Modern Vespa

I meant to quote my reply above, not edit it!
hmmm interesting

Grrr.... really cross I couldn't do today - it was one day with good weather.

Bill, I think I did a muscle in my groin by try to kick a well-stuck lump of snow/ice sideways left-to-right with my left leg. I say I 'think' - I suspect it was after the sun went below the yardarm.

Dessa - don't despair over the U-turn. Using more throttle and controlling speed with back brake is exactly right - just don't do it for many minutes of practice, neither clutch nor brake like it very much. Looking right over your right shoulder is exactly right.

Amazingly it's possible to do a U-turn in a *smaller* radius than you can walk the bike in one - and the examiner will ask you to walk a U-turn first.

Another good tip - you are allowed to go forwards a bit before turning - so make sure you stop and/or move forward so your U-turn is opposite a dropped kerb. This way you will know there isn't a show-stopper edge to hit - you could legitimately use the dropped kerb anyway.

I'm bummed I missed today - I'm sure we'd have boosted your confidence on this. I did manage to hobble onto the Fuoco and go a few miles to my son's place for lunch - I relied entirely on the Fuoco's tilt-lock - no way could I have lifted the left leg up quickly if I had put it down.

Indicators still intermittent, so must be a salty-crud problem on the flasher unit connector. Oh for a nice warm dry day...

ta Jim, if your next sunday's plan don't happen we can do it then
I'll try and practice more this week in the evenings somehow, time allowing

hope your leg feels better and look forward to hearing bill's next dream... or not?

Well, big props to my housemate who helped me manhandle the GP800 up our icebound street to the main road on Saturday so I could travel to my friends' place in Havant! By the time I came back on Sunday the rain had visited and I could ride up the street for the first time in a week.

Two months of GP800 ownership and 2,000 miles travelled. Mostly dull motorway stuff, but oh I love that bike!

I have scooter dreams quite a lot in which I go over cliffs or other sheer drops. I always think to myself 'this must be a dream, I'll wake up in a second' and then DON'T - horrid.

The power of the 300!

After a few sessions riding on the back of it, the other half decided to;

a) Buy kit (he has better kit than me now)

b) book CBT

c) buy scooter

So shortly we will have two scoots!

Will he be joining you on rides. I will miss not being able to flirt and so too will Bill, I expect. You should have kept the LX for him

I don't know if he has it that badly though he mentioned selling the car

And I asked at the time if he wanted the LX, noooo he said, not interested. Pearls before swine.

I need some sort of twit slapping emoticon!

Selling the car is jimc territory! It is great that he wants to join you on two wheels.

Hooray for Mr Wonder Machine and the seductive thrills of the 300

Fantastic! Next stop, romantic scooter holidays a deux!
Remember though, he can't have a scoot as nice as yours

He lost it this morning when it took an hour and a half to get into work from Hammersmith. Blackfriars closes at the end of this month, which is his current station, so he was facing another 10 minute walk back from Mansion House.

Originally he wanted to hop on the back and get a lift on the 300. Yeah, alright, I suppose but I don't like two up very much. Luckily he seemed to get a yen for his own scooter fairly quickly!

We are arranging insurance now...

edit - he is not as cool as me since he wants a ...... HONDA. So by definition, he will never have a nicer scoot!

A HONDA? How very odd.

Do you think he'll be OK passing the eyesight bit of the CBT? He obviously has impeccable taste in choosing his companions , so how come he's got such an alternative taste in scoot aesthetics?

Dammit Doug you are right. Who the hell am I going to have a crafty flirt with if the delightful femmes are going to bring along thier respective partners.
My world crumbles around me. I'll just have to adapt.
Mind you, the more scooters on the road the better on my opinion.

Well I have a slightly used screen on the way for the GT if I havn't already mentioned it so once that's on in my opinion it will be complete.
More later
Billy-no-scoot

I'm with you on the uncertain choice of ride going down the Honda route.
Try to talk him around to going Italian won't you.
Bill X

The Honda is Italian, Bill. Don't forget I have a Honda SH125i as a potter about and it handles like a dream (much better than the GTS Super, the gyroscopic effect of those 16 inch wheels certainly works wonders). Just looks like shit. Oh and it doesn't corrode....

