Modern Vespa

Hello! First of all thanks a lot Guzzi gal for the hint and also thanks GOPAM because your efforts at the cannonball have been an inspiration for me.

Now, I will begin my trip on the 20th of September. I have a full week off work so I can really take all the time I want. No highway because it wouldn't be fun. This is the itinerary:




As you can see it will take more or less half a day to reach Munchen. But I wanna go slow because nobody is running behind me wanting to kill me or whatever so I wanna relax and take my time and enjoy the ride. It's a throwback to when I was 18 and I did my first serious trip on a motorcycle.

Why I'm not going on Sunday?
Because on Sunday I will be at the Misano circuit watching the MotoGP! I wanna see my beloved Valentino Rossi running live so I can depart on Monday at dawn.
I am a big fan of motorcycle racing and I know Misano circuit quite well. My Guzzi mechanic is a two time national endurance champion and I've watched him racing there quite a few times.
Here's a souvenir, my California close to his machine at the Misano paddock, some years ago




Ok now, back to business.
I will treat this topic like a teenager private diary. Except it will be public. And except I'm not a teenager but a fat, bearded, stinky grown man.

So you know when I will start my trip and you know the route.
I will update the post with a countdown and with all the preparations either me and the Vespa are undergoing before setting sail to Germany.

Let's go!

WINTER 2020, -xxx DAYS TO DAY ZERO

Dearest diary,

why oh why did I put such dirty petrol in my beloved little Vespa? It's sputtering badly now!
Luckily I brought it to the mechanic and he changed all the rubbers of my carburator.
And luckily the engine was not damaged by the iron debris he found in the petrol.

When he gave me the Vespa back, he said she's quite fast, called her a "scheggia", a shard, means she's quick.

I knew that already oh dear diary, she's the most beautiful ride in the world (keep the secret, I wishper the same to my Guzzi - oh, the thrill of bigamy!).

Look at her: here's Centopunte, isn't she beautiful?







I think I wanna do a trip with her. Maybe Germany. Heck, maybe I'll go pick up that sticker at SIP SCOOTERSHOP. Could very well be!

Stay tuned...

WINTER 2021, -xxx DAYS TO DAY ZERO


Oh my beloved and dearest diary,

ok, I changed Centopunte's tires. Was about time, I bought her almost 10 years ago and she was sitting on a veil of onion at the back!

It was so fun sliding and drifting in the rain, but if we wanna reach SIP we can't take risks. So new rubbers, here they are, front and back:








I even cleaned the mess under the seat and put all the papers, docs and workshop manual in a plastic bag.
You know, I plan to store my food and beverages down there and if a water bottle spills, I wanna keep the papers safe. So here they are:






Aaaand oil and filter change. Was about time as well, never done before!
It was quite hard to open the discharge nut, it was hard as hell, but after some time I did it and put new oil in the engine. Now it's running smoother and the lower part of the engine is much cleaner and this means that if I am to do that again while on trip, the operation will be much easier:






Speaking of which........ I will need to bring some tools with me.
This's not a problem, with ancestors riding motorcycles more or less when dinosaurs walked on Earth, I have my garage, cellar and very same house full of all kind of tools.
I think I'll take some from here, right close to my track-only 125cc Gilera:





we'll see, my beloved diary. Oh, and I'm also taking a spare spark plug, just in case. And a hammer in case my starting engine won't start. But it should, I put a new one a few years ago along with a new battery last year. We're really good to go.

JULY 2021, -82 DAYS TO DAY ZERO (I think, I suck at math)

Dearest diary,

I'm getting so excited about this trip! The kids at ModernVespa are a real motivation, and I want to send them pictures while I'm on the road!

But my mobile phone sucks, has a reeeeeeally s**tty battery and it runs out of charge in a second. So there you go, I bought this USB charger on ebay:




I tested it, it works fine. Remember me to add a cross screwdriver to the tools list, because I need it to plug the charger in the battery. And the scooter needs to be running otherwise I'll run out of battery. No problem, I'll put the phone outside so it doesn't overheat under the saddle, I'll attach it to the luggage rack with a couple of plastic cable ties.


When not in use, I will put the charger inside its plastic bag and the plastic bag I'll wrap in a cloth. Then everything I will put in the front. Together with a small rain coat dating perhaps to world war 1:





Isn't the poopy hamburger keyring cute!? Oh wait, the raincoat suit - shall I take the modern one? It's in my Suzuki now....




Eeer, what a mess. We'll see if I want to reorganize it...

JULY 2021, -72 DAYS TO DAY ZERO

My beloved diary,

speaking of my Suzuki, I changed its oil as well.
And I was thinking, what am I going to do with the 3 empty oil cans?

Heck, Centopunte is not really economic in terms of fuel consumption, she does more or less 140 km with a full tank.
And while I'm not going for a desert raid and Europe is quite a civilized place where one finds gas stations on the road, you never know. I don't want to push my Vespa up the Alps before I find a gas station.

