My entry into the Darwin Awards (Oklahoma trip)

[zbillster_imp]

That makes at least 3 of us, you, me, and Stichill who have had the CBR250r and the CB1100. Stichill still has his and I'm jealous

Yeah, it was a sweet little bike. I think everyone misses it after they size up. Great for flat parts of Texas, but struggled with hills and highway headwinds. I bought it in 2015 off a dealer who was selling it out of his garage ... he bought it and a bunch of repossessed Groms from Honda Finance. Someone broke into his garage, stole all the Groms, but left the CBR. It had all of 2,000 miles on it, and he was having trouble unloading it. So I got it for $2500 ... and when the registration renewal came due 3 years and 12,000 miles later sold it in one day to a kid who just got his motorcycle license for $2200.

I ended up hanging onto the Vespa LX150 because I had more sweat equity in it (reliable but a pain in the butt to access stuff for basic maintenance, which you learn to do yourself because no one else will touch them except dealers).

Thought I was fine, but got the itch for a long-range bike again shortly thereafter. I was looking at the CBR500, Deauville 700, Kawasaki Z900RS and Bonnevilles, and was nervous about the cc and weight of the CB1100 ... but pulled the trigger on a used one. Glad I did.

[GoldOxide_imp]

I reckon the Vespa is an awesome hop'n'go ride in a pinch?

[zbillster_imp]

I reckon the Vespa is an awesome hop'n'go ride in a pinch?

Great for rock star parking ... you could use a bicycle rack and no one, especially Mr. Law, cared.

But once I bought a house away from urban destinations and streets, and out near alluring farm-to-market roads, I needed something with more oomph.

I have to say it was more reliable than my 1978 Honda CT-90 (which suffered from electrical quirks as it had no voltage regulator, save the battery, so blowing brake light fuses was always a problem when the battery was low). But with some Italian weirdness thrown in. Took a long time to find the right buyer for it ... till a happy college girl stepped up to the plate.

I did rent one in Italy, and it was fun touring Tuscany. Not fun getting the $300 in traffic tickets after I came back home though ... [url=https://flic.kr/s/aHsm6sWPDo]Tuscany via Vespa travel photo album

[GoldOxide_imp]

I reckon the Vespa is an awesome hop'n'go ride in a pinch?

Great for rock star parking ... you could use a bicycle rack and no one, especially Mr. Law, cared.

But once I bought a house away from urban destinations and streets, and out near alluring farm-to-market roads, I needed something with more oomph.

I have to say it was more reliable than my 1978 Honda CT-90 (which suffered from electrical quirks as it had no voltage regulator, save the battery, so blowing brake light fuses was always a problem when the battery was low). But with some Italian weirdness thrown in. Took a long time to find the right buyer for it ... till a happy college girl stepped up to the plate.

I did rent one in Italy, and it was fun touring Tuscany. Not fun getting the $300 in traffic tickets after I came back home though ... [url=https://flic.kr/s/aHsm6sWPDo]Tuscany via Vespa travel photo album

...
I did rent one in Italy, and it was fun touring Tuscany. Not fun getting the $300 in traffic tickets after I came back home though ... [url=https://flic.kr/s/aHsm6sWPDo]Tuscany via Vespa travel photo album
Awesome collection share of Tuscany. Scary Pinocchio.

$300 in traffic tickets from your trip in Italy?

[peterbaron]

Zbillster, thanks for sharing your Tuscany photo album

[zbillster_imp]

I reckon the Vespa is an awesome hop'n'go ride in a pinch?

Great for rock star parking ... you could use a bicycle rack and no one, especially Mr. Law, cared.

But once I bought a house away from urban destinations and streets, and out near alluring farm-to-market roads, I needed something with more oomph.

I have to say it was more reliable than my 1978 Honda CT-90 (which suffered from electrical quirks as it had no voltage regulator, save the battery, so blowing brake light fuses was always a problem when the battery was low). But with some Italian weirdness thrown in. Took a long time to find the right buyer for it ... till a happy college girl stepped up to the plate.

I did rent one in Italy, and it was fun touring Tuscany. Not fun getting the $300 in traffic tickets after I came back home though ... Tuscany via Vespa travel photo album

...
I did rent one in Italy, and it was fun touring Tuscany. Not fun getting the $300 in traffic tickets after I came back home though ... [url=https://flic.kr/s/aHsm6sWPDo]Tuscany via Vespa travel photo album
Awesome collection share of Tuscany. Scary Pinocchio.

