Modern Vespa

This is the longest ride I have ever done in one day -- 12 hours on the saddle, 614 miles total. I still had enough energy to party with my clubmates and friends at the RBSC Lake Tahoe 3 Rally.

Enjoy the video!

Nice vid, Rex. Did you have the camera mounted on some sort of swivelling affair?

At the San Fernando stop you pull a face that reminds me of WWF-wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson. I haven't met either of you but going by the photos I think he's bigger than you.

Really? LOL He is one of my fav celeb. The Rock. He is definitely much bigger than me

I don't have the camera mounted on a swivel. I've thought about it but it would limit my range of motion. I just have it tethered to the Vespa while it rests inside bag hanging on a helmet hook. I pull it out and turn it on when possible.

Rex.. Did you get "Monkey Butt"

Great Video.. Well Presented.. Fab Soundtrack..

How much did you spend on gas ?

Cool video Rex looks like a fun jaunt! Long, too.

How'd you do the embed??

I liked that Rex. Very professional looking! I wish I could figure out how to even upload stuff to Youtube. I guess I'm internet challenged to a certain degree.

Looks like a fabulous ride. I'd love to do that someday!

NEPTUNE. I didn't get monkey butt. The GTV seat is just comfortable. It contours my butt evenly. That's why these seats are $900 each!

oz. I cheated. It's not embeded. It's an image with a play button enclosed with a hyperlink.

TrafficJammer. Thanks. Not much you can do on an island, huh? That's why I left Guam so I can ride farther and longer.

Nope ... not much at all. The best I can manage is a full day of bar hoping from one beach bar to another. Even at that, I would be hard pressed to make it last 12 hours! I long to get out on the open road and just ride! I'm jealous!

Nice video - well done!

And I hope you found your beer

Ps - MV != Twitter, mr @

that looks like an awesome ride! I bet going through those hills was great. Nice video!
8)

Thanks! I'd do it again. I spent $32.84 one way. I stopped 6 times for gas, one of the stops was a breakfast stop, had beef jerky and an energy drink while riding, and cruised at an average speed of 75mph indicated (about 68-70mph actual).

I was low on gas on one stretch where the next gas stop was 20 miles away. I had to draft behind a big truck. It helped!

Great video. Looks like you had a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing.

Very cool. How was it riding through the Grapevine on the 5?

Loved the video Rex, thanks for sharing.

Thanks guys. Getting there was just 1/3 of the fun. The next third is the actual rally, and the last third, if you plan it right, is coming home on a different, more fun route.

The grapevine is actually one of my favorite stretches. Not a lot of people like it because there are too many slow trucks and cars with varying speeds. I like it because it's challenging. On the way back, at the bottom of the grapevine, one guy came up to me at a gas stop and said, "It was fun to see you rip through the grapevine." And I was ripping through it! Fast! Fun!

Rex = Super Hero Scooter God!

And here's Rex at one of his gas stops!

Haven't met you yet Rex, but when my boyfriend showed me this pic I knew exactly who you were Hope you had a blast!!

OMG! Small world! That's right, Derek, right? Your boyfriend? At one of the 6 gas stops I had, from out of nowhere, he came up to me and said that you would kick out of seeing a guy on a Vespa take the freeways because you have one too. Nice guy. That pic was taken 6 hours into my trip with 6 more hours to go.

edit

I liked the video. inow have a song to replace "Vespa, Vespa, Vesapa" in my head.

I normally listen to tunes on long rides but believe it or not, I didn't turn on my digital music player at all during this trip. I did have songs playing in my head all day. That, and the squishy chewing sounds my mouth made when I had some beef jerky while my earplugs were on. Sounds weird!

What a great video of your trip. The film was so crisp and clear. What type of camera did you use?

Thanks for posting!

Rex,

Nice job on the video. I can see why you do it as you have a good eye for the design of the overall package. It was great having a beer (or two) with you in Tahoe and we need to plan on doing it again sometime. If anyone else out there is wondering, the RBSC is a great group of people and you should attend any of their rides or rallies.

As to the comment that the Rock may be a little bigger than you, I am going to say that was an understatement. The Rock looks like a huge guy.

