Modern Vespa

Ha - perhaps. But I'm in the UK at present, so it seems you have restricted your post to only the US.

Yes, yes. I deleted my last post. Even though it was HILARIOUS, it bordered on political.

So we'll just leave it at that.

I went to look at a 2005 BMW R 1200 GS today with just 32,000 miles on it at a dealership.

It was too old to retail and so they'd advertised it on Ebay in the hope that they'd get more rather than sending it to auction.

It was looking good until I saw the infamous oil leak that blows out around the alternator cover and all over the sump.

When the Blue RT had that, some bolts were broken.

Maybe not.

Lost my right hearing aide today. Custom fit to my ears, expensive, Rt ear better than my Lf. Grrrrrrrr.

Had to get up a eight am today. Worse, I'll have to get up at 7:30 tomorrow. I'm often in the sack for at least a couple hours more.

The Air Canada strike is over which means my flight out of Italy is back on schedule this Thursday at noon.
Kinda hoping I'd be spending a few extra nights at my sisters place in Rome (when get there today)

The local Royal Enfield dealer is trying to push his leftover (out of current) 650 inventory out the door by offering 2022 and 2023 Interceptor and Continental GT models for an incredible $3995 (USD).

To put that price in perspective, I paid $5700 for my 2022 orange 650 Interceptor in that year, then fitted it out to my preferences for a total of $6500 into the bike, which included a factory rear luggage rack, low bars, bar end mirrors, and a replacement chrome and red fuel tank.

I'm only somewhat interested in buying another RE bike after owing a 500, Classic 350, and two 650's (Interceptor and Continental GT) but DAMN! that's a very good deal for a 'new' 650, with full three-year warranty.

It's pissing me off because the idea of getting such a bargain priced 650 motorcycle is almost irresistible, but doing so draws me off of the hunt for some other interesting bike besides another RE.

I'll decide what to do next Wednesday, 'buy', or 'fly'.

Stay tuned.


$3995?????...."Hootchie-Mama!

Cheap as chips Jack, would probably compliment the other bikes in your garage quite well, although a GTS310 would do so even more

But you've had the 650 experience and moved on so what are you going to recreate ?

Cheap doesn't make it good. It just makes it cheap.

Seeing a 2023 GTS with 700 mile for $5k less than 20 miles from me.

I'm attached to my 2015, but it's got 20k on it, cosmetically showing it's age a bit, had some engine issues in the past.

It's always been a " maybe some day I'll replace it issue." I've been "310- curious" but I've always been delighted with what I have.... and $10K

Maybe I should go for a ride...

Or look at it another way.

The Dealer, with all of its enthusiastic Sales Staff are still stuck with them even after all this time, so if you do encounter buyers regret you'll either have to die with it or sell it so cheap you'll lose a packet.

thats almost a disposable price. ride it for 3-4 years and let er go for 1k

FWIW, I expect it was a trade in...it's a generic powersports dealership, and at least around here it seems people fall for the charm of a scooter, don't ride it much for one of a dozen reasons, and move on to another toy. 4-wheelers are huge around here for example....

If I get a newer GTS it's likely my last anyway...unless I turn into our own Russ Bees who was out with us this summer after turning 90...

Yet again you haven't included a quote, so we have no fucking idea to whom you are responding. That's bloody rude to everyone trying to follow this thread. It's not all about >you<.

Final warning - next time you get a sizeable time-out.

Frickin' new music. If you can call it that.

I just saw a local show advertised at a college featuring someone called "Yung Gravy". It sounded so stupid I had to look.

I played one of his videos and gave it fifteen seconds before I hit the nope button.

There should be laws regarding crimes against music.

I know that I'm a dinosaur, but I mostly listen to music from the 1940s. That was real music, played and sung by people with skill and talent.

And not one word about beatin' hoes or killing cops.

Agree. It's now beyond annoying trying to work out who he's replying to.

Someone has been ejected from this thread for some reason. Again. Who or why is for you to figure out.

Ok, I won't pretend I have even heard of the band Mastodon let alone like them but the geezer made an appearance in Game of Thrones which is by far the best TV series ever.


