Scooterotica

GFlint wrote:
Do you see what I mean by nostalgia, the GTS 300 might be classed as the best rally going scoot of its time in 20 yrs.

Gary

I wonder how many GTS300 will last 20 years, let alone 50, I very much doubt many, so in 20 years they could be as rare as rocking horse poo

Burnside wrote:

GFlint wrote:
Do you see what I mean by nostalgia, the GTS 300 might be classed as the best rally going scoot of its time in 20 yrs.

Gary

I wonder how many GTS300 will last 20 years, let alone 50, I very much doubt many, so in 20 years they could be as rare as rocking horse poo

Lol true, I bet there will be some that restore them. Buy them up now as retirement investment, the Yamaha Fizzy of its day

Only a matter of time for them to start making replacement frames I guess, as that's one of the issues with them, water gets in the louvers on the legshields, pools and rots through

Burnside wrote:Only a matter of time for them to start making replacement frames I guess, as that's one of the issues with them, water gets in the louvers on the legshields, pools and rots through

It would have to be seriously neglected for that to happen tbh. The newer £))'s have an issue with poor paint coverage underneath but if dealt with and checked from time to time it shouldn't be a problem. My 07 plate 250 had minor surface rust inside the leggies when I had it apart last year and that's with 55k kilometres on the clock and used on salted roads all through winter. The biggest problem in terms of longevity is that it isn't currently viable/possible to change the main bearings on the crank. That said, they should last for the life of the scooter.

I didn't want to get into the auto/classic at rallies debate but for the most part I don't really understand why anyone should get so wound up about it. For my own part, I would derive very little pleasure from attending a rally on my GTS as I would agree with the comment above about sharing in the shared experience of making the journey on a fragile and uncomfortable mode of transport. Due to circumstances, I rode to Mersea a couple of years ago on the GTS and really didn't enjoy the experience. However, I did chat to several other GTS owners one of whom was having problems with a broken belt and needed the special holding tool that I was able to lend him. So really, auto riders have similar issues in their own way.

Think we gone off track a bit 10 inch wheel or under manufactured by Vespa or lambretta is a scooter , if the gts is above this size then it's simply classed as a auto and its up to the individual where they ride it

coaster wrote:

Burnside wrote:Only a matter of time for them to start making replacement frames I guess, as that's one of the issues with them, water gets in the louvers on the legshields, pools and rots through

It would have to be seriously neglected for that to happen tbh. The newer £))'s have an issue with poor paint coverage underneath but if dealt with and checked from time to time it shouldn't be a problem. My 07 plate 250 had minor surface rust inside the leggies when I had it apart last year and that's with 55k kilometres on the clock and used on salted roads all through winter. The biggest problem in terms of longevity is that it isn't currently viable/possible to change the main bearings on the crank. That said, they should last for the life of the scooter.

I didn't want to get into the auto/classic at rallies debate but for the most part I don't really understand why anyone should get so wound up about it. For my own part, I would derive very little pleasure from attending a rally on my GTS as I would agree with the comment above about sharing in the shared experience of making the journey on a fragile and uncomfortable mode of transport. Due to circumstances, I rode to Mersea a couple of years ago on the GTS and really didn't enjoy the experience. However, I did chat to several other GTS owners one of whom was having problems with a broken belt and needed the special holding tool that I was able to lend him. So really, auto riders have similar issues in their own way.

Perhaps I had been misinformed then Colin, but had a couple of people who are GTS owners say that this was a problem on older high mileage GTS....but I bet most don't look after theirs as well as you. In fact a lot of GTS owners buy one because they don't want to have to do any maintenance!

ducksta wrote:Think we gone off track a bit 10 inch wheel or under manufactured by Vespa or lambretta is a scooter , if the gts is above this size then it's simply classed as a auto and its up to the individual where they ride it

There where plenty of other manufacturers producing scooters besides Piaggio and Innocenti and where does this 10" inch wheel stipulation come from.

Are you saying that this isn't a scooter?

That's true Ross, they are easy to abuse lol, mine gets fixed when it brakes i.e. rear pads down to the metal, oil light coming on so time to top up oil ....mind you, I'm a bit like that with my Lambrettas too

You did seem to spend a lot of the Shipston weekend 'fixing' your Lambretta...not that it ended well

If people think it's a more sensible option to attend a rally on a modern GTS, auto, etc then they're missing the point. Riding hundreds of miles on a Lambretta or geared/classic Vespa isn't a "sensible" option and that's the point (or it was in the past).......Doing it the hard way and pushing the limits of the scooter and rider (or finding it's limits in many cases) is what it's all about......for me anyway.

If you want to do it the "easy" way get a camper van and stick your auto on the back. I don't see much difference between turning up on an auto or turning up in a car/van.