h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So it's ended up with me back on motorized two wheels again. That started at 20 with a aquamarine blue Honda Express moped to get me to uni...the on to a variety of cars owned by other people and in jobs, then back to 2 wheels a Honda CG 125 which I took my full motorbike licence on. He was called Finnegan. Then the startlingly beautiful Red Moto Guzzi 500..also vans at that time with a job. I even took training driving a coach for a job but the council wouldn't pay for proper PSV licence training. Then a period of red Golfs...culminating in the infamous clamping of the Mark 3, and being taken ignominiously away..

Now...the best of all..and it's coming from Wrexham...the land of Taff but Italian to its core....the Vespa PX 200

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150757330668#ht_500wt_1413

It'll be here in about a week.

Neat!
The paint is custom but just a shade off
the factory colour that was on my 1980
Vespa 200. A bit more French blue.

What a bitch replacing the headlight wire.
It goes up the narrowest of channels inside
the front splashguard.

Tricky on wet painted lines.

One of my fondest moments came one summer
solstice morning at sunrise with the full orange
moon not yet setting 180 degrees behind me.

I ended up driving in circles in the middle
of a highway at the crest of a hill.

Enjoy.

-jwf-

Cheers. Wow so you had something similar all those years ago. Neat solstice experience.

I've realised now why there is no spare wheel there is that socking great exhaust fitted...everything else appears total quality...so hopefully that will be as well.

I'm starting to think she's a wolf in sheep's clothing

Quite sporty with 200cc!

The spare should be under one of the rear fenders (wings).

I only ever had one flat tire and it was pretty easy to change.
Can't recall if it was front or rear but I do remember thinking
I was glad it wasn't the 'other' one whichever it was. That may
be an exaggerated memory - it was more than 20 years ago.

Great fun for the brave of heart.


~jwf~

Yes but you can't get the spare wheel out because that great big exhaust is in the way...From the picture there wasn't one...the last pictures show the back of the bike. I read somewhere there is only one new exhaust fitted which allows access to the spare wheel.

Anyway I can live with that if its the case...and it makes it sound more throaty and gives more pep.

From the pictures it looks incredibly low...

I really should stop with this obsession though and just wait for it to get here. But its too exciting and I'm so much happier with the prospect of my own vehicle again. And one I'm so in love with already. I hardly slept last night.

Is the seller going to deliver it to London
from Wales? Riding it? Shipping it?

~jwf~

Yes a motorcycle delivery company are collecting and delivering it to me. They seem good and are actually the company the delivers all new Piaggio bikes nationwide to dealers. I have contact with a specific person in the company who is charge of the job...although I'm a one off...he has always responded to my emails immediately.

Obviously they are doing business all the time with companies and are quite busy..but they also specialise in one-offs from ebay..so hopefully there won't be a hitch. But its cash on delivery

I had started out thinking I wanted some type of twist and go bike...but that really isn't me. As I said to anhaga I'll probably end up choosing something a bit difficult. Getting used to the particular clutch mechanism on them will probably be the main learning. But I much prefer mannuals in all vehicles. You actually feel like you are driving the damn thing.

Found this Aussie review. But mannuals are the exception there I think. But this scooter is right up my street I think.

http://www.scootersales.com.au/News-2241-vespa-px-200-review.aspx

Oh and I'm pleased wider raceman tyres have been fitted. Apparently gives much better handling.

Just saw you on your red Vespa in Az's gallery. Nice. (Don't like that helmet though..I'm going for a trendy open faced jobby).

I always thought you were strickly a classic 4 wheels man. Nice to know I'm in good company

Have a look at this on the Vespa website...You can follow the timeline along. Simply amazing. But I'm not sure all these are production models...? But it shows what the Italian designers were about.

Stunning.

http://www.uk.vespa.com/#/vespa/UK/uk/passion/timeline

Don't judge a picture by its contents.
That red Vespa belonged to a friend. It's a wimpy 125.
My ride is in the background, the white Triumph TR6.
The helmet was my FIA approved auto-racing helmet.


And for the record and before some nasty biker type
makes a point of telling you, you should know that
the design is straight from the American Sears Roebuck
catalog of 1944. When the Yanks invaded Italy they had
thousands of them for use by dispatch riders. Post-war
Italian entrepeneurs at Piaggio copied their first versions
almost note for note from plans being developed by Innocenti
as the Lambretta.

From Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa
>> Concept
The inspiration for the design of the Lambretta and Vespa dates back to Pre-World War II Cushman scooters made in Nebraska, USA. These olive green scooters were in Italy in large numbers, ordered originally by Washington as field transport for the Paratroops and Marines. The US military had used them to get around Nazi defense tactics of destroying roads and bridges in the Dolomites (a section of the Alps) and the Austrian border areas.
<<
And:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambretta
>> General D'Ascanio disassociated himself with Innocenti and took his design to Enrico Piaggio who produced the spar-framed Vespa from 1946 on. Final design of Lambretta was done by aeronautic engineers Cesare Pallavicino and Pier Luigi Torre <<

The original Cushman was designed and manufactured in Nebraska
and sold throughout America via the Sears mail-order catalog.
Sears was hoping to sell them to the US Post office and
assorted courier companies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cushman


Here's a road trip suggestion for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambretta_Scooter_Museum


~jwf~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQCKgf8gTnw

Like it; the song and the pics of those bikes.

But I'm not a fan of those bikes over here. Don't suit our crowded congested roads...and twisty country lanes..

Here are a couple of faded pics of my previous motorbikes. But I'm scooter now

http://bit.ly/zb9KTm

Just wanted to share the song. It's from 'Alice's Restaurant': http://www.goear.com/listen/a185a21/alices-restaurant-1840-arlo-guthrie

I don't know anything about bikes. Nice pics, though.

She arrives tomorrow morning.

I'm going to take my time getting used to it. But helmet hasn't even arrived yet. I chose in the shop but bought it online.

Got a good strong water proof, hot sun proof cover for it...to hide its identity whilst parked up. I'm the third person in about 15 houses on this side with a Vespa now...which is good plus I now know a couple of other people with Vespas.

She's finally here...I'm a bit overwhelmed. Legs jelly and light headed. It must be love )

I'm doing a journal about it..I'll write about it there for now.

Enjoy.
Take care.

~jwf~