Goodbye Anastasiya

This is the first step in getting my life back in order. Anastasiya, my black Vespa ET4/8 150, has been sitting in my garage for nearly 2 years now while I use Scarlet, my red Vespa GTS300ie Super (Please note Scarlett is also for sale).

Richard my old friend from the Joburg Photowalkers snapped Anastasiya up and will bring her back to her formal glory by changing her name back to Sophia which she was originally called. Anastasiya /Sophia comes with lots of history. She was the first Vespa and the only 2 scooters ever to do Sani in Winter (Mitilda a P150X was the other one). I know of a SYM 125 scooter doing it in the summer months but winter well that is another story. Sophia also did the Roof of Africa the very next day after Sani crossing over Lesotho along 4x4 tracks with thick snow either side.

After that Sophia became Anastasiya after her engine blew after a highway trip home after work. A few years later also along with Mitilda, she conquered Baviaanskloof Valley where the river beds became the road less travelled much to the surprise of 4x4 enthusiasts and off-road bikers.

Hello Sophia, ahhh let the adventures re-begin.

Con Artist Alert

My Saturday started much the same, a little sleep in then up to make breakfast in bed, then I had to get into that garage of mine to rescue Anastasiya from years of neglect. Oh dear even my breakfast looked sad.

We are in the market of buying a home for ourselves especially after the loss of Patch, my Italian Greyhound. By going back into the property market means that Scarlet, my red Vespa GTS 300ie Super, has to be sold and I thought that at the same time Anastasiya, my black Vespa ET4/8 150 which has been standing for nearly 2 years should also be sold. So reluctantly I have put both Vespas onto the marketplace.

Two friends immediately responded with interest to buy Anastasiya, shown here covered in dust, which means I had to take her out of storage in the garage and wash her, hence I needed to get into the back of the garage this morning. Deep somewhere in the depths of my garage, I found Anastasiya with a rear tyre that was flat so I had to get that fixed before washing her nice. Later when I tried to start her up, I found that her battery was also flat which after standing for 2 years was to be expected so I had to charge it up but it looks like she needs a new battery. Also she is not idling properly which means I need to get her sorted out. Uhmmm maybe this is not a good idea.

Anyway back to Scarlet and the reason for my Con Artist Alert, I have had only one response for her but it seems that it might be a con artist trying fleece me of a beautiful bike as his email to me seemed suspicious.

"Thanks for the response! i'm interested buying this for my son but only if you can assure me it's in a good condition and please send me more some pics? note well: Pick up agent will come for the pick up as soon as i have made the payment"

And later

"Got the pics and love it, so do you have an account with payfast so i can arrange for the payment? i don't want someone else come for it"

I am not sure about this one so I went onto the world wide webs and trolled around and found this con artist going by a different name but using a nearly identical message.

"Hello , Thanks for the response, i am really interested buying this for my Son as a surprise gift for him,its Graduation that is coming soon only if you can assure me that everything is in order and it works fine,i am a petroleum engineer currently on a rig offshore i really want this to be a surprise gift for my Son so i wont let him know anything about this until it gets delivered to him , i am sure he will be more than happy with it.It will be secured paying via Payfast as i'm on rig offshore.So let me know if you have an account with payfast so i can make the payment.

note well:
Pick up agent will come for the pick up as soon as i have made the payments, i would have loved to talk to you on phone but I work mainly offshore, our phone is down on the rig right now due to bad weather, we can only communicate with our base for now."

Digging deeper I found many more similar messages of how people have been conned. I need to sell Scarlet if there are genuine buyers but it looks like I would have to be careful out there.

Fishy Key Holder

Here fishy, fish. Saturday is about to end and I am not sure if much was accomplished. Okay two cats were taken to the vet this morning but in the afternoon it became a lazy one, so much so that all of a sudden I remembered that I haven’t taken a photograph for the day yet.

Looking around I saw my old Vespa’s Darth Vader keys still hanging on the fishy key holder. Yes Anastasiya my black Vespa ET4 is still in the garage, I haven’t got round to advertise to sell her. Maybe procrastination on my part.

Vespa for Sale

So finally I have arrived at the place where I need to sell my beloved Vespa ET8 150. Anastasiya started life as Sophia when I bought her way back in 2009 and with all the adventures we have been through I would love to keep her forever but sadly it is time to say good bye as I hardly ride her any more now that Scarlet my red Vespa 300 GTS Super has dominated.

