My Buddy Has A Buddy!

jetboy · Post by **jetboy** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:52 pm

That's nice! What have you found out about the manual shift aspects of riding that scoot coming from the CVT realm. Distracting? Issues riding in heavy traffic?

-jetboy

diane · Post by **diane** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:18 pm

BEAUTIFUL vespa!
Congrats!!

StL_Stadtroller · Post by **StL_Stadtroller** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:47 pm

Looks like you're out of oil

Congrats, and get a Sito on that thing ASAP!

twharton · Post by **twharton** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:54 pm

What have you found out about the manual shift aspects of riding that scoot coming from the CVT realm.

FFFFFUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!

But look that's just me. My first car. Well really it was my dad's...was a 1964 VW Beetle which I drove from 1976 - 1983. I learned to drive on that stick and loved it and it loved me back.

That said I totally get the scooter industry's decision to embrace automatic. They are in business and shifting takes another level of skill and learning curve and comfort with that. Shifting intimidates newbies so it needs to be encouraged. It's like a jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce vs totally scratch with fresh ingredients. All good but one is an epicurian experience. A real life example. I have two teenage girls, 19 & 16 (no pics you pervs but I understand). The 19 year old is good and fine w/ my Buddy and has no desire to ride the Vespa. This girl waited a month after her 16th birthday to get her license...just not that interested. Daughter #2 has been passionate and sitting behind a wheel (supervised in a lot) since she was 13. She rides Buddy more than me (more time) and though nervous about shifting she has shadowed me on Buddy the 3 times I've ridden the Vespa watching and will get to try it out when she's ready. She's got the fever.

I tried to buy a Stella last year. Well not available and no Vespas that shifted either so that's how Buddy came into my life. It didn't satisfy my lust for shifting (it's satisfied now) so I got the PX-150. I don't get the animosity exhibited by some toward automatics. Now I've only got about 50 miles on the PX so quite a ways to go before fully broken in but after riding with my daughter I can say that my Buddy (over 1000 miles) leaves the PX in the dust right now and is smooth but....that's not really the point is it.

One is a total tramp, fast, loose, smooth, a flirt, my mistress.
The Vespa is my wife and is forever.

Tom