Modern Vespa

I find it funny...almost everytime I am the first car at a light, cars will be 5 or 6 cars deep in the lane next to me thinking "I don't want to be stuck behind a scooter"...they think you are one of those cheap Asian scooters...maybe a 50cc slow bike...and then the light changes, you gun it and ride smiling the whole way as you look back in your rearview mirror as they start changing lanes to follow you...does this happen to other people a lot too?

Actually yes it happens all the time. There's an intersection which is 4 lane on my way to work. There's always a parked car about 1/8 mile from the intersection and people will get into the right lane to pass me cause they think im going to go too slow. I always gun it from that stop light there and keep them from passing me. Me bad Then I always get the stare when they pull up beside me at the next light. Gosh I love how I can get to 50mph in a heartbeat.

It's much more fum if you set off slowly keeping pace with the car and then when they change gear into 2nd then you gun it!!

I have had similar looks but it was from the guy riding the big Ninja next to me last night. After the third light we'd met at, he turned and asked me what I've got, he saw the 250 tag and was VERY surprised when I said I get it up to about 80 MPH.

It was fun.. and look ... no shifting.

They all pile up into the other lane & THEN try to pass me. It is so fun to pace the car in the lead & frustrate the rest of them. Not so good for my karma, but sooo fun

They always do, sometimes.

so funny...all the time!

All the time. It's absolutely one of the things I love most about riding my GTS! I do that pacing with the slow lead car in the other lane to piss off the Audis and BMWs too.

Amen brother, amen! 8)

Ha! All the time man, all the time. I love it too when I lane split up to the front and some hotshot in a lame car tries to gun it and "show me" when the light turns green... sorry buddy, yer not gonna catch me in your Ford Tempo!

All the time too! Never really knew why but you're probably right. Works for me, I get away from the cages faster and don't have to split lanes.

Oh yes, I am sitting in the right lane of two and there must be 12 cars lined up behind the car in the other lane. I haven't acculally gone slow along side the other car of fear of them not seeing me and my chair. I take off and after awhile I see the other cars peal off the left lane and pass the others cars then get back into the left lane and pass me going 60mph in a 45 just to get ahead of me. Once the light is red I toot my horn and split the lane and usually don't see them again.

I usually do not have this problem, but at one intersection when both sides of the street lights are green, I try to turn left and let the cars go by first. All the cars behind me love to pass me because I do not take up all the street like a car.

Yep. Happened a few times today and it was especially enjoyable when a ho-dad asks me how fast it goes, and I say "80" as the light changes and I leave his ass sitting at the light. More ominously, it also happens on the freeway as people panic and think they will be stuck going 45 after a scooter in a 60 zone...

Happens all the time to me as well. Admittedly I'm on a 50cc Vespa... but it usually takes off reasonably fast and in line with or perhaps slightly slower than the average car driver.

I tend to speed unintentionally when riding the Vespa because I hear the engine sound being the same but the speed slowly creeps up as the "gear ratio" increases. On my bike I ride at the speed limit (50 km/hr or about 30 mph) but don't have the drivers avoiding to be behind me problem (presumably they think I would fly off the instance I can?).

One of my favorite things to do on the Vespa too! On my work commute this doesn't seem to happen as much as it used to. I think they all remember me now.

I think 'm responsible for at least one car getting a speeding ticket because they just had to get around me. There is a street in my neighborhood where the speed limit is 30 mph and the city cops use it as a speed trap all the time. I was on my return trip down the road so I knew the cops were out and I purposely stayed at the speed limit. The car behind me gunned it to pass in the other lane, just as the cop nabs him with the radar gun.

Its easy to make stupid cagers do stupid things.

Ditto. A cager just had to get around me and did it to himself.

A similar effect that I have noticed is that no matter how fast you are going on your scooter it isn't fast enough for a cager. On my daily commute there is a straight flat stretch of road on which the speed limit is 45MPH. I was going down the road at closer to 55 an noticed two cars in the left lane just gunning it up the road. The first one passed me going probably something close to 65-70 and was too focused on getting around me that he ran a red light right in front of a police car. Then the fun began (for him anyway)

Opposite in London. If a car wants to get away quickly, it gets behind the bikes at the front.

Last week, I was riding on a road near my house where the speed limit is 50-55mph. I was in the right lane, and this really slow Aveo was in the middle lane. I am just going with the pace of traffic, maybe 5mph over the limit, and I go past him. He couldn't stand being passed by a scooter, so all of sudden he sped up, with a lot of effort, and passed me. I am still in the break-in period, and I was already exceeding the speed limit. So I just kept going my speed. There were no cops to give him a ticket, but I thought he looked foolish

I do like smokin' 'em at the lights though It's even more fun on the scooter than when I do it in one of our cars.

I would have to pull over and laugh in the driver's face if that happened near me...very funny story.

+1 in OZ!

I was thinking about this today, as I was going down the street after a stop sign on my P. I was a little slow to take off (it's a 125), and a mustang goes around me then gets back into my lane. Then is several MPH below the speed limit. Which I caught up to pretty quickly, and then had to go around him. And started out pacing him by a while. Then got back into my lane. Heh.

Then about 8 blocks later, we approach a red light. I start slowing down and he starts signaling to go around me again, as if I wouldn't pass him. The light turns green before we get to it again, and I keep at my pace, and he slinks back into the same lane behind me, clearly annoyed.

What a lamer.

can't say I've frequently had that problem - most of the time cars are fine behind me as long as I'm going at a decent speed which is usually faster than the average car driver - As I get away faster and don't stay behind any particular car for more than a min, I don't think it's really a problem. Of course you get the occassional gits who want to show off but it's a nonesence really cause if we're going the same direction 9 times out of 10 I end up overtaking them anyway.