$300 in traffic tickets from your trip in Italy?

Yes, it's pretty much a scam, both for locals and tourists. No one stops you, it's all done by hidden camera, and they have up to a year to mail you the ticket. You don't pay, then a good chance they send U.S. collection companies after you and suddenly it goes from $150 to $500+. Both were for "being in a bus lane" or some nonsense (I was probably avoiding a Fiat merging into me at the time). I did manage to avoid about $80 in fees from the rental companies for "forwarding my information to the authorities." My advice? As fun as it was, NEVER drive in Italy! [url=http://www.initaly.com/travel/avoid_tickets.htm]Traffic tickets in Italy

I also canNOT recommend the Vespa rental firm [url=https://www.italian-rent.it/]https://www.italian-rent.it/ ... compare the shiny Vespas on their website and Facebook pages to the one held together by masking tape that I actually got. Plus when I rented a manual-shift Fiat 500 from them later, they showed up with an automatic model (facepalm!). I think it's one guy living in an apartment with a couple of cars owned by friends.

And isn't that Gilera poster just awesome?

The scenic, twisty mountain drive to the Ferrari museum was pretty amazing ... I wish I had more time to stop in the little towns along the way. On my last day, I rented a 1200cc Fiat Punto (WITH a manual shift from Hertz ... stick with trusted rental companies) and visited the Colnago factory museum (meeting Ernesto Colnago in person was the highlight of the trip) and the Alfa-Romeo museum in Milan, which rocks. Here are some cheap-camera video walkthroughs of the museums ...

[the Ferret]

Very cool stuff Zbillster.

MTC... Stichill has a CBR 250 but never had a CB1100 and to the best of my knowledge has only ridden one, mine around the Loop by my house

[GoldOxide_imp]

Thanks for all the Italian tips zbillster.

Yeah, the Gilera poster is great. Too bad for the lady's foot - it looks weird.

- - -

Nice car museum.

Wha 'bout the moto cycle museums?

[Stichill_imp]

Looks like it was a fun ride. Pretty country!

+1

That makes at least 3 of us, you, me, and Stichill who have had the CBR250r and the CB1100. Stichill still has his and I'm jealous

Wow, yeah! I rode it to work today as a matter of fact. Many smiles per mile! I always tell people, "There's nothing about this little bike that I don't like and lots of things that I love."

Actually LongRanger also had one.

That makes at least 3 of us, you, me, and Stichill who have had the CBR250r and the CB1100. Stichill still has his and I'm jealous

Yeah, it was a sweet little bike. I think everyone misses it after they size up. Great for flat parts of Texas, but struggled with hills and highway headwinds. I bought it in 2015 off a dealer who was selling it out of his garage ... he bought it and a bunch of repossessed Groms from Honda Finance. Someone broke into his garage, stole all the Groms, but left the CBR. It had all of 2,000 miles on it, and he was having trouble unloading it. So I got it for $2500 ... and when the registration renewal came due 3 years and 12,000 miles later sold it in one day to a kid who just got his motorcycle license for $2200.

I ended up hanging onto the Vespa LX150 because I had more sweat equity in it (reliable but a pain in the butt to access stuff for basic maintenance, which you learn to do yourself because no one else will touch them except dealers).

Thought I was fine, but got the itch for a long-range bike again shortly thereafter. I was looking at the CBR500, Deauville 700, Kawasaki Z900RS and Bonnevilles, and was nervous about the cc and weight of the CB1100 ... but pulled the trigger on a used one. Glad I did.

That's why I'm planning to never part with it. It was my first street bike and it's still awesome and it's not worth a lot used so...it stays.

[zbillster_imp]

Thanks for all the Italian tips zbillster.

Yeah, the Gilera poster is great. Too bad for the lady's foot - it looks weird.

- - -

Nice car museum.

Wha 'bout the moto cycle museums?

If the woman's foot is a dealbreaker for you, happy to take her off your hands.

As far as moto museums go, the trip was spontaneously planned (weather dependent) except for the Colnago factory museum tour, which I arranged in advance. I saw the Ferrari museum on the map, quite a distance for the little Vespa, but decided "let's see if I can make it." The Alfa Romeo museum was on the way to my airport hotel for the night from the Colnago factory, and wasn't sure if I could make it before they closed. Glad I did ... you could probably spend a day there ... very impressive.

Oh, and there were a couple of places near the Ferrari museum where you could rent a Ferrari by the minute or hour ... here's the price list ...



Oh, and here are motorcycle images from the Museo Piaggio ...