Modern Vespa

Ah, that pesky thing known as "free will". We get to choose what we wear on our body and our head. I think one of the things that makes hi-viz effective is that it's not seen often. If everyone wore it, other drivers might become "used to seeing it" and it's effectiveness might be reduced. Sounds like we need a University study here to flesh out that idea.

I just look at my "wall of helmets" and decide what I feel like wearing each time I ride. It's usually something that I don't need to grab a step stool to reach.

That was the case with Melody (floor model, discounted), and Thelonica (purchased by someone as a gift, returned to dealer because recipient didn't like the color, sold to me at decent discount). Couldn't complain in either case.

This is why emergency lights & sirens on police cars, EMTs, & fire trucks are much more chaotic & obnoxious now compared to 10 or 20 years ago. People got used to it and would tune it out. Now they pretty much have to simultaneously blind, deafen, and induce a seizure for people to notice.

And sometimes all that gets ignored. Let's face it, some folks driving out there are absolute tools.

Curious which is your favorite between the two. Just from photos I prefer the matte.

Obey. Comply. Do as I say (not as I do). There is only one way. My way. Every other way is just variations of a less right way.


^ how to make a terrible, boring, awful fucking world.


brb, going to switch my V-Rod back to matte black just to keep OP up at night

Up until a few days after I rode Thelonica home, I was inclined to say that one bike was neat, the other, keen. But Nica has been growing on me rather quickly overall, even somewhat in the paint finish. Also digging the new wheel design.

Somebody did a study and the helmet color most easily seen by drivers is white....day or night.
The helmet is what drivers notice most, when they glance at us.
O.S.

I have always preferred a subtle color. It is an outrageously beautiful machine and an outrageous color IMHO takes away from that. I also very much like the contrast of the wheels with the finish on Nica. Again the subtlety of the matte makes the wheels stand out all the more. Just my opinion.

I think the same bike would also be excellent in white for the same reason.

And for those unfortunate to meet the asphalt - I heard EMT terms 'chin graters' (open face helmets), and 'neck snappers' (full face helmets).

More like warmed up spaghetti and sauce synonim to me.

That is for sure the case. Also sirens have to be ever louder because cars are ever better isolated.

I don't know but I think I prefer a chin grater over a neck snapper.

I like my teeth, chin & nose, open face helmets are dumb
Even my Bicycle helmet is full face

Don't forget nitrous to increase the safety even further...

Nitrous and black? Here it is!!

Here too. Used to be obsessed and enamored with all things dark, now going white. And a dark ninja look on a Vespa was never a great look.

Whenever I've been shopping for a new scooter I've vacillated between black and some other colour. I think a gloss black GTS is beautiful,but I've always bought visibility.

I don't wear full-face for protection from a wreck that may or may not happen. I wear a full-face moto helmet for the many, many other daily, practical reasons it offers.
It's quieter. Small bugs are obnoxious. It has mounting points for helmet speakers. Rain stings like a shower of needles. It keeps the wind out of my eyes. It keeps the dust out of my eyes. It keeps me from freezing in the colder half (now 1/3 or 1/4) of the year. Golf balls HURT. Gooey bugs are gross. Beetles are just as bad as rocks. Sunburn isn't fun. Cigarettes from the idiot car ahead give litt to no warning.

I don't wear full face anywhere else because dizziness from overheating makes you crash and bicycle mirrors generally suck.

The same logic follows my other gear choices. I don't use hi-viz florescent because it's sometimes safer not to be so easy to track through traffic, especially by the types of people that consider scooterists as "prey." Being instantly identifiable as a motorcyclist/scooterist off the bike can paint you (and your bike) as a target for multiple reasons. Also, not all of my riding gear is moto specific. I'm not independently wealthy.

Besides…I hate blue and I DESPISE yellow…for my stuff. I don't care if it's someone else's.

Perhaps ridden by this guy?

What model and model year is your Vespa? She's a beauty!

Billy Connolly is amazing...and so right.

Thanks mate, HPE Super Sport 2021, decals removed and replaced with my own.

Cheers

Did you add the red/gold racing sixties pin stripes? Look great.

My humble suggestion is to add the model year in your profile. Just type in the year before the model. Might help someone help you. Cheers.

I don't need any help, but thanks for suggestion . I actually help others here with decals and decorations on their Vespas, it's my little hobby I sometimes do in my free time.

My decals aren't from Vespa/Piaggio, they're totally custom. The stripes are 2 red (thick and thin) and a silver. No gold, as it doesn't go with anything else on my GTS.

Cheers.

That sounds interesting babola. Tell me more about decals and decorations you help with.

PM me with anything you want to know.

Here's a link to the new Honister shirt/jacket/whatever from Knox: https://www.urbanrider.co.uk/knox-honister-armoured-shirt-black.html

It's new and it sounds amazing. It's a "shirt" with Level 2 armor and a AAA abrasion rating. Comparing it to racing leathers seems ridiculous, but still, it's got to be pretty good. You can wear it under any old jacket you want, a blue blazer or a bath robe if you so desire, and you're very well protected. And on hot days, you can wear it alone and stay cool with all that nice mesh. Except it's BLACK! WHY?

It's a mesh jacket, meant to be worn on it's own in hot weather. Hot weather at night, maybe. Hot weather with lots of clouds, possibly. Hot weather in places where the sun never really gets high in the sky, even in July? Okay, if you say so. But hot weather under a cloudless sky, sitting at a stoplight, or waiting for a flagman at a road construction site near Sacramento, California (I got parboiled doing that once and almost passed out). At least give us one other option!

Can't even remember what this thread was excatly about , but

-my first bike was black. I learned that I rather ride than polish. Shiny black looks somewhat daft when it is never shiny. Never had a black bike since. Yet.

-obviously being unable to learn lessons, I once bought a shiny black car. Quess what? I learned that I rather drive than polish...

-it gets even funnier: the last car I bought is grey. Except you can't tell difference between this color and black. All my friends say it is black. My wife says it is black. It looks black. But it is dark grey - and looks always dirty, because...

I had to look this up because I seemed to remember from a Perception (Psychology) class it was green. Turns out, at least from this source, it is Yellowish-Green.

This sort of makes sense because construction safety clothing has changed from orange to yellow to yellowish-green over the years.

https://testbook.com/question-answer/human-eye-is-most-sensitive-to-which-color-in-the--6048873993283696f37e97f2#:~:text=%20Human%20eye%20is%20most%20sensitive%20to%20which,Green%203%20Yellowish%20Green%204%20Red%20More%20

As I just got a new lid, I can see my choise of colour(s) was not exactly a bullseye for the visibility