Yes I agree it looks rubbish. A bit like a ladies bicycle.
I'll accept a Vespa any day for all it's faults thanks.
What's the first thing that goes through your mind when you look at a car/bike/scoot ?
Do I find that attractive ? I wouldn't date an ugly person even if they were good in bed.
Billy-no-scoot

Well I have just ridden home in the sopping wet, and pot holes everywhere. I have one of these Bagster things which stopped my legs getting soaked.

The A4 is flooded in one lane, I felt the tyres just lift off the road, that floating feeling which is not nice! Ick!

wonder well done in finally seducing the man to scootering! why did it take him so long to see the light!
will be great to meet and have mr. wonder machine in next rides too.
which reminds me, what about Mrs. BB?

what a DISGUSTING HORRIBLE DAY to ride, honestly, this is one of those days when I agree with the peeps who ask me (when mentioned I'm from brazil) "why i live here" - because apparently the weather is the only reason to select a country of residency!
well today IT IS! WHAT AM I DOING HERE!!!

aggghhh



wonder - good thing the boy likes a weird scooter, I like Alex's Scarabeo because it's manly (not judging any of the other boys here!!!!!) and not pretty like my vespas (see, plural). I would be gutted if he turned up with a red GT250 or something that would make Velma look like a 5 year old

Yeah that feeling when you know that front wheel is no longer making contact with the road surface isn't a nice one is it.
A bit like the first bit of rain that -

1 Soaks in your gloves

2 Runs down your neck

3 Runs down the crack of your arse.

Nice

Billy-no-scoot

So my g/f is going to Amsterdam on the 7th and 8th of March to get plastered with alot of her college friends and I have nothing to do that weekend.
So if the weather is good I'm looking for an excuse to go somewhere, possibly even over the pond again.
I hope it dries up before then.
Billy-no-scoot

yes, i normally do well with just my waterproof tucano parka and the thermoscud, but today I did feel that bit of water run down to my seat, lovely

bill you can teach me how to do a u turn (lots of patience required) and emergency stop if the weather is good on sunday!

I actually stayed relatively dry today. I have a new pair of Tucano gloves which are far better than I expected, leather palm, nylon back, concealed armour, the dogs..... My boots finally expired and let water in, so I squelched around for a while once I got to the office. Not nice. I have decided that pinlock visors are fab, they just do not steam up when the going gets tough.

The little Honda SH coped admirably well with its big wheels and skinny tyres. Not that you wanted to know that.

Bought a pair of these on Saturday - they are FANTASTIC, the ones with reflective banding on the little fingers!

i have those too!

i've been wearing them for 2 winters now and they have never leaked.

i've got those ones too!!!
hands were dry but fingertips were still freezing..
but yeah, best gloves ever. I have the summer version too

That's the ones Seppia Invernale - they're fab!

yep. that's them.

do they do an equivalent spring/not very warm summer day one?

Still in my vented summer gloves.

all that whisky keeps your extremities warm

Sunday has a pencil circle around it.
When your gloves start letting in water buy a box of cheap latex gloves use those to line your digits.
Works for me.

I have to say I admire you guys and girls riding in all this crap.
I'm glad that I can choose to take either "ride" to work.
Billy-no-scoot

Tee hee. It's the Laphroaig effect. I tried those silly muff things but didn't get on with them.

yep, i got those too

What was that song that Claire Grogan used to sing ?
I'm going to have it in my heard all day long.
Much affection
Billy-one year older-scoot

nice hint, bill.

happy birthday!

Oh yes. Happy Billday. Hope you get lots of lovely presents and no one makes you dress up and act out anything

What about her? Do you know something I don't?

Happy birfday, bill.

*MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY, BILL*

Happy Birthday, Bill!

Sure was horrid riding home yesterday. My feet (in Daytona boots) were the only parts that stayed dry. I had to get changed when I got in, right down to underwear, and my suit is still damp this morning despite a night in the airing-cupboard. Yeccch!

Bill, Gelukkige verjaardag !