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Wear a mask when riding 2 wheels - Other people's germs are in the air that we ride through.

Just because you can't see germs doesn't mean they are not there !

Keep safe

Cheers

I went out late yesterday on the Monkey for a one hour wheel around my favourite circuit. I had a script in my backpack. I was also thinking the same, that it would be preferable to wear some style of mask 

Rode up to Pie-in-0the-Sky yesterday, up the old Pacific Highway (I live in Berowra Heights). I feel very safe scootering, nowhere near anyone else. I met three mates up there, and we conversed at about 6 meters separation. Then I rode down to Brooklyn and had a walk around the headland there. Spent a lot of time composing pictures and wishing I had my camera. Today I went to  the Berowra medical centre for my flu jab, and was very nervous. Felt it was the most dangerous thing I had done in the last week. Not easy to stay sane living in isolation on one's own. I play card patience, watch tv, build Meccano models and play jazz and classic CDs. I think we will all get the virus eventually, just hope it gives us immunity. Keep wary and keep healthy.

Mike

Hi Mike - It's good that you stay connected to this site. These two wheels make up part of our passion and interest, so just maybe a breath of circumstantial life will be breathed back into this site, if only for the duration of the shutdown. I'm not embarassed to say that this is a connection life-line.

Please forgive my intrusion, but did I recall some time back that your wife was not well?

I live in Bondi, or should I call it Bondi19. I'm too nervous, now, to head to the barber for a needed haircut. And I've started wearing a mask, something I never imagined doing, but only before I enter shops. I have never lived my life fearfully, never, but my immediate enviroment feels like a dark cloud overhead.

Before my beloved mother, for whom I was a dedicated long term carer, died in September last year she said, 'you'll own a Vespa one day'. She was a brand snob and loved nearly all things Italian. Who knows. The trouble is I would enjoy to ride many, and own more than one. I have never ridden a Vespa and feel I should at least give one a go. The on-trend grey GTS 300HPE Supertech at Cyclecraft, which is at the end of my street, certainly appeals. I keep asking myself - is it the comprehensive ride that I would enjoy; does it tick enough boxes?

If you're playing cards by yourself don't cheat ......

What? Me cheat? But I play to my own rules slightly, by going back and forth through the cards in my hand. I win about 50% of my games.

Yes, Philippa was ill. She had a brain tumour and it took a year to kill her. She died two years ago, and I am still depressed. Yesterday would have been our 56th wedding anniversary and I played our wedding waltz Moon River a few times and felt miserable.

I have two Vespa GTS300s at the moment, a blue 2016 model and a white 2019 one. They both have much the same mods  -  Mallossi cylinder and head, Malossi lambda emulator, air filter mod, upgraded shocks and brake callipers, and both go like a bomb, front wheel lifting whenever I take off, beautiful acceleration. They will out-perform the new HPE model (don't know about top speed). The white one has a little more power (different camshaft?), but the older blue one feels better to ride, so I don't know which I like better. I usually alternate them each week.

I am trying to do "essential" shopping (chocolate!) a couple of times a week, just to get out. I wish it was a longer, more scenic ride to the shops.  But there are more indirect routes. I need to walk more, now that I am not dancing regularly.

Cheers, Mike 

Thanks for sharing, Mike. Two years already. But my own intense carer duties seems to have blurred time - my lovely mother died in my arms as I was getting her up - 'a catastrophic brain bleed unrecoverable at any age'. A blessing really. Too difficult now to manage I feel through this pardigm shift. I'm thinking how you are navigating your own revised journey. 

You hadn't announced the arrival of your white 19 GTS. I am assuming it is the one with the solid black wheels and red and black decal striping. What do you think of the texture for the seat covering, assuming you have this variant? Of the colours in the vespa range over the years, these colours of your choice would be mine also. But I do have a penchant now for the grey. The benefits of the Supertech would be beyond my everyday use, but Vespa Aus. don't bring a HPE into the country that is not a Supertech. I see that they do in NZ.

One of the attractions of the HPE for me is the claimed improvements (refinement) of the drive. I've owned a few scooters with crappy drives. Otherwise most of my use is contained by restricted local area speed zones, so too much omph might get me into trouble. But I need to measure this against getting out of town occassioanlly. I would like to have the ability to upgrade the suspension .....

My 2019 GTS is a plain white one, no stickers, and the wheels are black with a shiny rim.

I would love to take an HPE on a test ride. I don't think it would equal the performance of my much modified scoots, but I would expect it to be pretty peppy, smoother and quieter (and more economical, but who cares?).

But if I bought one my first two mods would be a better front shock (Bitubo, BGM?) and a Kubler tone disc on the back wheel to increase the top speed and make the speedo accurate. Then I might think about Brembo of Frando brake callipers.

Mike  

Thanks Mike. What tires were fitted to both scooters from new? From whom do you purchase your Vespas? Can I request from you a product number or part number for a Bitubo front shock you would fit to a 300hpe? If I did no other modification this is something I would like to undertake -- or have fitted. This and possibly a Faco mid size screen. Possibly

I'm tempted to treat myself if I can roll out of this Covid-19 situation intact

Both my scooters came with Michelin City Grip tyres. I usually fit Pirelli Diablo, but I don't think there is much difference.

