Amerivespa Day 7

Today is off to a late start due to rain. But never the less I'm packed and hitting the road.

I'll see everyone next year!

Michael

Amerivespa Day 6

Today is the last day of Amerivespa 2015.  We're getting ready to take one more trip up North for lunch and back.  The weather is giving us a 50/50 chance of getting wet. We'll see.

Michael

Amerivespa Repairs

I had a blast at Amerivespa this year, but it didn't happen without some issues.  Although I talked about most problems along the way, I wanted to recant everything in one spot.

On my ride out I had some problems with the Vespa sputtering  (same problem I've talked about in the past).  I've contributed this to clogged jets so I stopped at an Auto Zone to pick up some carb cleaner and Sea Foam.  During a 45 minute stop I cleaned the jets, added some Sea Foam to the fuel and got back on the road.

My next problem was the battery.  We had a stop at Dryer Honda so I talked to their service department. Found out that it was low on fluid. This could be corrected by either adding distilled water or more battery acid.  They topped me off, gave it a quick charge and I was back on the way.  (And it is still working great!)

After I had power again I noticed my tail light was out, although the break light works. I played with the bulb and it looked like a bad connection.  For a quick fix I just put in a new bulb and hit the road.

Over the course of the week I did notice I was having trouble going from first into neutral. I'm not sure what the problem is yet but I'll post something when I figure it out.

The last problem was all due to rain. On the way home I lost my tail light, break light and head light. I was quite wet by the time I made it home so I just left the Vespa sit in the garage.  The next day I noticed that the tail light was back but the low beam on the head light was still out.

I pulled the bulb and sure enough, it was broken. I am going to have to come up with a way to seal the lights better against rain. Not that I like driving in it, but it does happen.

So, for a 1977 Vespa to go almost 900 miles in 7 days, I don't think that's a bad problem list.

Michael

Amerivespa Day 5 Update

After all was said and done, I got to see a lot of great bikes, talk to some great people, watched some great events and it even rained twice. Despite the rain it was still a great day.

The Amerivespa banquet was last night too. Although I didn't win anything in the raffle it was still a blast.  I thought I had driven a long distance to attend Amerivespa, but I learned a lady had been driving for a year around the US at over 4,000 miles!  Yep, you win!

Michael

Amerivespa Day 5

Today is off to a slow start. And after all the riding we've done in the past few days I'm ok with that. Vendors are getting setup and bikes are still rolling in for today's party at IMS main street.

It's going to be a warm one, but it should be a great day.

Amerivespa Day 4 IMS Update

After an hour delay we got our chance to go around the track. Let me tell you it was worth the wait!  It was AWESOME to have this opportunity.  It took a little under 10 minutes to complete the lap, but it's a great memory.

Sadly that's all it will be. Although my duck tap mount worked great, the camera was aimed a low.  Buy still, a great ride!

Now it's party / dinner time.

Michael

Amerivespa Day 4 IMS

I'm getting ready to go around the IMS with 500 of my closest friends.  To capture every moment I rigged my camera to my helmet.  What could possibly go wrong?

Amerivespa Day 4 Lunch

The rain pasted in about 15 minutes and we made it to the lunch spot without issue. After lunch we'll head back to the hotel.

Michael

Amerivespa Day 4 Rain

At our first stop and had a bit of rain. No worries, basically done now.

Michael

Amerivespa Day 4

Today got off to a bad start with a battery issue. But the fine guys at Dreyer Honda fixed me up. Now I hope it holds a charge.

I'm off on the vintage ride.

Michael

Amerivespa Day 3 Dinner

I had a great dinner at Lino's Coffee and had a great chat with a man named Chris.  Also had a chance to check out some great scooters.

Tomorrow we'll be going on some vintage rides and take a lap of the IMS.  I'm really looking forward to that.

Michael

Amerivespa Day 3 update

Today we took a ride around South IN. Lots of good windy roads and great people to talk to.

We stopped for lunch at a local Vespa shop for some great Italian.  Then another ride to a nature reserve for a water and ice cream stop (where I made a new friend who really likes ice cream.)

After that we had a quick fuel stop and headed back to the hotel. We started the day at 9:30 and we were back by 4:00. A long day on the raod, but a load of fun.

Now I'm off to dinner.  More updates to come.

Michael

Amerivespa Day 3

All checked in and.... GO!

Amerivespa Day 2

The day started around 8:30 in Chicago.  Traffic wasn't too bad but I kept running into construction. This slowed down the ride a bit.  But I still managed to roll into Indianapolis by 5 o'clock.

The Vespa was acting up a little, but a quick stop to clean out the jets seemed to help.  Other than this, a bit of wind and three fuel stops made for an uneventful day. I guess I can't complain, having no issues is a good thing.

Tomorrow officially marks the start of Amerivespa 2015 and I've already made some new friends well getting my Vespa tucked in for the night. I'm looking forward to getting started.

Michael

Amerivespa Day 1

I got off to a little bit of a late start, but the ride was good. I wanted to put in a 100 miles today and I almost made it. I would say that's not too bad considering I left over a half hour late and stopped for dinner.

I'm spending first night in Chicago by the airport. so with just over 200 miles to go tomorrow I plan on getting an early start.

The Rally is running well and I have no doubt it will make the trek just fine.

Michael

Amerivespa Prep

I've been looking forward to going to Amerivespa for years now.  With it only a few days away, I started to prep the Rally for the trek down to Indianapolis. 

I gave it a once over, recently put on new tires, and today made a kick-ass decal to celebrate.

Tomorrow I'll start packing and getting things together.  I'll be blogging as I go, so stay tuned for more.

Michael