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Post by cydoniaquest on Aug 19, 2018 5:59:04 GMT
I just bought it today....I have a thing for two wheeled transportation, and I was just going to walk into the dealership just to see what the new Vespas were coming out with....And I fell in love with it....I have an older Portofino green color GTV (V stands for Vintage), but I'll be trading that in for this new model...the GTS 300 Touring edition... I've had several motorcycles over the years, and I know some of the motorcycle enthusiasts are going to think I'm a wimp for liking scooters...but I guess I've just reached an age where I don't care what other people think any more...(You may have noticed from my hamster posts)...
Let me tell you, girlfriend, there's a sense of freedom you get on these things that you don't get on anything else...It's hard to put your finger on it....But if I'm going to go down the street and get some groceries, 9 times out of 10, I'm going to prefer taking this thing....The new ones really run smoothly and quietly and have all the power you'd ever want...73 miles to the gallons on 300cc...I think they're awesome....And there's a little compartment for hamsters too....
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Post by cydoniaquest on Aug 19, 2018 6:05:03 GMT
For getting groceries n stuff....I'm thinking about a bag like this one that just attaches to the rack....I like that vintage look...This model of Vespa is like my old one....I know, it's a great color, but....I thought a change would be nice.
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Post by pennybanger on Aug 19, 2018 6:10:50 GMT
WOW! I LOVE it. I have a photo of myself somewhere, on a visit to France at age 17, sitting on my penfriend's mum's Vespa and feeling like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Vespas are just THE COOLEST! (did you know the word is Italian for wasp?)
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Post by Carmella on Aug 19, 2018 6:19:30 GMT
very nice.  |
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Aug 19, 2018 6:20:03 GMT
Love it 😄
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Post by cydoniaquest on Aug 19, 2018 6:22:49 GMT
WOW! I LOVE it. I have a photo of myself somewhere, on a visit to France, sitting on my penfriend's mum's Vespa and feeling like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Vespas are just THE COOLEST! (did you know the word is Italian for wasp?) Roman Holiday was one of Muna's favorite movies...(If you never met her, Muna was a moderator on my board but she disappeared a year ago without saying goodbye, and I've missed her ever since)....But since she introduced me to the movie, it has become one of my favorites as well. She wanted a scooter too...That movie has one of the saddest endings...
Anyway, the wasp name comes from the fact that it has those sort of fat "haunches" when looked at from the rear, that kinda looks like the body segment of a wasp....That's where the engine compartment is, right over that rear wheel there so it's a very efficient design...Low center of gravity makes it very agile...All steel monocoque frame makes it very durable and rugged, in the tradition of the vintage models....
I can fit several bags of groceries on that little ring up front, and usually don't even need to use the racks....The only bad thing about them is they do create this tendency to want to ride them without wearing any protective gear...I'll ride a Vespa with short sleeves for some reason wheras I wouldn't do that with a motorcycle....but you know what I mean. It's just makes it so tempting to hop on the thing and ride....I do always wear a helmet though...and gloves. For some reason, I'm more exited to get this thing home than I am about most things....Right now, they've got the one I bought in their shop adding some extras and upgrades to it...Like mine will have an upgraded lighting system to all LED lights and it will have a USB port externally rather than the internal glove compartment design...Other than those things, I pretty much thought the stock model had everything I wanted or needed...There's so much history and character in these things, AND YET, with modern technology in the engine etc...All fuel injected, very efficient...Easy to start.
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Post by cydoniaquest on Aug 19, 2018 6:27:06 GMT
I do like the look of that split leather seat design on my old Vintage model that looks like a saddle, but I found the newer one piece seat design to be much more plush and comfortable...I guess I'm going for comfort these days as much as looks....LOL.
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Post by pennybanger on Aug 19, 2018 6:54:41 GMT
These are my wheels.  |
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pepe
I'm so glad that we at this board are special, not like other boards. You are all wonderful.
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Post by pepe on Aug 19, 2018 7:15:18 GMT
i'm not sure the hamster will be too thrilled but its really cute.
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deb
Keating recalling Morrison passing around coal in QT calls him "ä fossil in a baseball cap""
Posts: 6,181
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Post by deb on Aug 19, 2018 7:36:29 GMT
cool Cy!
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Post by madara on Aug 19, 2018 7:42:43 GMT
i like motorcycles too (including scooters )
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Clarabelle
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Post by Clarabelle on Aug 19, 2018 14:06:11 GMT
How many hamsters does it take to run one of those things?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2018 18:40:44 GMT
that's very cool, cy, i love vespas.
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joono
Posts: 5,480
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Post by joono on Aug 20, 2018 0:40:42 GMT
I love mopeds. Put on your drain pipe and loafers and you're a mod.
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Post by cydoniaquest on Aug 20, 2018 7:01:33 GMT
I love mopeds. Put on your drain pipe and loafers and you're a mod. One of the kids on my soccer team used to have one of those when I was a kid....I thought he was the luckiest guy in the world.....That was my childhood dream..to one day own a moped....
Now, I don't think they still make them in the US....
