Molto Verboso
2010 Aprilia Mana GT, 2010 Aprilia Sport City 300 (sold), 2010 GTS 300 Super (sold), & 2007 LX150 (sold)
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Paperino wrote: Beautiful and congratulations! Great photos too. And please, keep it safe. |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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fledermaus wrote: Your next move can be to start a thread about a specific mod and wait for the pages of different opinions. Crash bars? dunno yet. Possibly a top box of some sort soon. He'll mostly be for commuting but I expect some longer trips will soon present themselves. |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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TEX wrote: George V (Yamaha TTX adventure scooter) |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Anyhoo - our first day jaunt ended up closer to home outside the site of a famous film studios here in Ealing (yes, really)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ealing_Studios It is the oldest continuously working studio facility for film production in the world, and the current stages were opened for the use of sound in 1931. It is best known for a series of classic films produced in the post-WWII years, including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Passport to Pimlico (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and The Ladykillers (1955). Picture had to be black and white |
Ossessionato
Triumph Bonneville 2022, Triumph Street Scrambler 2018 (sold), Suzuki VanVan200 (sold), 2015 Sprint 125 (sold)
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Dahoum wrote: The braking was another interesting 'culture shock' - the beemer had linked brakes. I think I'm right in saying if you pulled the front brake you got 70-30 application front and rear brake. This led to me almost never using the rear brake pedal So I found on the scoot today that when I was hitting the front brake I was instinctively pulling the left lever - as if it were the clutch This however turns out to be not a bad thing as I am pulling both brakes evenly which I guess is a good thing. I was very careful on the brakes today given they are being bedded in but the stopping power appears impressive at first try. It's good to hear that the GTS has proper brakes, especially the rear brake in the Sprint is probably a bit too much like from Lawrens' time. I don't have ABS, but it's definitely not easy to accidently get the brakes locked - that's perhaps a safety feature for me, with my slow learning curve to hand brakes. |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Final thoughts for today.
Nothing has even slightly made me doubt my choice. It was very windy in London today and I did get blown against quite a bit but I was pleased that even with no screen the amount of buffeting was mild. Filtering is a piece of p*ss especially compared to the GS - which I kept panniers on mainly for carrying the big f*ck off chain one needs in these parts Lots of room under the seat now for that Tomorrow I'm fancying a trip to St Albans. Somewhere I've wanted to visit for a while. Night night all. |
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1991 Vespa T5 Pole Position, 2008 Vespa S 125, 2023 Piaggio MP3 300HPE Sport
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Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
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Posts: 1922 Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ |
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Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
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Posts: 1922 Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ |
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fleece wrote: Bugger, out all day and missed the fun! Bike looks majestic 8) |
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Hooked
TV2, Sprint Veloce, GTS Super Sport
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Posts: 243 Location: Reddick Fla. |
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Dahoum wrote: And George III was the beast I had hoped he would be :twisted: ~~~I'll bet you never knew, I have George the 3rd's Father, didja? is name is Henry...Henry the 8th (and everyone was an enery) an me an' enery have looked far and wide for Georgie's mudder poor lass is nowhere to be found Best, Jake Reddick Fla. The Low-Self-Esteem Support Group will meet in the chapel Thursday at 7 PM... Please use the back door. |
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BV 400 (21) , BV 350 (16) SOLD :( , Sprint 150 2015(SOLD), Liberty S150 2018
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Yes we are on the same path.. you will really enjoy the ease of riding the 300. You won't need a ladder to climb aboard
Dahoum wrote: kdude wrote: Loved the GS ... I had one for 5 yrs and did way too many miles , I sold her for a 300 GTS and never looked back. Just love the whole scooter culture and simplicity .. I had mine 10 years from new and loved every minute. I do think though that I am swapping one icon of two wheels for another. 8) |
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1991 Vespa T5 Pole Position, 2008 Vespa S 125, 2023 Piaggio MP3 300HPE Sport
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Re: You need to sign the register..
fleece wrote: |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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So today dawned bright but cold here in Blighty. Not gonna stop me though. Up with a warm bowl of porridge and a cup of 'Joe' as the Septics call it and I was off.
First stop for the icon beneath me to visit another - this one of (proper) football. Super Bowl? Shnuper Bowl. I was only stopping off though so just got some pics near the arch. There are more photogenic sites near the stadium but I was riding today not visiting. I've only been inside the new stadium twice - once to watch England play the USA funnily enough and once to the first music concert there to see George Michael in concert - that was great let me tell you |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Just across the way is the Wembley arena - originally called the Wembley Pool as it housed an olympic sized swimming pool, last used for the 1948 Summer Olympics. It is now London's second largest indoor arena.
Now it's a music and exhibition arena. Famous acts playing there include The Beatles, The Who, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead and many, many more. I wasn't aware but there is now a 'Square of Fame' in the plaza nearby now showing 'Star's' handprints in cement (ooo I wonder where they got that idea :face palm: ) |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Initial thoughts from today
Just a couple of 'left foot flicks' - mainly as I made progress away from traffic lights looking for that second gear The sitting position is great for riding in traffic - you can see well ahead and are therefore able to easily anticipate changes and make appropriate decisions. It doesn't feel much lower than the GS at all surprisingly, probably because one is sat pretty much bolt upright. Hell I love filtering. On two wheels in London the only time I really need to stop is when the lights are red. And I'm always at the front of the queue I was chuckling to myself about this regularly. It is completely different in almost every way to using a car to travel around the city. I need a full face helmet for longer rides. My previous one got smashed in the accident and I'm using the open face for now. Remember your earplugs. I didn't yesterday and although I was mostly in town the wind noise was very distracting. Much better today - and I listened to som nice music later in the day. |
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I'm enjoying your photos and commentary quite a bit. Happy to see you're adapting to lazy (twist-n-go) motoring.
