tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post7252018079265622340..comments2024-03-20T13:35:46.089-04:00Comments on Life on two wheels: First long distance rideDavid Massehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09346419242154545286noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-68815650403447132082016-01-19T08:11:55.188-05:002016-01-19T08:11:55.188-05:00i have travelled 5500 km with vespa in 15 days. ro...i have travelled 5500 km with vespa in 15 days. road trip from kochi to tawangSCIENCEALUMINI2012https://www.blogger.com/profile/14703277861469921441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-38073897790040066832014-05-29T15:15:37.667-04:002014-05-29T15:15:37.667-04:00David, thanks again for your quick and thorough re...David, thanks again for your quick and thorough response. Yes, a new saddle is in order soon.<br /><br />Hope you enjoyed your Italy trip. I go there often but only spent 1/2 day on a scooter near Florence. I'm looking to do a trip like your recent experience.<br /><br />Dave Dave Dhttp://www.dinkel.usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-72459120677147845972014-05-29T13:13:27.848-04:002014-05-29T13:13:27.848-04:00Dave, thanks for posting.
If you're planning ...Dave, thanks for posting.<br /><br />If you're planning on staying off the Interstate, it looks like a 10 hour ride, not counting on traffic issues.<br /><br />That's a really long ride. On the Vespa you have to count breaks for food and fuel, and body breaks.<br /><br />On my tour last summer the longest distance was Montreal - Ottawa - Toronto, about 420 miles. It made for a long day and the ride took about 10 hours... but... I rode for the better part of that distance on expressways at about 75 miles an hour. Traveling on back roads with similar destinations would have taken even longer.<br /><br />One of the pleasures of Vespa touring is enjoying the ride. If you take on too much distance, the ride can become too tiring to be enjoyable.<br /><br />I would recommend approximately 300-325 mile days, so if I were you I'd break that ride into two days.<br /><br />If you're planning to camp anyway, there should be some very nice KOA campgrounds along the way. If the weather makes camping painful, you could always stop overnight in a motel.<br /><br />As for packing gear and what to take along, take a look at <a href="http://scootcommute.blogspot.ca/2013/09/2013-blogger-to-blogger-tour-epilogue.html/" rel="nofollow">this post (Click here)</a>. Everything I learned on my tour last summer is in that post.<br /><br />On another note, many riders find the GTV split saddle more attractive in terms of looks for the Vespa, but quite possibly uncomfortable over long distances. That might be another factor to consider in planning stops into your itinerary.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by. I'm happy to provide whatever advice I can.David Massehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09346419242154545286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-69559239211878805592014-05-29T09:38:08.677-04:002014-05-29T09:38:08.677-04:00David--I have spoke to you a few times on the Mode...David--I have spoke to you a few times on the Modern Vespa site and you have been very helpful. I am planning my first long distance ride from Louisville to Pittsburgh soon on my 300 GTV and am a bit worried that I and the scoot can handle the ride....9 hours on back roads. Can you tell me what you carried with you--tools or other equipment. I plan on taking my camping gear as I will try to make it a two day trip.<br /><br />Also, I lived in Maine for 12 years and made many trips along coastal Maine...albeit in a car. I am hoping to take the scoot back up that way next year to do a similar trip.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your LD scoot experience.Dave Dhttp://www.dinkel.usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-40379198611343301692011-08-19T06:41:22.245-04:002011-08-19T06:41:22.245-04:00Sonja, you're right, I could have gone further...Sonja, you're right, I could have gone further but didn't want to take any chance that gasoline would become an issue. As for the windscreen, fall is coming so I think I'm going to order a new full height screen and just cut it down enough to be able to see over it. I'll keep the one I have, but cut it dwn further to make it into a fly screen. Hopefully that will eliminate the buffeting. My windscreen works well to eliminate the wind blast so there's no fatigue or strain from the wind, but it's the sound of the wind in the helmet that's difficult to deal with. David Massehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09346419242154545286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-65398858023704344992011-08-19T00:18:25.984-04:002011-08-19T00:18:25.984-04:00Wow, that's a long stretch of road. We have fi...Wow, that's a long stretch of road. We have figured that 250 to 300 km are enough riding for one day by scooter. As you found out the hard way the ergonomics does a number on your body after a while. We are good on our 200/250cc scooters but we try to avoid major highways as cars always tend to go faster than speed limit.<br /><br />With the fly screen I haven't experienced any noise or buffeting issues, and a full tank would give us 200km before refill was required.<br />Try a 200 or 250cc, lots are on sale as people now want the 300cc.