October 30, 2005
Second Fillup
I filled up for the second time today. This time the vespa has 230 miles on it (gain of 120 miles) and I put in 1.9 gallons. That makes it 120 miles on 1.9 gallons or 63 MPG. So if you average 63 MPG this time with 59 MPG last time you get 61 MPG overall. Not too shabby.
Trip Across Town
We went to visit Timber's parents on the vespa today. They live roughly 15 miles away and we had to find a route to their house that would avoid the highway. We did end up finding such a route. We had to go up Silver Creek Road and then over to some side streets to reach McKee. We had to drive up and down some steep hills, navigate potholes, sidestreets, and some drivers that didn't see us, but we made it there and back in one piece. Round trip was roughly 30 miles and it made me realize that taking the Vespa on short trips in the winter is fine, but for longer trips that require us to come back a night we should take a car instead.
October 24, 2005
Calero Reservoir
Since Timber was not going to get home around the same time as I would, I decided to take the long way home. The long way entailed going to check out Cinnabar Hills Golf Course, Colero Reservoir, and a pumpkin patch at the intersection of Bailey/Santa Teresa where I picked up a white pumpkin for Timber. It was a fun drive, and I got up to 60 MPH once I got onto Monterey Highway. Later in the weekend we showed off our Vespa GT to J&R.
October 21, 2005
First Fillup
I put gas in the Vespa for the first time today. At that time I had 110 miles on the vespa, and there was 1/8 tank left (+ .5 gallons in reserve [.625 gallons left overall]). So I burned 1.875 gallons which makes my mileage roughly 59 mpg which makes sense because I have to drive up a hill for roughly half of my commute every day. I filled up when gas was at $3 gallon and my total bill was only $5.59. So based soley on gas prices I am paying 5 cents per mile which isn't too bad. Here's to not having to fill up again until sometime in November. :-)
October 19, 2005
100 Miles
I hit 100 miles on the Vespa today on the way home. Woohoo! Only another 500 miles and I can open it all the way up.
October 16, 2005
First Week Of Riding
I rode the Vespa to work just about all last week and it was quite enjoyable. My commute is 10 - 15 minutes each way and the traffic isn't too bad. On the way to work I have a sizable hill to climb which was one of the reasons we got a 200 cc scooter. The trip home is cool because I get to go downhill and hug corners on the way down. Another thing that is cool is that when I'm stopped at a stoplight, the people in the cars next to me don't expect me to be able to accelerate pretty well and I'm sure they feel silly when a scooter beats them off the line. I have roughly 80 miles on the scooter now and estimate that I'll have to put gas in it sometime late this coming week.
October 10, 2005
Waiting...
I'm waiting to be able to drive the Vespa to work. I can't do it today due to a 5 PM soccer game, but the rest of the week should be free and clear. Woohoo!
October 09, 2005
We Did It!
We went to San Jose Vespa and picked up our new Vespa GT 200 (4 miles on it). It took a little longer than I thought to get out the door because they seem to be short staffed on Sundays, but I picked up a pair of riding gloves and a cover for the scooter and then Timber led me home. Well not exactly in that order. I drove around the block to where Timber parked and called my insurance company and had them start my policy. After the policy was started then we headed home, which was roughly 12 miles. On the way home I went over manhole covers, railroad tracks, lots of bumps and potholes, and a host of other hazards and the GT's suspension system held up fine. I topped it out at 55 mph and I noticed that I started to get a lot more wind resistance at 50. But it handled quite nicely and I can't wait to start driving it to work. Now I have to read the instruction manual and just work on getting used to it.
A Decision Has Been Made
We went to the Vespa dealership yesterday and took the GT and PX150 for a test drive. I was a little nervous for a few reasons. First, I don't have much experience on motorized two wheeled vehicles, so I was hoping that they wouldn't be too hard to deal with. Secondly, I knew that after we did the test drive it would be time to decide pretty much once and for all if we were going to go forward with this thing. Timber and I borrowed helmets from the dealer and went outside to one of the side streets and started the process. First we learned how to put the GT on the stand and take it off of the stand, then we learned how to turn it on, and then we learned hot to get going and stop. After doing those things for a few minutes we started to drive it up and down the street. I enjoyed the ride. The GT wasn't as dinky as I feared it may be and it was very easy to ride. And I know this sounds weird, but it was fun, even on the side street. After we finished with the GT we tried out the LX. I couldn't tell much difference in the acceleration because I never really opened up either of them, but I think I was little more comfortable on scooters by the time I got to the LX and it was also fun to drive. I do have to say that I liked the GT better. After we finished with the LX we pretty much decided to go ahead with the GT. So we went back inside, picked out helmets, and worked out a deal for everything. We are planning to go back today (10/9) and pick it up. I have to figure out a route home from the dealership without taking the highway. I'm a little nervous about the long ride home with the GT but I think it is going to be a lot of fun.
October 07, 2005
First Step Complete
I took the written part of the motorcycle exam at DMV this morning and I passed. Huray! I sure am glad that I made an online appointment because there were a ton of people standing in the non appointment line while there were only a few people standing in the appointment line. I now have a motorcycle permit which means that I can drive a motorcycle around town as long as I don't drive at night, stay off the highway, and don't carry a passenger. Test drive here I come! I have 60 days to either go back and take the driving part of the test or take a motorcycle class
Will It See The Light?
At this point I have no idea if this blog will ever see the light of day. I say that because we are only considering getting a Vespa and have not committed to getting it or any other scooter in any way. Up to this point we've done online research, checked it out twice at the dealership, investigated insurance, calculated total cost of ownership, and generally read up on the subject. Who knows if we'll go any further than that.