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Veni, Vidi, Posti
1975 Vespa GTR 125, 1976 Vespa V90 (Resto), 2001 Vespa ET4 125 (Sold), 2009 Vespa GTS300 Super
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Posts: 6064 Location: Northants UK |
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Veni, Vidi, Posti
1975 Vespa GTR 125, 1976 Vespa V90 (Resto), 2001 Vespa ET4 125 (Sold), 2009 Vespa GTS300 Super
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All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.
T. E. Lawrence One of my favourites, you'll know it I'm sure. Great news on the GTS. I know lots of riders in London, and we manage a few meets during the year. Great bunch of misfits and not your average scooter crowd. I'll try and remember to invite you. Some are our small group, others hook onto the big ride out groups of a few hundred. Season will pick up from March time (my GTS is on the ramp just now). All the best, Paul |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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brown_beret7 wrote: I know lots of riders in London, and we manage a few meets during the year. Great bunch of misfits and not your average scooter crowd. I'll try and remember to invite you. Some are our small group, others hook onto the big ride out groups of a few hundred. Season will pick up from March time (my GTS is on the ramp just now). All the best, Paul Yes - great quote from a great thinker. |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Paperino wrote: I'm enjoying your photos and commentary quite a bit. Happy to see you're adapting to lazy (twist-n-go) motoring. |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Quick point from today -
Car commute - anywhere between 35 mins to an hour and a half depending on traffic. Cycle commute - 45 mins with some hard inclines. Tube (underground) commute - anywhere between 45 min to an hour and a quarter depending on connections as I need to change lines twice George IV today - 15 mins door to door |
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Dahoum wrote: George IV today - 15 mins door to door |
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1991 Vespa T5 Pole Position, 2008 Vespa S 125, 2023 Piaggio MP3 300HPE Sport
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if your commute is taking 30 minutes less each day, that's an extra 10,950 minutes or 7.6 days a year, with spare time on your hands..
that's plenty of time for a little Vespa touring holiday each year, and all for free |
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2013 Vespa LX150ie, 1968 Vespa Sprint 150
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Posts: 4041 Location: Ogden, UT U.S.A. |
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2013 Vespa LX150ie, 1968 Vespa Sprint 150
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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So to finish up my first weekend with George IV - I had a very pleasant ride to St Albans
The St Albans area has a long history of settlement. The Celtic Catuvellauni tribe had a settlement at Prae Hill a mile or so to the west. The Roman city of Verulamium, second-largest town in Roman Britain after Londinium, was built alongside this in the valley of the River Ver a little nearer to the present city centre. The town was burned by Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni tribe, in 60-61 AD in her fight against Roman rule. The medieval town grew on the hill to the east of this around the Benedictine foundation of St Albans Abbey. This is the spot where tradition has it that St Alban, the first British Christian martyr, was beheaded some time before AD 324. It was at one time the principal abbey in England and the first draft of Magna Carta was drawn up there, reflecting its political importance. I didn't stay to visit any of the interesting attractions there (there was a rugby match to get home to watch 8) ) But I took a photo at the Abbey. |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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fleece wrote: if your commute is taking 30 minutes less each day, that's an extra 10,950 minutes or 7.6 days a year, with spare time on your hands.. that's plenty of time for a little Vespa touring holiday each year, and all for free |
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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Paddlenround wrote: Really enjoyed the agony and ecstasy of this story. Thanks for sharing. Much more to come I'll probably start another thread though - titles on postcard to the usual address 8) |
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GT200 & GTS250 & NC750X & Royal Enfield Pegasus
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Dahoum wrote: Lawrence? He's a hero and a great interest of mine. My avatar (and name) is Dahoum - a friend of his from his pre-war days of archaeology in Carchemish (now on the war torn borders of Syria and Turkey). I spent over a decade in Saudi Arabia where my interest began and visited many of the railway sites he helped attack during the Arab revolt in WWI. |
RIP
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Dahoum i spent 5 years over there setting up burn centers. Actually stayed for the gulf war and wasn't in the military. Did you see his train out in the desert? I did and it was very cool. They might have moved it by now tho. I w went over the first time in '82. Worked in Jeddah,Riyadh and Khamis Mushayt.
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2013 Vespa LX150ie, 1968 Vespa Sprint 150
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Posts: 4041 Location: Ogden, UT U.S.A. |
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2013 Vespa LX150ie, 1968 Vespa Sprint 150
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Love the picture at St. Albans. I was there a few years back and had a pint a "The Ye Old Fighting Cocks" pub just down the hill. It's one place where I feel tall.
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GTS 300 - 'George IV' (KIA) GTS Super 300 - 'George V'
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judy wrote: Did you see his train out in the desert? I did and it was very cool. They might have moved it by now tho. This was one train - originally upright but the local Arabs later tipped it over to get the rail and use the metal. I spent the night in the drivers area in the centre of the pic |
RIP
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I have a similar pic, somewhere in a box in the house. Need to scan them. We didn't sleep there tho. I've heard they have moved it to a museum now. We went many years ago so that might be right. Think i went in '83
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2016 GTS 300 Super
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Posts: 40 Location: Castle Rock, Colorado |
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You named it George? hehe. Everyone I know gives them girls' names. My Vespa's name is Amalie.
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