Modern Vespa

I almost messed up big time. It was a beautiful day on a country road with no traffic for miles. I came up to a sharp 90 deg. RH turn, slowed down, counter steered, looked far to the right to my destination, and leaned through the turn. It was perfect. As I accelerated out of the turn, thinking how well I had just made that corner, I glanced down at the instrument panel for just 1/2 second. I don't remember if I was looking at speed or time, but when I looked back at the road I was only two inches from the edge and there was a three foot drop off into a ditch. It scared the $hit out of me. I wasn't going fast, but it definitely would have ruined my day and messed up my beautiful Vespa. I hope I have learned a lesson that will stay with me every minute of every ride, and I hope you will learn from my mistake. Stay safe out there...complacency kills.

Wise words. It only takes a split second of inattention for potential disaster to strike.

Indeed it does, riding instructors will always say look as far ahead as possible to give you maximum information and time to adjust but the amount of times I've come round a corner or bend and looked ahead to see whats coming up then bang I've gone straight over a pot hole/rut in the road. 😒

grouper,

I think this has happened to most of us. Part of the luck or no luck
on two wheels.

Thanks for sharing.

Bob Copeland

looking at the dash is damn distracting.

an interesting thing I've found on my Supertech is that the smaller speedo which is higher up (and to the left) is easier to read with my full face helmet and multifocal glasses as I don't have to tilt my head forward as much. so for this reason I always ride with my screen in the nav layout even when not using nav.

the other thing I do with my supertech combined with my app and bluetooth helmet is have it beep at me when I'm going over speed. handy.

I fully understand where you are coming from as having done the same thing in the past, it takes such a short time when not completely paying attention. Let's all be happy and be safe.

I think the learning point of this event is don't take your eyes off the road for any reason till you've completed a turn and know the path is clear ahead. Glad you survived. Thanks for posting! These quick anecdotes help to cement concepts in one's mind. And like Bob said, we've all done it or something similar ourselves.

Miguel

Funny you should bring this up: for me, the TFT dash is somehow less distracting than the "hybrid" panel on my '15 GTS, since I find it a bit easier to take a split-second glance at my speed (which is the only important stat while underway; all the other stuff can be ascertained while stopped). I also appreciate that they didn't try and jam as much info as possible into this panel, unlike way too many big bikes currently on offer.

But:I treat the instrument panel like my mirrors: a quick glance, but what's most important is the road ahead.

Excellent post. When I make a turn, the most important thing to me is clean dry pavement and no obstacles. That's why I rarely ride at night. I think Sticky went down because of oil in the road. I remember posts about roundabouts in Europe can have this problem.

Whats a pothole?

I saw a pothole today

Steelbytes,

If I had a system beeping at me when I exceeded the speed limit, it would be
beeping all the time.

You can pretty much drive at least 5 miles over the posted limit and not get stopped by
police in Frostbite Falls Minnesota.

I am not a aggressive driver. Age 73, I have had one speeding ticket in the
57 years I have been a licensed driver. The speeding ticket was in Wyoming
for 3 miles per hour over the limit. The police in Wyoming use fines from speeding
tickets to fund local municipalities. I actually asked the police officer if he was
serious about 3 miles over the limit. Mailed in the fine later.

Not so in Minnesota. It is now illegal to use traffic fines to fund the local city.
Consequently, local police no longer have quotas and speed traps have disappeared.
Conversely, if you are stopped for +10 miles over the posted limit the fine is huge.

It seems on my scooter, I am usually under the posted limit.

Bob Copeland

It has a configurable amount over before it beeps. Also have a configuration setting to allow for the inaccuracy of the speedo.

Iirc there's a small tolerance when tickets are issued, think it's like 3kph or some such painfully small amount

Steelbytes,

There also was some concern about the accuracy of speed detecting radar
used by law enforcement here in the USA. Unconfirmed, but I think this
led to officials going after those clearly over the limit. I also think this
speed detection technology has improved.

Many have posted, and you are right the speedo on two wheeled vehicles
can be off as much 5 mph above 30 miles an hour. So, I am usually
under the posted speed limit.

Bob Copeland

It seems that every time I take my eyes off the road while riding in the city, I look at something interesting to the side, then look back ahead to see brake lights and me getting too close to the car in front.

Pay attention out there.

Bill

So true... my only drop ever was due to an oily spot on a roundabout in Tuscany.

Once I gotten used to a scoot/bike - (usually takes about 100 miles or so), the only times I take my eyes off the road is when I'm stopped. The speedos aren't all that accurate anyway.

Silver Streak,

I was fortunate enough to spend four years in Southern Italy
and rode my Ducati 350 in every small town I could find.

Those classic hamlets had old cobble stone paved roads
with years of donkey crap and cow crap on them. They
were slick as ice. So, I became very cautious entering these
wonderful beautiful places. Even then, I knew I was lucky
to visit these towns. I slowed way down and usually stopped
for a coffee. Once, my back slipped out, but I was slow enough
to recover.