I can remember both the ups and the downs of our time together and we have got the scars to prove it. In 2010 Sophia was the only Vespa 150 to take on the Mille or 1000 Miles tour to the Phalaborwa, Sabie, Hazyview, and back, all to the amazement of the 250s and 300cc Vespas.

That is when the adventure started, from the mud, to the Sani Pass Vespa Adventure. It was the open road and the spirit of adventure.

Then we hit rock bottom when Sophia engine went just over 47,000km of adventures in 2012. I then bought a brand new Vespa LX150 which was involved in an accident at 2,400km and used her to do a Dr Jekyll on Sophia and Anastasiya was born.

But our time was running short as Anastasiya and I only managed to do one more adventure after that, the almighty Baviaanskloof before she was replaced by Scarlet and is now gathering dust.

It will be sad to see her go but please remember that this Vespa for Sale comes with history.

The Posers Ride Again

It was good day as the original Posers Scooter Club members rode again. With the weather threatening in the late afternoon I was sceptical going out on the Vespa this evening but luckily the weather cleared and turned out to be one of those memorable Posers SC evening rides.

Left to right is Martin, Magda, Paulo, Jerome, and Lynda.

We all met at The Schwarma Co in Norwood for a good dinner and a long catch up with four Vespas lined up outside on the pavement. Reminiscing on the good old days along with all the bad. Paulo was all smiles as he proudly showed us photographs of his little daughter Ariela who wasn't even in the picture last time the Posers met, not even a twinkle in Paulo and Shani's eyes. It was just good to be among friends and just let your hair down. It has been a long time since the Posers met and we vowed to make this meetup more regularly as we rode back home four abreast along quiet streets late at night hooting at prostitutes plying their trade while they waved back.

Vespa Woes Continue

While Scarlet, my red Vespa GTS 300ie Super is getting repaired, I decided to use Anastasiya, my black hybrid Vespa ET8/LX150. It underwent a major service four months ago and she has been parking ever since. I tried to start her up over the weekend but cobwebs had crept in. So after topping her up with fuel and charging her battery, she started first turn this morning, typical Vespa loves to tease but reliable every time, as if to say why did you doubt.

Anastasiya got a quick little wash to get 4 months of dust off her but the Vespa woes soon return, as I discovered that the rear tyre was just about flat, so I had to limp poor Anastasiya to the garage to pump her enthusiasm back up. Riding her doesn’t quite feel the same as Scarlet has sure spoilt me with performance.

But arriving at work I saw that the rear tyre was covered with oil, after my initial investigation I discover oil leaking from the gearbox area. Not sure what to make of it I phoned Vespa South Africa for help. Louw answered and soon calmed me down. A few hours later the Vespa Mobile Service van arrived at my work and loaded Anastasiya into the back for a ride back to Vespa Service Centre based in Wynburg just outside Sandton. A good finish after a bad start to my morning, brownie points for Vespa is needed here.

I am not sure what has gone wrong with Anastasiya as it hasn’t been over 100km since the major service.

Due Belle Vespa

This morning was the painful trip to Vespa South Africa to collect Anastasiya, my Vespa ET8/LX150 after a major service and fixes. A long time ago a main member of the VLV, the local Vespa Social Club, once said to me that Vespas are priced unaffordable to the general public was because that they trying to keep the plebs out of owning a Vespa. Since then one of the Vespa South Africa's managers said that was not true. But what does one believe when one sees their costs of doing business with them. Hence my fear of taking my Vespa there for anything but this time I had no choice as Anastasiya was due for a major service. Sigh.

This major service which included one litre of engine oil, a bit of hub oil, an oil filter, a spark plug, front brake pads, transmission belt and rollers, and one and a half hours labour, all in all cost me R2801. The extras which they did was replacing the speedometer cable for the 3rd time in 11,000km, clock battery which never last but is a mission to replace, a hook in the glove compartment which was broken by Vespa when they rebuilt Anastasiya, a left rear indicator lens, serviced the starter motor, and an extra hour for labour. The extras cost me R1280. Grand total it cost me R4081, uhmmm so nearly 50% of the value of Anastasiya according to Outsurrance, went to servicing her. Imagine me paying 50% of the value of a car for a service.

