Modern Vespa

Sad that van cafe years ago sold the business

We made a lot of items for the Vw models

The Deadwood Bighorn Bachelor Club was busy this morning mowing the winter grass on the city's rodeo ground field.

Painted the inside of headlight housing flat black before headlight installation

Now work out how to get the full test! I've just spotted they re-introduced progression through the categories, though you need to take a new practical each time. Best to go direct to A though, even if you do automatic only.

https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped/bike-categories-ages-and-licence-requirements

I don't understand why, but there are people in a FB group asking how I have done this & that it's against the law to do a CBT on a bigger bike. It's not the first time I have heard of this being done, so I don't understand what the problem is. Surely it's at the discretion of the training centre & the instructor? I rode it round the training pad & private road network a few times to show I could handle the bike okay, so I don't get what the issue is. 🤔

When did you get your car licence? The rules change according to <2001 or <2013.

I have never had a car license, just a provisional with A & AM codes on it.

Ah! Looking at the photo, you took the CBT on a training school bike - so are you going for the A2 or full A?

I did the initial training exercises on my own bike, & the instructor asked me if I wanted to do the main road bit on the bigger cc bike, which was theirs.

This was basically a CBT retake as my 2 year certificate had run out, but I told them I was planning on doing my full A auto test this year. They saw how competent I was with the bigger engine on the training road network before we even set wheels on the main road, so it's down to them, surely?

TO ADD: If you're old enough for the engine cc, it's entirely up to the instructor. The bike has L plates on it. Definitely not against the law. Suck it lol

EDITED: To add a few screenshots...

Plonkers!

And full marks for getting the training/testing done.

Then consider Bikesafe and then IAM training, all very good fun and you learn a LOT.

Thank you so much. After being awake for about 20 hours, I can now sleep soundly.

Living in a winter wonderland cheers me up!

I am a board certified luddite and as almost everyone has moved on from CDs I, in fact still listen to cassette tapes.

I have a Sony Walkman WM-D6 which is considered to be one of, if not the best Walkman ever made. One in good working condition sells for $450-$500 and the price is going up all the time. Just a few years ago you could get one for ~$300.

I came to the conclusion that I was unlikely to ever use mine again so I listed it on eBay. Mine can't be considered to be in good working condition. It has issues that will have to be addressed before it can be used but there are people that specialize in this particular model. I listed it for $250. Someone who knows how to repair it could fix it for just a few dollars and resell it for a considerable profit or someone to buy it and have it fixed for ~$100.

What's cheering me up is that it was sitting up for sale for almost a month. I thought it might not sell at all but today someone offered me $235 for it and I accepted. I get some money. Someone will repair it and get a good machine for a good price and best of all it will be saved and go back into service.

Everybody wins.

A good ride... decent coffee & cake... a lovely lunch... & good company. That's it really.

Tiverton > Crediton > Exeter > Starcross > Dawlish Warren & back again... & mostly dry!

Today is Christmas II.. go Patriots!

Just booked my motorcycle theory test... it's a week on Wednesday... no biggie lol

Not specifically pertinent, or very relatable to this forum, but yesterday was another 60 degree day (F), and In spite of my current sciatica troubles, I bucked up and maneuvered that 700 pound Triumph Rocket out of the garage for the first time in over a month, and rode it the 35 miles up to Deadwood for coffee, and returned in halfway decent shape.

I didn't bother to commemorate the event with a photo, but did, at one point, remind myself as to how quickly that damn thing can kiss, as the rockers used to say ...'The Tonne'.

All is good..almost...and I was cheerful.

Mission accomplished.

Sometimes it's the little things that tickle us the most: my favorite recliner was getting to be a real struggle to recline, and even harder to get back upright.
My partner advocated for tossing it in the trash - my favorite and most comfortable seat!
Last night, the idea bulb went on in my exhausted brain. Not full brightness, but enough. Maybe it needed a lube job. So, today we tipped it upside down, and I found four nylon rollers with ball bearings in them. They were totally gunked up with old grease and dirt.
So, a little cleaning, a few spritzes of lube, and the chair works like new! And - best part - it stays where it is, right by the pellet stove!

TL;DR Oiled the rollers, life is good!

I ordered several pairs of pants from Clothing Arts back in August.

I like these pick-pocket-proof pants because every pocket is zippered so everything secured while riding.

They never came.

I finally called and the man in the warehouse said that he had them and would ship them that day.

They were supposed to be delivered yesterday.

When I got home I found a note saying that the delivery required a signature, and with Sarah in NC this week, that didn't happen.

The mailman left a note with a few options on how to get them, one being to go to the local post office a few miles from home.

I rode there, waited in line, my turn came up and I handed the note to the nice woman working the counter.

She went to a back room to pick it up, but returned ten minutes later empty handed.

She said that the mail carrier probably still had it in his truck.

I headed home and, just a block from home, saw a mail truck.

The carrier was inside and I asked him about my package.

Upon hearing my address he said that his route doesn't include my block and that my mailman should be on one of the nearby streets.

I rode down the first option, then the second when I saw his truck, but nobody inside.

So I looked for someone walking and found him.

He said that the pants package was in the truck so we went over and I finally got them.

We talked for a minute and she said he liked my scooter, I was on Rocket, and told me that he had a BV350.

I am happy to finally have the pants, even if it was a round-a-bout way to get them.

Bill

found an image search that is not as dumb as google's.

