Modern Vespa

well if it doesn't fit me then it's clearly a sign that alice was meant to have it.

they're not making the white any more??? but i wanted a totally impractical white scooting parka!!

seriously tho, until we win the lottery and can afford to live someplace with actual storage space, no more jackets for me. besides, i have yet to find anything that covers all the bases (warmth, protection, practicality) like my Richa Eagle.

edit: ooooohh!!! page 50!!! it's the 'only moderators can see it' version of page 50, but still ... i feel all celebratory [*bounces up and down in chair*]

WDY put all those extra posts back in so we can have a giggle...

update on the 'large breasts' incident .... i related it to boyf when he got in this evening. he laughed long and hard - suspiciously long and hard, in fact. it turns out he had stuck the post-it to the back of my jacket on Saturday .....

needless to say, plans for my revenge are being made as we speak

Christos thank you for thinking of me but I don't think I'm going to take advantage of your offer of the artwork mainly because I think I'm going to keep the Hornet naked.
Even the hologram sticker on the leg shield will probably go because I think it just clutters and complicates the beautiful lines.
I'm flattered that you thought of me but I'd be faking it to say yes then do nothing with it.
Forgive me I'm a simpleton.
Regards
Billy-no-stickers.

I've just eaten an entire tube of Sour Cream and Onion Pringles.
Once I popped I couldn't stop.
Billy-no-scoot

genie, alice, you two are just as bad as each other!!!!!

doug, i have that parka, genie, do you?
the tucano parka is the best styling I ever found because I never found a decent long fully armoured jacket.
it's technically great, BUT......

there's a huge but

the fit is PAINFUL
it's so painfully tight on the arm near the wrists to the point I can't stretch my arm.
it's also SO strangling tight on the neck when you zip it all up.
before anyone asks, the body is massive, so no, I don't need one size up, and yes, i have tried the larger size on but the bastards have clearly messed up the grading on this brilliant jacket and ruined it.

if I were to make my usual fit comments to send to this pattern cutter first I'd make them try it on WITH THE ARMOUR, because all these faults disappear when you wear it without the armour, which is stupid really

the front neck drop has to come down by at least 5cm
the arm width should just carry on straight from the elbow, same width, as it has velcro adjusters on the wrists, but then your blood circulation is not affected

grr
still I wear this one the most because it's waterproof, looks decent over long tops/dresses and is the warmest, being long and that.

right - i'm going now, my cab is picking me up at 3am :S
so long my friends!

Dessa - Jim,

Thanks for the advice on U-Turns, it is appreciated, sorry I haven't posted earlier in the thread, but I dont always get alot of time to post, although I always make time to read the latest posts and check to see if you guys have made page 50.


I dont suppose any of you could give me some advice on boots? I am looking for a new pair (my old ones have nearly had it). I can't really seem to find anything suitable that I like.

Also was any of you guys on the A13 on Monday about 17.45? I saw 2 guys with Vespas (one silver one red) and thought it maybe one of you.

hi, I don't know what the A13 is but I wasn't with Jim that day!
hehe

how are you getting on with the practicing?

Its going OK. Not sure how good or bad I am !

I have booked a 2 day course just before my test, I was hoping I wasnt going to need to do that (i was trying to save the money) but at least I will have a better chance of passing first time.

My partner (girlfriend, missus, 'er-in-doors. Never really know how to refere to her*) has decided she is going to make me a Vespa cake for when I pass my test, so the pressure is really on to pass first time. If I fail I will look a bit of a nob with my cake !





*I will refer to her as Sue from now on.

I find these very comfortable even if worn all day, fully waterproof and will look smart if kept polished:

http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/shop/product_info.php/products_id/3970

Thanks for that, they look good.

I'm on/in my second pair in five years - the others wore out purely from being worn so much, not because they're inferior.

I have a new pair in reserve.

They're not cheap, though.

yeah I saw the price. But I would be better off with those rather than what I have been wearing! Which to be honest are very good! but not really practical.

I've often found these comfortable even if worn all day.
Regards
Bill X

Naahh .. too shiney

Oh they can never be too shiney. Give me a while let me find you some matt ones. Velvet OK with you ?
Bill X

No need, I am sure if I Google in the right direction I could find a suitable selection.

i've got an article due tomorrow morning and the last paragraph is just defeating me it's making me grumpy so i'm going to bed

dessa, i know what you mean about arms - i tried the ladies' parka on when doug and i were in scootech at the weekend and noted the same thing. if i was going to get one it'd be the men's version - less figure-hugging but i prefer the styling. except it's no longer available in impractical white.

Here you go. Don't fear the Pink.
Regards
Bill X

hmm, i don't think i like that last pair - a little too country 'n western. sort of a bondage identity crisis. i'm imagining billy ray cyrus in latex and hoping i can drive the thought out of my head before i go to sleep, it's an image i'd rather not carry into dreamland with me.

god bill that's awful. make sure and drink lots of water before going to bed in order to dilute the 3,561 different chemicals that were in that tube.

He'll be fine. Bloke-food.

