Modern Vespa

Hi.
Just bought a new LX 3V 125. Only two short trips so far at speed no more than 40 mph. I don't feel confident at all as never had a motorbike before.
I wonder how do I find the limits for braking, steering without falling down (don't want to scratch as it is still shiny )

Here are my two cents.

Well, the first thing is that if you ride for any length of time you will probably drop the scooter somehow. That is usually part of the initiation rite!...

There is a simple guideline that I follow: If my gut is tight, I am probably exceeding my capabilities in the moment.

Learning to ride safely is critical in being able to relax and enjoy the ride. If you don't feel confident at 40mph, then don't drive that fast. Start very slowly (large parking lots are great) until you build up some self confidence. Go as slowly as you need until you feel a bit comfortable, then add a few miles an hour and see how that feels.

Another thing is to stay off any major roads during this initial learning period. This is really important for safety. You should be able to know when the time is right to transition onto a more challenging roadway.

Lastly, taking a motorcycle safety course is a wonderful way to start your scooter career.

BOTTOM LINE: Drive like you are invisible. You will always be driving safely and defensively in that case.

Good luck, and happy scootering.

My first Vespa was a 125, only that was back in 1976, in think. If you have been a bicycle rider from childhood, and have had at least a little motorbike experience, you will adapt to the Vespa right away. If you have never been on two wheels before, please take it real slow and easy. For some reason, adult beginners have a steeper learning curve than kids. You can certainly do it, but it will take time to get to where you feel comfortable maneuvering the scooter. A large part of the problem is that two wheeling is partly counter intuitive. To initiate a turn, you must throw the center of gravity to the inside. To do that, you must slightly turn the front wheel to the OUTSIDE. It's only a momentary thing, a nudge if you will, but because of the front wheel caster, the bike will lean to the inside of the intended turn, then the front wheel will swing around and start to carve that graceful arc you were anticipating. Kids sense this mechanical behavior, and simply accept it without question. Adults want to argue with it. Those who've ridden since childhood don't even realize its happening, and are surprised to learn about it. But many adults have crashed when they got panicky and tried to force a turn by pulling the bars in the intended direction. The bike tries to go in the opposite direction. More pull, more resistance, then CRASH! Once you get the feel of that counter steering and caster effect, the scooter will sweep you as gracefully around turns as a leaf in the breeze!

Countersteering is key, especially on scooters. I was out today and went into a turn too late, had to countersteer my way out of a tight spot. Very important tool to have in the box as they say...

Yes, at some point you will fall or drop the scooter, we've all done it, hopefully it will be slow and easy. Re: Driving tips; "Mind your own business but pay extreme attention to everyone else's business." Drive it like a brand new, very small inconspicuous little car.

You very well may drop your bike, but don't let anyone convince you that you absolutely will.

Have you read Proficient Motorcycling or taken a basic rider safety course?
If not, do both, ASAP.

In the meanwhile, take it easy. Don't try to ride out of your comfort level until you feel you are ready for it. You're only "two short trips" into the learning curve.
I recall being white-knuckle scared the first time I first rode at 40MPH.

Give yourself some time to build the proper sort of reactions.
Time, patience, experience and, as I recommended, training, will get you up to speed, so to speak, in no time.

Some good advice here you are getting on MV. Not sure why folks on MV always state we all drop the scooter. If you are careful, and it sounds like you are, you will not be one of the folks who drops the scooter. I bought mine brand new, it's a 2006. I have never dropped it. I have two friends who have Vespas and one that has a Harley, they also have never dropped their ride.

As far as the limits, cornering, I would just take it slow. Once you gain experience you will one day find you are scraping the strand. Then you are going a bit too quick.

In regards to braking, I went out several times to empty parking lots, and stopped as fast as possible, getting more speed as I was comfortable doing so. Your front tire does most of the braking so you need to find the limit, before it locks up. Once the front locks up, you will loose control, so modulating the front brake is key.

Not sure about in the UK, but her in the US there are motorcycle safety courses. I'm sure some other MVrs from the UK will give you good advice.

Have fun on your new Vespa..........great fun!

Shalom and welcome to MV and scooter ownership.

Like any new endeavor, you need to assemble the necessary skills and develop good habits in order to do it consistently well.