Sooooo I'm recycling the cans. Emptying the last drops of oil and filling them with petrol.



(nevermind the one floating, s*it happens)
I will then attach them somewhere on the Vespa. Maybe on the luggage rack, along with the spare oil one:





Centopunte doesn't burn oil, but you never know.



Aaaand, speaking of oil, the Vespa is quite good to go, but I noticed the front brake lever is not running smooth at the beginning of the braking.
I suspect I may have to change the brake fluid.
But I'm lazy and after all she still brakes well.
Maybe I'll do that after the trip.

4th OF AUGUST 2021, -43 DAYS TO DAY ZERO

My dear diary,

today I've did myself a gift: an open face helmet!




My full face AGV is getting old and we never really fell in love, it's not a great quality and it's noisy and some bits are broken already.
True I have other full face helmets, but I liked the style of this open one. So I think I'm going to Germany with that.

Speaking of which, where I will sleep?
Outdoor, in my sleeping bag, in my glorious tent, the ones my parents gave me after graduating at high school, oooh diary they're so full of memories!




I'll put them inside my scuba diving bag:




and the bag I'll put on the pillion seat. It will be quite boring to remove every 140 km to fill the gas tank, but it's part of the adventure.


A little more than one month, dear diary!
We're almost there!

You are very entertaining Mauro. I am enjoying your trip already.

Hooray!!

In Italian we say "più semo più belli paremo", literally means "the more of us will gather, the merrier we'll look", I think it suits here

This is gonna be fun! ~she rubs her hands together greedily and awaits the next installment~

Look forward to following your adventure Mauro

12th OF AUGUST, 2021, -whoknows DAYS TO DAY ZERO

Oh my beloved and really important diary,

as we used to say on board:"Long time no see!" - you know, when you embark on your next ship and the first person you meet on board is that Filipino guy you shared your cabin with on another ship, years ago.

Sorry, but I've been busy working. And testing my bikes. And prepping Centopunte.

Thing is, I just found out I need a first aid kit of I want to ride in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France. You basically need this kit in any European country, except Italy and a few more.
United Europe........

So I bought a DIN-homologated kit online for a dozen Euro. I'm putting it in the saddle bin along with a yellow emergency jacket. And I'm pretty much ready to go.

Will keep you posted, enjoy your summer vacations

Loving this Mauro, and you haven't left home yet. Go well.

19th of September, -1 NIGHT TO DAY ZERO!

Dear diary! We're ready to go! Am I ready to leave? Not at all!!!

I haven't printed any map, I haven't packed my reserve fuel tanks, haven't packed anything on the Vespa, didn't prepary any spare tools to bring with me.

I have everything in my cellar, I'm just too tired now!

I've been riding continuously this weekend, and a thunderstorm is hitting the outskirts of my town. I like riding in the rain, if I have to, but I'd prefer for it to leave at least before tomorrow morning, otherwise I may decide to delay the departure.

We'll see. I've watched Valentino Rossi live today - I'll miss him a lot, thanks Vale for these 26 epic years spent together!

DAY ONE, ROSSKOPF HOTEL, VITIPENO (still Italy but almost Austria)

Guys, girls, diary, what a day, 600 kilometers without the smallest issue, Vespa's been on continuously from 9.15 am to 8 pm with just a few stop for gas and she just don't give a damn....isn't She a workhorse??

We're a mere 200 km far from SIP SCOOTERSHOP; if she'll keep running like today, I can be back home tomorrow night.

I have my tent with me, but I didn't plan it was so freaking cold here in the Alps so I decided for a hotel to spend the night. I grew old lol...

Also I thought of reaching Landsberg tonight, I think I could have dealt with the increasing fatigue, but in the end I decided for the hotel in Vitipeno because I didn't want to push my luck, I have a family waiting for me at home.

The day has been wonderful, with sun until I reached the Alps, and then light sprays of rain. The temperature dropped drammatically, it was around 30°C at home and is more or less the half here. Luckily I have worn layers of clothes....

Italy's still a nice country. Too bad I had to ride trough places that are not so beautiful - the northern shores of region Marche and the endless plains of Pianura Padana.

These were boring, with awful buildings.

But I tried to take some pics and here they are:



The Roadbook, lot of technology here




Ready to go




Fano bridge, about 50 km from home:




Main entrance to Misano circuit, where I watched Valentino Rossi racing yesterday...100 kms from home:





Had to sponsor my trip....and you will not believe: ten minutes later I met a German couple on the road, riding back home - he was on a Lambretta and she was on the new Vespa anniversary (I even rode a little with a CBR and a Z1400 going back to Germany, and a GS rider approached me waving and encouraging me before overtaking, lol)




The Po river, Italy's longest, a couple of hours from home, about 200 kms:





After Verona...First taste of the Alps. Cold begings here!





Here they make a tasty Valpolicella wine...





Hedelburg Castle if I'm not mistaken, before Bolzano, about 400-450 kms from home I think