Modern Vespa

Tomorrow might be the kids last day of school, so I busted Bear out of hibernation and went on a trip to Valley Forge. It's a pretty well known place I hear.

Anywho with me riding my jetting high from yesterday I thought I'd do the same for Bear. Only I forgot my speedo is ded. I have a rpm/temp gauge on the shelf that I forgot to put on. So scrapped the jetting and just cruised. Passed by a Harley dude, when he got next to me at the light he smiled shook his head and said "man that little thing is QUICK!"

Hit 77mph twice. It's a hair raising experience.
She loves 6-8000k rpm in third gear. And with the short 4th I swapped in, the shift to 4th just adds to the fun.

Ha, sounds like a blast.

What tires are you running? If you don't already have Heidenau K-75s suggest you give them try . Can't beat them for stability at those speeds. You'll notice a big difference.

I think they're the SIP performance ones. I'll get those next time I need tires. I like being stable. Sometimes.

Yeah, get the K75's. They're my go-to for 8"s and they rock.

Meep meep

New York life insurance building, and the green beauty.

Out for adventure and shenanigans.

Shakedown ride to Mt Tam

Not Vespas, but a few Lammies left their houses this weekend.

Lammies rule!👍 How many were there? A little over 60?

More like 75 right there, but that's also less than half the total. It's just people staying at the main hotel/lodge. There are also a bunch of cabins as well as people staying entirely off-site because the venue (Red River Gorge State Park) isn't large enough to fit everyone.

Whole lotta scooterists, for sure.

Last trip, I wandered off the road the gps wanted me to take, and I discovered a new castle, a lake, and a field with friendly gals who seemed very intetested in the sound of my 221. I'm guessing it reminded them of a machine they associate with feeding or milking, because they started running towards the scoot as soon as I stopped to take a pic. I like cows, and not just medium rare with burgundy sauce!

Your adventures and pics are the best! Thank you

Was this like a nationwide yearly event, or just a casual get-together among Kentucky and neighboring states scooterists? The numbers are amazing. I've only been to a few Lambretta events in France (riding there, btw), but the numbers are confidential in comparison. And we're right next door to the country these were originally made!!

. If that was for me, thank you!

Most definitely for you Frank!

After my morning ride with Oxymoron I went home and ate and sat for about 5 mins before boredom kicked in. Family went to Brooklyn for a birthday party so I was home alone… got back on Bluey and packed my hammock and took off for what turned out to be an 44 mile ride to French Creek State Park and back so 88 miles total ish. Took an hour long nap and drove to get gas as I had to turn on reserve about 10 minutes from the park. After a few stalls while riding due to the low gas level I made it to a gas station. Gave her a gallon and oil and shook her up. Drove off and got a little ways away before another stall. This one was idiot error, for some reason after the fill up, I switched it from reserve to off instead of on. Duh! Guy at the station chatted about my bike while I filled up, until I guess his wife yelled at him to get going. Then cruised for a bit with 2 Harley's on the way home, they were amazed Bluey could keep up on the road we were doing 60-65 mph on.
Made the perfect decision there. The roads once you get out of Norristown and gorgeous and a blast to ride on. Some gentle twisties, some fun hills, some not so fun hills (the down hills with tight turns at the bottom kind of not so fun hill) and most importantly long uninterrupted riding. Bluey did amazing, she sings at 57-58mph.
Max temp was 267° during miles of half throttle cruising.

10 outta 10 would do that ride again.
Total mileage today was around 106 miles.

Sunday rider.

Out with a beautiful lady!

That was the national rally for the Lambretta Club USA (LCUSA), which is held every summer on a rotating regional basis (West, Central, East). It gets somewhere in the neighborhood of 150-175 participants every year. We had people from all over the US, including some clubs up in Oregon who drove (trailered) all the way there.

It was a great weekend and my club took a couple of awards, with me claiming the "Farthest Ridden" award, because we drove to about fifty miles away on Wednesday night, then I got up and rode the rest of the way on Thursday morning--and I was the only person who rode to the rally, so I won by default!

I'll have to do a proper trip report in the next few days, but it's a great event every year and of course most of the attendees also have a Vespa or two in their sheds.