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Post by cydoniaquest on Aug 24, 2018 4:10:59 GMT
  I picked it up from Elk Grove at Elk Grove Power Sports, which is just south of Sacramento.....I could have had them deliver but I just rode my old Vespa down there for the trade-in and rode the new Vespa back....So, this new one is basically stock except that I had some crash bars put on...(they don't look too bad), and I had their USB charging port kit installed....... The new USB kit reroutes the outlet from inside the glove box where it originally is and puts it on the outside, with more power for faster charging....plus a mounting bracket for a smart phone. I don't have a smart phone currently, but I figure that if I get that new Galaxy S-10 when it comes out, I'd want to mount it somewhere to use the GPS maps on it. The only other thing was to install much brighter LED lights....instead of the conventional lights that come from the factory.... I think this one might handle a little better than my other one, and the seat feels more comfortable. When I hit 20,000 miles on it, I'll probably install a high performance cylinder kit, maybe a high performance variator, and maybe a high performance pipe....but right now, it's pretty zippy in it's stock form....Actually more fun (I think) than a motorcycle...I probably won't trade this one in but just maintain it as a classic...I do think 2018 will probably be their best version. I know the motorcycle purists out there think these are wimpy and girlish.....but really, they're more practical for around town use and getting the groceries, things like that, including a little place for your hamster....More fun than a motorcycle, I think, because there's no clutch or anything...You just get on it, twist the throttle, and you're off.....Nothing else to think about....Gets over 70 miles to the gallon, and does 80+ mph on the freeway....so that's all I really need...I don't plan to use it on the freeway much, but when I do need to go on the freeway for short stretches, it'll sure handle it....It will accelerate faster than most sportsbikes at a red light because there's no shifting....If you don't want to be a scooter convert, don't ever test drive one of these things, because, if you do, you will be hooked! I love the nostalgia of Vespa....You WILL want one... When I was down there and the sales guy had set me up on it ready to go and a little Chinese lady was coming into the store. She couldn't have been more than five feet tall and was really staring at my new ride, so I asked if she was thinking about a Vespa, and she said yes, but she wasn't sure if her feet would touch the ground seated....So I said..."Would you like to sit on it?"....She said yes, and came over to see if she fit, and it was up on it's center stand, running....Well, I thought she'd just sit on it and know better than to touch the throttle, but sure enough, she had to twist the throttle to test the sound, and because these don't have clutches, the wheels will start turning when you do that, so she lurched forward, and off the center stand, and was heading right in to the plate glass store front window....ON MY NEW VESPA....Luckly though I quickly grabbed the brake and stopped the thing....BUT, My new Vespa almost crashed before I even rode it....LOL.....She was very apologetic and embarrassed, and I tried to just comfort her and say don't worry about it....Perfectly normal....Everything's OK....(I hope that didn't turn her away from being interested in one).... 
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Post by pennybanger on Aug 24, 2018 6:46:43 GMT
AWESOME!!! |
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joono
Posts: 5,480
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Post by joono on Sept 1, 2018 8:31:54 GMT
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Post by cydoniaquest on Sept 1, 2018 12:02:24 GMT
Ha ha! Gotta love that Vespa tank! It's funny how scooters are well respected as a main form of transportation in countries like Indonesia or India...but in the US I think there's still a little bit of this attitude that, if it isn't a big SUV or some car like a Mercedes or Lexus, then you are part of the lower class...I mean, there still is that underlying sense that cars are status symbols, so alternative transportation hasn't really caught on all that much...but I think the scooter is just a really neat way to get around. I don't like the idea of mass transportation....and yet, I think we're a bit too dependent upon the car as a society.....It's just that most of the time, you don't really need that big hunk of metal to go down to the corner market or something like that...
If we designed our communities a bit more ergonomically and just more human friendly for getting where you need to go in short distances...you wouldn't need to be on the freeway all the time. It's not that I'm in favor of some central planning concept.....
I guess I'm just more agreeing with the concept that Disney had in mind when he envisioned a community, sort of like out of Leave it to Beaver, where everything you needed was in walking distance....or where you just hop on a bike or motorized scooter of some sort and in two minutes you're at the corner store or place of work.....Sort of like things used to be designed more in the 50s...If you've ever been to Los Angeles here in California...the urban sprawl is unbelievable....I mean, you could drive all day, on 100s of miles of concrete....just shopping...And the experience is so cold...Nobody sees each other outside their shiny metal boxes....Nobody says hi....Maybe it's necessary with the populations of big cities to be designed in such a way...Maybe I'm being whimsical about that small town feel...
But that's the appeal of scooters to me...Just made for getting around your little community and being out in the open...Something that you just hop on like your personal magic carpet and you don't really have to think about it...Just step on to it like sitting on a lawn chair.....Just twist that throttle and go....
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2018 19:38:33 GMT
i get it cy. although wichita is the biggest city in the state, it's a" small town city", filled with districts and neighborhoods that are each their own small town. i live in the delano district and don't drive, but i have a " granny cart". within a 1/2 mile of my house, i can buy fresh meat& veggies at braum's, dry goods, cleaning stuff, etc. at the dollar general or family dollar. i can also get my cigars, or beer, or liquor/mixers close by. and there's practically any kind of food in restaurants or diners that you could want, all within that 1/2 mile. i can also go play board games or cards or shuffleboard, and hear live music at the shamrock, and there's a thrift store for books and such, as well as the new library, which is just past that 1/2 mile range.
we all talk to each other, and take care of each other, it's a great place to live!
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