One thing that has always turned me off about “motorcycle jackets” are the bright colors and giant logos that say “Hey, I’m a motorcycle jacket”.  The folks who wear them while *not* on a bike, strike me as the type who long for folks to walk to them saying, hey- nice jacket- what do you ride?” And well, I’m totally not that kinda guy. (Which you can probably tell, because I bought a scooter). Still, safety is important, and that includes a good jacket.

Eventually I stumbled upon the Corazzo website, saw their current line, and thought they were pretty nice- online anyway.  Apparently specializing in “Urban Riding Gear” (whatever that means) they pretty much summed up my perspective on jackets:

“…we’ve thought about how annoying it is to be lugging around heavy gear or look like you’ve come off [the] race track…”

I was drawn toward the discreetness of the Bomber, Postale , Shop jackets.  The Bomber jacket is a really nice classic bomber jacket, if you’re into that. The Postale jacket pretty damn stylish, but not *too* stylish, if you know what I mean. But my favorite of the three is the Shop jacket. Why? Because it looks like a shop jacket. A plain ‘ol, well-fitted, no frills, classic shop jacket.  The Corazzo Shop Jacket looks like the one I have in my closet, only, four times the price.  WTF?!?

I went down to my not-so-local Vespa dealer to check it out in real life because I knew they had a pretty good selection of accessories and gear (as opposed to my local dealer, who has very little).   I also wanted to see why it’s four times the price. Guess what? In real life it’s a shop jacket- like the one I have from high school! No fancy logos or zippers or form-fitted textures (okay- one fancy logo). But with industry standard elbow, shoulder, and back pads. The beauty of this jacket- in my opinion is that it retains the look, feel, and style of a plain ‘ol shop jacket. But the best part? it fits!  And thusly, earned my hard-earned cash.

You can always see the professionally lit, high-end photos on the Corazzo website. Here are some real-life cellphone camera pics for comparison.

FEATURES
• Hidden 500 denier Cordura® abrasion resistant inserts
• CE Rated Armor in shoulders, elbows & back
• Reflective 3M Scotchlite™ for the best nighttime visibility
• Heavy-duty cotton/poly twill shell
• YKK® high-grade zippers throughout
• Quilted lining for warmth
• Adjustable, comfortable fitted waist
• Unisex sizing from XS – 3XL

Related links:
www.Corazzo.com
www.SJVespa.com

An MV member posed the question above, after overhearing some whipper-snappers talking smack about his scooter. Incidentally, that’s basically what whipper-snappers do, right?

Short answer: Nope. Don’t care.

Thoughtful response version:
I think the last time I felt embarrassed about anything was my High School Senior Prom night [details omitted ]… A week later, I didn’t care and neither did anyone else.

Whether I’ve grown thick-skinned or just indignant, I really don’t care about what anyone thinks about me and personally, have found life to be soooo much easier that way! There are probably times when I should have felt embarrassed, but its so off my radar, I wouldn’t even know.

The beauty of humanity and free speech (in places that endorse it), is that everyone can have their own opinion, no matter how baseless or prescient, and I think that’s pretty awesome. Unless it effects my pocketbook or personal safety, which of course, is a totally different conversation.

Slightly related, I never expected to get “the wave/gesture” (aka the “wassup” as we call it on the West Coast) from other bikers while on the road, as I assumed scooters were the red-headed stepchild of the two-wheeler world, so its kind of cool when I do.

Trying to get a feel for my new scoot I’ve let the fuel get down to “as low as i’m willing to risk it”. Yesterday my gauge was on E and the gas light has been on for about 15-20 miles. “Eyeballing” the fuel level in the hole I could clearly see there is fuel in there, but what the heck- i don’t know how shallow or deep the tank is…

(not my actual speedo...)

I’m pretty good at math- given the 2.3 gallon tank, the .25 gal reserve, and the presence of an unknown quantity of fuel, I calculated I should be able to squeeze about $5 of fuel in there. Was I totally off the mark- just under a dollar short I overfilled it…. (doh!). Gas everywhere, a few swears, then air bubbles came up and the level went down- all the way down. I know you’re not supposed to top off but i did anyway. Besides- this was an experiment. Then more air bubbles and the level went down again… I gave the thing a little rock back and forth, and up came MORE air bubbles, and the level went down again!

I decided not to spill more gas all over the place and gave up. I started her up and fuel gauge shows… 3/4 tank?! Can someone tell a newbie what the heck is going on? What shape is the tank? When eyeballing (since the gauge is basically inaccurate), how low is too low to the naked eye?

As I wrote this, I went and found a pic of what I think is the tank for an LX 150. The gas cap needs its own dipstick or something.

*(I wish I made that up, but I didn’t)

Bikes Never Crash Alone

This seat is in excellent condition! I’ve seen it priced online from $250-$400 (but you know this!)… I will happily trade straight across for a black or dark brown one in comparable condition. Preferably stock, and preferably local, to avoid that whole shipping thing…

As for the key assembly thing? I haven’t thought that through yet.

Here’s a pic:

Yep- Another totally stock 2006 LX150 despite the plenty of photos of totally stock 150s out there. (Yes, I originally said it was an ’05, but my registration says ’06 and who am I to argue?)…

Not my favorite color, but the price could not be beat. If I can add a smoke-colored windscreen and replace the seat with a black one soon, she’ll be perfect!

My new-to-me 2006 LX 150 Vespa Scooter, the color is called "Daring Plum".

Enjoy more content like this at Flickr
© all original content copyright 2009

My new-to-me 2006 LX 150 Vespa Scooter, the color is called "Daring Plum".

Enjoy more content like this at Flickr
© all original content copyright 2009

My new-to-me 2006 LX 150 Vespa Scooter, the color is called "Daring Plum".

Enjoy more content like this at Flickr
© all original content copyright 2009