Vespa Cross Country and Beyond

The Scooter Scene in Shanghai, China

2009-12-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

I recently visited Shanghai and was very surprised to see a thriving scooter scene. I wouldn't say scooters are as prevalent as they are in other asian countries (think Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, etc.), but they are definitely a popular means of transportation. However, there are some notable differences with the scooters in Shanghai than in other parts of the world (that I've experienced atleast).

1. I would say more than 25% of the scooters are electric. I was in Beijing earlier this year and saw the same type of scooters there - however, they were much more prevalent in Beijing, comprising what seemed to be 90% or more of all scooters on the street. I did not recognize a consistent brand, but then again, I didn't stare at any close up. Also, the labeling of the scooters makes it hard to tell what the exact maker is - "Super scooter 100", doesn't really tell me its made by X company" (and some of the scooters looked to be unbranded). Further, these electric scooters are much smaller in profile than the the typical 125cc gas scooter - they are much slimmer, and the tires are considerably smaller, looking halfway between a bike tire and a scooter tire. How do you tell if a scooter is electric? The dead giveaway is the size, but also the lack of muffler. One more thing to note - I almost was hit by an electric scooter as I did not hear it approach - they are dead quiet! With the street noise of cars, etc., they are very hard to hear - be warned!

2. Less than half the people wear helmets. Very common to see people riding around with just a jacket on - no eye protection (maybe glasses), no helmet, etc. And strange as it may sound, the farther you get away from the city, the more helmets you see. I went to a town about 40 miles west of Shanghai city, and was surprised to see more riders wearing helmets - and this is on wide open, non-crowded roads. Shouldn't it be the other way? Perhaps more open --> greater speed --> wear helmet?

3. Profile of scooter users is pretty broad - woman, men, old, young, etc. No real theme here. I saw a woman, who must of been in her 40s/50s, riding along one of the busiest streets in Shanghai like it was no big deal (no helmet either).

4. Bicycles are still very popular in China. Many people still bike around on vintage looking bicycles (think one gear) - pretty cool. Also, mo-peds are popular as well (think bicycle with tiny engine).

5. In the rural areas, not uncommon to see 3 or 4 people on one scooter. Wife, husband, and two kids often ride around.

6. Gas is cheap in Shanghai, due to government subsidies. I think the gas prices were 50% or less of what the US consumers pay. Interesting to note, but China has banned gas motorcycles/scooters in many provinces, saying it contributes to the smog/pollution (which is horrible in China, Beijing and Shanghai especially). I find that odd as most of the pollution in China is due to industry factories, not scooters!

Can you see pollution?

Gas Scooter!

Police Motorycycle

Close Parking

Scooter-Taxi!

Electric-Scooter

Chinese Helmet (Helicopter Helmet?)

40-Miles Outside Shanghai

NSR (Not Scooter Related)

Canyon Ride

2009-11-17T09:14:00.001-08:00

Since moving to LA, I have joined up with a couple scooter groups. There are two in the LA/Greater LA area that seem to be the most prominent and organized, an LA group and a group out of Long Beach. As you all probably guessed, the LA group usually organizes rides in the LA area, and well, Long beach...yeah - you get it. Anyways, the LA group organized a ride last weekend through the canyons just north west of Los Angeles. The canyon area is just north of Malibu, and they are spectacular. Imagine twisting (almost 90 degree turns) in succession, climbing mountains with spectacular views. Who would imagine there is such riding only 30 minutes outside LA? While I had ridden through some of the canyons before, the ride took me through some parts that I was unfamiliar with - and the ride was pretty amazing. Apologies, but given the group ride, I really didn't have any opportunity to stop and take pictures of the scenery or the roads. Usually when I ride myself, I stop more frequently to snap pics, but the ride was pretty organized, and there was no way I was going to stop the entire group for my sake. I would of snapped pics while riding, but 1) that's how I broke my camera in the first place (in Iowa somewhere...I think) and 2) the roads were so darn twisty I needed both hands! I'll be sure to ride up there in the near future and take more pics - the scenery and roads are absolutely stunning.

As you can imagine, the canyons are very popular with motorcyclists. We stopped by a famous biker stop called "the Rock store", which had about 50 motorcyclists. Apparently, it has been a hot spot for bikers for years - dating back to the 60s(not sure, don't quote me). It was pretty cool rollin up to a 1500cc monster motorcycle on my 250cc Vespa!

On the way back to LA, we cruised down the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway for those who aren't from California - it's a highway that runs down the coast) and stopped by another biker hot spot "Neptune's Net". They have pretty good food - one section serves fish and chips/chicken tenders/fries (think golden fried plate), and one section serves fresh seafood (Lobster, clams, corn, etc). It was pretty darn good I have to admit. Plus, the view of the ocean/coastline/beach was pretty amazing.

All in all, the ride was about 130+ miles, which to be honest, was a little long for me. I hadn't ridden more than 50 miles in one day since the cross country trip, so I was not exactly in "riding shape". Anyway, felt good riding for an extended time, but my back/bottom was a little stiff the next day. I took a couple pics along the way. Hope you all enjoy them.

*Disclaimer* I took some pictures from other people on the ride, and the Ventura County Ventures Scooter Crew website!

Meet-up at Starbucks at Woodland Hills, CA

The Rock Store

Gassing up Near Thousand Oaks

'Ol Reliable

Stop at the Original "Hotel California" and Meetup with the Ventura County Ventures Scooter Crew.

Neptunes on PCH

Road-Shots

Settling in LA & Future of This Blog

2009-11-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

It's been awhile since I updated the blog. I've been settling into LA, work and trying to get used to LA traffic, sun everyday, and west coast life in general. So far, things are going well ;)

So I started this blog to document the cross country vespa trip, but I've decided to continue adding to it with new content. I figure, I still ride quite often and while they might not be "long" journeys, they may be interesting none the less to some of you. Also, I am thinking of taking a couple long-ish rides in the near future. Ideas have ranged from LA to Mexico, to LA to Vancouver, to maybe even LA to Alaska! So anyways, keep checking back - I plan to add some content soon.

As for the previous journey and logs, I plan to retag and rename them as "Vespa Cross Country Journey" or something, so it will be easy for people to go back if needed.

Anyways, if you're reading this, thanks for following along...

Cross Country Day 25: Las Vegas, NV – Manhattan Beach, CA

2009-07-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

After reading all the input from the guys on MODERNVESPA.COM on best times to leave and routes to take from Las Vegas to LA, and after much deliberation, we decided to leave Las Vegas at 4 AM. The reasons were many – all of which you guys already mentioned. First and foremost, we figured most of the drunk drivers would be back at home sleeping, or at a minimum, not traveling on interstate 15! Second, we wanted to beat traffic – again, we were hoping that traffic would be lightest during the early morning. This was important because we did not know what to expect out of the PX – would she quit again or was that a one time thing due to the extreme heat? Needless to say, I checked the insurance for PX and re-read over the roadside assistance details. Third, we really wanted to beat the heat. Need I remind everyone, our approach to Las Vegas was absolute brutal. Think hair blower one inch from your face. We REALLY didn’t want to go through that again, and being aware that the Mojave and Death Valley regions are two of the hottest in North America, we decided to aggressively try and cross it was relatively cold.