Sounds like a BMW driver killed him through negligence whilst he was riding his Harley.

RIP Brent Hinds

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/21/brent-hinds-mastodon-dies-motorcycle-crash

Another SMIDSY.

Good safety tip:

I bought a new 300 GTS Supersport for the same reason a few weeks ago for €6099, which was a €2000 discount.
So, not because I needed it, but because it was a great price (a used 2-year-old one costs more).

And now I feel dumb for reading it as if it was for me.

While I'm here, and back on subject, I rode up to the guys that had the 2023 GTS. They let me ride it, and it's definitely smoother than my 2015. Nary a scratch on it, not surprisingly. The controls and keyless ignition were a bit of a put off, but I guess I'd get used to it.

I put a deposit (refundable) on the bike, rode home and immediately visited my old GTS. She's slightly ratty after a decade, but does everything I want. I was reminded of Bill Leuthold and his scooter Rocket, that he hasn't been able to part with...


I think the flirtation with the new (essentially) ride is insurance against the future. I wouldn't have clutch, steering and the inevitable unexpected maintenance over the next years. But there's no passion in it. But it's a good deal..that may not come this way for a while.

Hopefully I wake up with a revelation tomorrow....

The 2023 GTS is a wonderful scooter.

I rode Ghost, the 2023 GTS that Ken Wilson left for me, 1000 miles in the mountains of North Carolina over two weeks, returning last Sunday.

It was perfect, climbing hills with ease, great brakes and handling.

Monday, I chose Rocket, my 2006 GT that I have owned since new.

It is not nearly as fast, smooth or pristine as Ghost, but it just feels so good to ride.

Tuesday, I chose Vanessa, my 2007 GTS that ran well in the 2016 Cannonball.

It performs much like Rocket but even better at speed.

Both of the old ones are damaged on every body panel but are currently running perfectly.

They just feel right.

Saying this, I still highly recommend you go for the new GTS.

They are great scooters.

Bill

<sigh>

It's officially up for sale.

LINK

I've ridden that little bike since 2019 for over 5K miles. It's always been considered my "second" bike.

I need to stop forming emotional attachments to vehicles.

Thanks for weighing in, Bill. You of all people have a great perspective on balancing sentiment and scooter attributes. You're not great at parting with old scooters though. I find myself once again wishing I had a larger garage (Gabriela told me a while back that if I got another scooter we needed another house with a bigger garage...I circumvented that once, but here we are again. ). I'll have to sell the older one as I already know that juggling three scooters is just a bit much, both space and maintenance wise.

Life=complicated. I feel you.

it's pissing me off I didn't want to spend another 2 grand for the GTS in matte tan with those sweet black cockpit and awesome seat!

Easier said than done.

I currently own seven vehicles, not including my wife's seven year old Subaru Outback (that strangely cost almost exactly the same as all of my vehicles)

I have formed attachments to all of them.

1999 Mazda Miata, 10AE: Bought in 2007 and ran it in every Buccaneer Region Autocross for the next seven years. So much fun to drive, I smile every time I crank it up. Might even start autocrossing again.

2004 Toyota Tacoma: Bought in 2018 to haul scooters and a kayak. So sweet. Grossly underpowered, manual everything inside but it does everything I ask of it with a smile.

2006 Vespa GT: Rocket: Bought new in 2005, now at 110,000 miles. Runs great at the moment. Ran the 2014 Cannonball, could have won if it's rider wasn't so dumb.

2007 Vespa GT: Vanessa: Bought used in 2015, ran the 2016 Cannonball, finishing third. Rode it to the start of the 2018 Cannonball but had to drop out on day 2. Not Vanessa's fault. Sweet running GT that my wife calls a bitch.

2009 Yamaha Zuma 125: Given to me n 2019 by a friend who was emptying out his storage unit for a move to Missouri. Not really attached to this one but it is reliable and runs well.

2018 Yamaha Xmax: The Big Ugly: Bought new in 2018: Not loveable like the old GTs, but the most competent cruiser of the bunch. Great for long, multi day rides, even two up. Fastest and best fuel mileage (on regular) of the bunch.

