Modern Vespa

One month after buying my '20 GTS300 in August of '22, I loaded up the pet carrier and my Triumph backpack, kissed and hugged our two cats goodbye, shook my wife's hand, and headed out across the western Dakota prairies for St. Paul, Minnesota, 600 miles to the east.

I had reserved a motel room for the first and second evening at the 400 mile point in my home town of Pipestone, Minnesota, just about twenty minutes past the SD/Minn state line.

The idea was to get to Pipestone, stay the night, and get an early start on the remaining 200 miles to St. Paul around noon, solve the world's problems over coffee on my brother's front porch for a couple hours, then start the 200 mile ride back to Pipestone and my room for night #2, followed by another early rise on day three, a hearty and healthy McDonald's breakfast conveniently situated about one hundred feet to the south of the motel, and then start the 400 mile trek back to Rapid City, for a predicted total trip mileage of 1300 miles over the three days.

On the attempted '22 St. Paul trip, I was stopped short after the first day by an unexpected temp drop on what would have been day three down to the low 40's.

I was not prepared to ride a 400 mile day on day #3, so after breakfast in Pipestone at the beginning of day #2, I instead started back to Rapid City and made it back, unfrozen, that evening.

Disappointed for sure, but I did manage a commendable (to me, anyway) 840 miles over two days on a Vespa GTS300, so at least I did get the satisfaction of raising some motorcycle guy's eyebrows when I told them about my incredible scooter journey to Minnesota and back.

I am planning to re-do the trip this May, but I fully intend to get to St. Paul on mid-day #2 this time.

I'm not too concerned about the weather, and will leave with fresh, premium tires, a near new drive belt, fresh fluids all around....and a song in my heart.... probably 'Plastic Jesus'.

Several scenes from trip #1, September 2022...

Hope you told him you had to abort. Hate to think he's still out on the porch waiting for you.

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OH, CRAP!!!! I just KNEW there was something that I forgot to do...

They were starting to wonder what happened to me.

I love your brother's expression. I think he's on to you.

I love that tea-time for your brother involves backhoes & vicegrips. Now THATS a party.

He should have met you halfway on his motorized wheelbarrow. Does he use synthetic oil and 91 octane gas in that thing?

Besides his little backhoe, and dump truck, he has something like a dozen motorcycles stuffed into his garage(s), though he stopped riding any of them over a year ago, maybe two. He's partial to mid-eighties to mid-nineties Japanese sport bikes, which includes some quite tasty, stock, and pure machines, such an '85 Kaw Ninja 900, '86 Kaw Ninja 1000, a '90 Kaw ZX11, and a quite pristine '91 Suzuki GSXR 1100...among others.

He even still has the 1980 Yamaha XS1100 that he sold to me about thirty five years ago, then I sold it back to him, then he sold it back to me, and after a few years had passed, and many miles, I sold it back to him, and there it still is.

Funny how that works.

Not sure about the octane or oil for the motorized 'wheelbarrow' thing, but I think he might use it to run over to Menard's, buy a load of potting soil for his wife's garden projects, then, afterwards, take the grandkids for a fun ride around Como Lake in it.