GTS OWNERS CLUB

AlexHancock · Joined: 22 Nov 2007 Posts: 12

I picked up my 250 GTS from the previous owner in Kent, England on Saturday morning and headed straight for the Channel Tunnel. I've ridden large motorbikes for many years so it took a little while to get used to the scooter's handling but the power reminded me of my first bike - momentum is key!

I arrived in France around 2 pm and headed south. My route would take me past Paris and onto the Volcanic region just south of Clermont Ferrand. I was able to cruise around 130 km/h and was reasonably comfortable for the next 10 hours. I would normally have just carried on through the night but it gets a bit cold in Northern Europe during December particularly in the mountains so when the temperature dropped to 7 C I found a hotel in Clermont Ferrand for the night.

I left the hotel around 8 am and headed into the mountains (maximum altitude there is about 1200 m). As you might expect it was quite cold (5 C) and a bit misty but great roads. I actually set off one speed camera and only felt the rear slide briefly on one fast bend. However, it was great to see and feel the temperature increase as I came off the mountains reaching 20 C by the time I got to Spain.

I arrived in Barcelona around 4 pm which meant about 19 hours on the road including fuel, food and rest stops. The scooter worked very well except for occasionally stalling whilst idling. The weather was great with almost no rain. I managed with just a bag on the rack and lots of bits under the seat and in the glove box. I couldn't get hold of a small screen which would have been useful but did fit some muffs to save my fingers.

So a good start to Vespa ownership and lots of great reactions from other road users - I didn't see any other Vespas Smile