2023 Vespa GT: Ghost: Given to me by Ken Wilson as he was leaving us two weeks before the 2023 Cannonball where it ran very well to the finish. The story of this one was featured in the documentary The Big Scoot, a fine scooter movie made by Corrie Vaus. Of course, this one will never leave me.

Having so many means that I have to choose which to ride every morning as I go to work and on the weekends.

They always run well when ridden. Leave them in the garage makes them cranky.

Bill

Edit: I did sell one last year. Razzo (Italian for Rocket) a 2005 Vespa GT that was in almost perfect condition except for a broken exhaust header stud, was sold to a good friend. He fixed the stud and now enjoys riding that fine machine. I was less attached to it than the others, and it needed that repair, so I let it go.

That's a clean machine for that price! I paid half that for a non-running one with a crapload of sun damage.

I decided it would be interesting to use AI (chatGPT) to help build a fantasy football draft plan this season.

It was more for the experiment than anything else. Plus I have been too busy to really put any effort into researching my own draft.

I entered all of the fantasy league data that I thought it would need, and at first glance it looked really good. I asked a ton of questions regarding the logic, which seemed solid.

It wasn't until after I drafted my 3rd round pick did I realize that AI was using outdated 2024 draft data.

Needless-to-say my draft was basically a bust.

What's even more infuriating is chatGPT will not take responsibility or accountability!

I don't want to be too rude to it, as we need to remain in good standing for when it becomes my overlord.

How stable is the dealership and where is the next closest one? Franchise motorcycle dealerships in the US are closing at the rate of about 2 a day, and that 3 year warranty on a bike that will likely have issues might not be the deal it seems. Does he have a decent stock of 2025 inventory? If he's dumping the New-noncurrents and isn't carrying much in the way of current inventory, that's something to factor into the equation.

The next closest RE dealership is located in Spearfish, South Dakota, approximately 35 miles from the competing Rapid City RE dealership.

The dealership is family owned, and has been in business in Rapid City since 1978, started as a Harley dealership, then sold it to others who still operate it as Black Hills Harley-Davidson.

They then became a Kawasaki/Yamaha dealership in the 1990's, and still are. They took on Royal Enfield as well about five years ago.

They are now a general Powersports dealership that, besides motorcycles, also sell and service ATV's and side-by-side off-road vehicles as well as personal watercraft.

My Tonsils. For like 4 weeks now. It might be time for them to go.

Bollocks.

There's 7 years bad luck.

should be okay strictly speaking, as the mirror itself isn't broken or damaged. Somehow the vibration of three days' drive (in a trailer, i didn't ride it) from Baltimore to Colorado worked the screw loose. Screw and lock washer were found along with the mirror which is still fine. Just gotta reinstall it (with mayhaps a lil dab of blue loctite).


Of course it's taking not only the back seat, but the back seat of a different car entirely to the mountain of other things that are a bigger priority lol.

Got it reassembled with a lil blue on the screw.

He's a poet - does he knowit?

A family member who is both older and in poor health asked for help in finding a Medical Alert device - one of those little GPS-powered thingies you wear on a lanyard or around your wrist like a watch - and which sense when you have had a fall or are incapacitated, and allow you to press a button which summons medical assistance, even if you can't talk. So I did a bit of research and it seems there are around half-a-dozen relatively large firms which offer these devices, and which consistently are among the most highly rated or recommended ones by folks who review consumer stuff - or organizations of older people - etc. So far so good... EXCEPT guess what? NONE of these companies who sell these items (all of which require monthly or yearly subscriptions, to keep them going) are willing to publish their prices. If you want to know how much one of them costs, you need to fill out chapter and verse and give them your home phone number & your email....so that one of their sales staff can have a go at you, and also so that you will henceforth begin receiving countless emails advertising their special sales offers.

To say that I'm somewhere between disappointed and disgusted would, sadly, be an understatement. Sigh....

Can Google or AI give you the answers you are looking for, without going directly to the company?

*That* is where having your own domain for email is so handy. You can invent a unique alias in that domain (email address) for every commercial company (jim.dodgycompany@wotmeworry etc) you make enquiries with. Then condemn that address to oblivion if they become annoying.