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October 24, 2015

Dusting off the Scooters

After two weeks on-the-job training in Podunk, Bavaria I was willing and ready to undergo some two-wheeled therapy. In the meantime Alonzo, my orange Vespa GTS300 had gathered a little cobweb but was otherwise unharmed by the inactivity.


The bike started up without hesitation, I did a walk around checking lights and indicators, then we were off to the gas station in order to fill to some air into the tires.


Roland had missed the date for the MOT (TÜV) hence, Bella, his red Vespa GTS250 had to stay put. Whitey, the Suzuki Burgman 400 came to the rescue, and purred along willingly.


The weather was calm and dry, and recent street cleaning had cleared off the leaves. There were quite a few 'fraction line' bikers on the road seizing the last moments of their season but thankfully not so much on the little trails we chose to ride.


Why are certain motorcyclists called 'fraction line' riders, you might ask? You recognise them by their licence plate: 03/11 means: valid from March to November. If you get caught riding the bike during storage time, you'll get fined big time, and much more important, you will be uninsured.


After finishing our little afternoon loop we went grocery shopping. There was plenty storage room in the Burgy to carry all our stuff home.


***

Die Roller werden abgestaubt
Nach zwei Wochen Schulung im Zweigwerk Hintertupfingen in Bayern war ich überfällig für eine Zweirad-Therapie. Alonzo, meine Vespa GTS300, hatte bereits ein wenig Staub angesetzt, sprang aber brav an. Nachdem ich Beleuchtung und Blinker auf ihre Funktionalität überprüft hatte, ging es zur Tankstelle, Luftdruck messen. Alles im grünen Bereich.
Roland hatte den TÜV Termin für seine Bella verpasst, also musste die rote Vespa GTS250 in der Garage bleiben. Dafür durfte Whitey, die Suzuki Burgman 400 mal wieder an die frische Luft.
Es war windstill und mild, und die Straßenreinigung hatte die Straßen erst kürzlich vom Laub befreit. Das Wetter hatte viele Bruchstrich-Fahrer heraus gelockt, es war einiges auf den Hauptstraßen los. Aber deren Saison ist ja bald abgelaufen, da die meisten 04/10 auf ihren Nummernschildern stehen haben...  Uns war's egal, denn auf den kleinen Wegen, auf denen wir uns herum trieben, war diese Klientel sowieso nicht unterwegs. Anschließend fuhren wir noch einkaufen. Die Burgy hat sich dabei wieder als Raumwunder bewährt, da passt der ganze Aldi hinein ;-)

20 comments:

  1. I'd be curious to try a Burgman, but I think I'd find the floor too high for my taste, and the riding position a little confined. I must be wrong though because Roland likes that bike and Roland is much taller than I am.

    With the Honda in storage for the winter, I'm quite content riding my GTS.

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    1. David, I feel very comfortable on the Burgman 400. There are two positions for your legs, one being slightly stretched out. Also, I like the overall size of the 400 as is not too large (compared to 650, SW600, BMW), but still has fantastic storage room!

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  2. I feel sorry for you northerners who have to put their bikes away for 6 months. We ride year round here in Australia with sunny winter days at 20°C.
    Love your header pic by the way.

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    1. Well, formally I put away the Harley for three months, while the Vespa is being used all year round. However, we get the occasional snow in the Black Forest which makes riding impossible. You are far better off in your neck of the woods ;-)

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  3. Fabulous photos Sonja - great that you're out and about with your soulmate! The orange really goes well with the autumn foliage.

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    1. Thanks, Geoff. It was great to be out and about with Roland again.

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  4. Love the colors in the first photo! And the Burgman looks huge.

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    1. also find the Burgy huge, Richard, but it seems to fit Roland perfectly. He loves it.

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  5. Cool! Ihr habt da wirklich eine wunderhübsche Gegend bei Euch! Beneidenswert!

    Ich hatte ja schon gedacht, es hätte Dich nun endgültig ans Ende der Welt verschlagen. Gut zu hören, daß dem nicht so ist!

    Viele liebe Grüße,
    Minya

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    1. Ja Minya. Schau doch mal vorbei, so weit weg wohnst Du ja auch nicht. Das Ende der Welt ist leider näher als mir lieb ist, denn es wird von mir erwartet, dass ich dort regelmäßig "auftauche"... allerdings sind die Straßen äußerst Mopped-kompatibel. Wer weiß, vielleicht fahre ich im kommenden Jahr mal mit dem Zweirad 'rüber.

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  6. Love the photo of the vespa in front of the stone wall - looks like a beautiful ride.

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  7. Sehr g**ler Header. Alonzo und die Herbstfarben :-)

    Ich habe letztens einen Einkaufsbeutel in mein Raumwunder gelegt, weil ich es so nervig fand, den ganzen Aldi immer einzeln in's Haus zu tragen :-D

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    1. Danke, Funny. Alonzo macht sich immer ganz gut im Herbst. Roland hatte auch an einen Einkaufsbeutel gedacht. So smart ;-)

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  8. A beautiful fall ride you two! Love your new header pic too.

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    1. Thanks, Brandy. It was a long time coming. We haven't been on a ride out together since August.

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  9. Fraction Line....interesting concept, I guess its more visible to the police than a sticker.

    Nice photos.

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    1. Dom, that's exactly the point. And the PTB have a keen eye on the plates.

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  10. Sonja what beautiful pics! I think if I was going to buy a vespa it would have to be orange, what a beautiful colour! A friend of mine has a burgman and she loves that scoot. Whitey is pretty impressive looking.

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  11. The fraction line insurance thing is intriguing. Lovely colors in the pics!

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