I'm just waiting for Lidl/Aldi to have their Spring m/c gear sale, I need some cheap boots to tide me over while my "guaranteed for a lifetime" Altbergs go back for re-soling. Bloody brilliant, totally waterproof, totally walkable boots, I've not worn anything else for two years! Completely, utterly recommended if you can afford the price (and perhaps the trip to Yorkshire for a personal fitting - I didn't bother).

genie and doug i really fancied the parka in white as well, especially the guy's one, i wanted to give alex one for xmas, it's very fittie blokey yummy, very abercrombie dahrling!
unfortunately it's hard to get hold of.
the arm thing drives me crazy, i wanted that damn Carmen coat WITH 5 PIECE ARMOUR, that would do the job perfectly, what's the point of doing a protective jacket without protection, don't they get it, I can get those from zara, thanks very much! so i had to buy the tight arm parka

Jim - PLEASE advertise in big bold letters when the Lidl or Aldi sale is on, I remember last time I think Christos x told us and I missed out
I want an intercom thingy (last time they had it for a fiver), a couple of cheapo helmets for my future pillions (i hate guests as it is, having to ride buses with them when they're over just aggravates me even more, so they're riding with me now!), some armoured trousers if they do any (just to have, for possible road trips), and the booties for trips too.
and there's my shopping list if anyone was ever interested!

i'm sitting in heathrow airport waiting to board the painful 12 hour flight with the shittiest airline known to mankind, animal carrier.
so i thought i'd treat myself to internet access to defeat my boredom already

Yeah I kind of regret eating the entire tube now especially when I'm trying to loose a little weight. By consuming the whole tube all the good work by leaving out my only other sin - chocolate has gone out the window.
Yes Genie I think I might try to avoid them in the future but damn they tasted good. No wonder my sister didn't eat them.
Liz passes on her best wishes to you Jim, Alice and Maver.
As I type she's probably waking up in the Travelodge Gatwick getting ready for her flight home.

She thanks you all for showing her such a great time and that goes for Marc, Donna and Mike as well.

Have a nice day people.

Billy-no-scoot

i agree and what's more annoying is that a lot of the italian-designed stuff is exactly the same. i tried on a beautiful piaggio-branded jacket earlier this year and when i moved my arms forward it felt like somebody was slicing them off at the shoulder. i can't imagine what sort of female form they have in mind when they design these things - women with little toothpick arms and enormous boobs, if the fit is anything to go by.

sorry dessa i forget where you're going this time and i'm too lazy to read back in the thread to find out - but have a lovely time wherever it is! try and hold your breath for the entire flight if you can, airplanes (animal carriers) are like flying steel tubes full of germ warfare. i almost always come down with nasty bug after flying.

?Cocktail sausage?

That's pretty bad. Someone should go and have a word with the women they model them on. I think I've got some time free, and don't mind taking one for the team...

Say Hi! back to the nun when next you speak, Bill. I certainly hope she can join us again!

Have a good trip, Dessa! I will be flying SleazyJet at ungodly o'clock on Friday morning.

Simon: you slay me

Funny thing this morning: months and months ago, the dashboard light indicating that the ET4's headlights are on went very dim, so it could only be discerned in pitch dark. I kept thinking I should change the bulb and not getting round to it. This morning it's suddenly bright again. I blame all the rain.

Thanks Jim,
Just ordered my pair of Alt-bergs.

Have a great time in Venice, Alice.

Thanks! A whole weekend without scooters - how will I cope? (By buying toy Vespas at the airport, I suspect.)

I'm probably getting mixed up between the airport that Ryannair fly to and the one that E'jet fly to, (we went into one and out of the other) but the only Venice airport I remember had precisely NO shopping opportunities, and was hard pushed to sell you a drink and a sarnie.

So that means even more money for ice cream when you get into town

Heavy rain predicted for Friday. I plan to eat ice cream ANYWAY. I assume you can actually get Cornettos there??

(Exciting fact from my beginners' Italian course last year: 'cornetto' is what the Italians call a croissant.)

EasyJet flies into the airport nearer the town, Marco Polo. From there it's a waterbus to the hotel! Eeeee!

when i was a kid growing up in birmingham they used to tell us that birmingham has more miles of canals than venice.

hopefully the canals you see won't be full of upturned supermarket trollies and wild-eyed youths chucking half-bricks at passing narrowboats.

Great, now all I can think about is Lister in Red Dwarf going condom fishing in the canal and catching a two-pound black-ribbed knobbler...

To bring you in the mood ....

Could everyone who is coming to the Bikers Lodge on the 4th of April please pm MikeO with your room/form request who will confirm our reservations with Ivan when he drops in on him in the following weeks.
Thank you Mike for doing this kind favour for us.
We are in your debt.
Love in da house

Billy-no-scoot

Little bit of a thread highjack but have just seen this and wondering if anybody else was interested...

http://www.bikesafe-london.co.uk/nationalbikesafeshow2009.html

I think that it is all free and that they run observed rides all day...

Has anybody been before and knows what it is all about?

Stewart

woooo! my seat is done and on its way back to me!! it's navy blue and black, looks a bit lighter in the photo:

Nice! 8)

I take it we are going to do some fitting on Saturday, I need to talk to you anyway!!