In terms of route, we decided to take the first 50 or so miles on route 15. We assumed there would be few people on the road, and 15 south is by far the most direct route toward the LA area. Given our uneasiness with PX, we agreed to play it by ear – if PX starts shuttering, we’ll get off and find another way, or else we ride PX as long as possible on the highway to get through the desert before it really started heating things up.

We were out the door by 4:10 AM, and after a quick stop by the Las Vegas sign to snap pictures, we headed down route 15 south toward California. The temperature on our departure was around 95 – relatively cool compared to the heat we had faced the day before. Traffic wasn’t too bad in the first couple hours but by 7 and 8 AM, there were a steady stream of cars in my rearview mirror. Many of you mentioned that some cagers “haul ass” on 15 – and yes, this is very very true – a couple cars blew by us like we were standing still. But they came few and far between, most cars/trucks passed in a very orderly manner.

Before long, we found ourselves in the desert – the sun was not up yet but you could still make out the landscape – rolling hills of desert with small shrubs and cacti, surrounded by large, bare rock mountains in the backdrop. Pretty cool. The temperatures during this phase were noticeably cold – the temp dropped to 70 degrees at one point! The cold air was a nice change and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Couple things that really surprised us about this phase of the trip. First, the air quality west of Las Vegas is terrible (not sure if this area is in California or Nevada) – the worst air we encountered during our entire journey, bar none. It reminded me of Beijing. You could actually see the smog in the distance and the surrounding area, and could definitely smell it. I initially thought it might be smoke from a forest fire or the like, but it had a very industrial smell that made me gag. Was glad to pass through a mountain range and finally be rid of the smog.

We initially planned to only take route 15 down to Barstow, and if PX was running ok, perhaps take it a bit more down into the LA area. PX ran GREAT from the opening bell. I took it easy at first, but was surprised to find no remnants of the problems we encountered a few days before. I still took it easy, but was able to cruise about 50-55 without issues (and yes, I was on the right “slow” lane the entire time).

Approach to the Los Angeles area was pretty uneventful, unless you count crowded roads and aggressive drivers. We managed to hit many of the major highways on route to Manhattan Beach. 15 to 10 to 605 to 105 to 405. Got some weird looks - Vermont tags probably didn’t help, but we managed to stay up with traffic relatively well while sticking together and hogging the right lane. Didn’t really enjoy the highway that much, but it was quick and the most direct way for us to get to our destination. We will take more time in the coming months to explore the “real” roads in the LA area.

Arrived at our destination in the mid-afternoon, almost 12 hours after we had left (we took plenty of breaks along the way). What a great way to end our journey – sunny skies, 70-80 degree temps, and a nice breeze while gazing at the open ocean.

Thanks to everyone who has followed our journey – we hope you have enjoyed the trip as much as we have. We’re in the process of compiling a list of suggestions for anyone thinking of going on such a trip – will post it in a couple days.

Total Miles Day 25: 300 miles

Las Vegas at 4:30 AM

Destination at Last - Manhattan Beach, CA!

Cross Country Day 22: Kanab, Utah – Las Vegas

2009-07-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today’s ride was absolutely BRUTAL. We decided to take Interstate 15 partly because it is the only way to get to Las Vegas from Southern Utah. First part of the ride was ok – temps were in the high 90s and we passed through really cool looking (and enormous) mountains. Suddenly, we came out of the mountains and it was desert – and the temperature spiked well over 100. GTS thermometer showed 122 at one point – insanely hot. I opened up all my vents and was surprised to find the heat searing my skin – it literally felt like someone was using a hair blower on my skin (didn’t hurt, but man, it was hot!). We made plenty of stops as we tried to keep hydrated and cool. First time during the trip that I had thoughts of “wow, an air conditioned cage would be nice right now”. Good news: I was really glad that my armored suit performed as advertised (it is a summer/hot weather suit) – I actually managed ok. Bad news: It was too darn hot too stop and take pictures – sorry guys.

I was initially worried about how the temperature would affect the PX, but was surprised to have her run as usual and maintain 60 mph on the highway. Everything was great until we were about 5 miles away from Las Vegas. I heard this really weird, feint sound (I barely heard it over the wind) – it sounded like there were a couple nuts (or metal of the like) loose somewhere in the body and they were rattling around due to the vibration. However it was coming from the engine (I think). I put up my visor and ducked behind my windshield to try and really hear the sound and isolate it – at that moment, my gf noticed a puff of smoke coming out my exhaust. I was about to pull over when she said it stopped – so I kept going. I rode very carefully from that point – my number one concern was a seize of the engine, so I had my hand on the clutch just in case. Zoomed for a couple more minutes without any issues (and no smoke) but still heard the noise (again, very faintly), then boom – my engine turns off and I have no power. I immediately grab the clutch and I coast to the emergency lane. I take a second to collect myself, and try to restart it – the PX fires right up and I carefully get back on the highway. This happened a total of 2 more times before the traffic slowed (construction) and we exited – from that point had no problems.

We made it to Las Vegas in the late evening – and swore to never ride in the afternoon in the desert again. WAY too hot. Tired and hot, we checked into the hotel, and got some much deserved R&R. We’re planning to stay here for at least a couple days to relax before completing the last leg of our journey to Los Angeles.

Couple questions for you guys:

1. Anybody know of a “nice” route to get to LA from Las Vegas? I’d prefer not to take the highway, but also would like to minimize the time we’re in the extremely hot weather. Given our experience today, we’re thinking of leaving in the very early morning and riding until late morning or until it gets too hot. But we’re not sure of the “best” scenic route we could take – any suggestions on routes and towns to stop at/stay over would be greatly appreciated.

2. Question for you 2stroke experts – do I have to worry about damage to the piston or engine? The engine died only when I was really hammering it – full bore in 4th gear. Is it possible the engine simply overheated – it was over 120 degrees out after all. It fired right up after I pulled over, and the third time it happened I coasted and jump started it into third. The PX ran fine around the streets of Vegas after we got off the highway. Is there anything I can check before we take off? Any thoughts on the sound?

Total Miles Day 22: 205 Extremely Hot Miles

After Coming Through These Mountains – OMG it was HOT, 122 degrees F!!

