Modern Vespa

I thought that tent in the second post was yours. I was wondering where you put that monster?

As I was [Vespa-ing] a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for [Vespa-ing]



Awesome trip guys! Inspiring! I hope to do something similar someday.

A GTS/Sava expert should be able to help with possible rotation - but I wouldn't want to travel any distance on that as the rear!

I'm curious ... are you guys planning to stay in LA, or are you returning to Vermont? If you're returning, are you shipping the Vespas back to Vermont?

Do NOT rotate the tire. The front is a 120 and the rear is a 130 if they are the stock ones. It is OK to run 120s both front and rear (per Rolf, God of Vespas) but don't reverse the stock setup.

I don't want to scare you, but you need to know the truth. On our way to last year's AmeriVespa Karen's GTS (ya know ks7788, currently cruising aimlessly in the Pacific Northwest) had a blowout on the freeway in North Carolina. That morning the tire looked fine, though thin. Luckily she didn't go down, and she was carrying a spare, and we were only 15 miles from a Vespa dealer. Moral: the tire goes from thin but OK to blowout in just a few miles.

So DON'T make up time. High speed puts extra wear on the tires. Can you detour south toward Denver or Boulder? I am SURE that Tai at Erico or Colin at Sportique will fit you in if you give them a heads up. As you now know, Phil at POC is one of a kind, but they will give you the same kind of welcome if they know you are coming.

Bobo, always the wise elder statesman, you rock sir, cant wait to have another beer with you sir.

Ride Safe

Manny

Oh, I thought you said cross-county, nice pics.

JIM

Fooking sweet! Glad to hear you didn't get ran over or something, how's the ass feeling?

Again, great job, totally filled with envy that I can not currently do a ride like this one.

Wangta - Because I am not sure of what state you are currently in, I've listed a few vespa dealers in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota.

1. The Motorcycle Shop
1022 5th Street SE
Watertown, SD 57201
Phone: 605-882-2930

2. Leisure Life Sports
9004 S. 145th Street
Omaha, NE 68138
Phone: 402-333-0655

3. Beemers & More Motorcycles Works
800 Stockton Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Phone: 970-221-1014

4. Erico Motorsports
2855 Walnut Street
Denver, CO 80205
Phone: 303-308-1811

5. Sportique Scooter #2
2506 Spruce Street
Boulder, CO 80302
Phone: 303-402-1700

Hope you find a tire soon and get back to rolling and good times! Safe trip!

Chris

I doubt that having one FedExed to a shop along your way would add too much to the price of a tire. How many miles to SLC? Are you so rushed that you can't locate a nearby shop that can mount a tire that is FedExed in, and spend a day off the road?

We're talking about an investment in your well being, Wangta.

Al

Louis

At the rate with which he is burning fuel, water absorption and subsequent phase separation in his tanks is the least of his concerns. I have over a decade and a half of fuels management and quality control experience, and he's facing no threat unless he parks the scooters for a long period in high humidity.

His real concern right now is mounting a new rear tire ASAP.

Al

+1 Wangta, take it from some folks who've been through a few rear tires. Stop and change that tire ASAP.

Oh shit guys - big thank you for the heads up. I heard bad things about Sava tires, but I seriously thought I'd be able to make it to Utah.

I agree with ya'll - FedExing out a tiring is a great idea. After all, the tire is the only thing that actually touches the road! So I'm 20 miles outside of Yellowstone, Wyoming right now. I just toured Yellowstone today on my GTS - and cruised around at about 50 miles/hour. Reading about Karen's blowout scares the beejesus out of me.

My plan was to tour Yellowstone again tomorrow (lower loop), and head toward Jackson Wyoming the next day, then head to Salt Lake City, Utah. I called Vespa Salt Lake and they said they could change in some Michellins for me, but I'm doubting I should wait that long?

1. Looks like the closest Vespa dealer to Yellowstone/Jackson Wyoming is Vespa Idaho Falls - which is convenieniently on the way from Jackson to Salt Lake City. However, looking at google maps, that is a combined 327 miles (including all stops) away from me. I'll give them a call tomorrow, but does anybody know of anything closer? Was hoping Jackson or West Yellowstone (Montana) would have something?

2. Where can I order some tires? I heard great things about the Heidanau (SP?) - I think I'd have to order them from Cali. I've never ordered tires, so I don't know jack about the best places to shop.

Thanks so much - you guys are awesome.

Hah - glad to hear you're enjoying the posts and pictures. I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to take such a trip, and I feel a responsibility to share the insights and experience with all the MV users that helped make it happen.

Ass is ok, but honestly, I semi-regret switching out my stock seat for the Super Corsa seat. The Super Corsa looks cool, but is freaking hard as a rock. I'm good for about 40 minutes on it, then my butt starts going numb. It works out ok - the frequent gas stops help out.

