Modern Vespa

Got another great ride around the New England home turf and then promptly came home and took apart the front end![/img]

Well day 2 of the mini-moto race started off strong. i put in a first shift of 1 hour and 10 minutes, putting us up to a 9 lap lead for the overall. by the 3 hour mark-red flag-course change, we were still in the lead with a 2 lap lead. Since our bike could do over an hour on a full tank while others had to refuel, our strategy was to just make up lost laps with longer shifts....that was until my competitive side got the best of me. About 20 minutes into the 2nd half, I could hear one of the faster guys on my rear tire for atleast 10 laps, and instead of just keeping a consistent pace, I kept pushing harder and harder until I pushed too hard. Overshot the fastest turn on the track and went into grass and dumped the scooter...and breaking my wrist. I had my team focus on getting my scooter back on the track which they did (only a twisted headset) and back out they went. We finished 1st in class still and 4th overall. My motor ran absolutely flawlessly for 6 hours of straight (9,000 rpm) abuse, the VMC Molle clutch started to fail at high rpm towards the end of the race, operating normally shifting at normal speed/rpms but impossible to pull the lever at high rpm. still was manageable enough to finish the race. Once I fix my wrist I'll try to see what was going on, but besides that, my 1st motor build took the abuse like a champ!! watch the video below to hear her scream, and 2 angles of my wreck.

Well done man. Despite the tumble on the grass you ran a great race. Be interested to hear more details. about the engine.

I don't even aspire to that level of technical riding, but holy crap are you able to lean that thing over.

Sorry about the wrist, hopefully it'll be a relatively quick recovery.

Lucky it was "just" your wrist. You were still carrying a fair bit of speed when the bike stopped carrying you! Awesome fun.

thanks for the nice words guys. that turn for that track layout was the fastest part of the track, and obviously wasnt braking in the grass on slicks...so even though it was a basic dump and roll, i hit the ground pretty hard. that being said, most of the european tracks are much faster so im still lucky it happened here haha. the take away here is maturity, dont let the faster guy behind you push you beyond your limit, he will pass if/when he can. that being said, i encourage anyone whos curious about racing to do it. we all build these "performance" scooters but never really let them perform. just because youre at the track dosnt mean you need to be fast, you can ride it slow and work your way up. or the corsa, everyones comfortable doing 60-70 on public roads, thats all the corsa is! racing is the coolest thing you can do on 2 wheels, even if youre not trying to be the fastest, atleast be YOUR fastest.

If I broke my wrist on a track, it might be a fatal injury, as my wife would probably kill me when I got home

^ this

Says the guy who rolled in from ROM with two broken ribs and a punctured lung, yet lived to tell the tale.

They fixed the sign at my favorite liquor store so now I'll be able to find it in the dark, too.

Diggity!

And the GL is looking good, too!

agree, the GL has a great vibe. really nice job on that chandler.

Gracias!

I've been riding it every day and other than being a little rich and something weird with the kickstart that started at the exact same time as the piston replacement.

Basically, it seems like the clutch is slipping sometimes when I kick it over, but only when fully cold. It doesn't always happen, and can vary from one kick to the next.

The clutch seems fine, but maybe I'll have a look at it just to be sure. It's an original BGM Superstring.

Lucky for me, it push starts without issues.

You sure it doesn't have aspirations to be a Lambretta?

The Lambretta may be giving some bad vibes.

Nah. If that was the case, it wouldn't push start either.

Truer words...

Hmmm. Looks like a job for a theoretical physicist. If I was pressed I'd guess too much quantum gravity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstring_theory

Yeah, right now, it's Schroedinger's Clutch: since I haven't opened the clutch cover, it can be both working and broken at the same time.

I haven't laughed that hard it quite a while. You should think about a side gig in comedy.

Took a good 2hr ride up into Ct to check out my friend's new house under construction. Looks out over the Naugatuck River in Torrington. SS ran like a top but my butt's sore. I like the seat but not so much for four hours....

That's a heck of a view!

It was purely coincidental that I parked it in line with the sun. Didn't even notice until I posted the pic.

Mode of transport and portable sundial. Bonus.

This is Southern California style

Incredible. The angles and curves are perfect. Well posed.

I've never wanted to own one, but I absolutely love low riders as an intersection of art, culture, and engineering.

I think this is required posting right now:

Ok…

You won this thread. We can all go home now.

Getting in on the mural action.

We had a thread somewhere that was just scoots in front of murals, didn't we?

Yes, here it is ... I think.

LINK

A little Saturday morning, dolly and hammer work and back out on the road…

Nice recovery. Way to get right back in that saddle

And I LOVE that mural, too!

Yeah cool vibes for sure. I keep meaning to bend an elbow there but haven't been yet.

Wow! Im a little late but glad you're good and the scoot is still roadworthy. Ride on!

I've never seen the video by War but "Low Rider" has been my ring tone for years.

Oh yeah! Just goes to show you can't keep a good man down. Kudos!

A friend and I rode from the West edge of CT (Bethel) to the East (Stonington) on Friday following what I call lower case roads. Absolutely gorgeous day and fantastic scenery through some of the earliest settled towns in the country. The highlight was crossing the Connecticut River on the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry, the second oldest operating ferry in the country. The oldest is up the river at Rocky Hill.
We came back a different, more circuitous route and got home Sunday afternoon. Both bikes ran very well aside from what I believe is a busted cush in my friend's Rally. I wish I had a more comfortable seat for these long rides...

I came out early Friday morning and found a Katydid sitting on the cowl of the Motovespa which I had put on the trailer the night before. You don't see them very often and I figured 'he'd' blow off once we got under way. I drove the 20 miles to my friend's place to start the ride and, low and behold, the little guy's still there on the rear of my bag. When we stopped in New Haven for some coffee we found he was now on the frame under the front of the seat. When we reached my friend's house in Stonington he had made the whole trip with us. We took some time to relax and decided to go to the harbor in town to jump in the water. He was now perched up on the rack and when we got back to the house he was still there. The next morning he was gone. I hope he likes his new coastal environment.

Nice stuff! Both those bikes are just gorgeous.

Church of Lambretta.
Gimmie that ol' time religion.
(Or something like that.)