Cross Country Day 21: Kanab, Utah – Grand Canyon National Park – Kanab, Utah

2009-07-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Day 21 Kanab, Utah – Grand Canyon National Park – Kanab, Utah

Visiting Grand Canyon from the north is somewhat difficult for a couple reasons. First, there are only a couple towns to the north of the Grand Canyon. Second, these towns are very far away from the park, partly because the park is so big. Kanab, approximately 80 miles away from the North Rim, was the nearest town we could find decently priced lodging, so our morning commute to the North Rim took us a couple hours.

The ride to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon surprised me – again, I was shocked at how high we had to climb. Grand Canyon is about 8,500 feet above sea level, and Kanab is about 5,000 feet, so the ol’ PX had to climb 3,000+ feet (again)! Needless to say, the ride to the Grand Canyon was slower then expected, however it was comforting to know the ride back would be “faster”.

The Grand Canyon is stunning, as you all probably expected. It is an extension of Zion National park – it simply overpowers you with sheer size and magnitude. The canyons are enormous, and drop down thousands of feet. I walked the Angel’s Bright Trail, and at times, was clinging to the trail side rails as the edges dropped down a LOOOONG way (I didn’t even want to look – I don’t do well with heights). While the Grand Canyon is enormous, there actually isn’t much you can really do there in a day – there were only four view points, which we thoroughly enjoyed, but besides taking a mule ride into the canyon (I would never want to put a poor mule through that), you basically relax and enjoy the scenery. The lodge on the north side is very nice – we had lunch (decently priced – they could charge more) overlooking the canyon, and enjoyed a coffee while relaxing in lawn chairs on the deck.

The bluish/grey haze you see in the pictures is smog that blows into the canyon from Mexico and Los Angeles. . Sad to see smog so far east from Los Angeles. It made it difficult to take good pictures but we did the best we could

After visiting all the viewpoints, we headed back toward Kanab, Utah for the night. Unfortunately, there is no other roads from the North Rim that lead west, so we had to backtrack to prepare for our next journey – tomorrow we head for Las Vegas!

Cross Country Day 20: Hatch, Utah – Zion National Park – Kanab, Utah

2009-07-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

Like Bryce, Zion National Park is spectacular but in a very different way. While Bryce was impressive with its seemingly artistic, sculpted rocks, Zion overwhelms you with its sheer size and grandness. On the ride into Zion, you’re surrounded by enormous, towering rock mountains, some with really unique rocky surfaces. I’ve never felt so small and insignificant in my life. The mountains were so enormous, it was difficult to take pictures and capture everything. I tired my best to capture the sheer magnitude of the mountains, but alas, I feel the pictures don’t do justice to what you experience in person. Couple cool things about Zion. First, there are a number of hikes that you can take that will take you to the top of these mountains. Not suggested for those afraid of heights as a couple have you walking on 3 foot paths with sheer rock ledges on either side while taking you to overlooks with ridiculously high ledge overlooks of the park (one of these hikes took you to “Angels Landing”, a rocky overlook 1500 feet above the canyon floor!). Because of time….we decided not to go on such hikes ;) Zion also utilizes a unique shuttle system, so we could not ride our scooters into the later half of the park. The shuttle system is pretty efficient – one comes every couple minutes to each viewpoint, and we found it very convenient. I wonder if the Yellowstone experience would benefit from such a system.

We left Zion after having visited every viewpoint, and rode 40 miles to Kanab, Utah – a small town on the border of Utah and Arizona. Tomorrow, we will explore our final park of the trip – Grand Canyon National Park!

Cross Country Day 19: Tropic, Utah – Bryce Canyon National Park – Hatch, Utah

2009-07-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

Spent most of the day at Bryce Canyon National Park. Again, very hard to explain in words the beauty of this place. Just look at the pictures – some very unique rock formations exist here.

Left Bryce and headed toward Hatch, Utah, a town that is in between Bryce and Zion National Parks. We raced to Hatch under some serious thunderstorms. High winds and lightning – we were just waiting to get hit by a downpour of rain. As we rode, we could look to our left and right and see dark clouds dumping rain – and at times, it seemed like we were riding right toward such a cloud. I was surprised to encounter such a situation – I was under the impression that Bryce and Zion, both classified as desert national parks, did not experience much rainfall! It is desert after all!!! Anyways, we made it to Hatch safely, and was surprised to find such a small town. However, our hotel room was REALLY nice (and cheap), and we had dinner across the road at this tiny steak house, where I had one of the best T-bones I’ve ever had in my life! Went to sleep fat, and happy that night. Tomorrow, we explore Zion National Park!

Cross Country Day 18: Torrey, Utah - Calf Creek Falls, Utah - Tropic, Utah (right outside of Bryce National Park)

2009-07-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

We didn’t look at the terrain before plotting our route, so we were surprised to find the ride between Torrey, Utah to Tropic, Utah to be so mountainous. Again, the PX found itself climbing multiple mountains that hit 9,000+ feet! PX was not too happy, becoming quite sluggish higher than 7,000 feet, but powered through without issues.

Again, we rode through a number of different terrains that included red canyons rocks, mountains with forests, and deserts. Pretty incredible ride with some amazing scenery.

Temperatures today were 100+ degrees for most of the day. Given the heat, we stopped by Calf Creek Falls for a break, and walked a 1.5 mile trail to an amazing waterfall. The hike weaved between towering red canyon rocks, and demanded that we traverse over huge stones, sand and massive stone hills/mountains. When we got to the waterfall, I was surprised to find the water EXTREMELY chilly – perhaps 50-60 degrees! Imagine walking through 100+ degree temperatures one second, then swimming in hypothermic water! While the water was fridgid, it was very very refreshing. We jumped in with all my clothes on – by the time we made it back to the scooters, our clothes were completely dry. What an experience.

Tomorrow, we explore Bryce National Park!

Total Miles Day 18: 110 Miles

Preparing to Leave Torrey Hotel – What a View!

Calf Creek Falls

@ 9,000+ feet

On Route to Tropic

Cross Country Day 17: Vespa Orem - Torrey, Utah

2009-07-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

Took PX and the borrowed LX150 and spent the morning at Sundance – ate lunch at the lodge and took the lift up to the top of the mountain. Sundance is a very nice place (town?) – but much smaller than I expected. I cannot imagine what the roads must be like during the film festival – the roads are tiny, they remind me a lot of the roads back in Vermont!

Dropped by Vespa Orem about 1 PM and was happy to find the GTS in one piece. Rick and Charlie walked me through the fix for the exhaust – since they installed a brand new exhaust, I know have a better than recall fix – I basically have a 2010 exhaust!

I owe a huge thanks to Charlie, Rick and the rest of the team at Vespa Orem. Not only did they patiently explain the cause of the situation, they also explored all options to get us back on the road and let us borrow a new LX150 so we could at least enjoy our unplanned stay in Orem.

