Lambrettas, Vespa's etc

[enginedriver]

What's the current etiquette with scooters?

When I were a lad in the 70's we used to look down on scooters calling them puff trucks, pansy wagons and various other derogatory terms.

There was a shed load of them riding round York today...must be made of sterner stuff than they used to be....it was freezing but it didn't seem to be putting them off.

The real reason for asking is that one of them had broken down...but he had several mates with him so I didn't stop. If he had been alone I would have stopped but that would NEVER have happened in the old days. Now either I grew up and got mature or has the old Mods v Rockers thing died away?

Oh well....you're all probably too young to remember :roll:

Cheers!

[lynw]

They fall into two categories for me.

The suicidally stupid commuter whose only done a CBT and has no road sense, no idea of the concept of a lifesaver and is a hazzard to be around. :evil:

Or those that get my respect. Given on the basis that in midwinter I only usually ever see a few other bikes but a fair few scooters. Having the stamina above and beyond some power rangers takes them out of the above category - they also tend to ride better having been in dodgy weather and road conditions than some of the FWBs Ive seen of late.

[valleyboy]

mostly Kamikasi 16 year olds around here.... :lol:

[goonrider]

I reckon most people are too quick to knock Lambo/Vespa riders (these guys aren't like yer typical ABSO scooter kid types).

I went from being a bit of a 250 Two Stroke nut in my twenties to riding a Vespa PX for a few years. (mostly for work, before getting the SV last year).

The are cheap, bloody comfy, stylish and surprisingly good fun to ride. If you want a fairly chilled out ride they are great.

Most of the types you'll see are the 30+ types who have grown up watching Quadraphenia or remember the whole Mod Revival thing, it's just a fashion thing now, you won't get an Bank Holiday punch-ups down Brighton these days.

Mind you if there are,....I'm in! :twisted:

[carelesschucca]

the boys that ride the classic scooters are mostly all good guys. never had a problem with them... They have a passion its more than a cheep form of transport... Must admit I do have a hankering for an old classic Scooter myself... I can see me belting up and down in my Parka...

[enginedriver]

I reckon most of the guys I saw today probably fell into the 30/40 age bracket. fair play to them....there were some lovely restoration jobs and those temperamental two strokes took some looking after!!

I used to have a stable consisting of a puch maxi, a Jawa/CZ 350 and various MZ 125 and 250's.....always cleaning spark plugs as I recall :wink:

[Biker Biggles]

At age 16 a moped is the only way to get on the road and these days that means a scooter.Everyone has to start somewhere.

[timwilky]

Back in the 70s/80s I thought they where tossers, and today my view has not changed.

Pehaps if you have been smacked off your bike and given a kicking in the middle of the road by hallf a dozen parka clad idiots for simply riding a bike. (Not me, brother, Chorley town centre 1979) you would have you view "clouded".

Again back in the 80s an organised run I was on was stopped by the police outside blackpool because there was a sooter rally in town and they didn't want any "trouble". All of us (About 70) given producers, So why should the little ****es have better rights than us.

No sorry, 16 year olds on their twist and go are just live organ donars and fair do to them. 40 on a scooter, grow up and get a proper bike.

[Halonic]

mobile chicane

easily ignored and provide an excellent service to the nhs with a near constant supply of replacement organs in every blood type.

[tricky]

I would stop for a Vespa, I quite like them, had a go on one years ago and it was quite good fun, not keen on that cack handed gearchange though.

As for youngsters on twist and go thingies, I chatted to a couple of lads round our way
and neither of them had CBT, insurance or anything (these aren't your normal chav types either, fairly decent lads really (apart from the riding with no insuarnce etc))

But what really shocked (and worried) me was that neither of them seem to think it was a big problem :shock: .

To be fair though, one of them has since done his CBT and got himself legal.

[Lissa]

Having a bit of a murky past as I do :shock: (the guys I ran with in the late 70's wore REAL patches, not fake Harley rider ones :roll: ) I have always hated the Scooter brigade.................and watching the little morons who seem to own them now hasn't changed my opinion in the slightest.

FFS...............why don't they wait until they are 17 and get a decent set of wheels :D

[northwind]

I'm in the "two breeds" camp. The 50cc,k £40 lid, tracksuit and trainers mob, I have no time for... Though I did stop for a broken down one once, but just because I'm great.

But proper old school scooterists, that's different. And a lot of ped heads have the right idea too. Some of them are on a moped because that's all they can get, but some love it as much as we love our bikes, and will go on to bigger and less embarassing things.