Thanks Guy. Glad you enjoyed it. Great pics by the way! Thanks. I used my pocket-sized Sony CX12 HD camcorder. I wish I could mount it somehow and still have a full range of motion like I do right now.

Great video Rex. We thought of you the entire time and missed you too!

Nice vid, Rex

It takes a lot of practice to make the feeling of riding along.
I really like your part 1 of the Lake Tahoe Rally. 8)

Excellent video Rex!

Would you mind sharing details about your camping rig? What do you pack, what tent did you use, etc.? I would love to combine my love of camping with the Vespa.

-George

Great video : )

Thanks again everyone! I had a great time at the rally (getting there, being at the rally, and coming home) ((althought now I'm feeling an unpleasant sensation I call "Post-Rally Depression)).

George, here's a picture of my GTV with the following:

Bag to hold my toiletries, clothes, etc. (black)
Sleeping pad (forest green)
Chair (beige)
One-man tent (light blue under the beige chair)
Sleeping bag (green, on the back seat)
Bag for water and snacks during the ride (on the hook)

Plan on strapping your gear in a way where you would remove only one or a few gear when lifting your seat for gas stops. With this setup, I only have to unhook the net and remove the sleeping bag. The seat will lift up.

Thanks!

What brand of tent do you have?

Rex Awesome Video!

What program did you use to edit and add music?

I just got a cheap helmet cam and it make HUGE AVI files that my IMovie program cannot import. Plus it seems that when I add titles and effects in IMovie it makes the files GIGANTIC!

I have other people recommending all sorts of programs ( I have a Mac OSX laptop) But your video looked and sounded GREAT! That is exactly what I want to make when I go downtown and ride Lake shore Drive in Chicago.

Great vid, Rex

How's the HJC modular? Unfortunately for me, I have an Arai-shaped head, which cuts out most of the modulars, but I do have an HJC off-road helmet which fits OK..

Thanks for the video and still pictures.

I'm getting an '07 GTV tomorrow so your trip report was very interesting to me.

Let's see if I can reply all...

George.
I have a Eureka! tent from Sports Chalet. I should have gotten the slightly larger one. This is just right for my height and the gear I have now. A little more space in the tent isn't a bad idea. The tent and sticks themselves aren't much bigger.

Belkwinith
I'm on a PC and I used Adobe Premiere CS (kinda old now). You can get that for a Mac too. Get on YouTube and look for tips on compressing video using H264.

samwise
The helmet I have (HJC IS-MAX) is by far the best helmet I have owned. A requirement I had was an inner tinted visor that drops low enough to not obstruct my view when looking into the side mirrors. An older helmet I had (non-modular) didn't have the visor drop far enough. Here's what I mean... Let's Make A List: Helmets with Interior Sun Visor (Post 297694)

Dutch
Good luck on the GTV. It's a great bike. I love the seat. People have asked me if my butt was sore for doing this 12-hour trip. If anything was sore, it's my knees for having it in that position all day. I should have walked around.

I'd do this trip again when I can!

20,000+ miles!! How many do you think it can go? That 250 must be super strong to run at those high speeds and not falter. The scoot looks like its in perfect shape. Great video. California does look beautiful!!

Bob

Hey Rex, Nice videos.

I noticed that you've put the little windscreen back on. How come?

cheers


edit: vids working now.

Very, very cool! Now I feel like a total wimp not wanting to make the trip from Sacramento Maybe next year if my work schedule permits. Thank you for sharing!!!

Vic. I believe MV Member UFO has the most mileage and he's got a 250 (MP3-250 though, but same engine). My GTV is fairly new and I take care of it. It's only 1yr 8mos old and it already has 21,000+ miles on it.

woodenhead. I removed the windscreen because at first I didn't like the wind on me but after getting used to my Suzuki, it doesn't bother me that me Plus I get better circulation for the summer. I might put it back. I don't know.

David. I must say, my 12-hour trip is nothing compared to what Cannonballers do and what a few MV'ers have done. I say, we just gotta keep riding while we still can. Have roads, will travel! Miss ya at Tahoe.