After thanking Charlie and his team, we hit the road and headed south and rode 200 beautiful miles, crossing mountainous terrain (again, scaled up to ~9000 feet) to Torrey, Utah. The ride was really interesting – we traversed through city/suburban landscape, then entered forest and mountainous areas, and also passed through some very dry desert, sandy areas. Given the late time of our departure, we arrived at Torrey late, exhausted but thankful the GTS was finally fixed.

Total Miles Day 17: 190 Miles

Sundance (With LX150)

New Exhaust with Upgraded Joint

Vespa Orem Team and Fixed Up GTS

Little Hot Today…

On Route to Torrey, Utah

Cross Country Day 16: Brigham City, Utah – Salt Lake City, Utah – Orem/Provo, Utah

2009-07-16T23:02:00.000-07:00

Woke up early and headed toward Vespa Salt Lake City (Vespa Utah) so we could be at the store when they opened at 10 AM. When we arrived, we met Ron and explained the situation and I told him my suspicion that there was something wrong with the exhaust gasket – either it broke or was not replaced correctly when it was reinstalled during the tire replacement. Unfortunately Vespa Salt Lake City does not do any service (although the store is very nice!), so he sent me down to Vespa Orem, which was about another 50 miles south.

Before heading down to Vespa Orem, we took I80 West 15 miles to take a look at the Great Salt Lake. The temperature was about 90+ so we did a quick stop and click at the lake. The lake was surprisingly calm – very few waves and zero boats on the water. I guess nothing lives in the lake (fish, etc) besides microbes, which produce a very interesting smell…

We arrived at Vespa Orem about 3 PM and met with Rick, the service manager. After taking care of a couple bikes that had arrived before me, he took a look at the exhaust and brake line and determined that the failure was indeed due to the exhaust gasket. First off, the bolt for the exhaust gasket was MISSING. Second, the graphite ring that seals the connection with the exhaust and the exhaust pipe was almost completely burned away. Third, my scooter did NOT have the recall kit gasket installed. The result was the exhaust gasket fumes escaped and burned the rear brake line – just as the recall was supposed to fix!

Per the guys at Vespa Orem, I learned the following things:

1. Going back to the beginning of my adventure, I brought my GTS into Eddie’s Motorcycle Shop in Keene, NH to get serviced and brought in the Piaggio recall notice and specifically asked them to install the recall gasket, which they confirmed when I picked it up. However, it appears they NEVER actually installed the recall gasket as requested – Vespa Orem looked up my warranty information and it showed my bike never had the recall applied.

2. When the exhaust is removed for tire replacement (or any other reason), the exhaust should NEVER be taken apart at the first joint where the exhaust gasket is located. This even applies to new Vespa GTS or GTS Supers – the exhaust should always be taken off higher up where the exhaust meets the engine. The reason for pre-recall GTS – the graphite ring can not be re-used and thus, when the exhaust is removed once, a new graphite ring must be used and carefully installed to ensure a proper seal. Thus, my exhaust was fine from Vermont to Idaho/Utah because the exhaust had never been removed, thus the seal was ok.

When the guy at Spinners (Vespa Idaho Falls) replaced my rear tire, he removed the gasket (pre-recall) and took off the exhaust at the gasket joint and reused the same graphite ring when he put everything back together, and did not correctly tighten down the bolt for the old gasket – which resulted in the gasket falling apart 100 miles down the road.

First off, he should have known to NEVER take off the exhaust at this joint. More importantly, he should of realized I didn’t have the recall gasket and either installed it or told me to get it installed ASAP (he could do this by looking at the gasket or looking up my warranty history on the computer), while replacing my tire by taking off the exhaust higher up by the engine, thus preserving the original graphite seal.

So I’m not sure who to exactly “blame”. First and foremost, I blame myself – not that I’m a mechanic, but shouldn’t I be able to notice when things like this are or aren’t addressed correctly? Second, the guys at Vespa Keene should of told me they didn’t install the recall gasket – I would be fine with that and could have had it done at Vespa Hartford or Boston easily. Third, the Vespa Idaho Falls guy should of known better.

People wonder why this situation could be so dangerous? Besides obviously needing brakes when barreling at 60+ mph down the highway, the exhaust fumes are so hot they could of set the scooter on fire! Wow!

So continuing, Rick had two issues to fix – the exhaust (the cause of the problem) and finding another brake line. Unfortunately, Rick didn’t have any more recall exhaust gasket kits, so we were out of luck – which was discouraging because it was the cause of the problem. Also, they didn’t have an extra brake line lying around and could only get one in on Tuesday - it was Friday and their parts store in Atlanta was closed for the weekend. At that point, I truly thought I would be in Orem for at least 3 or 4 days.

However, Rick and the Vespa Orem owner Charlie bent over backwards to get us back on the road. First, they dismantled a new 2010 GTS and took off the entire muffler, which included the new “joint” which replaced the old gasket arrangement. They also ripped out the rear brake line from the new GTS – which is a complete pain in the ass because you have to take off the glove box, headset, etc to get to the brake line. Second, they called Vespa Tech Center and explained the situation (apparently Vespa Orem is one of the top 5 dealers in the USA so they have pretty good relationship with Vespa USA). Vespa tech center agreed to pickup all costs for the repair and I end up paying nothing to get the situation resolved. Side note – Vespa Tech center was not impressed that Vespa Idaho Falls took off the exhaust at the gasket joint – I guess this is a big no-no and something that all Vespa dealers should know. They left the impression they will be making a call to Vespa Idaho Falls in the not too distant future to relay this message.

The bad news – we would have to stay the night as it was already 6 pm. The GTS would be ready for us tomorrow late morning sometime. However Charlie graciously let us borrow a Dragon Red LX150 and suggested we go check out Sundance, home of the Sundance Film Festival. Tired and exhausted, we happily accepted his offer and found a hotel for the night.

Total Miles Day 16: 150 Miles

Great Salt Lake

Vespa Orem

GTS on the Doctor’s Table

Melted Rear Brake Line

Stock Exhaust Gasket Prior to Dismantling – Notice How Loose Gasket Is (Screw is missing)!

Stock Exhaust Gasket and Graphite Seal

Rental LX150

Cross Country Day 15 - Jackson, Wyoming - Idaho Falls, Idaho – Brigham City, Utah

2009-07-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

Took off from Jackson early so we could make our scheduled appointment at Vespa Idaho Falls for the GTS rear tire replacement. We checked air pressure before taking off and rode very carefully – never exceeding 45 miles/hour, which was sometimes a challenge on route 26, which was quite busy. We got accustomed to pulling over to let cars pass so we could continue at our speed. We were just 20 miles away from Idaho Falls and had pulled over for a bathroom break at a rest stop when a guy in a town truck (who had been following us for a couple miles) came up to me and informed me that there was a minimum speed on the road. I apologized and told him that we were unable to ride faster due to the back tire on the GTS – and pointed to it to show him, explaining that we were on our way to get it replaced. I wasn’t sure if the guy was trying to sincerely help me or show a “tourist” how things are done in Idaho.