Staying in LA!

Day 8 - Murdo, South Dakota - Loop 240 Badlands National Park - Rapid City, South Dakota

Took highway 90 West to Wall, South Dakota (about 80 miles) to save time, and took route 240 South (Badlands Loop) through Badlands National Park to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, then took route 377 to route 44 through the Buffalo Pass (not sure why it's named this - didn't see one Buffalo) to Rapid City

Words cannot fully describe this place. Cool. Stunning. Magnificent? See pics....

Total miles - Day 8: 205 Miles

Badlands National Park

Day 9 - Rapid City, South Dakota - Keystone, SD - Mt Rushmore, SD - Lead, South Dakota (Through the Black Hills National Forest)

Spent the first half of the day in the Mt. Rushmore area. I was expecting to have a small town surrounding the monument, but was surprised to findＫeystone, SD to be a very touristy town. We previously bought an annual pass ($80 for two people) to get access to all the National parks (such as Badlands National Park), but found out that Mt. Rushmore charges $20 PER MOTORCYCLE for PARKING (NOT ADMISSION)! Given the relative simplicity of this monument, and the fact we wanted to take pictures for about 2 minutes, then leave, we decided the cost for parking wasn't worth it. We managed to find a nearby spot to snap our pictures - I think they turned out great.

Left Keystone and took 385 north through the Black Hills to the town of Lead, SD, where we stayed for the night. Didn't travel many total miles today - decided to give ourselves a day to relax and get some much needed R&R. Tomorrow, we head out of South Dakota into Wyoming toward Yellowstone!

Total miles - Day 9: 90 Miles

Hi Wangta- awesome pics for sure in the Badlands.

I have Heidenau K61s on my GTS. I have about 400 miles on them, and so far, I like them a lot.

Call Scootershop in Orange, CA 800-23-VESPA- they will ship them.

http://www.scootershop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3617

here is Heidenau web page with list of dealers;

http://www.moto-amore.com/heidenau/new/dealersnew.html

safe travels!

You mentioned you were looking for cheaper hotels; check out youth hostels in US.

http://www.hostels.com/

Day 10 - Lead, South Dakota - Spearfish, South Dakota - Gillette, Wyoming - Worland, Wyoming

To get out of South Dakota, we left Lead, SD on 85 South, then took route 14 to Spearfish, SD. The drive on route 14 to Spearfish took us through some of the most impressive parts of the Black Hills National Forest. Simply gorgeous scenery - trees, forests, and massive rock formations and mountains. See below for pictures.

Reflecting on the trip thus far, I have to say I am most impressed with South Dakota. It has a variety of gorgeous country side terrain - including the prairie/grasslands, Badlands and Black Hills. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for adventure/scenery to spend some quality time in this beautiful state.

From Spearfish, SD we jumped on I90 West toward Wyoming. We contemplated taking the back roads, but decided to take the highway to save time. I'm glad we did - eastern Wyoming proved to be a very barren. Like the Nebraska and Iowa border, the South Dakota and Wyoming border coincided with a drastic change in terrain. Eastern Wyoming is like a desert or Tundra. Very dry, HOT (temps were in the 90s), and dust/sand plains with small shrubs - very few trees. It was like this for miles, until we hit Buffalo, Wyoming, where we could start seeing giant mountains looming in the distance (West). I saw my first oil drill in eastern Wyoming as well - a good number of them litter the terrain near the highway. Pretty darn ugly if you ask me.
　　
We got off I90 at Buffalo and took the VERY scenic 16 toward Worland (about 90 miles away). Route 16, also known as the Powder River Pass, climbs over the Big Horn Mountains, one of the largest and most spectacular mountain ranges in Wyoming. Only mountains in the northwestern corner of the state surpass the Big Horns in height. The climb up the mountains was incredible, but a bit scary - PX bogged down a little and struggled going up some of the hills with speed (could maintain about 40 mph). Also, the temperature dropped from 90 degrees in Buffalo to 50 degrees as we passed over the mountain, hitting a max altitude of 9,666 feet (Go PX!). I nearly froze.

The sun went down halfway into the Powder River pass, so I couldn't take pictures. Even without sunlight, you could see these enormous mountains and rock structures towering over the road. I really wish I could go back during daylight hours to snap pictures. Next time.

Total miles - Day 10: 330 Miles

Black Hills

























Wyoming - Highway








Powder River Pass (9,666 feet)

Wangta, I am not kidding when I say most of your pictures are publishable quality. You could sell or contribute these images to a magazine... absolutely breathtaking shots of our America. Makes me miss my childhood, visiting places like that.

Gorgeous pix! Well, forget Denver since you are way past it. Most scooter shops are closed on Mondays. Don't worry too much which brand tire, just get one shipped today. I like Heidenau K61, Michelin Pilot City, Pirelli. Scooterworks in Chicago is open Mondays and will probably have a large stock. Maybe it will be less expensive to ship from Denver or Salt Lake though if someone is open.

