Modern Vespa

Tessitura is what I would name my scooter, if I were to name my scooters with female-sounding musically-sourced names with Italian origins.

Except that I don't name my scooters. The manufacturers did that already and spent more time thinking about it than I ever would.

(Except Kymco. Their names are awful. I would rename a Kymco for sure. "People"? "Like"? "Filly"? "Bet and Win"? "Yager"? Come on.)

Allegretto !

a tempo between moderately slow (Andante) and fast and lively (Allegro)

I rented a Kymco Grand Dink once.

"Yager" sounds bad, but it was branded "New Dink Euro 3" across the pond. That one just rolls right off the tongue.

Yeah, I have two. Honda Accord of scooters. I also have a Super Fever, a K-Pipe, a Bet & Win and a Spade.

At least the Spade sounds decent. Back in Taiwan, it's an A.I.R. 150, which is short for "An Independent Rider".

Me either. I've never named any of my vehicles. And I always used Vespa as both a noun and verb. For example, "I'm going to Vespa to the hardware store." I do that with my BMW MC too. Miguel

Well, that was quick.

"Just order it, now." Those words were uttered by Le Wife, about an hour ago, while we were at Indian/Vespa/You Know The Rest of Monmouth, where I was ostensibly just picking up a copy of the invoice for the Malossi shocks I had them install on Melody early this year as an upgrade; I needed a copy to send off to the talking-lizard folks to be added to the amount to be paid out in the wake of her being totaled. Wife figured that between the oncoming Omicron Shuffle and such, supply of everything, bikes included, would get worse before improving. Turns out she was right: they're getting exactly one SuperTech in relatively soon, among a trickle of other Vespas, and now that one has my name on it

Then she espies a red GTS in the corner, with a top case. "Maybe a red one for visibility?"

"Wouldn't have helped much", I answer. "Besides, that's 'Arrest Me' Red, right?"

Everybody chuckles. Shop owner recalls having a red car not long ago, and ultimately getting rid of it because, yes, he was getting stopped a bit more often than usual, almost always for the tiniest of infractions.

"Well", she says, pointing to the top case, "you need one of these, right?"

"Actually, I'd rather spend the money on heated grips." (Gets added to order.)

"You sure?"

"Yeah. And the speed ring for the rear wheel." (Gets added to order.)

(Damn…forgot about the Flyscreen. Probably get one from SIP like last time.)

I explain that I can always add a top case, and quite easily at that, while the heated grips and speed ring will be a lot easier to deal with if the dealer installs them from the get-go. It'll also get a battery-tender cable. (Hell…better call 'em back about the sight-glass-equipped oil pan too.)

And, about that name...

Ah, Thelonious Monk * Tips hat*. One of the greats.

Never gave naming a motor vehicle much thought, until I saw the dedication you posted above. Indeed, there are worthy names out there. 😀

B flat probably isn't a good choice either.



Miguel

Definitely not B flat, but B# works nicely!! My plug is for Allegro. Or Alegre, which means happy in Spanish. Enjoy and congrats.

Enjoy the new scooter!! Nica for short I guess!

Indeed it will be!

And of course, their "Grand Dink" ("Grandvista" in the US market).

Ooofff ... Like many you are giving too much importance or consistency to Italian customs, we are less complicated people than what is said around.

Hi Amateriat, Really glad you've come out of this relatively unscathed, The GTS has made a great job of protecting your legs etc. the following observation is not a criticism of your comment in the quoted post, just an elderly riders opinion , you mentioned your wife pointed you to the bright Red GTS & said it may be more visible & I read your reply that you didn't think it would'nt have much in your accident, with all due respect, a Black GTS & essentially Black clothing are not the ultimate in catching a vacant Drivers attention & a Hi Viz Vest & Bright Yellow or White GTS, may well have helped, or not depending on the extent of the Vacantness.

O.R.: Point very well-taken. I'd gone back-and-forth on this quite a bit, and my decision to go with my aesthetician's eye with the SuperTech comes from anecdotal experience:

- Up until this most-recent incident, every serious accident I've experienced on two wheels, with and without an an engine, has occurred in broad daylight. The second-worst crash I encountered was in fact on a bicycle (my then-beloved Bridgestone XO-1, frame color "Construction Pumpkin", the official color of traffic cones in Japan), broadsided by, of all things, a U.S. Army recruitment staff car; the S. Sergeant at the wheel was changing lanes, and violently shunted me, sending me literally flying. Just as in my recent crash, I miraculously emereged with only assorted cuts and bruises. Besides the bike's frame color, I was wearing a multi-color helmet with the requisite reflective bits, riding jacket, and riding gloves (which, while fingerless, helped prevent my palms from becoming hamburger on pavement). The driver's excuse? Same old same-old: "I didn't see you."

- After my accident in May of this year, and months of Melody being holed-up at the dealer's service dock awaiting replacement parts, she was back on the road, with, among other replaced bits, a new front fender, sans reflectors, and the thing looked so nice as-is, I decided to keep it that way, in spite of something in the back of my mind telling me to have the holes drilled out and new reflectors popped in. A mistake on my part? I'll never know, but I'm glad the new ride will have them, and I have no intention on removing them.

- Speaking of said new ride: It will have better head/tal lights (LED), which I'm truly happy about: I'd been brooding over upgrading Melody's headlight to one or another LED setups around this Spring; Thelonica will arrive fully-equipped on this front, among others.

- Outerwear: The helmet I was wearing at the time of the crash this month was, ironically, the most-colorful I've ever had. The last two lids I had were monochromatic, so possibly less attention-getting. Next helmet will be as colorful as this last one, and I'll be looking at brighter-colored jackets. But I have to be real about all this: I could be lit like the Times Square Ball on New Year's Eve and have some distracted fool in an Escalade flatten me all the same:

(I was walking to the Asbury train station this morning, and, crossng the street on a green light, some bad boy in his bad-boy monster Merc roared up and made a nonstop right-on-red directly in front off me. Pretty certain he saw me crossing, but didn't give a flying Farquhar–he whipped 'round the corner, parked his car [quite sloppily…clearly couldn't parallel worth a damn, not surprise], and slowly jaywalked his way across the main drag to a store. Should I retroactively designate this December as Rodney Dangerfield Month?)

In regards to the lighting, have you considered LED running lights? Four extra lights increase visibility in any situation, especially from the front when the handlebars are turned.

Yep, thought about those as well: will likely have them put on before too long.

I Love your wife, she's my new very best friend!