"I didn't go to Barcelona to buy a scooter — but I came home with a new love."
I was in Barcelona visiting my club — the Barcelona Scooter Club — for some sun and architecture. No agenda. No plan. Just a few days of coffee, tapas and two-wheeled company.
Then my buddy Julio Gan introduced me to Tamara.
She was a 1987 Vespa T5 Sport 125 — 34 years old, Spanish born and bred, with the scars and wrinkles of a life well lived as a city party girl. She was not perfect. She was exactly right.
Instead of shipping her home or finding a sensible solution, I did what I always do: I hopped on and rode her 1,671 km back to Kempten.
It was late October 2021. The first snow was already threatening the Alps. I had four days before the passes would close.
Day 1: Barcelona → Montpellier — 376 km Day 2: Montpellier → La Turbie — 370 km
La Turbie sits above Monaco — which meant I spent day two buzzing through Cannes and Nice on a 34-year-old two-stroke. While the stars and starlets were sipping Dom Pérignon on their yachts, I was enjoying the pure pa-pa-pa-pa of Tamara's engine and the freedom of the open road.
I called it the Giro of the Plastic Snob Ghettos. The Riviera has never been more entertaining.
From there: through Italy, over the Alps through Austria, and down into Bavaria — arriving in Kempten just before the first winter snow closed the passes behind me.
The Vespa T5 Sport 125 from 1987 is one of the fastest and most capable classic Vespas ever built — the T5 engine was Piaggio's performance flagship of the era. Tamara had lived her whole life in Barcelona. She had never missed a beat.
I have always said that stock engines are the best for long distances. Less tuning means fewer problems. Tamara handled 400 km days without complaint, no technical preparation, no prior inspection.
Purchase price: €1,200.
She would later carry me 16,500 km to Nordkapp and back in 2023.
Coming home to the Bavarian Alps just before winter set in — tired, cold and completely alive — reminded me exactly why I live this way.
Sometimes you just have to jump on a scooter and go. No shipping. No planning. No thinking too much.
Tamara cost me €1,200. The memories of that four-day dash across Europe are priceless.
Ride — Eat — Sleep — Repeat.
Who is Tamara? A 1987 Vespa T5 Sport 125 — bought spontaneously in Barcelona for €1,200 and ridden 1,671 km to Kempten in 4 days. She later carried me 16,500 km to Nordkapp and back in 2023.
What is the T5 Sport? The Vespa T5 Sport 125 was Piaggio's performance flagship of the 1980s — the fastest and most capable classic Vespa of its era. A two-stroke 125cc with genuine touring capability.
Who is Julio Gan? My friend and fellow scooterist from the Barcelona Scooter Club — the man responsible for introducing me to Tamara. I hold him entirely responsible for what followed.
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