And the vespa/lambretta guys... Well, it ain't the 70s any more. I know a lot of proper mod scooterists, some with many, many rear view mirrors on their bikes, and they're almost all sound guys. Plus, they tend to have interesting record collections.

When I first got my CBT, I rode a Yam Virago 125 cruiser, complete with black leather jacket, blue jeans, rock t-shirt... And I used to go about with my mate Bren on his PX125, parka and The Who t-shirts. It's very efficient that way, you don't need to go looking for a mod to batter ;) But we did make a pretty strange pair.

[Peter Henry]

Well I had a very confused upbringing,(Don't tell me you already guessed that right? :P )

I had a love of bikes from the age of 8 years after a cousin took me for a spin on the back of his Suzuki 80cc twin! The problem I had was that my sister was friendly with a group of guys we would call "Mods" So her blasting of the Tamla sounds was in direct contrast to my getting to like things like Deep Purple,Black Sabbath etc! However I actually liked both and this was not a problem.

The guys she knew were all nice guys and me being the runt would often get a little spin on the back of a Lambretta etc. As Northwind says fellas from that era are mature individuals now and if they still retain their passion for their scooters well good on them I say.

Can anyone tell me? When I was in Rome in November 2004 I noticed that a lot of the scooters there had a kind of cape that fixed to the front "leg shields". The rider was able to pull it open to cover their legs and so keep warm and a lot of the road crap and rain off themselves. Are these common in the UK also now with all of those commuters using scooters?

[timwilky]

Well I had a very confused upbringing,(Don't tell me you already guessed that right? :P )



Can anyone tell me? When I was in Rome in November 2004 I noticed that a lot of the scooters there had a kind of cape that fixed to the front "leg shields". The rider was able to pull it open to cover their legs and so keep warm and a lot of the road crap and rain off themselves. Are these common in the UK also now with all of those commuters using scooters?

Seen similar in Paris, where you have to be mad to try to ride, the Arc de Triomphe must be 6 lanes wide roundabout with no markings, lane discipline is decided by whatever lane has got a gap in it. The Peripherique is a free for all, indication optional.

[sharriso74]

Seen a few in London with those screens. You look a bit of a walley but you get off with dry feet at least. There almost as bad as those BMW scooter things with a roof and a seat belt.

http://upload4.postimage.org/164819/c1.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/164819/photo_hosting.html)

And why do owners of these ride like complete pr**ks

[thor]

Can anyone tell me? When I was in Rome in November 2004 I noticed that a lot of the scooters there had a kind of cape that fixed to the front "leg shields". The rider was able to pull it open to cover their legs and so keep warm and a lot of the road crap and rain off themselves. Are these common in the UK also now with all of those commuters using scooters?

A lot of scooter riders have them (I'm thinking the vespa commuter type here, not chavs). They are extremely convenient as they keep the seat dry when parked.

[Peter Henry]

I think the answer is hidden in the question mate! :wink: :P

[medwaysv]

i was ouy 'n about a couple of weeks a go and while stopped for a fag a chav-esque type stopped to see if i was ok it suprised me a bit but then you dont want to tar every one with the same brush.
to me its the same thing in all walks of life,your always gonna get the dodgy element
i always stop if i think someone is in need of help whatever they ride and a few of my mates who ride scooters (including the vespa/lambretta riders) would do the same

[goonrider]

Seen a few in London with those screens. You look a bit of a walley but you get off with dry feet at least. There almost as bad as those BMW scooter things with a roof and a seat belt.

http://upload4.postimage.org/164819/c1.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/164819/photo_hosting.html)

And why do owners of these ride like complete pr**ks

These are a car driver's summer bike, plain and simple.

I saw an right idiot riding round Kingston on one without a helmet on one time, obviously he must have been made exempt from such things :shock:

[cosmiccharlie]

I would stop for a Vespa, I quite like them, had a go on one years ago and it was quite good fun, not keen on that cack handed gearchange though.



I know what you mean about the gear changes, but reminded my off the old Raleigh Grifter with the twist grip gears,

[Jelster]

These are a car driver's summer bike, plain and simple.

I saw an right idiot riding round Kingston on one without a helmet on one time, obviously he must have been made exempt from such things :shock:

IIRC, you don't "have" to wear a lid with one of these. Some guy was prosecuted then the case fell down because if you wear the setabelt, you're head stays inside the shell at all times.

If you lok at one closely, they have crash bungs on too, this helps stop the possibility of you head being damaged (although it must of sustained some damage for you to ride one in the first place :roll: ).

.

[Peter Henry]

Jelster...From what I know I think that is correct regarding the wearing of a crash hat,the same applies here in Spain. 8)