I like Vespas, they're very stylish, but damn they are noisy, and not a nice rumble either but more like a very loud chainsaw. They give off a terrible amount of smoke compared more modern scooters too. I do often wonder why so few other new small motorcycles or scooters have similarly beautiful designs though. However, for me, having lived in a country with a motorbike culture for the last decade, the coolest thing…
The lack of noise and smoke is a big one. I used to ride Honda CBR500R as my primary commute vehicle for a few years in Seattle. And while the rumble of the engine was not at the chainsaw-levels of annoying, it still sucked, it still emitted smoke, and I still had to wear ear protection. Which I would need to wear even on an electric motorcycle as well, to be fair, given that I took highway (and the wind noise at spe…
Having followed a similar path, the lifestyle upgrade of moving to an EV, then abandoning car dependant commuting use is great.
In the pouring rain and howling wind I do occasionally wonder what I’m doing, but sitting in a traffic jam is awful.
> And, mind you, I ran it with a stock exhaust. I absolutely despise people who install extra-loud (illegal) aftermarket exhausts on purpose, because they know that nobody is gonna enforce it.
Add to this: car stereos and the craze for adding (stolen) school PA speakers for playing obnoxiously loud music.