As others have said, read proficient motorcycling It is availible as a download from amazon. Also, find out out where a good motorcycle safety course is being offered in your area and take it. Then retake it every few years to refresh your knowledge and skills.

Find someone more experienced to ride with; but make sure it is someone who will recognize your newness and not push you beyond your current limits.

Lastly, at least at first, don't go anywhere that will force you to ride beyond your skill level. That means not being tempted to keep pace with other riders or cars pressuring you from behind. Just move over, wave them by and keep to the pace where YOU feel comfortable.

I havent dropped mine yet. I think Im quite careful, although watching the other idiots on the road is a good idea.

Welcome from the West Mids.

Welcome aboard from the sunny Aegean. Drops are not inevitable. Otherwise, good pointers above.

Kalo dromo!

Amen! And that applies to ALL of us!

All good advice so far, but what do I know?

My 2 cents' worth anyway: Though I LIVED on a 50cc Sears/Puch cycle as a teenager, I'd been off of PTWs for 40 years until I bought my Vespa this September. Can't say I was uncomfortable starting out, but it took a month of fairly regular riding before it suddenly started feeling really good...was no longer just riding the machine, I felt we were working together. Having as much as you can between your ears, adequate caution and time will get you there.

Ride safe!

P.S. Have to say the only time I've worried about dropping it is backing it off of a pickup Hope to keep it that way.

Aloha and welcome to the forum from Hawaii. Like people have said. Take it slow and start out in non congested areas. Haven't been to the midlands so i don't know if that's possible but i'm sure there's some place for you to practice. Anytime i get a new bike i take it down to our little airport out by me and do the back road behind it. Has some turns and straightaways. Don't go beyond your comfort zone and you'll be alright. Oh and ride like everybody's out to get you. Sad part is they probably are. Pics if you have some please. Have fun amd don't be a stranger on here.

Thanks to all for advice and support!
I agree it takes time to get confidence so will take it slowly!
The problem is I've been racing on 4 wheels since 7 yrs old (karting or go-karts in US?, than a little car speedway etc). I feel comfortable driving a car at any speeds (not that I do exceed the limit on public roads ). I feel the limits of the car but not the scooter. I had a 50cc scooter back in early 90's for a year or two, ride a bicycle occasionaly but scooter feels so much different! It is much more responsive than I expected.
I had a compulsory CBT 2 weeks ago on some 50cc scooter which is nowhere near my new Vespa. Will take it to the car park near local supermarket this Sunday to try some braking/steering. I've read small wheels on Vespa can be tricky on corners at fast speeds so that's a worry for me. Not afraid of falling down really but it looks so nice and shiny and I had it just for a few days yet so don't want to drop it

Are there many of you who not dropped the scooter? I haven't had a single car accident in 17 years so assumed it would be the same with a scooter but by the looks of it I was wrong

Hi I have had my lxv 125 since April and love it had not had a scooter since about 1990, so I took a few runs getting used to it the brakes on modern scooters are much better than classics so don't worry about that, I too ( touch wood) haven't dropped a scooter, whereabouts in Manchester are you, I live over in Alderley edge but grew up in old Trafford.

I haven't dropped my scoot yet, though I have watched it fall over. I have a long 20" gravel path that winds from my shed into my driveway. I rode out of the shed a couple of months ago and realized I had forgotten something about 20 feet out. I hopped off the scoot and put it on its stand but left it running. I grabbed what I had forgotten from the shed and as I'm walking back I see the scooter start to go over, likely because I was dumb and left it running on loose gravel. What saved me from damage was the fact that the path is narrow, with grass on either side, so no part of the scoot ever touched the stone. I was so pissed at myself.

You want to be protectful of your scoot, especially a new one. There's nothing worse that seeing those first scratches, bumps, and bruises. Don't let it hinder your riding though, or make you tentative. Make a parking lot your best friend for awhile. Confident riders make good riders.

Knock on wood I have not dropped my scooter. I have been riding two wheelers since the 70s and in all that time I dropped my bike once. It was a stupid move on my part. If you think ahead you can avoid drops, but that's not to say it is fool proof. Unfortunately accidents do happen.