Bought my last three scooters at Scooteria. Not my shop of choice, I prefer Scooter Central, but when I bought my 250 they were the only shop with the Vintage Red I was looking for, and they  sold the other two $500 cheaper. Went back for my first service, and after that did it all myself. But Scooteria are good for spare parts.

The same Bitubo shock fits the HPE and the pre-2015 models, part PV014GEV on SIP's web site. Only the facelift (15-17) models needed a different one. The BGM shock also has very good reports. I fitted a Malossi front shock to my new white GTS, mainly for cosmetic reasons as it has a white spring, but the Bitubo on my blue scoot is much better.

I have never had a screen on any of my scooters. The small Vespa screen is supposed to add a bit to top speed, but it blows the wind into your face, ok if you wear a full face helmet, but I like open face. I suppose they are great in the rain or riding through clouds of midges, but I like to feel the wind.

Got cabin fever at the moment. Can't go out, and no-one to talk to. Would love to get out and buy some hot cross buns and chocolate, but the cops are being very strict this weekend. Anyway, I have some raisin bread which will have to substitue for the buns, and I have ice cream, so I guess I will get by. Spending most of my time on building some Meccano models.  Hope you re managing to get some fun out of this Easter weekend.

All the best, Mike 

Thanks for this. Not too much fun happening here - but the good weather this morning allowed me to go out on my custom bicycle for a wide circuit of the city. You can't believe how many people were out in Centennial Park and along the waterfront precinct at Glebe. Extremely light vehicle traffic everywhere, good air quality, but hoards of family groups cycling or walking. Hoards. I passed two 99 Bikes bicycle shops in my traverse, with a long line of socially distanced customers extending down the street. It's an ill wind that blows somebody some good. 

I think I've seen a GTS 300 HPE that is not a Supertech - - i'll follow-up. I'll happily report back to you, appreciating your good knowledge and experience. It would seem you really have to have a good look around. I have found over the years that the Vespa web page is rarely up to date with accurate information.

Tires: my observations have been that many of the latest 300s (and others) are shod with Maxxis tires - I have read there's also now no tool kit included.They're really trimming to the bone.

I enjoy an open face helmet on the scooters, but have a peak which, when I dip my helmet, blocks the sun from beamiing over the top of my glasses. Which is good. But the peak can be a phaf over 60 on a bike without a small screen - but I'll wait and test before committing.

Interesting that when I decided some years ago I wanted to jump back on a scooter a white GTS 300 was in my sights. But for reasons many and varied I have taken a circuitous route to arrive back here, with some successes, but the odd disappointment also. Being the underbelly of 70 I would like to treat myself to something about which I feel passionate (like my Monkey 125) - and not just the ride. Maybe Covid-19 has stirred the pot.

A lot of folk to whom I speak are telling me that keeping their head out of the fridge is a problem ...... I can't believe the food treats I have shouted myself over the last months ..... as a way of distraction.

I'll get back to you. And thanks heaps.

Ain't it amazing how the ultra-violet radiation in sunlight has been accepted for decades as killing airborne (and exposed surface) viruses, including the really nasty ones like H1N1, but Wu Flu has some mysterious laws-of-physics-defying immunity to UV-C according to the media-presented medical experts who consulted with their Lawyers, but who haven't any actual test results to cite.

This is me being bummed-out by the blanket banning of camping and otherwise entering State Forests in NSW... :/

(Anyone got an illegal-to-use-on-humans-now UV tanning booth around in their garage? :)

Hi Mike - yes, all the Vespa range, including the 300 Supertech are shod with Maxxis. Any thoughts regarding these tires comparatively?

Also, I was wrong about a white GTS 300hpe Super ...... it was a 150 with identical styling cues.

Are you able to identify with an insurer that looks favourably at Vespa scooters?

Thanks, Mark 

.... oh, and I would really appreciate you commenting on fuel range. The new HPEs have only a 7ltr tank, down from 8.5ltrs. I crunch the numbers and see myself a frequent visitor to the gas station(s).

I'm very close to pushing the 'go' button. What's holding me back is: seat comfort; insurance costs; fuel range. Or am I missing the point? Mark

Yes, you are missing the point. With a Vespa, it is all about STYLE! 

I used to work for the NRMA in their computer department, and got 10% off my insurance premiums. Since retiring I have stuck with them. But I know there are cheaper insurers.

Regarding fuel capacity, reports are very confusing. One report says the 7 litres was a mis-print in one report. Some reviews say 8.5 litres, some say 9.2! But the HPE is more economical, and all agree that the range is the same as previous models. I can't see any reason why the tank would be smaller on the HPE. All the bodywork at the back there is identical to previous models.

Go for it. You won't regret it. When you ride a Vespa it is smiles all the way! 

Forgot to mention seat comfort. All reports say the seat is more comfortable than previous seats, but that doesn't help you unless you know previous seats. I always modify my seats, and shave off that hump in the centre, as I like to sit back in the middle of the saddle, and ride leaning forward with some weight on the handlebars.