Scooter in the Sticks

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

Vespa Drop

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Vespa GTS scooter in a farm fieldIdyllic Scene to a Vespa Drop

Moments after making this photograph I dropped the Vespa.  First time in ten years.  The first time was inexperience in the snow.  This time stupidity.

I had ridden off the road just a hundred feet on a little shale covered farm lane.  Other than the steep rise when leaving the pavement it was a farm lane like dozens I’ve ridden on before.  A few pictures, a look around and then back on the Vespa to be on my way.

Simple.  Predictable.  Nothing unusual.

Error Number 1: Saving time.

Instead of following the lane to it’s natural connection to the road I decide to take a shortcut and descend down the side of the lane to the road.  This will save me 15 seconds.

Error Number 2: Miscalculating traction.

The descent off the side of the lane was steep and the loose shale and my street tires combined to create a nice sliding experience.

Error Number 3:  Not paying attention.

I didn’t recognize the slide.  As I was descending and turning I was late to realize the front wheel wasn’t really turning but sliding down through the loose shale.  And the scooter was moving toward laying on it’s side.  Put my foot down to keep the scooter up but at this point it was too far over and too heavy to hold up.  I just gently lowered it to the ground.

Result:  Some adjustments in my future.

The scooter was barely moving during this entire event.  Virtually stopped when I eased the Vespa to the ground.  I remained standing throughout.  Picked up the Vespa and put it on the stand to assess any damage which I assumed would be negligible.

I was wrong.

At first a couple more little nicks on the paint.  Nothing new or special.  Right mirror needed to be adjusted.  Engine started right up so I figured all was right with the world.

I was wrong.

Damn if the front wheel and handlebars were out of alignment.  When the wheel was straight the bars turned noticeably to the right.  Not sure whether this happened on the way down to the ground or picking the scooter back up by the bars.  Both trips involved a lot of pressure.  Straightened it a little on site but will need to loosen the headset to fix.

Rode another hundred miles or so and the scooter felt and performed fine.

Lesson:  It’s the little things that get you.

I replayed the event in my mind.  If I had only just followed the lane to the road instead of taking the short cut.  If I had more aggressive tires.  If I had been paying more attention. If I had been riding a KTM. If I had a rule to never ride off the pavement.

One thing’s for sure — this was a rider induced event. I can see how even at a very slow speed a lot of things suddenly unfold that quickly become manageable.  It’s important to think about how the same can happen at speed on the road.  Best to make good choices instead of bad.

The first time I dropped the Vespa was similar in that things developed so quickly.  I’ve linked to that story below.  I was inexperienced then and riding in the snow.

This time I have no excuse.

Bad Vespa rider…

 

Winter Riding Story: First Drop

Winter Riding Story: First Drop

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The story I’m asked about most often regards winter riding. More specifically snow.

Steve Williams and his Vespa LX150 scooterMan and His Vespa Scooter

This is the story of my first drop of the scooter, one which occurred while riding in a March snow back in 2006 — just seven months after purchasing the Vespa LX150.  The picture above was made just a few minutes after the unfortunate collision with the pavement.

Looking back that was a rapid transition from beginning rider to year round rider.  Some may question the effectiveness of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation classroom training .  Perhaps I wasn’t paying attention. (seriously — I highly recommend their training)

Doing a bit of research for this story in my early blog posts I saw two themes at work.  The first was an early obsession and passion for riding.  I’ve seen new riders excited to have a new motorcycle or scooter but not ride much.  I was bit hard by the riding bug.

A second theme emerged regarding the expansion of my riding “oeuvre” — basically I continued to push the envelope in regard to time in the saddle, length of rides, time of day and eventually through all types of weather.

I was relentless.  And looking back, perhaps not as astute as I should be regarding risk, skill and technique.

And I can’t blame youth for my poor choices — I was 52 years old.

Vespa LX150 on a snowy roadEarly Snow Riding

Consideration of riding in the winter was influenced by two rider/blogger — Gary Charpentier and Dan Bateman.  They shared technical information, approaches and considerations that helped me make the decision to roll down the street when there was a little snow on the ground.

Reading the story of my first drop again, an event which occurred on March 3, 2006, I shudder at the newbie mistakes I made — going too fast, not thinking through the route, and most importantly not understanding the nature of the snow.  Ask any skier — it comes in many shapes and sizes.

So without further ado — here’s a link to a once upon a time in the snow story of my FIRST DROP.

See if you can pick up on the errors.

And as always, I don’t advise this kind of riding.  Even a perfect approach can go wrong in the snow.  And that’s not ever factoring other vehicles on the road.

Stay safe, keep your scooter shiny,  stay at home when it’s snowing.

First Drop

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Steve Williams and his Vespa LX150 scooter
Well, I dropped the scooter this morning.

It was snowing when I went to bed last night and I had no plans to ride today because I had to wear a coat and tie to work—not good riding clothes. I got up this morning and looked out at the road and saw it completely covered with snow and ice. The temperature was 19 degrees F. No riding today, I get my fancy clothes all sloshed up. If I had one of those Aerostich suits I could ride but certainly not in my dress clothes.

I remembered my foul weather sailing gear. Big bib overhauls, big coat, waterproof, I could wear that. Sure, there’s a plan. I can ride to work in the worst conditions so far. Great.

So I suit up, have my armored coat under the foul weather gear, take the scooter out of the garage and start it up, walk down to the road to test the surface, all the important steps. The road in mostly snow covered with a mix of packed snow and ice underneath—doesn’t look too bad.

I move onto the road slowly and test the rear brake, stops pretty well without much sliding so I’m all set. I come over a rise about 20 miles per hour and let off the throttle because I know there is a stop sign at the bottom of the hill. I see the sign but also wavy tire tracks from the cars that could not stop and one set going off the road. I put my feet down and gently apply the rear brake. All good—for a few seconds. I see it coming, the ice sheet with powdered snow ahead. I check the rear view mirror—nothing. When I hit the ice the rear wheel begins to slide left and the front wheel right. My foot is down on the ice as the scooter leans and I’m now a tripod sliding towards the stop sign. I hold everything in place until foot finally slips away and down I go. I turn or the scooter engine and get up and do what every good rider does first—look around to see if anyone has seen what a fool I am. Gratefully no one did and no other vehicles came along.

I pick up the scooter and give it a check and find no damage. Start it up and finish going down the hill, this time on the side of the road which is full of gravel and has traction. The rest of the trip is uneventful. The foul weather gear kept me dry and warm and the little fall to the pavement was well cushion with the armor in my shoulder area working just fine. The only injury occurring to my pride. I stopped another mile along to make a photograph of me in my new duds and to clear my visor. Seems the drop got my breathing quicker and was fogging things pretty fast.

So now I know what a 20mph drop feels like. Could I have avoided it? Probably. I could have been going slower, I could have run the stop sign to the bottom of the hill, or I can learn to hold the scooter better in those one-leg-down slides.