Modern Vespa

Day 1

Last Thursday morning real early MV users Socalguy, MikeMcarthy, Ronindamascus, Kevin from Vespa Motorsports, my girlfriend Stacy, my two puppies and I all drove from my house to my cousins in Pasadena, CA. We took the dogs since they are too young to be boarded and we were curious to see how they traveled. I took my trusty $600 P200, Socalguy took his 76 kitted Super, Mike brought his 300 Super, Kevin brought his slightly modded P200 and Ronin brought his kitted PX150 with a 21 tooth clutch. My cousin lives at the starting point in Pasadena and allowed us to store the extra vehicle needed since everyone couldn’t pile into my truck.

Once unloaded and stared at by every neighbor on the block, the 5 riders took off for Angeles Crest Highway while my girlfriend took the dogs to Lancaster, CA to wait for us in case anything should happen. Taking the N2 for an hour we popped out in Acton, CA and went to Vasquez Rocks. Vasquez Rocks is a famous filming site used in an early Star Trek episode, a few westerns and more recently The Big Bang Theory.

After a quick spark plug change for Ronin, we arrived at the park and found out that someone was filming there and socalguy, Kevin, Ronindamascus and Mike immediately got yelled at by the director to get out of the shot! Security was called and shooed us away so we explored a different section of the rocks until filming was done. Security was nice after the fact and told us it was a music video for a Cyrus. Everyone asked Miley Cyrus but security said not her so maybe her sister?? If you fans notice a music video in the rocks with a big red banner in the background let us know who it is!

From there we headed north to Palmdale, CA and everyone started running low on gas. Promising we’d stop at the first gas station that’s on the right, we passed every clean and shiny new gas station on the left and then found the worst dump of a place in Palmdale, CA. The pumps worked but the guys complained the inside of the place looked like a horror film and the staff needed improvement. Oh well!

Gas tanks full we pressed on and wiggled our way passed the dried out lake beds of Lake Elizabeth and Hughes, past Quail lake into Gorman and then to Frazier Park. Corporate discounts at the Holiday Inn Express, everyone was checked in and eating at the local Mexican restaurant by 530. Stacy and I took the pups for a long walk and then enjoyed Thursday night football in our room. Rest of the wild bunch were asleep by 8.

Total mileage 124 miles.




My lab puppy Meridian wondering whats going on

Meeting Ronin in San Clemente, CA

Quick photo and then were off on an adventure!

Diagnosing the spark plug problem/ fix in Acton, CA

Vasquez Rocks



Ronin and Mike recreating the Star Trek fight

Kevin Stram. One of the voices of the Vespa Motorsports Podcasts and phone order specialist extraordinaire

Day 2 started with a relaxed morning departure wandering west via Hudson Ranch rd/ 95/ whatever you want to call it (inside joke). For honestly an hour we hit all the curves as fast as we dared and didn’t see a soul. Some folks doubled back to hit their favorite sections again while the rest rambled on. Once on the 166 we gave the scoots a wide open blast for 30 miles or so till Socalguy’s Super started acting up. We knew it was ignition related and he wasn’t down for the count, so we decided to stick together as a group and just go 40 mph and pull over when safe. 40 mph was all SCG could muster and with hardly any shoulders to stop at we tucked in and made the best of it.

In the town of New Cuyama we stopped for lunch at the Buckhorn and got the entire outside patio to ourselves. The lunch girl was nice and accommodated the pups while we made as much noise as we wanted, ate and drank lunch and then used the shade to figure out what was wrong with SCG’s scoot. Turns out it was just a loose ignition wire causing all the problems. From there it was another blast on the 166 turning off on Tepusquet Rd for some more curves and an afternoon detour at Riverbench Winery for charcuterie and wine.

Per Rusty J’s post on the forum I downloaded the Copilot app on my phone and used it to get to our Airbnb in Lompoc. It kept wanting to put us on the freeway even though I said no freeways so I went a route I knew and went to Los Olivos, Solvang, Buelton to Lompoc via the 246. The app took us the rest of the way without incident and we were checked into our Airbnb before sundown. Dinner was at a local Italian restaurant down the street called La Botte. Mama is still around working the tables and singing for the crowds but her daughter has since taken over as manager. She loved our vespas and asked to take pics for their Facebook page. Fat and happy from dinner and dessert, everyone wandered home and crashed.

