Cederberg - the vespa way

[the_wes]

i'll do a trip on a vespa, just tell me when and where :lol:

in my defence, i was planning on doing some serious trips on my wespa, but sold it before i got the chance :roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[mountainboy]

Great stuff Wes :lol:

Actually leaving this afternoon on a 4 day trip with another vespa dude ,he's got that fancy 250cc GTV.Goes real well with the GS.But we'll part ways whenever i do some serious off road stuff :?

So how serious are we about doing some hardcore vespa trips??

 

[the_wes]

give me a year and a half - i need to buy my px200 first 8) 8)

but if you manage to get the scoots paid for, hey, i'm there in a heartbeat. serious.

who you going with. o hang on. a GTV250, and wanting to do a 4 day trip

it can only be Walters...?

 

[Eisbein]

Have you ever ridden the old vespa's ?

I don't know the one you had that much, but I get the idea that it (like all new scooters) it isn't that rugged.

The old ones didn't have a frame as such. The bodywork was the frame.

Steel panels and all.

It made for an interesting repair job, as most of the stuff (except the engine) is inside with pipes, cables and connections between the lot.

With modern scooters you strip off all the plastics and you sit with a frame with things attached to it - with the old Vespa you have to scratch around body cavities. (that sentence just sounds wrong ...)

You would have been able to take your Vespa offroad, but chances are that you would damage it way more than what those old ones would have been. It was surprising how much abuse those things could take. Having said that I'm convinced that with enough patience you would hjave been able to. I know that I would have been too scared to scratch or ding it that I would not have enjoyed it so much. On mine I just raced it where ever I wanted to without ever giving it a 2nd thought.

O - another piece of useless old vespa trivia is about the engine.
Twostrokes have a problem that they can rev themselves 'stukkend'. The vespa's engine was 'governed' - not by electronic means, but by the design of the carburettor and the intake to the chamber. It was made more for torque and less for revs - so those things just never broke.

Best scooter in the world ever.

W.

 

[Eisbein]

So how serious are we about doing some hardcore vespa trips??

Dude, I'm seriously serious !

 

[mountainboy]

errrrrr Eisbein

You really kw ur vespa's,don't you

On that note -friend of mine also did the same route on the new 200cc - and he admitted that even tho she made thru just fine- he would've prefered gears instead. So much more options with gears

Do you still have ur vespa???

Currently restoring a 1964 vnb beaut - the curves on that baby in incredible :lol:

 

[Pistol]

I would loooove to do Sani on the vespa!!

 

[Eisbein]

Unfortunately I had to sell mine I was a student at the time and I had to get a car.


But I will get one again at some point. Even if it just is for the nostalgia (or the odd Sani trip !)

 

[wino]

this is a way cool report - out of the ordinary for the forum :wink: but still an adventure!

 

[shark_za]

Vespas are COOL !

 

[mountainboy]

Shark - you just made my day - thats a brilliant pic

 

[sidetrack]

Really enjoyed the report ! Only thing I did not like on mine was that the centrestand kept scraping on corners. Even with normal cornering.

 

[mountainboy]

maybe the spring holding the kickstand in position was weak.Never had that problem on any of my vespa's and I have taken them around loads of corners.

Come to think of it -my best trip up Bainskloof was on that PX going up from the ceres side - kick serious ass.Bigger bikes could'nt keep up. I was in a zone tho :lol:

Still have any vespa's

 

[sidetrack]

I would like one of the earlier pre PX models, the ones with more rounded front end and a single spring seat

 

[Eisbein]

I would like one of the earlier pre PX models, the ones with more rounded front end and a single spring seat

+100

I liked that seat more than the narrow 'single' seat.

The pillion also had that little 'rail' to hold on to.

 

[mountainboy]

I would like one of the earlier pre PX models, the ones with more rounded front end and a single spring seat

ya but they blerrie expensive now,esp in CT. There's one in the Cape adds for R24 k. :shock:

Dammit!!

Lucky I have afew that still needs to be fixed

 

[sidetrack]

Mountainboy I like a project, you can always send me one

 

[cono]

My bragging rights to say I have had a couple of rides with Wild Dogs, meant nothing when my dear mother-in-law (70 yrs plus - Italian Mamma), started relating her great biking reports.
Growing up in Northern Italy, Mamma rode a Vespa between the villages in and around Morbegno and Bergamo. She claims to have never come off, due to her great riding skills, over wet icy rodes, through the rain and windy months. Her family being in the hotel industry relied on her riding skills for the collection of much demanded food supplies and beverages, from other towns....Mamma's ride reports sound wild in comparision to that of some Wild Dog reports.
I've challenged her to ride my KLR650, and she says to give her a Vespa and a Five Cent Piece and she will show me how to do wheelies and 360's.
I don't want to call her bluff, as I'm afraid she may really be able to do it on a Vespa.
When she settled in this country, she still rode a Vespa, back and forth to work from Yeoville, Johannesburg. My wife even remembers her Mamma giving her rides to the Convent during the mornings (minus safety gear).

Would love to get her a ride on a new model Vespa and get her to report on bike comparisions from the old models to the new.

So..there you go... mountainboy...you're a Hero to a dear old lady, bringing back memories of the past....i'm sure Mamma will ride with you any day...or should I say ...she will let you ride with her.

Thanks for a very enjoyable report.

LIKE A SEXY ITALIAN GIRL: The GTV250 is a little broader in the hips than at the shoulders.

 

[Red]

This is a lady I would love to meet!!

Why don't we organise something?

 

[bmad]

Good idea Red!

I think some of the wilddogs would like to meet these ladies :twisted:

shark_za