Modern Vespa

And I have no problem with you not liking them. Or tolerating one of them. Maybe.

Computer says that Lambretta looks like it should have a clock in the side of it and be displayed on a mantle. KIDDING

Actually its a sharp resto. Better than the pics can do justice I'm sure.

Harv

I wouldn't ride them but then I am totally yanking your chain...
FTR:
That Honda & Yamaha will probably outlast their ugliness & be around another 30 years....

I am no stranger to Japanese reliability....every Honda,Suzuki,Yamaha I have ever owned has been brilliant....
My neighbor has been riding his Nighthawk 750 since new...(The best looking of the series....IMHO....as the new ones look cheap & junky)
Having ridden a few of these I can say they are still a pretty decent bike for what you can get one for...


That Harley...hmmmmm....well just have to see....

Indeed what you're supposed to see.
That's what a CCW permit is for.

LOL! John Wayne was rumoured to have been gay or at least "bi" and there were a LOT of rumours about him and his close friend Rock Hudson. And ... um, well ... Marlon Brando was openly gay and admitted it. Sorry to burst your bubble! But really ... who really gives a damn what other people think?

I just bought my LX125 a couple of months ago and I had someone I have known for years say to me, "I always wondered if you were a lesbian!" ... as if owning a Vespa sealed the deal!

I am 54, divorced and have lived alone for the past 15 years. I had one boyfriend for a few years during that time but we broke up a few years ago. I could care less what people think! I just laughed at her and walked away, shaking my head. I don't have time for imbeciles. Let her think what she wants ... idiot!

That is it! I love that comment and I think that would shut them up too!

Although, I too am guilty of being stereotypical. When I see a guy in a Hummer, Corvet (post 1960's), big escalaid etc... One thought crosses my mind. "My oh my, they must have allot to make up for."

Sig P220ST here.

hmm ,

I think these guys just might disagree


Quad Cam Bastards

Is there a Modern Vespa equivalent to Godwin's Law, stating that as a discussion comparing Vespas to other vehicles goes on, the likelihood that riders of the other vehicles will be accused of trying to compensate for a small penis approaches one?

Brendan

Hi All,

"Owning my new GTV for about 4 weeks now has been
Shall I say, very interesting.

Seems my manhood has come into question on a
Recent occasion or two. "

I don't have that problem. I ride a BV500 and nobody can figure out what in the heck it is. So they just look at look it then look at me and figure a weird machine and a weird person......OH WELL can't please everybody so you gotta please yourself.


Ride safe, Ride long.
In the peace of the LORD,
preachp

You all look androgynous on your scooters.

HAHAHA!
Just because you call your bike the "Cunt puncher" wear a Nazi helmet & have an outdated goatee doesn't change the fact that it is a "girls bike".


A couple of those bikes are pretty cool especially if they actually built them themselves......
Which I gather is a requirement to belong to that club or whatever it is....
Neato....

Welcome to the club.

OMG that is frick'n funny!

One of the most satisfying things about owning a "Johnny come lately Japanese automatic oversized scooter" (650 Burgman) is hearing the bile spewed your way from cork-sniffing elitist jerks on both sides of the displacement spectrum.

And for the record, it's been a while, but I've taken two 600 mile round trip rides on my 8.5 hp 1965 Honda S90, so I know what a low-power/high fun road adventure is like.

There were not a LOT of rumors about him being gay.

I thought the author of that original post was a woman...

Mike- Don't sweat it.

Besides, the Vespa doesn't make you gay...

Getting your salad tossed by a seven-foot guy nicknamed "Mother" does...

My Harley dealer *is* my Vespa dealer. The next time a Harley guy gives you a hard time about your Vespa, tell 'em you bought it at the Harley dealership!

This Vespa is my second, my first
was a ET4 that got me 22,000 miles
in 4 years before busting the piston.
Sure I have had motorcycles in the
past but it was always a chore to ride.
I get on my GTS for shopping at
Costco and the FACO front rack carries
lg bottles of water, up to 50 lbs.
or down to the coffee shop
for some refreshments, my GTS
takes me to adventures. I carry a
directors chair on the back of the
crate which in turns holds my
safety flag, so not to get hit. I ride the
freeways to Riverside and Temecula
many times.
Yardsale 8)

Nuh - Here we have the crap-o-dore/Fal-Con Rednecks who think the size and effectiveness of their penis is directly related to the number of CC's under the bonnet.

No poofs playing footy, either!

Not! Paul Hogan's (aka Crocodile Dundee - pre facelift / Leo wanker - when still young) Contribution to the manhood debate

Just a classic

Oh No - you'll upset Scooterrific.

One of our dealers is a Hardley davidson dealer - and apparantly know little about Vespa's.

That proves the point doesn't it = I "must" be gay!

This guy might not have any manhood left if there was an accidental discharge!

Adding a comment to this older thread...

I think it's a USA cultural thing. I rode a P150 Vespa back in my country for 25,000 miles and people admired me for riding in the rain and winter.

Now I live in Portland, OR and it continuosly rains at least 8 months here. I still ride a Vespa year-round and I noticed that attitude from the HD guys.