Yeah, forgot that most places are closed on Mondays. ARG. Anybody know if a "typical" cycle place could do a good job with the tire change/balance? Like a Yamaha ATV or Motor Sports place?

Also, how much should tire change cost?

Absolutely agree. You have internet access, find a tire dealer and get one ordered and express shipped to you. You don't need a Vespa dealer to mount it. We really want to only see pics with the shiny side up.

Al

Will do today - gonna call around to see if anybody is open today, if not, will call first thing in the morning on Tuesday and hopefully have one mounted by the afternoon. Until then, riding cautiously...

Great photos. Thank you so much for sharing this trip with all of us.

Hope you get the tire situation worked out and have a safe trip to LA.

There are at least a couple of motorcycle shops in Jackson. Ask them if they can change a Vespa tire.

Most places can change the tire, they just might not have balancing equipment for the small rims. Experts please chime in; I might be wrong here, but isn't it true that proper balancing is much less critical on the rear than on the front?

Best thread ever - official

Thanks - I ordered from Scootershop before and didn't have a great experience with them (they charged my card and never sent tires).

So I need K61 120 for the front and 130 for the back, right? Are the K61s the ones without the center channel?

Looks like they have a center channel:




http://www.scootershop.com/catalog/images/k61z.jpg

Your front tire is probably fine, I get 3-4 times the mileage on the front tire. You need to worry about the rear tire. That tire pictured above, with the center channel is a front tire. You can use either a 140 or a 130 on the rear. More choices, expect to pay $30-40 to get it mounted on the rim and balanced. Don't worry about balancing the rear of the shop balks, do it later.

Get some rubber on the road!

This has to be my favorite image of them all!

SoCal folks: we should definitely do a gathering/run/dinner to welcome Wangta to the Left Coast!

Crap - the scooter store and other stores are closed. Not sure I trust the Motorcycle Superstore to actually ship the tires overnight. I called Massimo's shop in Costa Mesa since I heard they have Hidenau in stock, but he doesn't ship!

Bigger problem - no one around here actually does motorcycle/scooter repair. Only sales! Jackson is 130 miles away. Contemplating if I can make it

epic journey.

check your inbox, i just sent you a PM with my #

i can ship out a tire to you tomorrow morning if need be. just let me know.

best,
-greasy

This is an amazing thread and a fantastic trip. Total inspiration!
When I get my scooter back, you've given me the confidence to do some major roadtripping!

Absolutely gorgeous photos!

Greasy enjoys Mexican Beer when you meet him.

Take it very easy on your way to Jackson and make sure that the pressure is set correctly while the bike is cold, before you ride for the day. Start at 29 psi in the rear, add 1 more psi for every 20 lbs of gear that you're carrying. If the pressure is too high, it'll wear out the tire faster, but if it's too low, it'll overheat the tire and increase the chance of a blowout. Be sure to inspect the rear tire all the way around, at each stop along your way. If you see it wearing through to the belts, don't ride on it anymore, have it towed or get a lift the rest of the way. If you do happen to have a blowout, shift your weight forward and use your front brake ONLY to slow down - just don't panic and lock it up, just grab it firmly and ride it out.

I highly recommend the Heidenau K61 if you can have one shipped to Jackson. Call John at Moto Amore first thing tomorrow morning (408-295-3004) and see if he can ship one overnight. Be sure to call ahead to the shops in Jackson to find out who can mount a Vespa tire, get their address, and have the new tire shipped directly there. They will need Torx sockets to remove the muffler, and they'll also need to remove the swingarm bracket, in order to get the rear wheel off. If needed, I think there's a GTS manual somewhere on this site that you can download and print out, which has instructions and the correct torque specs to use when reassembling everything. If anyone has the link, could you post it? I tried searching, but wasn't able to find it. Also be aware that it may be necessary to replace the exhaust gasket when reinstalling the muffler, as the old one may fall apart when the pipe is removed. I'd recommend having one of those shipped to you as well, if you can.

About the Heidenau K61's, both the 120 front and 130 rear have a center groove, there's no reason to be concerned about it. They're great tires and they'll last a long time. If you want, you can replace both tires at the same time, but you'll be ok if you just replace the rear for now. I hope everything goes well, good luck and be safe!

MV in action!! ya gotta love it!
BTW the beer fairy highly recommends the following two types of beer:
1. Ice Cold
2. Free

Thanks guys for the advice - much appreciated.

Bagel - Greasy, thanks for your offers for help. I have your numbers in my phone and just may call you guys if I need assistance. You guys rock!

After all this tire stress is done (fingers crossed for a safe solution)...I sure hope you let us know who your riding partner is.