Modern Vespa

Thanks again for the advise. Going out tonight to get more practice in a parking lot. In answer to a couple of Qs, you do need a motorccycle license in Ontario. It's a graduated system where you write the M1 test. That's good for 90 days and then you have to take the M2 which is good for 5 years.

I got the limited edition orange!

parking lots although safe enough not always the easiest place to ride, usually tight slow riding condition which are some of the hardest to master so don't get discouraged if you struggle a little in there. I like empty country roads with nice scenery to keep your mind off riding and your head up instead of looking right in front of the bike,(first mistake) going along at whatever pace you like without having to deal wiht traffic, people and loads of intersections. Even after many years of riding this is still my favorite and most enjoyable. If this is available to you that is where I would go and practice. Enjoy

Training wheels!

This is good advice...although you may not use U-turns (weaving is important too)...you need to practice this hand eye coordination...it will apply on the road. When in a slow turn use your throttle control (throttle and rear brake...stay off the front brake...like riding a bike you hit that front brake in a turn and you may go down. You might want to practice straight line throttle control...or "how slow can you go".

Please remember on looking into a turn...my wife appreciated clarifying this (I couldn't believe it!)...when you "look" into a turn...it is not just your eyes it's your head and eyes. Especially on a U-turn...your head and eyes are turned back as far as you can...hands and handle bars will follow. Practice the head / eye / and look gradually.

When making a U-turn make sure you do not glance over at the curb (if there is one..or you will go there!), keep you head and eyes turned...you'll see the curb through your peripheal vision.

If you're at a dead stop and want to go left or right...turn the hanlde bar in the direction of travel and "look into your turn; head and eyes"...you'll be amazed how sharp of a turn you'll be able to negotiate. I practice this and will continue on in a tight circle...looking at the center of the circle (use a cone if it helps) and focus ~ 4' above the cone.

Have fun practicing..fyi my wife will be out practicing today!

One other bit of encouragement to you and everyone out there. At this years Amerivespa that happened in Los Gatos California, just South West of San Jose. They gave out two awards for Distance Traveled. We had one lady that came from Australia, but the biggest and most awesome story is the lady who rode her LX150 from all the way from Nova Scotia, Canada. That was over 5,000 miles.. She left 29May and arrived 2July that is 34 days of riding. She got a long standing ovation from everyone, even those who were a bit crippled and could not walk stood up for her. She camped wherever she ended up that day and made it all the way to California. WOW That is amazing

Thanks TB - terrific advice!

Riding around in the city centrum and some suburbs, where the streets are narrow, traffic is slow and nobody is in a hurry, helped me get used to traffic and having cars around me without having to ride too fast. I had to sort of build up to riding around in more traffic where people drive at high speeds. But I never had a car or a driving license before. I imagine it is easier if one is used to driving a car.

The orange one is beautiful. I've got the white one.

here it takes one year to get a motorcycle license and you can't ride anything over 50 cc unless you are fully license....
Hoping to pass my license for next summer and get a 250 or 300 GTS

The orange one is really sweet. Enjoy!

It was actually a PX. And she traveled the entire way by herself.

When I first got my first bike a Harley I forgot to put my feet down on a stop and fell over. Just pick it up and ride on. Oh yes take a MSF class if you have not done so.

Your welcome...anything we can do to help...just ask. BTW just got back from practicing with my wife (wants to improve her skills before she takes her DMV licensing test).

We got the cones (weave drill) moved closer together (Test distance) and she did really well...as she said to me "got to take it slow...throttle control"...right!

Then we went onto U-turns...had mentioned to her that when she was taking U-turns to get back to the practice area...she took them real tight and when she went into the U-turn practice box she took it too wide. I mentioned that on her regular U-turns she snapped her head back further and made a real nice smooth turn...when she used the practice box she focused on the lines of the box vs. turning her head and eyes ...reminded her to keep her head up and turn her head and eyes... so I stood near the box and as she entered I shouted out "turn"
which was a reminder to turn her head and eyes and she did fine!

She was very happy with her efforts...we'll spend some time on emergency stop and swerve next.