We went scooter shopping

[94touring]

Went and picked up the scooter.  After a quick tutorial on how to start and stop it, loaded it up on my small trailer and brought it to the shop to test drive and see how it does on the hills.  I've never actually driven any kind of motorcycle or scooter before.  After some awkwardness and short learning curve on how to slowly accelerate and make a turn, I was off.  Gets up to 55-60 pretty quickly.  Top speed was 68mph. The hill climbs were good. Steep hill A from a dead stop to the top it got up to 45mph.  This is the steepest and shortest part of road.  Steep hill B started at 50 and it maintained 50 up most of it and got to 55 by the top. Steep hill C I started at 60mph and it pretty much maintained it the whole way up, dropped slightly. In fact it is on par with the bus performance on the same hills. Of course with the new go fast parts on the bus that will change.

[cstudep]

Nice, I have to say it looks a hell of a lot bigger sitting there next to the bus/mini than it did on the showroom floor LOL.

[MiniDave]

Curious to see how it will do with a passenger and stuff loaded on it.....

[94touring]

Nice, I have to say it looks a hell of a lot bigger sitting there next to the bus/mini than it did on the showroom floor LOL.

I thought maybe it was light enough and just lift the front end up onto the trailer since the trailer is so low.  Nope.  Ordered a 6 foot long narrow aluminum ramp.  I need to fab up the wheel chocks before I bring it home too. They strapped the thing up for me before I left but I sure was skeptical. 

[cstudep]

The older I get the heavier things seem to be so I am with you there.

You would be surprised how well a cycle stays in place with just 2 straps, one on each side of the handle bars and something to nose the front wheel up against. Of course if you can provide something more/better it of course wont hurt!

[94touring]

I found a wheel chock I'm going to use for the trailer.  Watched several YouTube vids on various chocks and then after some consideration went with this style.  The scooter wheels being 12 inches is a limiting factor on some chocks. This one will need to be modified to work too, but mainly that's just going to involve cutting down the vertical end so it isn't hitting the fender, and then drilling holes for the rear flip part thingy to move forward far enough to secure the back of the front wheel.  The cool thing is I can roll it in place and it holds the scooter upright, meaning I can strap it down solo without needing a 2nd pair of hands. 

[Brit_in_TX]

I found a wheel chock I'm going to use for the trailer.  Watched several YouTube vids on various chocks and then after some consideration went with this style.  The scooter wheels being 12 inches is a limiting factor on some chocks. This one will need to be modified to work too, but mainly that's just going to involve cutting down the vertical end so it isn't hitting the fender, and then drilling holes for the rear flip part thingy to move forward far enough to secure the back of the front wheel.  The cool thing is I can roll it in place and it holds the scooter upright, meaning I can strap it down solo without needing a 2nd pair of hands.

I used one of those and 2 straps to tow a Harley on a trailer.  It was rock solid.  The biggest issue was getting the dam thing on the trailer as it was a none runner and are not light!

[94touring]

This had popped up in my feed yesterday so I watched the last hour of bidding.  Strong price for a scooter! 

[94touring]

Working on the bike stand and trailer.  Only had to drill a couple extra holes on the stand to fit the small wheels of the vespa. Put one of the camp gear bins on the trailer to situate it all in the best configuration.  So far it's all working as planned.

[94touring]

Everything bolted down and straps tested.  It's as secure as it's going to get.

[cstudep]

Looking good!

[94touring]

Made one last mod to the ramp, well a few mods.  I changed the angle of the lip so it's more flush with the trailer bed. It was designed for a higher pitch.  Welded it up where I sliced the back side to bend it.  Added a bolt on each edge of the plate because it was bending the aluminum due to flexing.  Last and most importantly I added a through bolt to make double damn sure the ramp can't slide out on me.  It has a rubber bottom but it still wanted to slide here and there on me.  Just need to find a way to secure the ramp to the trailer when it's not in use and it's all done.

[ve9aa]

I love da mods Dan.

[94touring]

I love da mods Dan.

Thanks.  The last thing I did was add a stud off the one fender to secure down the ramp.

[94touring]

Took Jen to a parking lot to practice today and then around the block of the parking lot to expand out.  So far so good. First time I drove it with a passenger on the back, but it's not at all difficult. Still peppy taking it up hills too.

[94touring]

I've put 155 miles on it so far, 75 around Tulsa and 75 up here in the Rocky Mountains the past 2 days. I'm not sure which I like more, the gas mileage or ease of parking.  Speed wise up here between 8000 and 10000 feet, it has kept up with traffic.  The steepest roads it chugs along at 30-35mph with both of us riding and some gear, but the speed limit so far in those areas have been between 25 and 35mph.  Haven't held anyone up and more often than not I'm slowing behind an rv or people driving slower than the posted limit. Hardest part for me so far is stop and go traffic barely creeping along in town.  There's a fine line between going slow enough to walk it along or needing to pull my feet up because it's going too fast to have legs dangling. It's a balancing act to maintain balance basically.  Still working on my technique there.

[94touring]

The vespa has really been amazing up here especially when popping into town.  Since it's a tourist spot, parking is a real issue, but not with the vespa! While the lines are long and the lot is at a standstill, we can just park off a bike path.  Or, corner pocket bike parking.  Top of the mountain trail head you typically have to park off site and be bussed in. With the vespa the front row to the trail head has spots for bikes.  Had a couple people ask where they could rent a scooter!

[94touring]

12,183 feet going over the top of the Rockies. 

[MiniDave]

What was the temp change from 7K to 12K?

On top of Independence Pass there was 4-5 ft of snow on July 4th, when we did the MMW Aspen trip

[94touring]

It was probably low 50s high 40s up there.  But a sunny day so wasn't bad at all.  I've been up there in snow and hail before.

[94touring]

Put right at 275 miles on it this week zipping around the area.  I had topped it off after a couple days with about a gallon, then once it was down to a quarter tank another 1.5 gallons.  Gas gauge currently showing 7/8 full, so maybe a quarter gallon low. Considering I had to be full throttle many times that's not bad at all, and somewhere around 100mpg.  I've also gotten really good at driving it!

[Willie_B]

Now if you could figure how to take it with you as carry on luggage when you are working.

[94touring]

The vespa is due for it's first oil change after the recommended break in period.