Total mileage was 155.








Lunch at the Buckhorn

Socalguy playing a few notes on the out of tune piano

166 West

Riverbench Winery relaxation

Check out La Botte if youre ever near Lompoc

Day 3

I was the lazy one today who wasn’t up by 7 so while goofing off, two neighbors introduced themselves to the guys. Sergio with his Harley Sportster came over to show off his bike and learn about the Vespas. After him, Danny came over with a Honda Elite 250. He asked if he could ride with us and the guys said sure. Fashionably late we all left for lunch at Jalama Beach park and had burgers and onion rings and then rode Santa Rosa road back to Buelton.

Waiting on the side of the road in Buelton we saw two guys on scooters in a trailer park. Interested we rode in and found ourselves 100 people thick in a vintage bike ride around the trailer park. A vintage themed trailer rally was happening and one of the days events was to ride around the complex with every vintage scoot/ trail 90/monkey bike/ Allstate they had. Joining the melee, we enjoyed the parade and then stuck around to look at all the vintage oddities folks had lovingly restored.

Once everyone was done, we all took off for the Airbnb and both Kevin and I ran out of gas on Hwy 246. We both had 1 gallon cans so we didn’t think anything of it and just filled up on the side of the road. Kevin’s scoot lost spark later and with us chasing the sun, decided to throw it in the back of the truck and deal with it at home. Kevin found the problem quickly (failed Kytronics spark advancer) and put his scooter back to stock. He lost a few MPH’s not having the adjustable timing but it still ran so we called it good. Dinner was beer and pizza at the house laying low watching soccer on TV.

Total miles 72.




Jalama Beach

Puppy time at Jalama

Trailer park parade

Some of the probably 500 different vintage trailers at this rally





Brought all the tools required for a rebuild, and the only thing used all trip was stuff for a flywheel

Day 4 started out with someone noticing a low tire on the truck and found a screw dead center in it. It was too early to find a tire shop so we inflated it to see how long it would hold air. Cautiously watching the tire, the riders took off for another day of great weather and cool ocean breezes going back down to Santa Rosa Rd., through Solvang down the 154 to Santa Barbara for lunch.

Since Orchard Supply Hardware is closing we hit up the store to see if we could get any good deals and then went out for Mexican food. After tostadas and micheladas we started looking at a route to Ventura.

The 192 through Montecito was closed for construction for 8 miles and traffic was at a standstill on the 101. We decided to rip the proverbial band aid off and just take the freeway to Carpenteria and then get back on the 192. After a painless 15 minutes on the freeway, we took the 150 around Lake Casitas marveling at how low the water level was even with all the winter storms and mudslides and then made our way down into Ventura.

We picked Ventura since it has a train station in case anyone needed to leave the trip and head south to San Diego but everyone was happy and stuck around for one more night. The group stayed at a Best Western and I stayed at a nearby Marriott. I know I know you think I ditched them and went high class, but the real reason I stayed at the Marriott is because it was the only pet friendly hotel in the area.

Unbeknownst to me, it also was undergoing major remodeling. I’d say probably ¾ of the hotel is gutted and the rest of the rooms are accessible through an active construction site. The new lobby/restaurant/ bar/ lounge is in what used to be a conference room with everything spread out in each corner. It was pretty interesting wandering around the facility but the rooms were clean and pet friendly so we enjoyed it.

The guys all scooted over to the Marriott that night to enjoy the outdoor pool area. The jacuzzi and salt water pool were perfect and I think the staff there was trying to score brownie points, so they served us dinner and drinks (in plastic cups) by the pool all night long till the guys were tired and headed back.

