the drill and it applies to cars and motorcycles and the lure and seduction of power is evident all around us—money, homes, clothes, stuff, and cars and motorcycles. This “need” is personal and each of us have to make our own decisions.

Does the scooter have enough power? Depends on what you want to do and what you expect. For me, today, it is fine. Tomorrow? Who knows….

Time to go for a ride.