Market mornings

Went to this year's Smoky Mountain Smallbore Rally with 2 friends, and took my Stella. Since my last pics I have swapped to LML amber/black turn signals which really help the 80s-ish look I'm going for. I really like the hexagonal diffuser pattern in the fronts!

Also pictured:
-My 2001 Honda Helix
-Friend 1's Italjet Formula 50 (Polini Corsa 70cc, Polini CP19 carb, Polini CVT variator and Malossi Fly clutch)
-Friend 1's 2002 Yamaha Vino 50 (Athena Hyper Race 70cc single ring, Malossi RHQ crank, Polini CP21 carb, Malossi multivar variator + Stage6 torque control Mk2 clutch, +8% final drive, Yasuni C16 exhaust)
-Friend 2's Piaggio Typhoon 50 (All stock except for a Polini sport pipe and upjet)
-Friend 2's 1989 Yamaha Zuma 50 (All stock except for a Polini Sport 70cc kit and variator)

Day one of the Moto Melee complete. 5 min delay in the afternoon to change out a flat.

Shitboxin'

Enquiring minds want to know why there's a black shoe on your seat. Or is it a glove (which only occurred to me now but would make much more sense)?

Glove!
But it does look like some hobo footwear at a glance.

Did some fine tuning on my carb today. Couldn't pass up the wall of bougainvillea.

Bougainvilleas...pretty but thorny. I've lost a lot of blood to those suckers!

Awesome picture Rob...

A road loved

Gorgeous. That looks similar to the backroad out of Los Alamos that runs into the 246. One way to Lompoc, the other goes to Buellton.

Day 2 done without drama

Looks like a great trip Patrick! What distance/days/area?

Also, the last few pics of that Rally have been missing cowls. What's the story with that?

Rural Hancock and Shelby County, Indiana.

Okay...you can't just post a roadside picture of a conversation with a cop and no explanation. I know it's in the MV rules, I just don't have my copy handy.

Fashion police?

Northern California about 300 miles per day.

The rear pin on the left cowl needs attention and I've been chasing an issue with a sticky throttle, so easier to leave the cowls at home

Also had a good turnout of scooters this year

"What seems to be the problem, officer?" Yeah, looks like we all want to know!

Yesterday I went out for a quick trip to the countryside to get some pizza, and I got pulled over for the first time in ages, right on the freeway circling Paris. I was riding as usual, splitting lanes and going slightly faster than car traffic (nothing really notable), so I didn't necessarily think the blue lights and the siren creeping up behind me were for me. I moved out of the fast lane and slowed down thinking they would zoom past me on a call, but they pulled up next to me, and the passenger cop told me to get off the freeway at the next exit. I complied, all the while insulting myself for all the stuff they were going to find: no vehicle inspection (a new obligation we can thank EU overreach for), riding during a smog alert with an unauthorized (read: older) vehicle, the bald rear tire (I've been holding off on changing it because I'd like to change the shock at the same time, and YSS has been slow to validate the brand-new swishy shock I bought from them).

Turns out they were only interested in the riding twice the (ridulously slow) speed limit, the tailgating, and the "aggressive" driving (allegedly ). The cop did open the convo with "you've got a nice vehicle and all that, but..." and then listed the offenses they saw me commit getting onto the freeway, pointing out tickets could be upwards of 300€; but most importantly told me to be more cautious, and to be on my way. I said "thank you" with more relief in my tone than intended, and rode off like I was on my driving test.

Note to myself: just change the damn tire already!

I hope you got away with just a public decency warning.

This is the Vespa Lifestyle way!! Nice work racking up the offenses, and avoiding the expenses.

You might be on to something there. These guys are probably used to dealing with idiots on T-Maxes and mp3 500s with Akrapovic exhausts slaloming obnoxiously through traffic, to the point they have their own profile now.

On the other hand, a guy on an old vespa who actually pulls over when asked to? Probably like thinking of giving a ticket to an old grandma for not putting on the blinkers to turn into the church parking lot: it's just not done I like that as a motto!

Its so true! maybe the new unofficial scooterboy motto!

feel free to add it as a tag

I'll probably stick with the classic, "ride scooters. Do crimes," personally, but I'm also good with the new addition to the lexicon.