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There was a lot I wanted to say and do in the days leading up to Christmas and the time-warp week that follows it. I wanted to wish a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays to some of my favorite people in the world. That’s you guys. According to Google Analytics, you, the readers, come from 221 different countries, which is absolutely crazy and blows me away because according to Google’s search engine, there are only 195 countries in the world. You guys have literally made Google contradict itself. It’s nuts. Your comments and emails quite often make my day. I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season, and I wish you all a 2019 of good health, happiness, love, and many smiles on two-wheels.
As for me, I’m mostly over the cold I had, and as I’ve been doing for the past four years, I have a bike inside the house, and a Christmas tree beside it.
Last year’s bike by the tree was a Ducati Panigale 1199. This year I kept it Italian with a 1979 Vespa Sport 100. She’s a kickstart-only (no battery) two-stroke scooter that fires up fairly consistently. It looks like she’s been repainted at some point as she’s extremely clean, especially for her age (40 years old). The Vespa was a regular driver of an old Italian man in Hamilton, Ontario, until 1-2 years ago and between illness and getting a newer Stella 150cc scooter, he stopped riding it regularly.
The scoot idles just fine but could do with a carburetor cleaning, as she encounters some resistance when rolling on the throttle, and running just a few drop of carb cleaner in the gas tank already helped throttle response before I prepped her for indoor storage. The bike uses drum brakes front and back, and the front brake cable could use a tightening. Other than those two minor issues, she’s great. The tires are not only in top shape, but as you can see from the pic, they even have the little stringy bits.
The top speed is a bombing 85 km/hr top speed, making plenty of awesome two-stroke sounds along the way. Shifting is done via handshifter at the left hand grip and was surprisingly smooth. I had no real point of comparison, but hadn’t exactly handshifted before either, and getting the hang of it was pretty easy.
The Vespa S 100 has 9,846 km on it, but the last 1 km has just been racing around my kitchen. Because of that, she might be for sale, if anyone is in the Toronto, Canada, area, and might be interested in buying her.
Cheers everyone. My best wishes for you all, always.
Adrian
PS: If you love Vespas, you should check out…
This short film, called Notte Sento, about a Vespa rider who meets a girl who’s train get’s cancelled in Rome, it’s only a few minutes, but it’s cute.
You might also want to check out this 3D printable Vespa too.
I’d drain the carb’s float bowl if you haven’t already. Favourite place for water to collect!
Thanks Mitch. Going to list her this week. If she doesn’t sell by end of month I’ll bring her out to the garage and maybe shoot a quick video.
Don’t fotget your white open-face lid, Parka with “Dartboard” on the back, white socks and black Loafers with tassels! Also, the Vespa will need lots of extra mirrors bolted on to it! Biker Dog probably won’t come near you but have fun with it!