<br /><br />Funny: We also prefer the British accent on our GPS over the American drawl. We named it 'Mina'.SonjaMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12389245948579828531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-60259489601649509762011-08-18T19:36:27.594-04:002011-08-18T19:36:27.594-04:00Bob: I think that next year I'll be in the moo...Bob: I think that next year I'll be in the mood for a Vespa GTS, hopefully I'll find a 300 at a reasonable price. I really want to ride to the coast in Maine. That would be an all day ride starting in the early morning. There are mountains to cross but the highways I'd take are all backroads so a 250 or 300 would likely do the trick. I'm not sure I will move up to a motorcycle. Then again, I never thought I'd ride my scooter on the Trans-Canada.<br /><br />Circle Blue: You're absolutely right. Routing is key, but sometimes the map can deceive. You would think that Highway 17 was going to be a doable pace just looking at the map. I learned a lot about fast two lane highays. The four lane divided expressway seems a big step up, but in fact it was easier than the "smaller" 17.<br /><br />Dar: Tell me more about the sheepskin. I'd heard of the AirHawk but not the merits of sheepskin.<br /><br />Orin: That's good advice. The GPS unit I use on the Vespa is permanently set to avoid expressways. Even around the city I found some routes I would never have found on my own by following "Brittany's" advice. We call our GPS Brittany because we prefer the British accent to Amanda's overly gooey American accent.David Massehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09346419242154545286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-26481914715563148312011-08-18T16:23:08.683-04:002011-08-18T16:23:08.683-04:00David, congratulations on your first scooter road ...David, congratulations on your first scooter road trip! As you have discovered, an LX is not the best mount for major highways, so your future trips need to be on the margins. When seeking directions on Google Maps, tick the "Avoid Highways" box and you should have a route better-suited to your scooter's capabilities. And likely, more interesting.<br /><br />__Orin<br /><a href="http://www.scootinoldskool.com" rel="nofollow">Scootin' Old Skool</a>Orinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16135309284838958912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-59406034505914420312011-08-18T01:12:57.728-04:002011-08-18T01:12:57.728-04:00Wow 375 km's that a lot of riding! Are you gl...Wow 375 km's that a lot of riding! Are you glad you did it? The best thing is you visited your dad and had a great day! You learned about the capabilities of your scoot and with the right gear a long journey might not be so bad. I would suggest putting a sheepskin on the seat, might make it a bit more tolerable. I hate helmet noise too. <br /><br />My hub is set on me getting a motorcycle when I get my motorcycle endorsement. His reasoning is exactly for some of the things you mentioned, speed, power and comfort.Dar https://www.blogger.com/profile/14690180541358767168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-39874854099995958622011-08-17T22:47:30.047-04:002011-08-17T22:47:30.047-04:00My longest ride so far on the Symba was 223mi/358....My longest ride so far on the Symba was 223mi/358.8km. It can be rather intense riding a small displacement mount. I was quite happy with the speed I was capable of until people began to move faster, or when I was holding up traffic. On that ride I needed to pull over a couple of times to let the "parade" pass.<br /><br />I was very glad I did it. At the end of the day I was very tired, but I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Will I go for a long ride again? Yes. I understand even more the importance of routing.<br /><br />Thanks for taking us along through your ride report. I enjoyed the touch of history about the 1837 Rebellion.Keith - Circle Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11992667666539622569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776318709416054670.post-21188798401229901082011-08-17T16:57:26.841-04:002011-08-17T16:57:26.841-04:00David:
a few years ago I had a Kymco 250. It was...<b>David:</b><br /><br />a few years ago I had a Kymco 250. It was great around town and surrounding area. I even went to Victoria, No problems with the terrain. For short spurts I even used the local 80 km highways but Hwy 1 was too much and too fast so I avoided it.<br /><br />then I decided to ride it to Kelowna for the scooter rally. I went with another person on a Vespa GTS. We decided to bypass the steeper section of the Coquihalla Highway as the speed limit is 110 km and extremely steep. We took the long route through Princeton then up the connector back to the Coquihalla but farther east. The hills just killed our speeds. Lucky we had two lanes and other cars could pass. The speed limit was 110 kmh and we could barely reach 85-90 kmh. Even the GTS was struggling. We were nearly matched for power but I decided then that 250 was not big enough for this mountain highways, so I know what you mean by "leading the parade"<br /><br />bob<br /><a href="http://www.wetcoastscootin.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Riding the Wet Coast</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05258612401956399482noreply@blogger.com