Question to Roger - why BMW but not Vespa?

[paulfish4570]

you guys are not up to date on maxi scooters. vespa/piaggio makes 500-cc scoots with 14-inch wheels (iirc).
kymco makes 500-cc maxi-scooters. my bride and i have kymcos with 250-cc, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke engines. i wouldn't go cross country, but we have made a couple of 700-mile round trips, at 73 mpg.
suzi-yamaha and honda make a fine touring scoot. suzuki makes 400- and 650-cc models. that 650-cc scoot WILL cruise 140-kph all day long.
my bride and i run 120 kph on good two-lane highways with our midi-scoots. and i can run away from your average touring cruiser on twisty roads. the kymco 250s run 15-inch wheels, by the way ...
nevertheless, i'd prefer a bonneville ...

 

[FrankS]

Here in north America with the distances between interesting places much greater than in Europe, I would consider a larger scooter like a Burgman.

Edit: I posted this as Paul posted his, similar message.

 

[Out to Lunch]

My old 150cc Vespa Cosa which I used for a few years in Vietnam. Stable and fast enough but it needed a lot of care and maintenance

 

[axiom]

you guys are not up to date on maxi scooters. vespa/piaggio makes 500-cc scoots with 14-inch wheels (iirc).
kymco makes 500-cc maxi-scooters. my bride and i have kymcos with 250-cc, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke engines. i wouldn't go cross country, but we have made a couple of 700-mile round trips, at 73 mpg.
suzi-yamaha and honda make a fine touring scoot. suzuki makes 400- and 650-cc models. that 650-cc scoot WILL cruise 140-kph all day long.
my bride and i run 120 kph on good two-lane highways with our midi-scoots. and i can run away from your average touring cruiser on twisty roads. the kymco 250s run 15-inch wheels, by the way ...
nevertheless, i'd prefer a bonneville ...

but... but.... those maxi scooters are really quite ugly. The difference is like marrying a human on earth and marrying a martian from another planet

 

[paulfish4570]

ugly is as ugly does. i absolutely love the look of a well-bobbed v-twin, but the frame/seat arrangement kills my back. i like the sit-up-and beg position; hence, a scoot or bonneville or ...

 

[tunalegs]

Doesn't Suzuki make some sort of "touring" scooter these days? I think I vaguely recall seeing one somewhere. It even had a (small) seat back.

Off on a tangent, I once drove a Subaru 360 microcar cross country (about 1700 miles) - that thing had a 356cc 25hp engine. It was really kind of like a covered motorcycle (a small covered motorcycle).

I actually probably would have rather done the trip with a vespa in retrospect. It was a nerve-wracking experience, with lots of get out and get under action and endless tinkering every 15 miles... ah they don't build them like they used to.

 

[axiom]

Doesn't Suzuki make some sort of "touring" scooter these days? I think I vaguely recall seeing one somewhere. It even had a (small) seat back.

Off on a tangent, I once drove a Subaru 360 microcar cross country (about 1700 miles) - that thing had a 356cc 25hp engine. It was really kind of like a covered motorcycle (a small covered motorcycle).

I actually probably would have rather done the trip with a vespa in retrospect. It was a nerve-wracking experience, with lots of get out and get under action and endless tinkering every 15 miles... ah they don't build them like they used to.

If you don't say, I was gonna guess it is a Fiat.
I think today's Vepsa produces about 22hp.

 

[Gumby]

ugly is as ugly does. ...

That comment made me pause for a brief moment... a moment of utter fantasy... recalling my first girlfriend.


... and now back to the real world!