Modern Vespa

Wangta

These folks in Jackson sell Yamaha scooters:

JH CYCLE
3510 PARK DR
JACKSON, WY 83001
Phone: (307) 733-4684

Might be able to mount a tire for you.

Al

Why not? What's the worst thing that could happen?

If you make this kind of a trip, you'll never regret it. You will regret looking back when you're old and gray, and wishing that you had taken the opportunity when it presented itself.

When are you leaving?

I'm old and gray (where there is still hair left) and still making long distance trips!

The opportunity always presents itself. Take them all.

Al

Wangta,

Thank you, SO MUCH, for sharing your journey. Your photos are wonderful and capture the beauty of this country. Continue to be safe and enjoy the ride.

Janine

Maybe he's escorting someone in the Federal Witness Program and can't talk about it.

This is my favorite thread.

Following Wangta's vespa P series rebuilt to this, is plain brilliant. What a journey.

Ride safe mate.

Cheers

This is an awesome thread, I have to keep looking everytime I sign back in to MV - good luck on the ongoing adventure!

+1

This is like a soap opera. I love it. Thanks for sharing it with all of us.

If you read the threads where he restored his p you'd know who the riding partner is.

Are you sure about that? I know who his riding partner is... don't recall him mentioning it in the PX resto thread... 8)

Yes...er...maybe....let me look.... Not out right said but implied. Or I'm on crack.

Wait, I know it was said somewhere....

You're probably right... I can't see it anywhere, though. Let's keep em guessing!

He made mention of his gf riding the GTS in a thread he started when asking about two-way communication systems between scooters.

We have a winner!

That's the one I was thinking of!

3rd day on that condom for a tire! Any news on getting it changed yet? I can't stop thinking about it....and worrying!

Did I read his entry correctly? He was riding his PX on I-90?!?!

Amazing trip, amazing story, amazing pictures. Add to that I am green with envy.

I want to do a ride like that. I guess I'll have to wait for retirement.

Good luck and be safe!

This is a great thread. Can't wait for your next post! I wish I could ship you SPOT so wecould see you as you are riding.

Thanks for the concern guys - made it to Jackson, Wyoming early this afternoon. Drove VERY carefully - limited speed to tops 45 and very slow start and stops. Examined tire pressure per Bagel's advice, and checked tire every stop.

Have an appointment to have tire switched out at Vespa Idaho Falls - 88 miles away. Going to take it nice and slow tomorrow morning on backroads - hoping the tire can make it another 88 miles. Have a Michelin Pilot waiting at Idaho Falls (that is all they had). Opted for Vespa Idaho Falls because of logistics - finding place to service tire and having one fedexed in one time, etc.

Thanks for the support guys

be careful Wang and Wang gf!

So, how is the traffic and speed on the side roads? I've bicycled many back roads around the country, and there were times when cars and trucks on thoes small roads whizzed by. Are you able to be safe going even 55mph?

Do we have any member in Idaho Falls that can buy him a beer? Be safe on that tire and I wish you had smart tire installed on the scoot.

Excellent thread. Someone sending you a tire would have been a nice thing to do.

Sorry guys, was going to throw up a GPS tracker, but partner is a little uneasy about it...

wangta

i am a huge supporter of yours

you are an inspiration

here is my # 310 351 4399

call me when your in la or near-OK

hey wang, from the looks of your pre-trip pics, you are leaving a serious shop. are you a woodworker? model maker? id? you coming to work in la?feel free to answer when you're not traveling hundreds of miles across the country. i hope the rest of your amazing trip is safe. talk to you soon. 8)

That is perfectly understandable. It is not always a good idea to let the whole world know exactly where you are and where you are going to be.

I am very curious to see how the PX survives the trip.

Shane

Hey Wang. . . assuming a stress level of 10 when you walked out the door to begin your trip given the unknowns, where are you now? How much of it falls away and how quickly? Do you get in a groove after a while and relax - outside of the tire pressure, that is. . .

Cool, glad to hear you made it to Jackson ok... good luck on your way to Idaho Falls! Thankfully a good portion of that route is twisty, so you won't be riding on the center of the tread all the time.

