Sunday, October 19, 2014

What's in the glove box?

Vespas shine, they really do. Literally, and figuratively.

Storage is definitely one of the figuratively shiny aspects of Vespa love.

Which brings me to the point.

The Vespa GTS glovebox is nowhere near as big as it might seem from the outside.
On the inside, it's just about right for a few essentials.
Here's my show and tell on the contents.

A couple of bandanas. I keep these here because they take no room, and could be useful. You never know.
Registration and insurance. I have been stopped a few times, sadly. It's nice to be in a position to hand over the papers with a minimum of fuss. No point in annoying a constable who may already be testy.
Tire pressure gauge. Because you just can't tell if your tire pressure is right any other way.
What? You're not sure what the correct pressure is? That's conveniently written down on the inside of the glove box door.
A multi-tool. Very useful both on and off the bike. This one's very good, but not great. It's a Gerber Recoil. I want one of the Leatherman models that accepts sockets, like a Leatherman Surge.
A flashlight. A serious flashlight. This one's a FourSevens Quark Pro. Two hundred plus lumens with variable output ranging from moonglow to brilliant sunshine, plus beacon and strobe functions. It runs on two AA batteries. Easy to carry and easy to find fresh batteries.
A spare Sena SMH10 controller, the one from my old helmet. I got it for the day that I coax Susan onto the passenger seat for a ride-to-coffee.  In the meantime it's my spare helmet communicator.  When the battery dies on the one I'm using, I just pop off that controller and pop in the spare. I labeled them 'Sena 1' and 'Sena 2' so I can tell them apart.  A fully charged Sena lasts about a week and a half of steady commuting use (at least two phone calls a day, plus the odd text, and streaming music).
A monocular spy glass. It's an Orion Eagle Eye 8X32 monocular.  It seems no longer to be in production, but the manufacturer has more powerful models for sale.  Here's the story.  I carry a pair of binoculars in the glove box in each of our cars. They're rarely used. But when you're sightseeing and you want a closer look, nothing beats having a pair of binoculars handy. The Vespa glove box only has space for a monocular. It is very high quality. A gift from my dad. The store that sold it to him said that their biggest customers for this model were law enforcement. Apparently for stakeouts.
Last, but not least, a cup holder.  It's from Corazzo, they call it a coffee jacket.  It takes up literally no space.  Like the monocular, it's hardly ever used.  But there's that odd time when I want to take a cup of McDonalds coffee for a short ride.  Then it's priceless.
And that's it.

20 comments:

Shazza said...

Interesting! I share similar items in my glove compartment and will look into a few you've shared. ;)

David Masse said...

Thanks Shazza!

I've added you to the side bar, and I'm following.

Thanks for dropping by :)

Dar said...

That is the thing I miss most about my scooter, I am a human glovebox, and literally have things stuffed everywhere in my jacket pockets, but now I have saddle bags and life got measurably better! I am going to ask Santa for some drybags this Christmas so I don't have to keep using ziplock bags. I was paying for something the other day and the clerk gave me a hard time for my 'designer wallet' (ziplock baggie) and I said "Yeah it's hi-tech because I ride a motorcycle" her eyes bugged out of her head, kind of liked that, because she was being snarky. ;-)

David Masse said...

Makes you wonder how people think.

I find myself thinking about motorcycles a lot. The thing is though, for the riding I do, it's very tough to beat the bike I have. There's the storage issue for sure. You can make for the storage with saddlebags for sure, but the extra width means no 'wiggle' room in traffic snarls. I'd be stuck with the cars.

SonjaM said...

Looks pretty much like my content. Additionally I stock a throttle rocker, a side stand plate, a tiny first aid kit (bandaids mostly) and an tiny bottle of anti fog spray in my glove box.

Canajun said...

Glove box? Scooters have glove boxes? :)

RichardM said...

The BMW had two handy, lockable non-watertight glove boxes in the fairing. The Ural has none but the previous owner installed a small, waterproof ammo box between the bike and the side car. Maybe that could be my new glove box though I would want to make it lockable.

So what's in the pet carrier?

David Masse said...

I tried a throttle rocker and really didn't like it. Now the throttle lock on the other hand I couldn't do without. Plus you it doesn't take up what little rook there is in the glove box since it just stays out of the way on the throttle.

David Masse said...

Ah... I see we have a potential convert to the dark side of scooting, lured by a glove box :)

Ever noticed that hardly anyone keeps gloves in the glove box? I think that goes back to the Model A Ford when motoring was much more hands-on than it is today. A pair of greasy work gloves must have been de rigueur.

David Masse said...

Don't you know that post is coming Richard.

Patience, patience.

VStar Lady said...

Ah, my Star also has a 'glove' (more like an ankle) box ... or tool box as I refer to it. I houses odds and ends plus my air compressor, tire pressure gauge and extra pieces for the communication between me and the Garmin. It also locks. I keep one of my many flashlights, my leatherman and license and registration plus lip balm, sunscreen and yada, yada in my tank bag. I love my tank bag.

Trobairitz said...

You don't think it holds much but it seems to hold quite a bit. At least it looks that way to someone without a glove box.

The City Mouse in the Country said...

The Kmyco has a small glove box that I never use. Instead I carry my papers, flashlight, tools, etc under my seat in a small pouch. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Kymco missed the boat when it comes to storage. That being said, thanks for reminding me to check the flashlight batteries. They needed replaced.

David Masse said...

It's interesting that we carry basically the same things.

finding a motorcycle with looks I like and the storage I need could be a real challenge.

David Masse said...

Someone should design glovebox equivalents (waterproof, lockable) for motorcycles that blend in.

David Masse said...

Rob I had the use of a mid-sized Kymco a few years back. I don't think it had a glovebox but what it did have was a much more accessible fuel filler. Vespa sacrifices practicality for looks in that department.

It's not a big deal, unless you're travelling with lots of stuff. Then it's quite the inconvenience.

Coop a.k.a. Coopdway said...

I always like to see what others carry along; a good kind of nosy. We carry 'small and minimal, yet functional' and I never get tired of learning about those new ideas.

Conchscooter said...

Motorcycle storage is a top box. You should come south with the monocular. looking up skirts is now legal in the US. Is this a great country or what?

Michael B. said...

What, no user manual, no spare ear plugs? Well, I just carry those in the glovebox, plus a puck for the kick stand (so it doesn't sink into soil when I ride out in the country), and a pen. I wonder if the glovebox could be used as a convection oven for making some on-the-go sandwiches.

David Masse said...

When I think back to my first two cold seasons back in 2010 and 2011, before windshields, winter gauntlets, heated grips, the Termoscud, and my new down jacket liner, things could get almost hypothermic on the commute.

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