Modern Vespa

LOL! Good times!

That was also the day we determined that 6'1" and "riding in a sidecar" are two concepts that are really not meant to go together.

Luckily(?) we were only about 1/2 a mile from my house when that happened.

It's so nice being acknowledged for your work. Our Special and my friend's 50s got 1st place at our Greek National Vespa meeting...
Our Special in the "Racing" category and my friend's 50s in the "Custom" category...

A very "Special" project

One more smallie in the works...

If those bikes didn't take first place, I'd have been amazed. Y'all have to have raised the bar with those builds

Congratulations!

let's just say my bikes won't be placing ahead of yours in this lifetime...

Thanks Gents!!! Competition was fierce, lots of nice Vespas, but we prevailed in our categories...

Fantastic

Wow - congratulations!!

Rad! Congrats

wow, great work

Well deserved, you built them both so right! I bet the competition was tough too. You got any more pics?

Good man. And, yeah, more pics.....please

you came all the way out here and didn't even bother to call?

I'm crushed.

*sad face*

top marks! gorgeous scoots! well deserved wins

Fun ride over to Kyle's (Captcha's) place with Mark and his rescued V90.

Have been dealing with some unexpectedly short lifespans on what I figured to be higher quality goods.

1. Polini box exhaust ruptured at bracket weld. This actually started in the spring, so only lasted about 1 1/2 seasons or about 3,000 miles. Leaning toward Malossi box as replacement. Mercato has them in stock and it should be a better match for my Malossi cylinder anyway (Polini was purchased before cylinder kits were even a gleam in my eye). Still somewhat intrigued by Malossi "Power Exhaust" budget expansion pipe, also in stock at Mercato. Can anyone here speak to how loud one of those would be?

2. Pirelli Scooter Angel down to the cords after only 2 seasons and about 3,000 miles. This was on the rear. Front is wearing fine. Spare one was mounted as a rear so easy enough to change. Probably will try something else when front wears down. In the meantime, will just get another one of these.

Looks like tires needed to be rotated at about 1500 miles.

These are directional, so rotating would mean removing and remounting the tires. More trouble than it's worth in my book. I'll just keep replacing the rear tire until the front one is worn out too.

That's what I do on my full size motorcycle, it's usually about 2 rear to one front.

Not directly scooter related, but because I'd worn them in the workshop over the weekend and gotten all sorts of dirt n' oil n' stuff on them, I cleaned and polished my boots during a conference call.

I think I overachieved.

A boring conference call, eh? Nice job irregardless!

(do you take in outside work?)

ah! a man after my own heart!

nothing makes you feel like a million bucks like some fresh shine. also, you can get away with wearing combat boots with a 60's suit if they're shiny enough!

Oh man, you reminded me of my daily routine when I was in the army. If the boots weren't mirrors, you'd get 5 days in the brig (denial of exit, service extension)…

*We have a 12 month mandatory military service in our country cause of our "friendly" neighbors…

My god what do you use those for? Also what did you use to polish them? Did you cheat and use instant black liquid? When I was in the Navy I had a pair that looked like that but only came out for inspections. I wear black boots at work but not that shiny. Well blackened and lightly buffed with black kiwi polish.

I quit wearing dress shoes years ago and now just say screw it and wear Doc's with a suit or whatever I happen to have on.

I used to wear them with some sort of Tux-ish thing (I have an amazing collection of velvet jackets) to my company holiday party every year, which was the culmination of a two-day all-hands. Between presenting all day, then the Holiday Party, which was actually an external-facing event (so customers & suppliers), followed by the *real* party which usually involved shutting down a 4am bar afterwards, I was on my feet for about 24 hours straight. I could never have done it in proper dress shoes.

And I do love they way the look with a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. Definitely sends a different message that it would with regular shoes. Less "sorry for your loss" and more "reservoir dogs."

As to the actual polishing, nothing fancy involved. I cleaned them off with water and a wet towel, then I used that can of Kiwi you see in the background. I've had it for more years than I care to contemplate at this point.

I used an old rag (it's a pair of my dear, departed dad's tighty whities) to apply the polish, rubbed it in good, let it dry, then buffed them with a soft brush. Finally, I went over it all with a microfiber cloth. No liquid shine or any cheating involved.

The rubbing the polish in good is the real trick. Most people just smear it on and then buff it off. You have to work it in good, then let it dry a little.

I've only had them for a few months. I bought a pair of "Docs for Life," in I think 2017. It was a program where you bought a higher-quality pair of their boots and then could swap out the boots when they wear out and they send you another pair for the price of shipping...for life. The last pair finally wore out, so I swapped them and this is the current pair. I sent my daughter a picture when they new ones arrived, so you can see what the original texture and shine of the leather was.

Yesterday: dammit these stupid fan bolts are m7x10. Another McMaster carr order.

Yesterday afternoon: package delivered

Drive by posting from Lisbon:

Hahhahahahhaa
Maybe deal of the day thread?
Only 300 euros.

Needs a kit…

*deleted sniveling post* move along

Yesterday, I was sitting in the right lane at a light when a car squeezed passed me on the shoulder to make a right turn. I hardly ever ride in traffic like this and I thought how stupid it would be to get hit standing still.
Next light I am sitting more to the left in the right lane when,just behind me, I hear a loud BANG! Someone tried the same thing, stopped, and got rear-ended. Knocked their car within 2' of the SS. I just left when the light turned and followed a guy talking to his phone. Fucking idiots.
I pity those who deal with this on a regular basis.

Happens in Minnesota also, I've seen some stupid things. I was going to turn right, but hadn't made it to the right turn lane yet. Someone drove down the gravel shoulder to passing me on the right, through a right turn lane, intersection of county road 19, and back onto to highway 42. Speed limit there is 60 mph. I've seen this several times, one day someone turning right isn't going to notice a person driving on shoulder, or someone is going to pull up to intersection and get killed when person driving on shoulder hits drivers door.

Many moons ago when I still lived in Austin, TX, I had a Grand Wagoneer Jeep, one of the big faux-wood panel ones with the off-road suspension package and a 350 V8 which I absolutely loved everywhere but the gas pump. Put it in L4 and that thing could drive up the wall and across the ceiling.

One morning on the way to work, I was driving in the left lane and a guy in a pickup realized he was about to miss his left turn...from the center lane.

He turned across me and I hit him more-or-less just like you described, Christopher, at about 35 MPH. Lucky for him, I hit the bed and not the cab, because I knocked the bed OFF his full-sized pickup truck. If I'd hit his driver's side door, he'd have been dead and he'd have had no one to blame but himself.

He freely admitted he hadn't even looked before (illegally) turning.

The worst part was that it totaled my jeep, too.

Not a bodge, just a wicker ratt scooter

Got a leather bag to use as a tool roll, color is not a perfect match but close enough

The stories I could tell!

LAPD has taken an extreme laissez-faire approach towards street traffic enforcement here. Nothing surprises me.
Then again, I did ride off forgetting my helmet a few weeks ago.
Rode past a cop going the other direction. Just blipped his headlights and continued on.

I love how this appears to ostensibly be in BFE. like, where in TF are you going?!? it's not like you're trying to make the light and get ahead of the next traffic pattern.

people are morons.

Yes, it is in BFE, in 6 miles or so there's a roundabout. I have a 12 mile commute and you can do it in 13 minutes easily.

It wasn't at all sniveling!

Hang in there man.

Wind therapy on the P…

Glad to know the moron driver crap is nationwide. I don't feel so alone now.

Passing on shoulders, passing one 2 lane roads with double yellow lines. Bike lanes are parking spots. Etc etc. humans are the worst.