Modern Vespa

From my local paper today...and no,it WASN'T me.

From the Thanet Extra...

"A motorcyclist suffered a badly bruised spine when he was thrown from his 600cc Kawasaki while trying to stop a scooter driver riding erratically.
Police say the 36 year old from Dover was concerned at the way a black Vespa was being ridden in and out of traffic in Canterbury Road West on Thursday 8th March at around 10.30AM.
A police spokesman said "Unfortunately,while signalling to the scooter rider to calm down,the motorcyclist hit the back of an articulated lorry...."


Am I evil for laughing at the last bit??

Sounds like the person on the scooter was a better rider He didn't hit anything

John

All motorcycle rider jokes aside, if that occurred in Detroit i'd find out who the hell the scooter rider was and lay into them when i saw them next.

There's a person who rides a modern vespa locally that i want nothing to do with on the road because he showboats ... it's not enough that people notice him for riding a scooter, but he does shit like stand up on the floorboards and is horrible in group rides, nearly leading to the accidents of other scooterists.

I want no part of that. My accident taught me how absolutely vulnerable you are when no external factors are even invovled ( alcohol, screwing around, etc )... i got hit riding completely by the book with my only mistake being the fact i was riding alone.

All this and the fact that scooterists want to be taken seriously and treated as legitimate motorcyle-esque vehicles by both cagers and bikers alike. This is bad press for all of us.

-Eric

well said.

there are people in my town that i will no longer ride with or avoid on larger group rides for that same reason. you say something to them too and all of sudden you're the bad guy too. unfortunately they're bound to learn the hard way someday.

Fair play to you Eric and Eenie,I agree,the Vespa rider's a fool.But my warped English sense of humour overtakes me sometimes..

I'm afraid my sense of humour is with you scoots. Lets hope the biker's hand signals didn't get lodged anywhere unpleasant during the impact.

You'd think in the presence of an erratic rider he'd be extra vigilant... how can you miss an articulated truck? It's not as if he hit a Smart Car/Mini Cooper.

Sounds like they both need a little training, to be honest.

must be the English in me as well.

This is obviously one side of the story.
If some poser on a kawasaki was playing copper with me, it might cause me to drive irratically, if I wasn't more inclined to stop and boff him one.

I chuckled a bit. Not at his pain, just that he was having trouble keeping up on his 600cc. I'm not one to enforce my ideas about life on anyone else. I let them them do their thing and hope they let me do mine.

Yes there is two sides to every story.

Here's mine

I was in the area between the carpool lane and the fast lane, the double yellow area. this is the safest place to split lanes IMO.

I come upon a harley rider who is being very aggressive with a driver who, in his opinion, didnt give enough room for him to split. This after following him at a snail pace because he was so sketchy about splitting. Whatever you call a Harley squid, he was.

So finally I get past him and call him a dumbass.
The chase ensues! Im on a sportbike and obviously a more proficient rider mind you, and this idiot wants to try to play with me?

He chases me for a couple miles. I get off at an exit that is a right sweeper. I stop at the stop light at the end of the ramp and watch him come careening around the bend running way wide and getting wider until he hits the red apple on the shoulder and somehow doesnt toss himself but surely soiled his pink thong.

So thats kinda the same thing coming from the other side. The Kawi. rider was probably not the concerned citizen he tried to come off as.

Sometimes I stand up to see over SUV's to see if their is a car directly infront of them. Just to make sure i have a place to go when I am passing something large.

And who hasn't for some reason or another.

It is easy to pass judgement on another rider, but not a good idea, unless you are present.

As for the bad rider in your group, have a word with him, aside from the group, where it won't just become a defensive situation and explain how you feel when you see him do certain actions. ( I know it sounds all girly) but it is probably out of ignorance, if it not, you'll soon see.

Some people are just not ment to be in the group.

wasnt me! it could of been another make of scoot. when i had my aprilia habana everyone used to think it was a lammy despite the aprilia logo staring them in the face. if i was the biker i would have just let the scooter rider do his thing. its his life hes risking. not mine. and im not prepared to put my life on the line to stop someones stupidity.

The MC rider may have thought he was doing a good thing to try to take control of a situation, however perhaps a call to the authorities would have been more appropriate. They're trained to handle such behavior without endangering themselves.

Best wishes to the MC rider.