Total miles 99




Its nice having a house as a home base. Everyone had options and a place to relax

Passing through Solvang

Lunch at Rosales in Santa Barbara

Down the middle of the 101 for a stretch

Day 5 started out like the previous days with a early morning dog walk and having to inflate the truck tire again. It would drop overnight to around 18psi so I’d fill it back to the recommended 35 and then keep going. A few hours later everyone met at my hotel, threw their bags in the truck and we were off for a spirited ride down Highway 1 to Malibu and then a left turn onto Sunset Boulevard.

Once on Sunset Boulevard we were in the thick of traffic wiggling our way though cars and construction past UCLA till we stopped in Bel Air to see how the poor people lived and then into Beverly Hills. We took a right on Rodeo Drive and went past all the beautiful people and tourists shopping and taking pictures of the Rolls Royce’s, G-Wagons and muscle cars. From there we went back to Sunset Drive and wound our way to Hollywood Boulevard to see the Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Kodak Theater and the Sunset Strip. A quick stop to take pictures with the Hollywood sign and we were back on our way to Griffith Park to explore.

We skipped the pony rides and took the miniature train ride instead. We took a train ride past Snow Whites cottage, the western town of Griffith Gulch and the Grand Canyon and then got a call from Stacy. She wanted to get out of LA before the traffic started and everyone wanted lunch so we blasted through Glendale, onto Chevy Chase Blvd and then into the Rose Bowl and then back to my cousins house to start packing.

All the neighbors poked their heads out again and then went about their business. An hour later with scoots loaded we slogged our way through traffic back to my house for final goodbyes and celebrations.

Days ride 94 miles.

Total casualties on this trip-
2 mirrors loosening up
1 failed Kytronics unit
1 crash bar re-adjustment
1 plastic tail light lens
1 spark plug replaced
½ qt of 4T oil for the 300.

Not too shabby for the scoots! Thanks for reading.




Entering Rodeo Drive

Pretending to listen to Kevin while I really concentrate on all the pretty girls in LA

Hollywood Boulevard

If you look closely you can make out the Hollywood sign

Train ride in Griffith Park

Excellent!

Takes a lot to make me wistful for CA, but ye pretty much did it.

Great writeup and pics!

Wait. Just checked the CoPilot app, and they've STRIPPED OUT the highway-avoidance/preference option! ("quickest/shortest" is all that's left under M/C -- when did that happen?) *SMDH* Now if I re-use some of my older ride route plots, I'll need to check that they don't force me onto the freeway, and probably need to add extra waypoints to ensure they don't. This is going to be a chore...

It was an amazing trip, MJRally! Thanks for putting it together and looking forward to next year!

Enjoyed the travel report. The great photos made it even more enjoyable.
Looks like you had a time to be remembered.

Bob Copeland
Frost Bite Falls Minnesota
Weather is turning against up here in the North

Thanks for the kind words fellas.

For you folks not in CA, San Diego is just a flight away this winter and Vespa Motorsports/Scooterwest is 5 minutes from the airport. Find something used/ borrowed and if I’m around, I’ll help you folks find some great routes.

Awesome report. Yeah, count me as envious.

Cali's on my "scoot some day" list.....

Come on over. Wasnt sure if you’d catch the fact I stole your idea for the thread name

What a great ride and wonderful report!

As local to much of the area travelled it was good to see that you found some great roads and uniquely local attractions. Well done.

For anyone else looking to recreate this trip I would like to add the Solvang Motorcycle Museum as a worthwhile stop. http://www.motosolvang.com

Thank you for sharing your trip with us.

It did look vaguely familiar.


If it was just a *bit* closer I'd be there in a flash. But you never know, it's doable at some point......

Great thread and photos. Looks like you guys had a blast. Thanks for sharing.

outstanding trip report I want to go next year.

Just stopping by to see what my west coast friend has been up too. Looked like a really fun trip. My favorite part was the Star Trek location. Huge Fan.
I have this new knife making hobby. I spend a lot of time on the blacksmith forum. Informative but they don't really have fun. Vespa folks are unique. I have to admit I went to Burger Bobs Scooter Girls thread first. Anyway I'll stop by again , I was just thinking about you MJ