Got to Vespa Idaho Falls, aka Spinners around noon and waited around for the mechanic to get back from lunch. Spinners is a nice store – they have a good number of Vespa, Aprillia and Motto Guzzi. I drooled a bit at a few of the Moto Guzzi motorcycles…someday. Head mechanic finally arrived and took the GTS. Since the GTS tire was being changed, I figured I might as well rotate my PX tires as well – the rear had been on since Cleveland and was showing more wear than the front, which still looked new.

The GTS tire change would take a couple hours, so we headed down to Sears to buy a ratchet set (which I have been meaning to buy anyway), and setup shop in the corner of the mall parking lot. Getting the front tire off was pretty easy, but the back tire proved to be more difficult. First off, the rear jack that I used to lift the rear of the scooter seemed to be too short – it didn’t raise the back of the scooter enough to get the tire out. Second, the Zippy tire barely fits into the wheel well - removing/replacing it took some maneuvering and some brute force. To overcome both of these issues, we had to lift the back of the scooter ever so slightly so the stand didn’t contract and collapse, and used some maneuvering and brute force for both removal and replacement of the rear tire.

All in all, it took us about 30 minutes to complete the job. Should we have to do it again, I think we could cut it down to 10-15 minutes. While I’m thankful there were two of us, this experience made me wonder if I could do a rear tire change by myself. The jack that I used (pictured below, made for Stella and picked up at POC Scooters) doesn’t seem to provide enough clearance to remove/replace the rear tire – am I using this wrong? Do I need to put something under the jack to increase clearance?

Returned to Spinners about 2 hours later to find my GTS fitted with a new Michelin Pilot rear tire – what a nice sight to see. Completed the paperwork and took off on Interstate 15 South toward Brigham City, Utah – 160 miles away. We normally prefer to avoid highways, but it was getting late and we wanted to stay on schedule. Everything seemed great for the next couple hours – the GTS ran great and we passed into Utah without problems. About 5 miles away from Brigham City, the GTS exhaust suddenly becomes ridiculously loud (think Harley) so we pull over and I immediately wonder if there is a problem with the exhaust gasket that has plagued so many 2007 GTS scooters. I look under the scooter but can’t see anything of concern, and since we’re only 5 miles away from our destination, decide to keep going so I can look at it at the hotel. WRONG decision – 2 miles down the road, the rear brake ceases to function and resembles the clutch lever on the PX. We pull over again and I look underneath to find the brake line is melted. This confirms my suspicion – this has got to be an exhaust gasket problem. It’s about 9 pm so we decide to just ride carefully the remaining miles to our hotel. Tomorrow, we make a bee-line for Vespa Salt Lake City to see if we can get this resolved. While I’m confident they can fix the exhaust gasket issue (and the sound), I’m more worried about the breakline, which will need to be replaced. Do Vespa dealers usually have pare GTS brake lines lying around? I’m guessing not…and if they have to special order it, it could take days…

Total Miles Day 15: 250 Miles

Vespa Idaho Falls (Spinners)

New Stock Sava Tire

GTS Sava at 2,000+ Miles

New Michelin Sport

Rotating PX Tires

On Route to Utah

Cross Country Day 14 – West Yellowstone, Montana to Southern Yellowstone Loop, through Grand Teton National Park to Jackson, Wyoming.

2009-07-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

What a day – took off from West Yellowstone, Montana and headed back into Yellowstone National Park, taking the southern loop before heading south on route 191 to Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Wyoming. Southern loop was great – the south west part of Yellowstone seems to be the mud volcano/geyser center of Yellowstone. There were steam plumes seemingly every couple miles. Stopped by Old Faithful 5 minutes before eruption and managed to get some great personal shots (sorry guys, no scooters allowed near the guyser). I was surprised by the number of people who had gathered to see Old Faithful – the spectator bleachers and platform that half circled around old faithful was pretty packed with spectators – and it was a Monday!

My couple observations about Yellowstone:

1) I would advise anybody to avoid Yellowstone on Sunday if possible. It was quite crowded, and not uncommon for people to stop their cars in the middle of the road, completely ignoring the people behind them, to take a picture. It became easy to see when animals were around – the traffic would stop and 20+ cars would come to a standstill. It did help to have a Vespa – it zoomed around the traffic at a couple instances (much to the annoyance of others – I made sure not to cut anyone off) and I cannot imagine how much time it saved us.

2) The weather in Yellowstone is incredibly volatile, depending on time and altitude. Mornings are generally calm and the most “pleasant” (I’ll explain in a sec what unpleasant weather is). Temps I the morning ranged from 70 to as low as 50 as you hit the highest altitudes. In the early afternoon, temps spiked to high 90s – we were sweating around 2:30 as the GTS thermometer showed 97! Near 4 pm, the sunny skies suddenly darkened and we found ourselves in a vicious storm – hard rain and really strong wind gusts that blew us around the roads. We managed to ride through some of the storm and get down to lower elevations, but man – I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such strong winds.

So to those of you looking to go to Yellowstone, you can totally do it on a motorcycle/scooter – but have enough under the hood to zoom up steep mountains and perform at altitude. Would advise avoiding weekends if possible and get to the park early to avoid traffic and severe weather that seems to always hit in the late afternoon (at least that is what the park information seemed to report). And be prepared for ANY type of weather – hot, cold, rainy, windy, etc.

After getting our shots at Old Faithful, we took off and headed south on route 191 toward the Grand Tetons. It is tough to describe the Grand Tetons – they may be the most spectacular mountains I have ever seen in person. We tried every imaginable way to snap pictures of them, but it is nearly impossible to capture the magnitude and beauty of these mountains without seeing them with your own eyes. It was amazing to drive next to these enormous mountains - was glad that I didn’t have to climb UP them! As we left Grand Teton National Park, ran into a herd of bison! There must have been a hundred of them – how cool!

We stopped off at Jackson, Wyoming for the night. Jackson is a very charming, cute town. It seems to have a good mix of locals and tourists, and compared to the other towns we have been through – seems very wealthy as well. I believe Jackson Hole, the ski slope is based here. Judging on the mountains that surround Jackson, I can imagine it is great for skiing during the winter.

Tomorrow, we head off to Idaho Falls to get the rear tire replaced! Until then, careful careful riding.

