At either end of the Golden Gate Bridge, there are ribbed joints in the surface of the roadway. I don’t think they’re expansion joints, I think they simply connect the surface of the approach to the surface of the bridge itself. Since they’re about two feet wide, the ribs add traction to the metal surface in wet weather. They also make a really neat sound, especially in rush hour traffic. Like mechanical (or maniacal?) barking sea lions.
After getting chided by the internets for having my Vespa LX150 serviced at the dealership instead of learning how to maintain it myself, I thought it’d be poetic justice to let the world know I just performed my own brush touch up.
I ordered a paint pen from Scooter Parts Direct for $15 plus shipping. Unlike the picture on their site, the package actually contains two paint pens, one matching the color of your scooter, the other a clearcoat varnish. Piaggio calls it a “Touch-up Pencil,” though it contains liquid paint. Behind the pens you can see some of the scratches I mean to touch up.
The last time my scooter was tipped was actually some time ago, and I think it may have been tipped on purpose. I had been parking at the edge of an entrance to a driveway, and twice I found it tipped uphill, once completely on its side, which did most of the damage, and the other time it happened to fall against the front of car and luckily never hit the ground. On both occasions there was black pickup truck in the driveway that hadn’t been there when I parked. So I don’t know definitively if it was done on purpose or by accident or really by whom, but it pissed me off, and I stopped parking there.
All that to say, I started to see a little rust developing in two of the deeper scratches, (the Vespa body is made of a single piece of metal) so I figured I better patch it up.
Here’s the before shot:
And here’s the after:
It’s not perfect, but from a slight distance, it looks much better than a bunch of white scratches on black paint.
Last week on the ride home I noticed a marked reduction in power accelerating from a stop along Lombard. At each light, I felt the same thing, almost as if the throttle’s connection to the engine had become a rubber band. I could get up to speed, but it took a long time getting there. I thought I also heard some rattling, but with a helmet on, it was hard to tell if it was coming from the scooter or from another car. The next morning I had Stephanie take it for a ride around the block, and she confirmed that something was really wrong.
Conveniently the San Francisco Vespa dealership is only a few blocks away, but somewhat annoyingly, there’s a month lead time for appointments, and this just couldn’t wait. It was even more pressing when I realized I had just 4 days left on my year warranty before it expired. I called to see if they could squeeze me in, and their response was pretty much: “Maybe.” This burned me a little, but I dropped it off anyway, and crossed my fingers.
Third Service, new rear tire
Well it turns out they did fit me in, discovered a busted “clutch pulley” and were able to replace it under warranty (saving me $260). Since I was almost at 4000 miles, I decided to have them perform my 3rd service and replace a bald rear tire. Total cost: $568.03. At which point most car owners would be cringing. I suppose owning a Vespa saves me money in a number of ways, but maintenance, at least through a “certified dealership” is not one of them. Since I’m coming up on a year of Vespa ownership, I though it might be illuminating to detail my maintenance costs thus far, for any prospective LX150 buyers out there.
First service, brush touch up
The dealership charges $150 for the first service. If I had bought the scooter from them directly instead of via Craigslist, they would have reduced the price of labor by 40%. That said, when I make an appointment online, they knock 10% off the price, bringing the first service down to $135. Before I brought it in, my scooter had been knocked over, miraculously only getting three little scratches on the right cowl. When I pointed it out, they offered to touch it up, I figured it wouldn’t cost that much. They charged $150! Basically painting over three scratches with the equivalent of black nail polish. That burned me a lot. I also learned a lesson in vanity, as my scooter was tipped over again not long after, completely negating their overpriced brush touch up. So total cost of the first service: $286.60.
New battery
At just over 2,000 miles, in time for my 2nd service, the scooter was starting to sound like it didn’t have enough juice to start the engine. On several separate occasions I actually had to have it jumped! I wasn’t totally surprised, because the same thing happened to Stephanie at exactly the same mileage (perhaps it had something to do with our scooters being tipped). In any case, I made an appointment for the service, but again, they didn’t have any available openings for a month and a half. So I went down to First Kick Scooters, and they installed a larger, sealed battery, originally intended for the ET4 model. Apparently the factory LX batteries are known to lose their juice, which kind of burns me (thanks for nothing Vespa). The new battery cost $112.72.
Second service
When I finally made it to my 2nd service appointment, I was at 2,915 miles. The second service usually costs $250, but with the 10% wait-a-month-and-a-half discount, the total was “only” $226.50. Apparently for that they changed my oil and replaced the filter, plus all “necessary adjustments and checks”. Talk about a pricey oil change. Here’s the rub: the Vespa warranty is void if I have the scooter serviced at a non-certified shop. So essentially I’m being held hostage by Vespa.
Total
In total, with the 3rd service I already mentioned above, I’ve spent $1,193.85 on maintenance over the last year, of which only the $150 brush touch up could be considered unnecessary, though at the same time I lucked out that the $260 clutch pulley replacement happened within 4 days of my warranty expiring. So for a vehicle that only cost me $4300, I’ve already spent 27% of purchase price on maintenance. Ouch. I don’t know if I’m paying a San Francisco labor premium or what, but I’m not sure I’m going back to the Vespa dealership now that my warranty has expired.
Gear, insurance, parking
And of course that total does not include the cost of riding jackets, rain gear, helmets, and gloves which I’ve probably spent about $500 on. Or $500 a year on insurance. Or $60 a year for city street parking plus the inevitable parking tickets (I’ve probably gotten 3-4 so far at $40 a pop).
All that said, I love my Vespa. I wish it looked better, but it’s a tool, not a museum piece. It allows me to get to work on my schedule, and park in the city where ever I want.
One of San Francisco’s characteristic charms is the cable car. Mostly ridden by tourists, it is still one of the locals’ chosen commute methods.
What is striking about the cable car is that, well, it’s pulled by cables… still blows my mind! The cables run continuously under the street, sometimes making a ringing sound. 10pm on a weeknight at Hyde and Washington is a prime time to experience it.
I’d seen that bike before and not thought much of it, because at the time I was looking for something more like the Norton Atlas in this post. But in the outdoorsy context of “Scooter in the Sticks” the thought of a bike capable of a little off-road action with that classic old-school charm is very attractive.
I looked back over Triumph’s website, having been there once before to check out the Bonneville, and discovered the Thruxton, a thoroughly modern remake of the cafe racer.
All these bikes have pretty meaty engines, 865cc compared to my Vespa’s 150, which would be a lot of fun on the 8 mile trip between here and Sausalito.
But I know that sometime between now and September, FM is supposed to be moving into the city, and the Vespa is going to be even more practical, if not a little overkill for the much shorter commute. This should be good for my health—slower traffic and the option to walk or bike.
But man, looking over all these bikes, I still can’t shake the idea that the Black Bonneville is totally hot:
