Modern Vespa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PlLVqrGlRg

Which faintly hilarious as it progresses.

The rest of "Songs For The Dog and Duck" (Soho barflys should know the pub itself) is also worth a listen.

Hope you Donks don't mind the intrusion, but I thought that the topic would probably only be interesting to Brits or Australians.
Although I'm Australian I've always had a high regard for the Bedser twins, but this elevates them even further.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/454846.html

Alec would be the first to admit he had a good innings.

A good man, and missed.

He's actually a passable crooner - there was a lot worse out there at the time.

I'm glad he switched to taking the piss out of popsters, though. I caught an episode of ISIRTA on BBC7 recently in which he did Dylan and Donovan back to back, and I nearly choked on my coffee.

Bill Oddie to just odd this morning on the Walworth Road as I rode past a group of builders singing "I need your loving".

It must be the sun, normally everyone along there's got a face like a cat's bottom and attitude to match.

But Wonder did you need their kind of loving because a Builders love is a special kind of love.

A Builder told me that.

Bill XX

Oh it's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

It's sunny again!

Two days in a row!

The endtimes are upon us!

Yesterday I removed my Bagster leg cover and top box and gave my scooter a clean. In the afternoon I rode into the West End in the sunshine - it was just lovely!!

Someone posted a few days ago how good it is riding around London in the sunshine - I have to agree!

This will be my first spring and summer of riding, having come through a winter of awful weather and the worst run of mechanical problems, I am sooo looking forward to the months ahead

Yeah, there's nothing like London in the summer...till you get stuck in a queue breathing other people's exhaust fumes, sweating like a pig under your gear and with the engine fan whining desperately.

I love it really! Can't wait to take the lining out of my jacket. I'm a big sissy who hasn't taken the handlebar muffs off yet and is still wearing winter mittens, but I may mount an expedition at the weekend to buy some lighter gloves.

yay sun, long may it shine

however i decided against taking the scooter into work today to pick up a book, and elected to do some work in the garden instead. the cats went bonkers climbing trees

Yeah! Sun shining, weather is fine, makes me want to move those dancing feet....

Sun is the best. People stop having a stick up their arse and talk to you at the lights again.

So nice today went and had lunch in St Paul's yard with mr WM - good enough for t shirt, rather than thermal blankets I have been wearing for six months.

The garden is bonkers with weeds though.

We are having a lovely spring day here as well, I would love to call in sick and play in garden as it looks more like a jungles than a manicured garden.

Instead, here I sit at work...playing on MV, pretending to work.

Hehe sunny day in London and the Daily Donk falls to the second page as you're all out exposing skin that hasn't seen sun in 9 months!!

Guys I'm really so sad.
I know I've been slack with meeting up and stuff being so busy with everything but I miss you all.

I passed my car theory test yesterday. Booked practical test for cage.

Did the maths and turns out I can't actually afford the cage and the vespa (I can't even say her name) and would barely use Velma (*snif*) at all so.. I'm trying to accept I'll have to sell her
I'm so sad I actually choke up and feel like crying.

Would anyone be interested, I'd love for her to go to a good home and be looked after by you guys who are like vespa family!!

I'm very very upset about it but I thought long and hard and I can't commute on her. It'd hurt her too much and I'd need to upgrade for a bigger engine anyway.
And it's dangerous especially in the winter I couldn't cope.

I know you will sharethe pain in my heart...

Dearest Dessita,

in 1967 I purchased a Lambretta SX200. I wanted a car, I yearned for a car, I actually hated the scooter. The car I bought was unreliable and the Lammy rescued me a couple of times. It languished in the back of a variety of garages, accompanied a brother or two through uni, went back in the garage and got buried. A few years ago it was dug out and rebuilt.

It is now a great joy, gets used on high days and holidays. One owner, green log book SX' are as rare as hens teeth.

I say no more.

Fay

thanks Fay I wish I could keep her but I CANNOT AFFORD BOTH

Ah well, life moves on, nothing is for ever, and you can always come back to it when time and circs. allow.

Bon voyage.

You could if you stopped spending so much on clothes!
We'll miss you. Don't do it. Buy a GTS instead of a car! Then you can commute to Broxbourne! (or wherever it is!) X

Apparently if you commute on a bike or a scooter all year round, you will only get wet about twelve times. According to TFL. I would say that's about right. Maybe slightly more.

I put my Malossi 190 kit into my ET4 over the weekend. I like it. It will now lift its front wheel a couple of inches into the air on take off.....

This is absolutely bang on accurate for Glasgow, and in fact I can name each time I got wet commuting in 2009. The first was January. Then there was February. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this, so I'll stop. But we have a bit of a different climate from the South East. It's practically France down there, you lucky beggars.

Still, it's been lovely today - spent half the afternoon on the roof at the studio catching the rays and watching the traffic negotiate the Plantation. Is it weird to find motorways soothing when you're just spectating? If so, we're obviously a band of weirdos.

ETA: Doug, I like the sound of this kitting business - does it make much difference at the top end?

Maybe post all of the details of it and see who replies Dessa ?

Mileage, age and condition etc ?

Bill X

......you really need to v4 269cc the GTs, sod the warrenty, they're for girls

Oh yah, I know! I'd love to but you got me down to a T....

I must apologise to Genie who was desperate to hold the camera. And to Mr Wonder(ful) who wanted to hold the tools, but it was lovely out there and I wanted to crack on. I did make a humdinger of a mistake and the first time I started it I got showered with a golden shower of oil. Two hours later I had it sorted

One piccy - the rest will follow (and No @ TheJ, it doesn't help the top end. You'd need to add a Polini gear up kit for it to do that). Silver Streak has written a four parter on the upgrades. Do a search for titles with "part" in the search box and SS as the author.

I must say that when it wheelied on me, I nearly died of shock thinking what the FUCK happened there. It suddenly dawned on me and I was able to repeat it several times. One word of warning, don't do it when there is a tree in front of you. You have no steering. Don't ask me how I know.

Well I've just got back from Hackney from one of those special weekends where pretty much everthing goes well.

So on Saturday Genie and I set out from East London and rode down the A3 towards Godalming where we picked up the A283 towards Petworth then the A285 down towards Tangmere to meet up with the Help for Hero's ride.
Both the aforementioned roads are just perfect for a progressive ride just incase anyone fancies a really good hack.
We arrived a bit early so we took the chance to have a good mooch around the place.
It's staffed by some really charming veterans who were more than happy to take care of our gear while we pointed at stuff.
Lunch wasn't bad either once the "Hero's" had arrived.
Lots of pictures were taken and then we tagged along with the ride along the A27 then M27 then finally wished them well at the services at J3 where they went South on the A31 and we rode North for Sailsbury to meet up with Genie's Godmother.
We had a few problems remembering were Genie's Godmother lived so I took it upon myself to hold the sat nav in one hand and ride with the other.
Now I'll admit this is a really stupid idea but it worked and we found her house within minutes.
We took the chance to go shopping for food and then have a look at the Catherdral which is lovely.
There was a service going on so we sat there and took in the beautiful noise of the choir and the organ.

More coming.

quality day for riding went up m606 to bradford and got it off the clock... done it before down but never up and its quite a nice incline... was quite chuffed with meself

itll probably blow up soon

So after checking out the Catherdral and it's grounds we walked down by the river on our way back and saw the cutest gaggle of ducklings with their mother and we both made "oooo" and "ahhhh" noises.
The next morning we did another tour of the town and the beautiful riverside but then after lunch we headed for home which included a wonderful blast along the A30 which had very little traffic on it and had great stretches of straight road - ideal for overtaking.
It was great to see the Harley Davidson and BMW bike clubs parked either side outside the local cafes on the way through.
Had a quick blast on the M3 then picked up the A30 again to past Basingstoke which we stayed on until Bagshot where we had a hot tasty beverage.
After that it we got on the M25 then the M4 and back into London.
Both of us had a great ride back with no dramas apart from some twat on a race rocket we overtook both of us on the inside just before a junction.
He was a twat of the highest order.
Now the Hornet has straight steering it's given me even more confidence in the bends so I was guilty of really enjoying myself but at the same time being consious of not losing touch with Genie who isn't a slow coach by any means.
I have to admit gunning it down the M4 Bus Lane was a trifle strange to me and I still have to ask myself - Am I actually allowed to be in here ?
Going back to the fast A road stuff it's great to be clipping the apex of a corner while looking in the mirror only to see the bronze/green legshield of your riding partner right behind you.
I have to admit Genie's more fluid through the London traffic than I am and I got left behind more than a few times once we hit Hammersmith.

Marc text me a couple of times in the day to say that they had reached Lands End and were on their way home so well done to all of them.

While I was away my neighbour took my folding bike to the bike shop he works in and has given it a full service and now it has a new chain which matches the colour of the bike.
It used to make an amusing clonking sound as the pedals turned and now it just glides along.

Bill XX

I've been enjoying lovely weather in Brittany, though it was a bit chilly today. I'm now sitting in the Eurotunnel Passenger Terminal, as I was 5 mins late for my train, and there isn't another one for TWO BLOODY HOURS. Seeing as how the terminal is seething with about 5 other people, the least they could do would be to put on a train for us. Sheesh!

I might even get around to doing a ride-out report tomorrow - with pics!

Glad to see that everyone's had a good weekend.

First off, I'll join the people trying to pressure Dessa into keeping her scooter.

Secondly, I want photographic evidence of Doug wheelie-ing.

Thirdly, Bill and Genie, next time you're down Basingstoke way, check out the A339 to/from Alton. If there's a better high-speed road within an hour of the M25, I want to know about it.

Finally, I've now got two weeks off between jobs, so tomorrow I head oop North for a bit of a tour of part of the world I've never visited. Monday I head up to Derbyshire, Tuesday I go through the Peak District and then up to the Yorkshire Dales. Wednesday is a circuit of the Lake District, before coming home via the Dales on Thursday evening (or Friday morning if I'm too tired).

Route shamelessly stolen from a motorcycle touring website, but I expect I'll be cutting bit bits out, as 200 miles a day on B-roads will probably leave me knackered by Wednesday morning.

Should be fun. It's certainly been a good excuse to make lists and draw all over my road atlas.

Two hours? Turned out to be three hours.

Finally home at 03:10 - should have been midnight.

Coming down with a gentle wee dram. 630 miles today.

what a lovely weekend for riding

mr. dog and i enjoyed a nicely progressive ride down to tangmere, except for one part where a mini cooper spoiled some lovely turns by pootling around them, and we found it necessary to twat it a bit and pass him/her. i managed to keep up with mr. dog most of the time and only bottled it badly on one corner where i spotted some gravel and large potholes at the apex which scared me silly. we had a meet and greet and a cheese toastie with the H4H crew at tangmere and accompanied them down the m27 to the A36 which we had mostly to ourselves all the way into salisbury.

watching bill ride with the satnav in one hand and steer with the other was a joy

we had a great visit and a lovely roast dinner with my godmother. did a bit of middle-aged wandering, pointing, and looking around salisbury on the saturday evening and sunday morning, then left after lunch. coming into london via the m4 is lots of fun - hurtle up the bus lane, then up onto the flyover amongst all the tall futuristic buildings. made it home in time for a cuppa tea, and found my upstairs neighbour (who is brazilian, and a fantastic cook) preparing a bbq in the garden. fell into bed at 10pm full of delicious roasted things and feijoada

Happy touring, Mr W, and take lots of pics!

Dessa, that is heartbreaking. Maybe after you've had a cage for a while and know for sure what the costs are, you can let another scooter into your life - a secondhand ET4 perhaps

On Sunday I had a nice ride with a friend to the St Ives Tea Rooms. Would make a good rideout if I thought I could ever find it again!

