Coming back from Southampton this evening, I noticed traffic ahead of me in in Lane 1 fairly abruptly pulling out, doing an overtake, then moving back again.
I couldn't figure out what was going on until I saw for myself, a Lambretta scooter (with a rear light with as much intensity as a couple of glowworms) doing about 50mph :eek
Now I presume it had a capacity of over 50cc to make it legal, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to be riding it on a motorway...!
I went to a Scooter Rally in Bridlington not so long ago. Not normally my scene but was a good laugh none the less. Anyway, you should have seen how many Lambrettas / Vespas were putt-putting along the motorway in the dark pissing it down with rain.
Yep, seemed stupid and I wouldn't do it but felt sorry for those poor bastids! One of them was riding with a pillion and tailgating a HGV purely to help with slipstreaming lol....looked funny but so vulnerable! :eek
FFFFFFFFFFFFFForget that! I know some base jumping, free climbing adrenaline junkies who would consider this kind of thing too dangerous! :lol If they "must" travel more than 10 miles from their homes then they should get a van, stick the Vespa/Lambretta in the back, drive to destination, get dryer out, show to fellow owners, ride round destination for chips etc, van home simple. 8) All I can say is they must have some kind of underlying death wish that maybe even "they" aren't aware of. :evil :eek :rolleyes
Wonder if they were part of the Scooter Club I saw at macdonalds in Cosham Wednesday night still on his way home?
It ain't what you ride, it's who you ride with!!!
That said there are some quick Vespa,s too
Its just a ride
Most of the Lammys on the road are 125-200CC. However depending on the age you could be looking at a 6v electric system (with points) - which would explain the poor illumination. Many enthusiasts will convert to 12v electrics with electronic timing, which will improve the lighting
I went from Ireland to Holland on a 125 Vespa, (during the summer and in good weather, during the day) - no one can tell you that a 600CC bike isn't too small for touring after that. Really great - but i wouldn't do it again.
Scooters >125cc are ok for the motorway use once you don't have a headwind or a fat passenger (or rider). But one of my main reasons for moving to bigger bikes is safety when heading out on the motorway on a poxy winter night - you've got a lot more power in reserve, better breaks, light height, stability etc.
I can still remember riding around the ards peninsula in northern Ireland on my gp100 about 25 years ago. My m8's dad had a holiday cottage and we had a girl each. The girls got a lift down to the cottage, but this isn't the most memorable part of the weekend (despite being a teenager at the time and just discovering the joys of the female body).
What I remember most is the ride home, and tailgating, as a previous poster mentioned. My little gp had a headlight as effective as a cheap torch.and the only way I could see was to sit up the backside of a car in front, so hats off to those scooter boys.
Won't be long before the EU forces us to have someone walk in front of us at 4mph in hi vis and with a flashing red banner, personally I prefer to take a little risk and have a little fun :-)