Hi. Your history is a copy of mine - same previous experience, same new Vespa I live in Glossop and travel to 2 different places of work - one is litteraly 2 miles away, other one in Denton - about 8-10 miles from home. Have you joined any local Vespa club? I am a rookie but would like to join some local club for the rides out (perhaps in Spring time as I am too slow at the moment )

Your racing experience with 4-wheelers will help you understand that you need to load the front end first before you can apply full braking power. A car will just lock the wheels if overdone, a two-wheeler will drop when that happens. To avoid that, learn to never suddenly "grab" the front brake but "squeeze" it progressively.

The smallish wheels/tires will look like a toy in comparison with race vehicles, but don't be misled to think they can't corner hard and fast. They can, but there IS a limit. So, in an emergency, don't be afraid to push it into an evasive maneuver instead of resigning and crashing.

Good luck with your new rider experience.

PS: I dropped my scooter when I first tried out my (then) new sidestand. Since then I learned how to use that and haven't dropped it again.

It is so good to hear of the Vespa community growing. Welcome, Dentist!

Worth noting. Also remember that the front brake provides 70% of your braking power, and the rear only 30%. It can be really useful to learn how to use that lower percentage in the rear brake for different riding scenarios. It can really help to steady the scoot in tight turns, for example.

Why so?

I thought it was good advice.

Or emergency stops!

Duh! And thank you.

My apologies. I misread.

I've heard this often over the years. I've also heard that those little wheels get stuck in potholes, too.

Ummmm.... Bullshit.

The "trickyness" of small scooter wheels is a relative thing. I believe a lot of people who are used to riding motorcycles find, when they try a scooter, that they are relatively twitchy...and that's where this line of conventional wisdom comes from.

Smaller wheels are more flickable, true, which make scooters ideal in traffic and urban environments. My ET4 is much easier to sling around town than my cruiser.
The other side of the coin becomes apparent at highway speeds, where a larger wheeled machine tends to keeps it's line easier.

But the differences are not worth worrying about...You get used to them.

I didn't even really understand, even at highway speeds, why I would hear these remarks about scooter wheels. I certainly had no problem with them.
When I bought my motorcycle, the differences quickly became obvious.

But it's not a case of better or worse. They just handle...differently.

On the inevitability of falling off:
I've come to the conclusion that people who have dropped their rides tend to state, unequivocally, that everyone will drop their rides.
People who haven't, or haven't yet, tend to have a different view.

My view is that people get the results they expect. Now, I'm not saying that I definitely won't drop it, but I'm not buying that I definitely will someday, either.

I wish they'd tell me I'll definitely become fabulously rich and retire in luxury beyond the dreams of avarice. That, I'd like to believe.
But no one tells me that.

I like your point! I hope to stay in the second group for as long as possible!

Welcome from Leicester.
I got my LX 125 3v last Saturday. At the end of week one its brilliant.
As far as dropping it goes. I rode an ET4 for 9 years and it never went down once.
I then got an LML Star and came off within 6 weeks or so. Partly to do with the different quality of the two bikes.
The LX feels very good and holds the road very well. I've had it out in the pouring rain and it felt very good.
The Vespa is a quality item and you can tell that when you ride it.
Just my observations.

Bought my ET4 125cc vespa in October and passed my CBT late the same month. (UK)

I also had my first fall last wednesday. I cut my knee up pretty bad and it's now infected. I did it by taking a corner too wide and hitting a curb. I need to master counter steering.

I've been up to 52 mph on the A roads to Preston. Confidence comes with time, but you also need to practice. Big car parks are great, especially for cornering

Have fun with it!!

Congratulations on your right of passage and welcome to the club!!

Hi no not joined a club yet glossop is not to far if you ride over the tops perhaps meets up for a coffee sometime halfway somewhere like marple when you feel up to it, the 3 valve got a really good write up, best thing is to get good riding gear with protection, all adds to the confidence as the materials and armour makes you feel a bit better protected. If you get my drift.

always make a habit of pushing/reverse your vespa while riding on it not by hand.

First pictures of my "black horse"

Nice looking scoot you have there!...

Welcome dentist, from a derby lad,
if you live in glossop then take your scoot over the snakepass
by time you get to end you should be loving it and riding with full confidence,in in it
and thats best colour to have,enjoy it mate

Learn to service it as much as possible and you'll enjoy it that much more!