And he's off!

I am quite jealous, at least for the Yorkshire Dales part.

Was it just me or were the staff at the museum ultra polite and helpful ?

It sometimes throws me when people are that nice and gracious.

Did I dream it or did someone say that one of the elderly gentlemen there flew the Phantom in the car park ?

My favourite was the Lightning because it's all engine with a cockpit and a couple of wings bolted on for good luck.

Food wasn't bad either.

Bill XX

Was there a previous Gallic Skök club?

Spotted in Brittany:

thanks Bill I will do.
I need the Vespa 100% for at least another 3 weeks that's why I'm in no rush. Also I'm still quite attached to it. I know it will come

I'll post it up here and at Bhs first for the price I want for it.
If it starts to get too close to May and I haven't had offers I'll start eBaying/GumTreeing etc

Alice -thanks for the sympathy, that's all I need right now from you lovelies. You never know, I intend to be in the job for a year at least, but after that it's very likely that future jobs will be back in London in which case the cage will go and I'll get a shiny new Vespa For now I'll settle with riding Alex's George every now and then around the block

Doug - I don't spend on clothes, I get them for free remember!!!!
I just don't want any debt and I want to enjoy my payrise and be able to afford stuff for once.

If you guys know anyone who's interested in Velma - she's an LX 125 about 7500km 2008 reg, pristine condition (only top box is broken but you can still use it). Includes the windscreen and the Tucano Thermoscud. Plus a lot of love

You forgot to tell how much you are asking for Dessa.

Bill X

aye skokers.

Sorry I have not been around. I have not read all of your posts since I last checked in as there are too many. (its obviously been a while)

You all know where I have been over the weekend. But here is my ride report just in case you want to find out about what you missed: Help For Heroes South Coast Vespa Ride 2010.

Bill & Genie, it was great to see you. I am booking a pod hotel for me and Sue as a surprise later in the year. and Bill the larger gentleman who I was talking to in the car park, is in charge of the museum. Mr Barran was his name, I think and he said that the phantom was his 40 years ago.

Well done to you and the rest of the crowd for riding all that way.

It was a pleasure to meet you all at Tangmere and put faces to names.

I'm sorry that we couldn't join you for the entire ride but it was pleasure to tag along for an hour or so and talk bollocks over lunch.

We are proud of you mate.

Bill XX

Hi folks.

Just purchased an hours Internet time for my iPhone and am sitting poolside in 35 degrees C wondering whether to have a cold beer or a coke - so far beer has won every time.

The heat and sun has put me in the mood for some serious scootering so, although I'll be sad to leave india, I'm looking forward to getting on my lovely gts as soon as I get home this weekend. Also looking forward to spending some time drinking real ale down to allotment and playing with daisy the cat.

Must run cos I only logged on for the first time in a fortnight to check some important emails but got distracted.

Happy riding all !

oh yeah - £1900
spread the word
night night you all

So for a bit of light relief I took Hecules the folding bike out for a 9 mile ride this evening.
I found a lovely route down by the riverside outward bounds and along side the railway line on the return. Lovely to watch the sun go down while I followed the river out of Maidstone.
There was a lovely moment of comedy where I totally misjudged the height of a overhanging branch and it connected with my polish truck drivers hat and thunk, it knocked it off.
I didn't think much more of it until I got home and though mmm my head is a bit sore so I removed my hat and there was a 5 inch river of dried blood pouring from my head.
It looked far worse than it was but I didn't think I'd actually drawn blood.

No sense no feeling eh ?

Pass the Nurofen.

Bill XX

Oh if anyone wants to come along on the progressive ride on May 2nd I'm thinking of riding to Hastings but it's going to be fairly early mainly because I want to miss all the traffic. It will probabaly start from somewhere near Maidstone.
I have friends down there who can provide safe off road parking for the scooters and the beach is only 300 yards away.
Please don't think that it's going to be a outright cane to the coast but there will be a little bit of commitment involved.

XX