BONDING WITH THE VESPA
Last week I bought a Vespa GTS 250ie. It was a demonstrator with 500k’s on the clock. I got offered a good deal, really being at the right time at the right place and I had to jump and grab it. I’d been looking at 250’s for some time and was doing a lot of research and test riding (which are on some other threads). The GTS was on my short list along with the Derbi, Beverly, Bug Hawk and Sportscity.
I’d been looking at 250’s because I’d been frustrated with my Daelim 125 being out of its class out on the highway. I’d had no problem with it as a commuter but I wanted the extra 20+k/h that the 250’s could give. I’d only had 3 short test runs on a GTS but I was impressed with Piaggio’s 250cc fuel injected Quasar engine. It was smooth, powerful and fast with a top speed of 120+k/h. It also ran 25+k/l fuel consumption which is the same as the 125 was running. This was the performance I was after.
There were some things however that I was unsure about with the Vespa. Firstly was its weight, and that made it feel less like wanting to be tossed around through traffic, It felt a little to big for filtering, and I wasn’t sure about the retro look and it was a “vespa”… but it was hot in a classic old style way and it had that engine. I was aware that I’d never get a GTS at this price again, what with the dollar and all and I wanted something decent to ride out the big crash, so I got a loan while I still could, and bought the damn thing.
I got it on Wednesday. In Sydney last Wednesday was cold, windy with heavy rain storms. So was Thursday. So the first two days on the Vespa were horrible for riding but I was really desperate to try it out. It’s hard getting to know a new scooter in foul conditions. In peak hour traffic the GTS felt heavy and cumbersome, it felt unbalanced, especially turning at low speeds, it didn’t fit between cars, and on the wet road I was so nervious I was steering it rather than riding. I ended up going home not sure if I’d bought the right scooter.
The sun came out on Friday and the roads were finally dry. I got to take the GTS over the familiar roads of my 50k daily commute. I was getting to feel ok about putting the scooter over into corners and getting the feel of how much throttle I had to give it to bring it back up again. I was enjoying the fantastic power of the 250. It’s such a different way of riding after the full throttle ‘ride it like you stole it’ way of caning that I did on the 125. On the 250 the whole ride is much more cruisy, half throttle, engine purring along with that withering acceleration up your sleeve whenever the road was clear. I don’t filter as much and I’m actually not riding as fast. The GTS is very stable when its moving but I still find it clumsy at slow speed.
On Saturday I took it out on the freeway to check how accurate the speedo was using that 5x1k speedo check that they have on some expressways. The speedo was exactly accurate! On a Scooter!!! The GTS handled the freeway conditions perfectly. On the flat it sat easily on 110 edging towards 120 and I’d say it would go faster once its run in. I could travel in the fast lane and was overtaking cars. This was what I’d been wanting. Fast and stable. When I filled up I worked out that I was getting 26k/l.
Today I took it for a run through the twisties of Galston Gorge and Berowra Waters and then up the Old Pacific Hwy to Mt White. The GTS handled all the corners effortlessly, holding the line at speed, accelerating up the mountain. Smooth as silk. I decided to take the Freeway home. The GTS was awesome. As soon as it hit the smooth bitumen it just leapt up to 110, then 120. There are some big hills on that run and the GTS just flew up them, 120 up the hill from the Hawksbury bridge, I couldn’t believe it. Home through Bobbin Head (More twisties) The Vespa didn’t miss a beat. Great 2 hr ride but Jeeze my butt was sore!
Later that afternoon I took the Daelim up to the shops and I was shocked how different it felt. It was so small and underpowered. I had to rev the sh!t out of it to get up the hill, It didn’t feel right. The Daelim just wasn’t cutting it anymore and I realised that I had finally bonded with the Vespa. It was now officially my scooter. Got to take it in for its 1000 k service tomorrow. Then I can really start to bond. I hope my butt gets used to it though.