Yellowstone

Old Faithful

Old Faithful Inn

Grand Tetons

Cross Country Day 13 – Cody, WY to West Yellowstone, Montana

2009-07-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Took the same route to Yellowstone as the day before, but cut across the middle of Yellowstone to get to West Yellowstone. We had taken the same roads the day before, so we didn’t see anything new per say, but riding through Hayden Valley and the mountains was again - spectacular. This time, we took both PX and GTS as we were moving to West Yellowstone for the night. Being Monday, traffic was much lighter than the day before. It was nice to cruise slowly through Yellowstone without cars breathing down your neck (some cars drive obscenely fast - almost makes you wonder why they are there – obviously not enjoying the scenery!).

PX performed admirably, but the altitude was a killer. I attribute some of the “sluggishness” to the extra weight – my topcase is fully packed and is not light by any means. Plus, I’m carrying plenty of tools in the glove box, and the extra gas. Maybe I’m giving PX too much credit, but I thought it did pretty well, considering at times, we were over 8,000 ft and climbing.

The back tire of the GTS is seriously starting to worry me. Took a look at it this morning and was surprised to see so much wear – the center section is nearly flat with NO channels. I heard these stock savas suck, but I really thought they would last anther 500 miles or so. Called a bunch of places in West Yellowstone to see if they could mount a new tire, but no leads. Thinking I might have to try and reach Vespa Idaho Falls – a good 200 miles away.

Hotel View

Yellowstone Lake

Hayden Valley

On Route to West Yellowstone

Cross Country Day 12 – Northern Loop in Yellowstone National Park

2009-07-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

Decided to take one scooter today for simplicity and allow one person to shoot pictures while the other concentrated on the road. The GTS was the scoot of choice, due to it’s comfortable seat (super corsa is like a rock and only made for one person), gas mileage, performance at altitude, automatic transmission (starting and stopping on hills could suck with a PX). It was a bit brisk when we took off from Cody but by the time we passed through the east gate and climbed up toward Yellowstone Lake (the highest lake in North America @ 7,732 ft) the temperature had dropped to 52! Yikes! Thank the lord I brought my frog toggs. I literally wore them for the lake drive – then took them off. The ascent to Yellowstone Lake was spectacular – big, windy roads with huge mountains for a backdrop. I was surprised to find that many of the trees near the summit before Yellowstone Lake were burned and dead. At times, it seemed like we were riding through a tree cemetery. Guessing a big forest fire engulfed the area many years before (some medium sized trees had grown in the same area).

After we passed Yellowstone Lake, we gassed up at the first major “town”, Fishing Bridge where we unexpectedly ran into two other Vespa riders from Brooklyn, NY (they towed their scooters to Yellowstone). After exchanging pleasantries, we took off north toward Hayden Valley, which was a gorgeous, huge, wide-open valley with small brush, trees, and a beautiful river. On the way, we literally drove within feet of a bison – I almost didn’t see it as it was standing in the shadow of a tree! Scared the crap out of me – we slowed to take a picture, and I must admit, was a little nervous being around a “wild” animal of that size – they are absolutely enormous. I kept thinking about that scene in Dances with Wolves when the buffalo charges the Indian kid and Kevin Costner has to shoot it seconds before it tramples the child….I was within 10 feet of it! And I couldn’t help wondering “are buffalo related to bulls…the ones that charge things that are RED?”. First time in my life that I semi-regretted having a RED GTS. We snapped a couple terrible pictures (shaky camera…wonder why) and zoomed off. We ran into a lot more bison as we rode toward northern Yellowstone. Given the size of Yellowstone and the relatively lack of roads, I felt incredibly lucky to have the chance to see bison in such close quarters. As we made the way around the northern loop, we also ran into a bunch of other wildlife – including Elk, deer, black bear, and coyote.

Total miles - Day 12: 220 Miles

East Entrance - Line of Cars

Hayden Valley

Artist Viewpoint

Northern Loop

Cross Country Day 11 - Worland, Wyoming - Greybull - Cody, Wyoming

2009-07-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

Started off the day riding along route 16/20 north toward Greybull, then west toward Cody, Wyoming, where we stayed at a motel about 30 miles from Yellowstone's east gate. Was incredibly excited to truly enter rocky mountain territory (despite having crossed over a near 10,000 ft mountain the day before!). From practically the first mile, you could see huge mountains looming in the not too distant horizon - and we were driving right at them.

The ride was bright, clear and pleasant. More of Wyoming's desert like terrain (see pictures) at the beginning of the ride, which eventually changed to towering rock ledges and snow capped mountains as we got closer to Cody. Tomorrow, we venture into Yellowstone.

GTS has been running great. The PX has been running great, but altitude SERIOUSLY slows down the ol’ 200cc engine. At 5,000 ft, I’m running strong – can hit 60 mph on a flat. However, above 7,000 ft, the PX slows down considerably – I was crawling over a mountain summit at 40 mph. I’m beginning to realize the next week or so might be some slow traveling, as Yellowstone is 7,000+ ft high, and Utah’s parks are about the same altitude. Thought about calling up Sportique in Denver to get some info on rejetting for 7,000+ altitude, but decided against it because 1) I’m not going to be at this altitude consistently, and 2) seems way to complicated for my little brain.

Total miles - Day 11: 130 Miles

Near Cody

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Cross Country Day 10 - Lead, South Dakota – Spearfish, South Dakota – Gillette, Wyoming – Worland, Wyoming

2009-07-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

To get out of South Dakota, we left Lead, SD on 85 South, then took route 14 to Spearfish, SD. The drive on route 14 to Spearfish took us through some of the most impressive parts of the Black Hills National Forest. Simply gorgeous scenery - trees, forests, and massive rock formations and mountains. See below for pictures.

Reflecting on the trip thus far, I have to say I am most impressed with South Dakota. It has a variety of gorgeous country side terrain - including the prairie/grasslands, Badlands and Black Hills. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for adventure/scenery to spend some quality time in this beautiful state.

From Spearfish, SD we jumped on I90 West toward Wyoming. We contemplated taking the back roads, but decided to take the highway to save time. I'm glad we did - eastern Wyoming proved to be a very barren. Like the Nebraska and Iowa border, the South Dakota and Wyoming border coincided with a drastic change in terrain. Eastern Wyoming is like a desert or Tundra. Very dry, HOT (temps were in the 90s), and dust/sand plains with small shrubs - very few trees. It was like this for miles, until we hit Buffalo, Wyoming, where we could start seeing giant mountains looming in the distance (West). I saw my first oil drill in eastern Wyoming as well - a good number of them litter the terrain near the highway. Pretty darn ugly if you ask me.
　　
We got off I90 at Buffalo and took the VERY scenic 16 toward Worland (about 90 miles away). Route 16, also known as the Powder River Pass, climbs over the Big Horn Mountains, one of the largest and most spectacular mountain ranges in Wyoming. Only mountains in the northwestern corner of the state surpass the Big Horns in height. The climb up the mountains was incredible, but a bit scary - PX bogged down a little and struggled going up some of the hills with speed (could maintain about 40 mph). Also, the temperature dropped from 90 degrees in Buffalo to 50 degrees as we passed over the mountain, hitting a max altitude of 9,666 feet (Go PX!). I nearly froze.