Well, I don't see any of them out there in the rain, bunch of sissys...
=)

PLEASE get her to take a picture of Scoots in the parking lot of a HD Plant!!!

PLEASE!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!! I would so Love to print one out, and carry it with me!!

When I first move to the USA at age 16 - after growing up as an American citizen in Italy - I realized the standards for manliness are quite different from place to place. While I was never gay, on occasing here in the USA, I was thought of as such. I was later called a metrosexual - whatever that actually is. Basically, a general rule in South Carolina, if you don't drive a HD or truck, and wear camouflage on occasion, you might be taken for gay. In any case, I always ignore those superficial labellings - I ride a Vespa because its fun...to hell with those that don't understand!

I bumped into this thread and i find it interesting that HD is having huge financial problems now and I am going to guess that some of the HD dealers around the country would be glad to have a product to sell (scooters) that they could actually SELL.

FYI... If riding a scooter makes me gay, I guess I need to come of the closet to my wife and daughter...

Just tell them you're not interested because they're too ugly and ride off laughing.

A Vespa can no more make a person gay than a Harley can make some guy a man. When people yell comments intended to be derogatory, it tells more about them than about you, but it also can tell you about how you perceive things.

In the last three years, it has been 98% positive interaction with people while on the Vespa.

This the ULTIMATE killing argument to those HD guys who give us a hard time for riding scooters:

In 1960-65 Harley Davidson made a crappy SCOOTER named the Topper. Don't believe it? watch it here:

http://theretroblog.com/2009/03/15/vespa-alternatives-10-vintage-scooters-with-style/

Yes! Harley Davidson tried to copy a Vespa and they FAILED!
hahaha

Alvaro

I did my first poker run on my GTS about 2 years ago when one of the women that works for me invited me to go with her and her husband. It was sponsored by the local Harley shop and there was the local Harley association meeting tied with the run.

The vast majority of the riders thought the GTS was cool and were impressed with how it kept up with everything they could throw at it on the road and could out manuever them in the twisties.

I did have one stereotypical weekend warrior, dressed in black leather riding jacket, jeans, black leather chaps, and black riding boots with the mandatory steel buttons and leather tassles on ask me if I felt gay riding a Vespa at a Harley Rally.

I asked him "Why? I'm not the one dressed like one of the Village People." The woman who invited me nearly fell over with laughter. He turned beet red and left without another word.

Vinny

All insinuations about my manhood ceased when I continued to ride during the winter months. York, Pennsylvania is south of me so the winter riding won't be as harsh.

Ride to work when it's -5F and your manhood isn't questioned. Then they start on your sanity.

You can see some winter Vespa riding stories [url=http://vespalx150.blogspot.com/2008/11/winter-riding.html]HERE[/url].

I don't seem to have a problem with anyone giving me a bad time about riding around on my GT200...I believe it's that way I handle I project myself on the road...safe, confident but not cocky.

...two finger sign (no not the you're #1!) from many Harley riders
...many, many from sportbike riders
...big dude in a SUV pulls along side and rolls down window and tell me "nice bike"
...Harley rider pulls up along side and politely asks directions...told him he should get over to my lane and wave him on...gives me a friendly wave as he rides off
...cager pulls along side to ask direction...believe he wanted a better look at scoot...drive off friendly wave good-bye

On a few occasions I've had Harley riders who simply ignore me or knowing they should be properly armored sheepishly avoid eye contact, but that's their problem...not mine!

BTW...it gets even better Honda Metro!

It must be you! I never get that reaction fron any HD riders, if they have nothing good to say, they don't say anything, most of the time, they appriciate a Vespa!

How many of you remember the baseball caps sold at truck stops all over the south that said "Excuse me, but obviously you have confused me with someone who GIVES A SHIT" ?

That is a killer looking scoot. Who did you have do the seat?

I have been riding steady since the age of 14 which was in 1958. Have seen the fad followers come and go. I have had several Triumphs, a BSA Lightning, multiple Harleys and several Japanese bikes. Frankly, I am enjoying my GTV more than any of my former machines. Anyone criticizing your choice of two wheel ride is simply a poser rather than a real rider. Pay no attention to him!

I have lost count of the number of times i have been called faggot on my Vespa, but so what? They are correct!! Fortunately my full face helmet prevents me from congratulating them on their observation.

Oddly, and this may be a Sydney thing, I find that Harley riders are much friendlier than Jap sportsbike riders.

just don't worrie about what others think about you or the scooter. if we did every time someone said to you that motorcycles are a danger to you. you would go crazy.

Now if you want to mess with them, wear your HD leathers and ride the Vespa in a poker run that will freak them out. it will confuse them and short circut their small brains

It seems like we've come full circle. Ever see easy rider? "Hey why dont you get a haircut?"
People are ignorant. If you are doing something different than them, it makes them insecure, so they lash out and try to get you to conform, to be like them. Other people "being like them" is where they derive their self worth.

Why waste your time caring about what ignorant people think?

Hey... if it has two wheels.... it's cool. (even a Segway)