Modern Vespa

Page 31 already!

'fraid not. It's the phantom page 31.

what about now?

Nope

genie so sorry to hear about the scratch, what is it with private parking being invaded these days?
there is a s*dding X9 with a bloody french plate that parked his arse at bhs with all his might taking up two spaces of people who actually work there

I know for a fact he doesn't because he talked to alex when he was waiting for me downstairs and he lives on the street, alex said "employees only" type of thing (he didn't say "or somehow related to one of them for short stay at parking area") and he's just taking the pwiss

then there was a cheeky sod who left it there with a cover and all for the whole week!

now we who work there are squeezing in like idiots
i'm so annoyed
i am a woman with a plan though, just hope that the guy in estates moves at a faster pace.

anyway, and congrats to WM for her new amazing beastie machine!!!!!!!!
well done!

happy days

Yes, this a big problem in central London, and I get bars because of it. The scratches I've got from other bikes is a PITA.

But I take it is a free bay and you don't want to pay Westminster? I know it is irritating but the amount these bays damaged my paintwork I considered the charge was worthwhile.

Thanks, Marc.

I have a 'thing' about printing maps and a Roadbookroller to put them on.
In truth, I think I can manage to find the rendezvous without either but you have a Garmin? Not a Streetpilot III by any chance?

I have one I don't really know how to use and am looking for some lessons.

it is company private property!!! I am not going to give up parking at the door of my office so the sods who live in westminster do!
GRRRR
like genie I'm not a major fan of the bars and I find that the sharp footpegs from big bikes scratch above the crash bar bit anyway...
I don't think the bars protect that much? do they?

Sorry about today's meet guys - guess who overslept! Or rather, turned off the alarm clock when it went off rather than press the snooze button...

I always thought the same way as you, until Mrs BB came off on some diesel and I saw how her bars had taken the most of what must have been a fairly scratchy-scrapy impact. I'm now really quite a fan of them.

it might not have been your kind of outing anyway jim .... just shopping and coffee doug got boots, i got boots (gorgeously comfy alpinestars Stella Torre, as shown below), plus some very nice black anodized aluminium valve covers that will probably get stolen in short order

i also tried on three or four different women's jackets, and the only one i liked was the Rev'it 'Silhouette' ... but at £165, i couldn't really justify a purchase. The Rev'it Pearl was lovely but cut a bit too generously around the hips for my figure. So i'm still wearing my men's XS Richa Eagle.

We had a little blast out the A12 from the City; WM's loving her 300 and Alice her GP. Then we did three shops and Starbucks.

Nice day.... great to see everyone.

Yes I love the 300 - except the curry hook. It is in the wrong place and is not as good as the one on the LX.

It was rather a quiet day on the roads, but we did quite well roaming about as a little pack.

Failed to hit the pub though, and I suggest that we leave the scoots at home one day and hit the pints. Had we not done that last time, then DSSC would never have come to be!

hey, i was so dazzled by the combined awesomeness of all your powerful new scooters that i forgot to ask about our DSSC stickers - do you have any designs to show us?

No, it's a Zumo

In dutch for the streetpilot: http://forum.gps.nl/viewforum.php?f=21

Thanks, Marc.

I'll follow you!

guys, like jim, I too first opened my eyes at noon this "morning"
had a few too many tequilas last nite

I'm seriously considering the crash bars now

so I missed you guys and thank God for that, genie your booties are lovely and aggggggggggh I quite fancy some and would be hard to resist, but see, i didn't buy anything today so my plan is working

went out with Alex to practice my moves on George prepping for my practical test (providing I pass the theory one on the 3rd Feb)

I'm having a really hard time doing a U turn, it's sad, but true.
I'm not confident enough and always end up straightening the wheel then finishing sideways in the middle of the road
it's like when you're learning to ride a push bike and when you realise no one is holding you, you lose balance.
when I realise how tight the wheels and the turn is and lose it, get scared

I'm a lot more comfortable on George though which is good - am I right in thinking I can't take the test on Velma? WM you said you couldn't? what bike did you use? did you hire one? Genie, which bike did you use?

so anyway, apart from that the emergency stop should be fine, me thinks.
the U turn is my challenge.
I'll be so proud when I do one.

then left Velma at home and went for a lovely 2 up (legally too!) ride to Hampstead and highgate, very nice, the pond had a frozen layer much like creme brulee

any pictures from today?

I think you might be right.

Nice looking boots - but how long will the soles last? Two years in and my Altbergs are going to have to go back to be re-soled. I need to find something else to use temporarily, isn't it about time Lidl and Aldi did their biker gear sales?

U turn tip:

don't look down.

when you're turning look at an object about 20 yards away, straight in front of you. the bike will do it's thing and you can just relax.

Dessa, you can't take the test on Velma as her listed top speed is less than 100kph (62.5mph). If George's LISTED top speed is over this then you can use him.

A GTS 125 has a listed top speed of over 100kph (just) so is fine. An LX125 doesn't. Listed is only 95kph I think. Agree with Kam on the U turn. Keep those eyes looking where you are going and not at the ground.

Dessa, you can call up a test centre (preferably the one you're going to take your test at) and get them to check on their list (they have a list which "tells" them what speeds different bikes are supposed to do, and therefore whether you can take the test on them).

I would also advise that, whatever they say, you have a talk before the test to the examiner to make sure that she realises you're taking your A2 test and not the other one. (Sorry, that's not very technical. What I mean is there are 2 tests that you can possibly take on a small bike: one is the "proper" A2 test (which means 2 yrs on a 33bhp restriction, and then you can ride any auto), and another test (maybe called an A1?) which just means you can ride a 125 without L plates). This may also be a good time to remind the examiner that you're riding an auto and that therefore you may put your right foot down when stopping (something that would give you a black mark on a geared bike test because your right foot should be on the rear brake) and to agree with her that this will not be something she marks you down for. (Mrs BB failed her first test for this very reason.)

