Modern Vespa

(While Sig. Other watches the season(s) recap of Downton Abbey - after enduring watching the Seahawks slip past the Steelers [yep, that's how she rolls], I get to be by myself to type this)

Well, it's been about two months - give or take a week - and I've been gingerly putting on the miles with Melody over what I'd <i>like</i> to call hill-and-dale, although as anyone who has ridden or driven through or around New Jersey knows, this state, for the most part, is anything <i>but</i> hilly. I've also noted that this has been the first time in some 40 years since I've thrown a leg over a PTW of any sort, which has been something of a near-cosmic experience for me, given that stretch of time. So, permit, helmet and scooter in-hand, off I went.

The story so far:

- The Scoot: I think someone would have to shoot me before I stop talking gobsmack about the GTS 300. Once I "agreed" to go with a scooter instead of a motorcycle (was going to be a late-model Suzuki SV650), I was adamant about the scoot being a Vespa, and a GTS at that - initially a used GTS 250, but after several searches fell though for one reason or another, deciding to buy a new GTS300 ("The new one has ABS and traction control? Get <i>that</i> one!"). It's been almost unbelievable fun ever since. I don't even think about bigger bikes after this - and I totally get the "Goldilocks effect" that numerous reviewers talk about having road-tested the bike: not the biggest, smallest, fastest or geekiest, simply <i>balanced</i> - just big and fast enough to acquit itself on the Interstate, small and nimble enough to thread through dense traffic without breaking a sweat. Just Right, in other words.

- The Rider: Playing in trafic fairly well, and realizing my decades dodging cars, trucks buses, pedestrians and other cyclists has been rather good training for higher-speed scooting, the Vespa making this transition all the easier, even though I've done the clutch-and-shift thing years before. Oh, what fun it is to ride!

But, there are a few matters to sort out:

- The Road Test: I've been trying to schedule one, but the closest location where I <i>would</i> be taking that road test (and where I took my written, BTW) is currently under reconstruction, and should reopen by...January. Ouch. Next-closest location is quite a hike away (official location in Rahway, semi-official location at an airstrip someplace nearly as far away). Yuck. Ideas?

- Winterizing: Heavy snow/ice aside, I do plan to so <i>some</i> riding when it seems relatively dry. But based on a short ride tonight (41° F) I'll need to beef up things a bit. The FF helmet takes care of things above the neckline, and I have a jacket that should manage the subfreezing stuff, but the armored gloves I settled on a few months back (Fulmer Sportysman), while likely pretty good for about 8-9 months out of the years, probably won't work after the next week or two. I'll be doing relatively short hops from now till it warms up again (hopefully fully licensed by then), so no need for plug-in heated options.

- If/when there are long, nasty stretched where the scoot has to get hauled off to the shed, I'm guessing I'll need a battery tender and Sta-bil to spike the gas with...but what if the bike is idle for, say, under two weeks?

- Oh, yes...any MV'ers in/around Asbury/central-ish Jersey?

TIA. MV's been a gas.

I've had motorcycles before and skoots seem like more fun. I would take a road test at any Vespa dealer, you will not be thinking much about where you are. You will be thinking about how awesome the skoot is.

I got some winter tires, I think they are good for even rain. We do have allot of wet leaves on the ground here, tho. I do not have a windshield yet, but seems helpful.

I am wondering that to, like how long the battery can go without a charge?

Hi guys,

Amateriat, really no need to worry about anything if your scooter is sitting idle for a few weeks. A decent battery (yours is essentially new) will be fine. Gas should hold up well for a while too. Time has a way of slipping by, however, so if you're in doubt, it doesn't hurt to throw in some stabilizer-nervously pouring it in after a month or two isn't the best way to handle it. I think a battery tender is a good investment anyway unless you're riding regularly through the winter. Things happen-maybe two weeks went to three months, or too many short trips ran the battery down, whatever, and it's there to save you. I use mine not only for charging, but it will give you a fair indication of your charge. Just checked my LX150 in semi-storage for the past month, and it was probably only 20% down.

Dongyerscoot-you will love a windshield in cool weather. I thought my full screens looked dorky at first, now they're on every Fall. Even a midsize screen is a big help-took a joyride a month or so after I'd taken mine off, and it felt brutal without it, even at 35 mph.

^^^^^ What fledermaus said. I have the tall windshields on both bikes and they never come off. Everytime I scrape a dead bug off, I smile. And the warmer enviornment in the colder weather is... cool. have fun!

Thanks for the advice here!

After a few days rolling in 40-ish-degree temps, I'll probably go with a flyscreen at some point: the FF helmet has been comfy and quiet at the speeds I've hit so far (around 55mph), and I don't think I'll have issues with bugs and the like. I'll probably break out the pricey Columbia Titanium wintersports jacket I inherited, as well as invest in warmer gloves.

One thing I'm enjoying even more than I imagined is shopping with the GTS: even sans rack & topcase, I'm amazed at how much I can pack away in and on the thing. (So are onlookers in the supermarket parking lot when I'm getting set to leave - since mine seems to always be the only PTW of any kind in the lot, I always get asked about the bike.)