The sun went down halfway into the Powder River pass, so I couldn't take pictures. Even without sunlight, you could see these enormous mountains and rock structures towering over the road. I really wish I could go back during daylight hours to snap pictures. Next time.

Total miles - Day 10: 330 Miles

Black Hills

Wyoming - Highway

Powder River Pass (9,666 feet)

Cross Country Day 9 - Rapid City, South Dakota – Keystone, SD - Mt Rushmore, SD – Lead, South Dakota (Through the Black Hills National Forest)

2009-07-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

Spent the first half of the day in the Mt. Rushmore area. I was expecting to have a small town surrounding the monument, but was surprised to findＫeystone, SD to be a very touristy town. We previously bought an annual pass ($80 for two people) to get access to all the National parks (such as Badlands National Park), but found out that Mt. Rushmore charges $20 PER MOTORCYCLE for PARKING (NOT ADMISSION)! Given the relative simplicity of this monument, and the fact we wanted to take pictures for about 2 minutes, then leave, we decided the cost for parking wasn't worth it. We managed to find a nearby spot to snap our pictures - I think they turned out great.

Left Keystone and took 385 north through the Black Hills to the town of Lead, SD, where we stayed for the night. Didn't travel many total miles today - decided to give ourselves a day to relax and get some much needed R&R. Tomorrow, we head out of South Dakota into Wyoming toward Yellowstone!

Total miles - Day 9: 90 Miles

Cross Country Day 8 - Murdo, South Dakota - Loop 240 Badlands National Park - Rapid City, South Dakota

2009-07-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

Took highway 90 West to Wall, South Dakota (about 80 miles) to save time, and took route 240 South (Badlands Loop) through Badlands National Park to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, then took route 377 to route 44 through the Buffalo Pass (not sure why it's named this - didn't see one Buffalo) to Rapid City

Words cannot fully describe this place. Cool. Stunning. Magnificent? See pics....

Total miles - Day 8: 205 Miles

Badlands National Park

Ninja-Vespa Kicks

Tight Corner Coming Up

Mountain Goat!

Vespas and Mountain Goat (Sitting on top of the mountain, above PX)

Gripes...

Buffalo Pass

Cross Country Day 7 - Sioux City, IA to Murdo, SD

2009-07-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

Crossed the border to Nebraska first thing in the morning (almost got killed taking the “Welcome to Nebraska” photos – enjoy guys) and was pleasantly surprised to see a change in scenery. Obviously was happy to see anything other than corn.

Nebraska had open fields too, but more hay and other crops (no idea what they were), with some occasional corn fields. Near northern Nebraska, the terrain switched to more plain/grassland – flat fields with grasses and other shorter shrubs. Honestly, a couple fields looked like the Serengeti plain in Africa (as seen on the National Geographic Channel!). Cruised on route 20 West (again) for the majority of the time crossing Nebraska, and took 83 North at Valentine, Nebraska, toward South Dakota.

I was surprised at the change in scenery in South Dakota – as soon as we passed the border, all we drove by was grassland. It was like Iowa, but without any trees or corn. True prairie, with wide open fields. After crossing the border, 83 north led us to White River, South Dakota which required us to climb to around 2,000 feet (I found out later, this area is known as the high plains – makes sense). It was getting dark during this part of the trip, but climbing mountains and hills of grassland was spectacular. We passed White River and stayed the night in Murdo, a nice town which is our launching point to Western South Dakota. Tomorrow, we head off to the Badlands. Expect to see many pictures!

Total miles - Day 7: 330 Miles

Tough to read, but "Welcome to Nebraska" sign in the distance

Nebraska Plains/Grasslands

South Dakota

Cross Country Day 6 – Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Sioux City, Iowa

2009-07-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

Another sunny, hot day. By the time we hit the road (10 am), it was already 85 degrees! Was very glad to have my venting jacket and pants. They worked great in hot weather – feel the air flow through the jacket and feel pretty comfortable as long as I’m moving (standing at a traffic stop still sucks). The windshield has been very helpful – especially during the rain in New York. It cuts a lot of the wind that hits your body, which decreases fatigue, but it also cuts the wind that cools you down! Anyway, I’m pretty pleased with my combination of equipment (jacket and windshield height). I cruised comfortably through a hot Iowa summer day, and again passed more corn than there are people on this earth (at least that is what it felt like!).

Couple notes on gas – I tried experimenting with the different gas octane levels. I usually get lower octane gas, but I started getting premium and super premium to see if it had any impact on PX performance. Not sure if I am imagining things, but I think it does make a difference. Filled up with 94 octane gas and I felt faster – top speed was around 57-60 mph on relatively flat road. 87 octane gas, I can only muster about 55 mph. Perhaps it is the ethanol mixture in the gas?　Anybody have any thoughts on this?　Perhaps all the miles are making me imagine things!

Also ran out of gas for the first time, about 500 feet from the gas station. Sick feeling when the ol’ PX runs out of gas and lurches unpredictably. Used one of my gas canisters (you can see it anchored on the bottom of the topcase rack) to get myself to the station. The gas stations are getting quite far apart and I’m wondering if I should buy another gas tank (a bigger one) just in case I find myself miles and miles away from humanity…

Arrived in Sioux City, which is on the border of Iowa and Nebraska, at around 7 pm. Hope I don’t offend anyone here, but I found the city to be quite run down. I wasn’t expecting Rome, but the city had many factories that appeared to be deserted. People were nice enough – was able to find some good Chinese food before knocking out for the night. Tomorrow, will cross over the border into Nebraska and head north toward South Dakota.

Total miles - Day 6: 300 Miles
Quick stop in Brandon, Iowa

First Run-Out-of-Gas Stop!

Vespas and Corn

Cruised on 20W for a LOooooong Time

Cross Country Day 5 – Chicago, IL to Cedar Rapids, IA

2009-07-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Woke up to another sunny day. Nice to have no rain, but the morning is quite hot and I’m wondering if I prefer hot or cold weather for riding…Anyways, decided to hit up Chicago first thing in the morning. Stopped by Millennium Park on a gorgeous Sunday morning – lots of people were out enjoying the weather. After walking around the park for a few hours, got back on the scoots and headed out of Chicago, west toward Iowa. Pretty much rode on 30 for the majority of the trip. Illinois was pretty similar to Ohio – relatively flat with large fields (in the western part of the state).