When I stopped for coffee in the town square. The local mayor,
local priest, and carabinieri (police) would also be having coffee.
They would ask me to join them. What a great experience.
I spoke a measure of Italian and could enjoy the exchange.

If I stayed over night, I would ask the carabineri if I could
leave my Ducati with them. Theft was always an issue.
I did this twice. Great memories. That was 50 years ago.

So, yes the roads can be slick.

Bob Copeland

very cool Bob

Silver Streak,

Here are another culprits that made those Italian roads a
bit slick with their do do.

Bob Copeland

Bob I should come to Amerivespa just to meet you.

Bob, you must have some wonderful memories of 1970's Italy, I bet you had some of the best times of your life living there.

Back then the southern regions of the country were so very poor. There were no EU money handouts in those days and poverty was everywhere. The economy (and wealth) was all centered in the North of the country. Apparently it was decades after WW2 before the bombed-out streets of Scilly were finally repaired.

Touring300,

Wow, you are really informed about Italy 1970. Everything below Rome was agricultural
and very poor. My friends back in the USA could not believe it when I would tell
them the place had not yet recovered from WWII.

North of Rome was different. Also, when I went back to Italia with my blushing bride
on our honeymoon in 1981, the Southern Economy had improved immensely.

Back then, and probably still today, the local folks were amazingly open, friendly and
welcoming. I found out, in part, this had something to do with everyone's 3rd cousin
had immigrated to the USA. In discussion, they didn't know where Minnesota was,
so I just told then it was near Chicago. Chicago they knew.

I was US Navy a shore on staff at a NATO base just North of Napoli. Every
available moment off duty, I would ride that Ducati and explore the old country.
Yes, some of the best experiences.

Here with a few more of those 50 year old photos.

Bob Copeland

Damn, Bob: Every time you put up photos and reminisce, my mind is blown again. Yet another of the almost too-many reasons I hit this site multiple times a day.

amateriat,

Thanks for your thoughts. I have mentioned in earlier posts that I was shooting
my 35mm camera 50 years ago using slide film (cheaper to develope). For a
Xmas gift, my son converted all these old slides to digital - I have them on my
computer. Some picture quality is lost in the transfer to digital from
a photo slide projection.

Here are a few more street scenes in and around Naples from long long ago,
far far away.

Bob Copeland

I grew up in Boston which has a large Italian American population. Many were directly from Italy and they spoke little English and when they did, it was heavily accented in Italian. When I was a child there was an Italian man that drove slowly thru our neighborhood in an open top Jeep and a hand grinder mounted in the back for sharpening knives. He rang a dash-mounted bell so people knew he was around. Your photo reminded me of this distant and long buried memory. Thanks. Keep posting them. They are fabulous.
Miguel

I loved the photos Bob. You reminded me, I have my dad's old slides and I need to buy a converter and send the digital files to my 3 sisters.

Target fixation on a pothole, oil patch, etc. will ensure you HIT IT, not avoid it!

Always look through the turn, opposite of target fixation. I popped over the hill on a rural road doing ~45MPH to a guardrail and a really hard left turn (small radius). I thought for sure I was going to end up smeared on the guardrail. I cranked my head over to look at the next hillcrest and leaned that KLX-250S over so hard I was concerned about losing traction on the rear tire (D606 street knobby) or scraping footpegs (about 13 inches off the ground!).

I still don't know how close I came to the guardrail or how I made it through that turn but, I did! That MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) paid off big time that day!

sidpost,

That was the number one thing I took away from taking the safety
riding course. Turn your head. look where you want to go and
the scoot does the rest.

Saved my bacon on at least two occasions.

I had ridden for years. This course was very worth while.

My impute for all of us. Take it easy on curves, do not follow
close, and do not be aggressive unless powering out of danger.
Also, expect that every car at intersections will pull out in front of
you. They are not use to a two wheeled vehicles visual
signature.

I am not paranoid, but each time I mount my scoot, I think, is the
time I get wacked. I then drive appropriately.

Bob Copeland

Bob, first, thank you for sharing the great pictures. Excellent documentation of how things were. Yoy have nice, human touch as a photographer!

On riding: 'Also, expect that every car at intersections will pull out in front of you. They are not use to a two wheeled vehicles visual
signature' - I follow this rule to the extend, that if I don't get strong enough confirmation on what's going in the car driver's head, I'll slow down. Even to walking speed, if it still appears that the driver doesn't see me. Small effort for me, quite likely have saved my bum a few times.

I always try to remember to change my line in the road when seeing vehicles that could pull out in front of me which makes me far more visible to them.

I also learned on a Police led Bike Safe Course is to not look at the drivers eyes to see if they are looking at you but concentrate on their wheels instead so any movement from them and it's time to get on the brakes.

You want distraction? This is what many riders have in front of then all the time. We face more and ore distractions and the key is to focus on what is in front of you and glance down when you can/need to. Most of us that have ridden for a long time can tell how fast we are going within a few KMs on a bike we've owned for a bit.

As RRider said and many of us do always expect the car at intersection making a turn to not see you.