In 2022, my wife Yegane and I cycled toured on our Brompton bikes from Baku, Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey, eventually finishing in Cyprus. We both took a battering over the journey and not unreasonably Yegane suggested things might have been easier by motorcycle. I think she had something like BMW GS1200 in mind, I on the other hand had a lust for a Vespa. I’d previously owned an adventure bike and hadn’t got on with it very well. I fancied something smaller, fun, and just a little bit different from all the very similar looking adventure bikes we’d seen as we’d cycled up mountains in 40-degree heat.
Impulse guy
When we got back to the UK, on a bit of a whim, I called a Vespa dealer and bought a green Racing Sixties GTS300. A few days later I collected it from Colchester Kawasaki, but on the ride home I wasn’t sure if this was the bike for me. The handling was completely different from anything I’d ridden before, I felt very vulnerable on the motorway and it felt slightly ‘twitchy’ underneath me. It took a few weeks of riding to get to know the Vespa, but once I’d grown used to the different riding style I fell in love with it. I fancied another long trip and thought the Vespa would be perfect; being honest I didn’t give too much thought for having a pillion or carrying luggage. Over the next few weeks, I fitted front and rear luggage racks and bought what I