One point I want to clarify - check the tire pressure *before* you ride, not during the ride. Outside of an emergency, it should only be adjusted when the tires are cold. If you set the pressure while the tires are hot, it will actually end up being lower than it should, which will cause more friction and heat up the tires even more. You definitely don't want that when they're getting thin. Just check the condition of the tire as you stop along the way, to make sure it hasn't worn through the rubber to the belts. Have a safe ride!

wangta

i am planning a big open ride for you and your friend

i have contacted members of westside and southbay and very much would like to host a nice palos verdes ride for you

NEED TO KNOW WHEN YOU WILL ARRIVE IN LA

thank you

jimmyb 310 351 4399

You're a good man Jimmy! Hope his butt can still sit on the scoot when he arrives!

How true you are. I never want to look back on anything and wish I would have done something that I can no longer physically or mentally do. I kinda live my life like that. After the last few days I've had at work I'm ready for a similar trip right now! I do have one planned - maybe a 150 ish miles or so in the near future - so I'm in the "training" stages 8) .

Bob

p.s. It would really be cool to *edit* only wangta's posts into a sort of documentary of the ride- one without all the comments from us. This would make good reading and photo viewing.

My girlfriend was thinking the same thing. He could easily do a writeup for a magazine without all our crap in the middle. Especially with those pictures!

Happy to report that we made it safely to Vespa Idaho Falls (also known as Spinners) this morning. The good - we were able to get a new Michelin Pilot rear tire on the GTS. The bad - about 145 miles down the road (and 5 miles from our destination for the night), the GTS started sounding REALLY loud, like there was no muffler. Then, about 2 more miles down the road, the rear brake no longer functions, eerily resembling the clutch on my PX!

I'm guessing this has to do with the exhaust gasket - the same one that was caused a recall for most GTS in 2007. I did get this new gasket put on before my trip in Keene, NH. It has been working fine for over 2,600 miles. I'm guessing the guy at Vespa Idaho Falls didn't put on the gasket correctly?

I'm not sure what to do - what are my options? I really don't want to ride back to Idaho Falls (150 miles). Vespa Ogden/Salt Lake City is about 25 miles away. Will they fix this for free? Should I pay for this or would this be covered by warranty or Vespa Idaho Falls?

Hmm.. If you indeed have the proper (post recall) part, but the prior dealer screwed up (probable) then it's not a warranty thing, and would only be repairable for free by the offending dealer. If your brake line is fried, then it's not going to be a fun repair.

Yes, I do have the post recall part - I had it installed literally the week before leaving on this trip.

This is what I was afraid of - having to backtrack 150 miles. I really liked the Vespa Idaho store, but I don't want to ride 300 miles (there and back) to have the same guy who caused the problem in the first place!

I knew there would be a little drama in this adventure...

my 2 cents- call Vespa Idaho first thing in the am, tell him what happened and that you can't ride back or it it towed that far, so you're going to go to nearest shop (Vespa Ogden/Salt Lake City) to have it fixed, but not sure you should pay for their 'potential" mistake.

Have Salt Lake City fix it and confirm cause of brake failure. If they can confirm Idaho shop screwed up, then they should pay. If Idaho shop pushes back, tell them you have hundreds of fans following you on the internet and the media would be interested in the story - "shop mistake caused a brave, young couple to spend $$ on scooter repairs, which suspended their goal of completing the cross country journey on their vintage Vespa scooters". 8)

The combined mileage for two scoots going back and forth is 600 miles The fuel and food cost alone is a lot more than if you paid for a new exhaust gasket yourself at the nearest Vespa garage.

Unexpected events is what makes it an adventure, instead of just another road trip.

ps. you guys rock !

Happened to me pre-recall on the road to AmeriVespa a couple years back. Being nice at the shop instead of ranting got me on the road fast. I later found out another un-muffled guy on the road 1000 miles away was a jerk to the dealer ... and didn't make it to the rally.

So just be nice and see what they can do for you.

So glad you took it easy and the tire held up! The scenery should have been great yesterday. Can't wait for your pictures!