Modern Vespa

i was perhaps inspired by adam sandoval - https://www.adamsandoval.com/ - who rode a harley and had a chihuahua called scooter. since i ride a scooter the name for my new friend was somewhat inevitable. meet my new pillion, harley.

i've now relocated the dog carrier in place of my top box. though removing the top box was an epic journey as some of you will appreciate.

Careful, Harleys can be unreliable overweight lumps that tend to leave damp spots wherever they are parked. I hear it all depends on their maintenance.

Cute little feller!

she's he's a cutey

more pics.

The HD does not leak, it gets wet because it is always horny.
The little dog is nice.

He could be the answer to the "How to secure your Vespa" thread.

she /is/ my fierce guard dog. be careful, she'll have your arm off.

now if i could just train her to put her paws out to indicate, and give biker nods.

Is her last name Quinn?

Likely... there's a hard look in those eyes.

Cute little gal!

Cutest Harley ever!!

My old chi girl used to love riding with me. She wasn't a huge fan of the Doggles, but it didn't take her long to associate them with going for a ride, so she grew to tolerate them. I didn't have a fancy case for her, but I did have one of those little pouches you wear on your chest that she sat in. I couldn't touch the thing if she was anywhere near it, or she'd go nuts until we went for a ride.

Just be warned that you may end up creating a monster...

One time, I spent the day at a friend's house a ways out of town to go look at a used bike nearby. Left my dog with the friend, went out to test and eventually purchase the bike, came back. I open the door, and my dog takes off--straight for the bike. She jumped up on the floorboards, and waited expectantly, because OBVIOUSLY that bike was now hers, and why the hell weren't we going anywhere on it yet‽ She had cats to bark at from high speed, dangit! I occasionally questioned whether she liked me or my scoots more.

This thread wins the internet today.

thanks for telling all of that. hopefully it bodes well for the adventure i'm just beginning here. harley doesn't like the doggles much. i think, like your dog, she will learn to associate them with good things. i have a sling that i often carry her in, and have considered using that on the bike. there is also a small canvas carrier that i could shackle into the footwell. the big dog carrier is kind of overkill for such a small dog. but i feel good about it. i'm considering finding a way to bolt a windscreen to either the carrier or the rack to give her some wind protection. when i had the carrier on the pillion seat she was more protected by my back. with it where the top box was she's a bit more exposed and it puts the weight pretty far back, but it means i can easily access the underseat and my riding position was too squished up with it on the pillion seat.

i anticipated having to teach her slowly to tolerate being near the bike. first with engine off, then with engine on. then being in the carrier while stationary. it turns out she took to it much more readily. we had used it for a bunch of car journeys to get her used to the carrier. we've only done a few rides with it on the bike but she was totally cool with it. standing up and looking around until the speed got too high. she certainly likes all the attention she gets whenever we park up somewhere.

i strongly hope to create the kind of monster you describe

Too cute!

Our little chidorkie (chihuahua, doxie, yorkie, and then some) loves to ride. She puts up with her doggles and "helmet" because they let her get facetime with the wind.

that is truly delightful. great to hear about other happy bike dogs and that picture is adorable.

That's a badass Harley! Does it have loud pipes?

it is a bit more high pitched than you might expect.

but it's also surprisingly fuel economical. it can go all day on a tiny amount of bio-fuel.

i can also confirm that my vespa is faster than my harley.

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I'm very curious about the rack between the feet. Do tell.[/img]

Higher pitch and economical... sounds like the Harley Sprint, which makes it Italian and therefore Vespa compatible.

*sigh*... I miss the Sprint line, you would think that Harley, who are so into their history, would look back at the Sprint and say something intelligent like: "Hello... we made a small, economical sporting motorcycle?... I wonder if that would appeal to the younger masses we hope to attract in hopes of saving the company" or words to that effect.

Ha!

I've got one of those racks, useful and pretty inexpensive from Vespa Motorsport in California, even taking freight to Ontario into account.

I've thought about getting one of those racks and strapping a pet carrier, like yours, to it. It would be less exposed and I could still pet the pup.

i got my footwell rack from classic racks here in the uk.

https://www.classic-racks.co.uk/

the dog carrier is the kuryakyn grand pet palace.

Helluva life-companion right there. (And I say that as a cat dude.)

This story reminds me of a couple I saw a few years ago, obviously enjoying their ride!

if i edit this post to change the title it won't mess up the comment thread, right? i just thought it might be good to make it clear from the title that this is a 'dogs on bikes' thread, since there are some lovely comments in here.

That won't cause any issues.

Harley is so dang cute and tiny! She needs her own biker dog Instagram account.

thanks. title updated.

harley has basically commandeered my twitter account (raettig) and my own instagram account (chrisraettig).

thanks for providing what i had been meaning to request with those additional photos. that's amazing. so happy to hear about other biker dogs. i see what you mean now about her walking up your arm.

harley is saving up for a harley davidson bandana. i wear a belstaff jacket on the bike. sadly it seems they don't make a dog jacket, though barbour do and that might make us seem more like a matching team.

clearly many more pictures to come as i get out and riding with her more. will also see if i can mount the gopro as a dog-cam.

i now have a vespa, a tent, and a dog. i plan to combine these things for some european touring.

Following!

If she is interested in following other Instagram riding pups check out frifrithemorkie and avadogge. Ava is my pup (we share the account ) and Frida is a club members pup.

I still don't see the Harley Davidson which is mentioned in the title, all I see is a lovely little dog.