I've heard stories about people thinking that they were taking the A2 test and getting all excited about passing, only to find some time later that their certificate was for the wrong kind of test.

On the U-turn, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. For me, the thing that worked was a lot of practice and, as said above, the "don't look down" tip. For a few weeks before my test, I practiced u turns and figure of 8s (to get used to slow speed manoeuvring. Once I felt confident doing a figure of 8, then u turns were a lot simpler), in a car park for 5 mins every night before putting scooty to bed.

i did my test on a Yamaha Cygnus X. Both my pre-leader ET4s have top speeds higher than the rated top speed for the Cygnus, but the ET4 wasn't on the 'approved' list, and it was going to be a right pain to get it put on the list, so i just rented the Cygnus from Metropolis as part of the 2-day course i took to prepare for the test. I'd really recommend the course, not only do they tell you exactly what the examiner will look for, they will book the test for you and take you on a tour of the routes you'll be taking during the exam.

I first met Doug when he offered to help me practice my u-turn (I failed the test the first time because i put my foot down).

thanks guys for the tips, George's engine is 11kw (15hp), but what annoys me is that the spec at the DSA site is irritatingly unclear:

"A light motorcycle (category A1) is defined as a solo motorcycle between 75 and 125 cc, with a power output not exceeding 11 kilowatts (kW) (maximum 14.6 brake horse power (bhp))." (this is the "lesser" one you mean Simon)

"A standard motorcycle (category A) is defined as a solo motorcycle between 121 and 125 cc, capable of exceeding 100 km/h (62.1mph). " what about the kw or HP????

Why can't they just have a clear table:
A1
kW: ?-11kW
hp: ?-14.6bhp?
max speed: ??
cc: 75-125cc

A
kW: ?
hp: ?
max speed: 100km/h ->?
cc: 121-125cc

I know George is fast enough because Alex's info was enough, but I want to be on the safe side, so thanks for pointing out to things to make clear.
I'll need to practice a bit more, can't do figures of 8 either.
I'll give them a call tomorrow, but why isn't this list available to download?

what about if your bike isn't big enough, do people hire a bike for the day?

well, now back to my "pass your test" dvd (Christos' lucky dvd)...
I wish they had a bike practical mock test thing on dvds as they do with cars too.
woe, woe, woe...

jim, you do about 20x the mileage i do in a year, so i'm not really worried about the sole wearing out!

doug, how come I don't get a lesson?
I considered it genie, but they are charging so much money for this lesson that if I fail once or twice it'll still work out cheaper. and I would have been right with the horse and its mouth
hence I'm reading all I can about the test and just need to practice to improve my skill
when I pass I'll take one of these pics:

I suggest you download the actual test routes, there are usually about ten or twelve and practice them....

I got sunburnt this morning at 730 how wierd was that.
Missing you all like crazy.
Billy-no-scoot

Dessa - if the weather comes good over the next few days let's find a deserted car park somewhere near you and do a couple of hours of slow control. You know the drill, breath slowly, pretend it isn't happening...

<cough>

Seriously mind,

Hello folks - what a lovely ride we had on Saturday, and what a gleaming posse of bikes! Lovely weather, lovely company, lovely coffee. I resisted buying anything (saw some gloves I rather fancied, but it's depressing buying summer gloves and then putting them away for 6 months).

I took the ET4 to have its mirror glued back on today. Yes, I could have glued it myself, but mechanic dude put a pin in there too so with any luck it won't get knocked straight off again in the parking bay.

Pints soon?

i scraped my center stand going around the roundabout at northwick park first time i've done that

Duuuuuude! I have never got my stand down - it would frighten the life out of me, but I'd dearly like to! (Actually quite likely on the ET4 at the moment if I forget to coax it all the way up before setting off...)

i never managed to get the stand to touch the tarmac with the ET4 - i understand it is quite a bit easier on the GT/GTS models.

and lest i give the impression of nonchalance.... it was a bum-clenching moment - or, as I think Michael Moore put it, in a thread somewhere, a moment of 'extreme alertness'.

Wow, all this new power is quite giddy making...

I rode to work today and had to battle with the desire to keep going instead of parking up as usual.

I really like being able to accelerate away and not have to wring the throttle to do it. And I feared that the GTS 300 would have a fat ass that couldn't fit the gaps as well as the LX, it seems fine, and since I'm faster I can nick into the gaps when they are bigger. It is really nimble too, I love riding it. But the real difference is the feeling of stability. No more insane vibrations or tough suspension or heavy handling.

Pints next Friday, how does that suit?

Next Friday I am going to see Arlo Guthrie (of 'Alice's Restaurant' fame) do his thing at the 100 Club. But if anyone fancied a drink around Soho beforehand that would be super handy.

Huskyteer, are you a folk fan by any chance?

Yes...is that good or bad?

I know hardly anything about the current scene (though I catch Radio 2's weekly folk show when I can) but I'm very into the 1960s stuff.

It is just that you went to see the Fleet Foxes a few weeks back and I made the connection between them and Arlo.

Baez?

...is that good or bad?

It's good...very, very good!

pints, folk music (in limited doses ) ... it's all good.

I'm more a soul and funk person.

I got a turntable for Christmas and currently playing lots of my old stuff.

Pints on Friday. Husky, you work in Soho, where do you fancy?