Modern Vespa

Hi folks,

I have a Vespa GTS 300 HPE with 1,500 km on the clock. The bike is great fun to drive but I am not satisfied with the braking. Emergency braking when cruising at 80 km/h can be scary (I am also driving big bike where I am used to powerful brakes).

I believe that better shocks absorbers and brembo brakes should improve this a bit. I have red several threads about shock absorbers and it seems that Biturbo and Malossi are of similar quality. No one recommend Ohlins?

Have you tried the Brembo brakes? Is is possible to also put a larger front disk? The ABS will still work same? I have seen any post on this.

Thank you for your recommendation !

Hello Vincent
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Hi Fudmucker,

You are right. Quick intro below:

I had my first Vespa 5 years ago, a LX 125 that I kitted with the Malossi 190 big bore cylinder, force master 2, vario etc. and recently bought the 300 HPE.

I also ride a Ducati Monster 821. The double Brembo front brake systems work like a charm (I which the vespa could brake the same

I am based in Bangkok, Thailand and ride all over this beautiful country. I have been reading posts on this forum for a while and followed carefully your posts on the Polini kit during the last confinement.

After ensuring better braking and stability on the HPE, I will look into the performance side!

You can fit a Brembo front calliper to the GTS, but it requires a special mounting bracket. Frando make some callipers just as good that just bolt on front and rear and look great too. Bleeding the ABS system can be a hassle. I have two GTS300s, one with Brembo front and Frando rear, the other Frando front and rear. There is no difference except the Brembo has a slightly nicer feel.

I think Bitubo front shocks are great, but many of the German Vespa tuners like the BGM shocks. Just about anything is better than standard on the front, but the rear doesn't make so much difference.

The HPE is very highly tuned, and you won't get much more out of it. There is the Polini cylinder which increases capacity slightly and also increases compression. You will have to search for reviews to decide whether the improvement is worth the money. Malossi make a Lambda Emulator which makes the mixture a bit richer at low revs, and gives smoother, better take-off and mid-range acceleration.

There is also a lot of information on the German forum Vespaforum.de. I use an online translator.

SIP Performance shocks are nice and avail in black matt or gloss and grey matt or gloss

https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/shock-absorber-kit-sip-performance-front-rear_MV7801PMB?q=shocks%20kit

I have a Bitubo front shock on Sunny, my 2013 300 GTS (with the Polini big bore kit.)