Iowa – wow, corn and corn and corn. MILES of corn – corn as far as the eye can see! At one point, we were riding past one field of corn for over 15 minutes – at 55 mph!

At fill-ups, noticed that the gas started to contain Ethanol, which makes sense given Iowa’s abundance of corn. I was curious if this had any impact on the performance of the scoots, and on 4 stroke vs. 2 stroke engines. I didn’t notice a difference – the PX pretty much ran like usual with top end speed ranging from 55-60 mph. Had a conversation with a Harley Davidson rider, who said he had to get non-ethanol fuel because the ethanol ate up the rubber thing in his carburetor. I had no idea what he was talking about, but wondered if this had any impact on me – the new gas line I installed is a Goodyear rubber tube, will the ethanol chew through that too?

Rode by a bunch of ethanol plants. Have to admit, they are pretty ugly looking and killed what is/was a very picturesque countryside. But anything to lessen the dependence on oil is good, right?　I like the idea of ethanol, but I doubts if it will really “solve” any of the dependence on gas/oil. Increased demand for ethanol will surely increase the price of corn – is that good for the economy/people at large? Things to think about on a long ride….

Made it to Cedar Rapids at dusk – I try to get to the hotel before the sun goes down. Riding in the dark, toward the end of a long day in the saddle – not a good combination. Cedar Rapids is a nice town. Many hospitals and research centers, which surprised me. Like many cities, most things were closed by 9, so it was Taco Bell for dinner. Planning to cross most of Iowa tomorrow and spend the night in Sioux City.

Total miles - Day 5: 275 Miles

Chicago and Illinois

Cross Country Day 4 - Cleveland, OH - Lansing, IL

2009-07-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

Woke up to a nice sunny morning, which was a nice surprise. Given the past couple days of rain and overcast skies, I figured more of the same. Got off to an early start and headed out of the Cleveland area around 8:30 AM. I really enjoyed seeing/visiting Cleveland. It is a very clean city (I used to live in NYC!), and the people there are quite friendly. Houses and buildings are very pretty and well put together - overall, I was very impressed. I am not that familiar with Cleveland - is it a relatively "rich" city?

Anyways, spent most of the day riding along route 6 and 20. Two observations. First, the land here is pretty darn flat. No more mountains, and the roads are very flat and very straight. Nice because you don't have to very speed (yes, you can zip right along) that much to maneuver curves, but can be a bit tiring. Second, the towns are far apart! This differs drastically from the east coast/new england area, where towns are relatively close together and frequent. And not every "town" has a gas station - almost had to use the reserve gas canisters on two occasions! Lesson here – fill up when you have less than a quarter tank left.

Much of Ohio and Indiana consisted of corn and wheat fields. I’ve never seen such huge crop fields before – some of them went on farther than the eye could see. Imagine 2 mile long fields of corn (in every direction). Crazy. It was pretty spectacular and I really enjoyed the ride.

I really cranked on the PX today and held her steady at 55-60 MPH (GPS verified), which means that I was pretty much at full blast all day. PX ran without issues, with the exception of a slight shifting cable adjustment mid-day (I love the fourth hand tool – made it quite easy). 60 MPH is pretty much the top speed I can get out of her on flat terrain, downhill with a tailwind, maybe faster? I was pretty pleased with her performance and the new tires feel great.

In terms of gas mileage, the PX is averaging a consistent 45-50 miles/gallon and the GTS is getting 75-80 miles/gallon. Not too shabby. I’m amazed at the GTS – 80 miles/gallon, and all that power! What was I thinking driving the “slower” scoot ;)

Toward the end of the day, we encountered – yes, you guessed it, RAIN. You can’t outrun it! Last two hours were spent in Frogg Toggs riding through mist, sprinkles and occasional downpours. Thank god for Frogg Toggs.

Was going to end the day in Chicago, but decided to stay in the suburb area and explore the city tomorrow morning before heading off toward South Dakota and the badlands. Anyone have any suggestions on places to see/things to do in Chicago? And if anyone is around, would love to meet up for a quick bite or drink, etc.

Total miles - Day 4: 330 Miles!!!

Open roads

Brunch at Gary's Diner in Clyde, OH (Delicious and inexpensive!)

Farmland in Ohio

Gear>

Wind turbines near Bowling Green, OH

Indiana/Ohio State Line

On-the-Fly Gearbox Cable Adjustment

Indiana/Illinois State line

Cross Country Day 3 - Buffalo, NY to Cleveland, OH

2009-07-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Cross Country Day 2 - Palatine Bridge, NY to Buffalo, NY

2009-07-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Was pretty miserable. Rained practically the entire ride, and at times, torrential downpour. Had to turn around a couple times because of flooding - one town had over a foot of water in the main road! And yes, I still didn't have rain gear! Decided I needed to get some ASAP, so found nearest dealer for Frogg Toggs on the way - Bass Fishing in Auburn, and decided to make a pit stop. Left with a bizarre blueish/purple Frogg Togg suit which kept me "dry" the rest of the trip (though my suit was already wet!).

Took a couple back roads that were spectacular, even with the inclement weather. Farm after farm, after open field, etc. I can't imagine how pretty this area must be when the weather is better. One negative - dogs. These back country roads have dogs that run after cars (and motorcycles/scooters). Had to turn on the afterburners a couple times.

PX ran great, but tires still suck. Can't wait to get these things off.

Total miles - Day 2 (RAIN): 250 miles

Near Auburn, NY

Coffee Break to Stay Warm!

Frogg Togg suit. Feel like cross between a marshmallow man and blue man group - but it worked great!

Cross Country Day 1 - Vermont to New York State

2009-07-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

So July 1 marked the first day of our cross country Vespa trip. After finalizing equipment, and packing/repacking (about 10 times), and doing final checks on the PX and GTS, left Vermont on a chilly, rainy day and headed west over the Green Mountains toward Rutland. Weather was pretty horrible - for those of you who don't follow the weather in New England, the past couple weeks have been incredibly wet. I wasn't able to pickup rain gear before leaving, so Day 1 was wet! Overall, PX and GTS ran great. Newly installed windshields were key, and kept alot of the rain off of us. One negative - the S83 tires for the PX suck in wet weather. There were two times when my tire actually lost some traction while braking (and not braking hard). I thought I'd be fine with the S83s, but I'm opting to switch them out to Zippys as soon as possible.

Anyways, ended day 1 in a downpour in the Cooperstown, NY area. Tried drying my stuff overnight in the hotel - jacket and pants did fine, but shoes and gloves were still damp on takeoff the next morning. Oh well - just part of the "joy" of riding in New England.

Launch pictures to come shortly.

Total miles - Day 1 (Rain and more rain): 180 miles

Final checks for PX and adding 12v power adapter

PX with new paint job ready to Rock (minus topcase)

Tall Windshield Installed