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4,914 Posts
I got into scooterism when I was a Navy brat stationed in Naples Italy back in the early 70s (I was about 11). I thought that Vespas and Piaggio Ciaos where THE BOMB! And, in retrospect, they still hold a warm spot in my heart, along with MotoGuzzis, Lambrettas, Fiats (Cinquecentos!), Bennellis, Alfas, Citroens, Peugeots, etc. etc.
With alla dat being said however, even though i have over 40 ponies at the crankshaft, without a clutch to goof around with, I find that I could probably have more fun on a 1979 Vespa 150. I just remember twisting that gear selector into 1st, revvin it up and going for broke!
My Burgman 650 isn't a Vespa Rally. It's a whole different ball-o-wax. In my case, I will be going on a 1100 mile trip this spring, and prolly dig almost all of it. I don't thinnk I could do that on some old cobbled up Lambretta....
So... what should this mean? I guess it means that I am a carb and points guy way down, and being able to select my own ratio is something that is viseral and also something I dig. Yeah the CVT does it's job with the typical Japanese perfection, but like so many cages nowadays, it's lost in its perfection and vanilla-ism.
It bums me out (in some ways) to not be able and "see" where my oil level is and what my plug wires look like....(unless I stand on my head!) But, I've been lucky enough to be able to get to the point where I can get younger wiser people to do that sort of stuff for me.
But I'll never forget that ride (from an Italian mechanic who worked down the alley from our apartment) on his jet black Laverda 750.
Sigh... I'll just twist the grip knowing that exclusivity is pretty cool, and grin when I'm in power mode making all others grow small in the rearviews.
Just a reflection...
Be safe. Ride safe.
With alla dat being said however, even though i have over 40 ponies at the crankshaft, without a clutch to goof around with, I find that I could probably have more fun on a 1979 Vespa 150. I just remember twisting that gear selector into 1st, revvin it up and going for broke!
My Burgman 650 isn't a Vespa Rally. It's a whole different ball-o-wax. In my case, I will be going on a 1100 mile trip this spring, and prolly dig almost all of it. I don't thinnk I could do that on some old cobbled up Lambretta....
So... what should this mean? I guess it means that I am a carb and points guy way down, and being able to select my own ratio is something that is viseral and also something I dig. Yeah the CVT does it's job with the typical Japanese perfection, but like so many cages nowadays, it's lost in its perfection and vanilla-ism.
It bums me out (in some ways) to not be able and "see" where my oil level is and what my plug wires look like....(unless I stand on my head!) But, I've been lucky enough to be able to get to the point where I can get younger wiser people to do that sort of stuff for me.
But I'll never forget that ride (from an Italian mechanic who worked down the alley from our apartment) on his jet black Laverda 750.
Sigh... I'll just twist the grip knowing that exclusivity is pretty cool, and grin when I'm in power mode making all others grow small in the rearviews.
Just a reflection...
Be safe. Ride safe.