Anyway, the service manager also said that Anastasiya’s engine was sounding a bit rough so he adjusted the valve clearances and suggested I get Vespa to open up the engine but it has not been that long ago since the rebuilt by Vespa and should be fairly new. With minor serves done, how can the engine sound rough after 11,000km unless something bad has gone wrong since Vespa rebuild it, double sigh. Like the question that is never answered is why is the speedometer cable breaking every 5000km of use?

Driving back home I felt that Anastasiya was very sluggish and not her normal self. What have they done to you dear Anastasiya. Triple Sigh. It seems that her spirit is broken along with mine. Sadly I parked her next to Scarlet my new Vespa GTS 3001e Super. Now I am not sure what to do with her and Vespa South Africa.

Die Hard Vesparado

Normally with all this rain I would use the pickup to commute to work and back. But this week is different; it looks like my alternator on my pickup has packed up. Bad news is that it was replaced not even three months ago. Good news is that the alternator is still under warranty.

Now I have to commute to work on my Vespa in the pouring rain. Yeah, now I can be called a Die Hard Vesparado.

Three S’s Taking Refuge

With a tropical storm between Madagascar and Mozambique pushing moist air inland, rain has set in. Rain means washing to be hung up to dry inside, the dogs fast asleep in their warm beds, and the cats that prefer being outside try find refuge under the eaves. Here are the 3 S's, Socks, Shadow, and Shammy sitting on top of Anastasiya who was previously called Sophia. What is with all these S's?

Downpour

It was only a 14% chance of rain today, and so I took the Vespa into work. It was cold start to a wonderful sunny day but by home time, towering thunder clouds had built up and was threatening.

We made it as far as Fourways, when the heavens opened up and the flood waters rose. Thankfully a Sasol Service Station was nearby for all those pedestrians, cyclists, and bikers to take shelter. Thankfully the cloudburst didn’t last more than half an hour.

Gusty Rain

After work I had to go pick up my pickup after the alternator which packed up on Friday was replaced. But the long awaited rain decided that this was the time to break free. And did it break while Lynda and I were going through on the Vespa. Never mind the lightning, the wind, rain and ice squalled down with such gusto that we were blown sideways while on the freeway. I had to fight just to keep the bike upright and had to find cover under a bridge for a while the worst blew over. My pickup, Vespa, Lynda and I are safe.

Five Months

It has been five months since the speedometer cable was replaced and this morning it broke again on the way to work. Sigh! That is two speedometer cables in the last 11,000 kilometres. Day Nine without my cellphone has not been a good day.

Super Sexy Vespa

I had to stop at the mall on the way home from work today and when I came out I found this Honda CBR 600 RR making moves on my sexy Vespa Anastaiya. Yes I know the superbike has all the curves in all the right places but the Honda only had eyes for the Vespa. Happy Hump Day everyone.

The Traveller

Finally Anastasiya and my journey to Baviaanskloof comes to an end as we drove back into Johannesburg. We have had an overwhelming experience in the Wilderness and time has come to come back down to earth, work tomorrow. I will post all the images from the trip in an album on Facebook soon. In the meanwhile time to plan our next adventure.

Zandvlakte tot Uitspan

It gets cold quickly here in the Baviaanskloof under the shadow of the tortured rock of the fold mountains. At Uitspan, the ladies are playing pool and the men are preparing the braai to barbeque some pieces of meat and rosterbrood while I try to recall the beauty of our surroundings in words, impossible.

It is not easy to get lost here if you stay on the single road through the Baviaans but somehow we lost Magda on the short hop between Zandvlakte and Uitspan. Magda rode ahead while Marlene and I rode slowly enjoying the scenery and stopping at the roadside stalls. Magda had turned around and somehow drove past us without seeing us. She then ran out of petrol and was stuck on the side of the road while we continued on thinking she was still in front of us. After a while we started to get worried and sent out search parties on the single road hoping not to find her down a cliff. In the meanwhile the farmer from Zandvlakte, Pieter, found Magda and took her back to his farm for petrol.

Finally we were all reunited and back on the only road through the Baviaanskloof. They say in Afrikaans here that the Baviaanskloof is hemel op aarde langs 'n slegterige pad (Heaven on earth long side a dreadful road). It is beautiful here with the majestic tortured mountains, if you have a 4x4 or a Vespa to get through. And the stars, wow, I haven't been under so many stars for a long time. In a way I feel it is a good place to get away from it all. I can strongly recommend the Baviaanskloof as a place to stay in at least once in your life.

The stunning toughest part is now behind us and tomorrow we will start the long trek back north.

Baviaanskloof

Finally the day has arrived, after we started planning a few years back while conquering Sani Pass in the middle of winter; we rode into Baviaanskloof on Vespas. Marlene on a 1979 Vespa P150X called Matilda and me on Anastasiya my reborn Vespa ET4.

After a stop at Kouga Dam we rode into the wilderness. At first the road into Baviaanskloof didn't seem so bad but the further we rode away from civilisation the worse the road became. After seeing a warning notice informing travellers to be aware of dangerous animals, I started wondering what sort of dangerous animals we might encounter. And must I stay inside the car; oh I am on a Vespa. Now there must be leopard around but surely no lions, that is when I started seeing elephant dung along the road and as we came across fresh warm elephant dung was deposited not even an hour before did I became nervous. The rest of this story will only be told round a camp fire, to protect the innocent involved. Okay with that out of the way, we were surely in the wilderness with hardly anyone around and where no one can hear you scream.

The famous Baviaanskloof river crossings at first wasn't very deep and we easily waded through them on the Vespas but they soon got quite deep in some places and the electronic parts of got a little damp. After a few blows of the hair dryer, we were on our way again. Let it be known that the two Vespas, Matilda and Anastasiya tamed the wilderness area of Baviaanskloof. Now to plan our next adventure.

Yes as we sit around the local famer Pieter and Magriet's dinner table at Zandvlakte, we eagerly chatted about our adventures past and of things to come while we hungrily tucked into some homemade boere kos. And as I write this post under a canopy of wilderness stars, it's quiet here in Baviaanskloof. It's lekker.

Preparations

This is the second time that Vespa South Africa has let me down. I can't go into much detail on this blog as I might put some people's nose out of joint. Let just say that I am once again very disappointed. The first time was in preparation for our Great Sani Adventure over a year and a half ago, and this time is in preparation for the Great Baviaanskloof Adventure at the end of this month. Oh well rough waters at the start of a voyage is a good omen. Today's photo is of my Vespa Anastasiya as she came out of the wash bay. Soon my baby will be covered in dust and mud, awesome.

Rat on my Doorstep

Yes you read the heading correctly, my day started with finding a dead rat on my doorstep. One of my dogs must have caught it last night and decided that it was a good thing to bring it home.

After I got rid of my present, I proceeded to take my Vespa to Linex Yamaha to get a new rear tyre that I had ordered last week fitted. But I only managed to make about three kilometres before the patched up tyre gave way. Standing at the side of the road, my day couldn't get any better. Well after going back home to fetch the pickup, thanks to Martin for the lift, I had to load the Vespa onto the back and drive it undignified to Linex Yamaha.

What started out as a rat of a day can only get better tomorrow as it is the start of the first of two long weekends, one after each other. Oh yes and thanks to Magda, my accommodation to our epic Baviaanskloof Vespa Ride has been booked.

Love Bug

I remember from my wild youth that I used to own a brown Hillman Safari which was a little brown station wagon that I used to call my Love Wagon and used to joke that if it was a rocking don't come a knocking. I still remember the time I had parked it one night on the Roy Hesketh Racing Circuit in Pietermaritzburg, and was making out in the back seat with Sandra when the cops showed up. Those were the days.

Anyway, I had to go round to Rayne's place to pick up some stuff and found this pink Love Bug at her place. Rayne's car is in the shop for repairs and this is the loan car they gave her, cute hey? I am sure she is having tons of fun in her Love Bug.

Then it was Tuesday

When I was leaving for work this Tuesday morning, Skye climbed up on the Vespa wanting to go with me to work. It was sad not to take him but I had to go earn my keep and what a busy day it turned out to be. With lots of reports to do, I only just managed to see the light of day towards the end of the day.

Then it was off to Can-Sir for their monthly Men's Cancer Support Group. Here we had a good discussion and my biggest concern as with most of us was the unknown. And being able to talk with men who have gone through similar experiences helps a lot with the anxiety.

Then before it got too late I headed back home to my dogs especially Skye who although didn't get to go with me was very pleased that I was back safely.