Bing. yes Bing.

in Bing I can use site:modernvespa.com in the search box for obvious purpose but with google they ignore it in the image search

got a €100 refund from scooter-center.com on my yss shocks because of the wrong colour spring.

Missed deliveries are frustrating. At least you found the package AND got a bunch more riding in!

It's bright and sunny today, was warm enough to melt the road snow and I'm feeling the itch. Only supposed to hit 24F today, but approaching the weekend it's going to get near 50. Hmmm.

Played a round of golf today in 14 degrees celsius, no idea what that is in the antiquated fahrenheit system but I didn't need a jacket.

More impressively was the lack of rain as it's rained here every day at some point in a 24 hour time span every day this year.

It may well be premature to make a public judgement yet, but at 7:30 this morning I went in for a 'shot in the lower back'...or as my Dr. described it a.....'Right Lumbar Three-Four Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection'.

Sounds a lot scarier than it was, hell, didn't even have to undress or drop my BVD's more than an inch or so for adequate 'access' to the afflicted area. Bit of a prick, and I was done in five minutes....(could almost describe my love life when I think of it).

The 'Cheery' part?....Well, it's now 3:00 PM, and I the have been experiencing a lot less sciatica pain than before, almost zero if I'm careful how I move.

Have it set to start a program of physical therapy, but not until March 2nd for some reason.

It's not like I cannot drive a car, or amazingly even a motorcycle. I experience no pain in doing so except for a bit when initially getting in a car, or on, in the case of a bike, so with the temperatures here predicted to continue in the 50's and some 60's over the next week, I will be, sparingly of course, be adding some miles onto the fleet.

I've been fairly miserable with this since last Thanksgiving, and am definitely 'cheered up' by the good possibility that there may be a light showing at the end of this shit tunnel.

Cheers!

[quote="
Cheers!
[/quote]

I did a big quote and a remark but it all screwed up. Eff it!

I've had a couple of sciatica attacks, coupled with piriformis syndrome. It sucks.

My last bout, I was in agonizing pain and could not walk at all. I managed to get the big-ol-steroid injection in the butt, and it was amazingly effective.

Hope you continue to improve.

I received it loud and clear anyway.

Thanks!

Since tariffs and the end of de minimis became a thing, there have been a lot of horror stories about delays and destroyed packages, and a lot of small businesses have been overwhelmed, to say the least. So I asked myself what I could do so the people who clear shipments would make them sail right through. I adjusted my approach about a month ago. In hindsight, it was surprisingly simple.

Today, I got my fourth Fedex shipment in a row from Italy two days after it was shipped, just like the good old days. And the tariffs are consistent, not anyone's guess depending on who clears the shipment.

It's great to have that time back so I can waste it on modernvespa.

If you haven't read it yet, you might be interested in this thread.
The Shipping News (Vent and Kvetch)
For the 1st shipment I had a $50 plus "Brokerage Fee" from UPS (no tariff, just brokerage).
So the 2nd shipment I used DHL - no tariff, no fees.

Happy birthday?

My situation had ranged from just tolerable to debilitating, but I keep my complaints reigned-in to less than they could be, because as miserable as my personal situation has been, I know that it could be a lot worse, and there's many out there putting up with more than I have to.

With the appropriate treatment, I should have all of this behind me by summer, and may even come out of it in better shape than I entered it with.

57.2°F

More trim arrived

Weather is warm as usual

I had my Triumph serviced today which was one of the big expensive one's with valve check.

The guy came to my house with his kitted out van and carried out the service in my garage whilst I worked from home.

He charged me £470.00 whilst the Triumph dealership 20 miles away quoted me £1200.00

It's no surprise dealerships are closing in such big numbers when it seems the only way they can make money is rip customers off on services and repairs and sell overpriced clothes and accessories.

Those shots do work - sorta..... at $3500 apiece, they should. Also, they are usually set up to give them in a series of three shots about 3 to 4 weeks apart. What were the results of the MRI that was done?

I'm glad this has worked out for you. Dealership charge what they do because they have rent and insurance to cover. I'm not saying it isn't high - I think my local Harley dealer is close to $200 an hour now - but they have overhead the mobile guy doesn't have. I don't know about how Triumph operates now, but back in the late 70s, I knew the owner of a small HD dealership very well. His showroom contained 4 models, 6 if things were doing well - yeah, the place was small! He told me that there wasn't much money in sales and what kept him going was parts and service. Even as small as the shop was, he kept 2 to 3 mechanics going full time and his lovely wife ran the parts counter. I would work there on Saturdays when he got backed up. He owned the shop, so he was able to keep his prices down. Other HD shops within 50 miles complained that he was taking business from them. It started getting messy, when an official from HD showed up and told the owner that the HD business plan had changed. He would have to move his entire dealership closer to the interstate highway in a much, much larger building. The whole boutique/dealership thing was happening and he needed to get on board or lose the dealership license. After looking into the staggering amount of money needed to do this (borrowed thru HD, of course), he refused. He kept working for another 20 years doing the maintenance on the bikes for less than half the dealerships and then semi - retired selling parts pulled from many old bikes he collected.

I'm a sales manager so I'm fully aware of overheads and wages, but defending asking for over $1600 for 5 hours labour ( including $100 parts) is a piss take and if dealerships can't be more competitive in comparison to independant mechanics then perhaps they should close their doors.

Wow.

He was some dude!

And that voice ♥️