Walking London and Croatia by Scooters, Mon Sep 5, 2022

         

Mon 2022/09/05 Scooters to Postojna cave in Slovenia


what Google history thinks we did

Breakfast on the terrace, just watch out for the bold pigeons

Our scoots are ready to roll

After the border crossing into Slovenia

scooters don't pay for parking if you find an out-of-the-way corner...

heading into Postojna Cave for the big tour


we head deep (a few km) into the cave on this electric train

Goofy girl is happy she brought warm clothes. It's cold in the cave, like ~50°F





Abby Road?

Joe asks "How do you like your Vespas?" My answer is: They are surprisingly powerful and very smooth, but the handling is just weird. I'm especially confused by having the rear brake on the left hand. I keep grabbing it whenever I would have grabbed the clutch. But I'm starting to get used to it. The bikes are surprisingly practical with a lot of luggage capacity. Great for tight riding in the city.

Ideal bike for in a European city. Less practical in the USA though. They are freeway legal in the US but not here

We didn't go on any main highways and the fastest I went today was 100 kph. I think it would probably easily do 130, but I'm not sure I would feel secure at that speed with a little wheels and anemic brakes.

The ABS works great!

Matt says: Looks like surplus fun

Joe says: Cool! 120 feels a bit fast on my CBF. I don’t think I’d want to 130 on a Vespa either.

That left hand brake thing must be really weird at first

Matt says: Yeah. I'll bet that's why Chris knows about the ABS system effectiveness.....

And Chris replies: Hahaha. I did a little testing by speeding up to 100 and then grabbing the rear brake as hard as I could. I also did that with the front brake. The rear brake is about twice as effective as the front brake. It's really important to use both brakes on a scooter. The weight is so low. There's very little weight transfer to the front when braking hard.

Joe, I think a Vespa would be perfect for Zug. Less so for Portland/Vancouver with all of our freeways, but ideal for your sedate roads and tight parking and expensive gas.

Joe: Ok. I’ll trade in the Multistrada before you get here

Dinner


Kathi got baked fish

Chris got pork shank

Opatija / Rijeka harbor on a calm night


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