Modern Vespa

Me again!
When I get my 300, is it ok to ride it from London to Lancashire? Would it be strong/ safe enough? I'd do a combination of A roads and motorway. Advice as ever would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

230 miles would be no problem for a GTS 300 in my opinion.

230 miles is no problem at all. I do that distance almost every weekend and my GT handles it very well. Your 300 should be even better.

The scoot will manage fine. I have ridden a similar mileage in a day (not non stop though!) The limiting factor is your endurance / tiredness etc. I am sure there are plenty of people here who will be able to give you great advice about riding long distances.

Thank you
I would benefit from that advice I'm sure!

No problem. I took back roads riding via Derbyshire and the Peak district to Glossop near Manchester.... nice days riding and no way too long. All on a 300.

The scooter will cope just fine. Your backside may not be so happy.

I've done a couple of hundred miles in a day and that was plenty.

Agreed your endurance/tiredness is the limit, plus stops for fuel. You'll need at least one stop for fuel. Before my first long trip, someone gave me excelent advice: you'll need to stop for fuel and you'll need to stop for a rest. Don't make it the same place. Get in and out of the fuel station and pick a nicer place to rest.
There is an intensity of focus to maintain when riding a great distance. You don't want your mind wandering, especially wandering to visual things like plans for something you'll build or re-arranging the furniture. That can make you less able to identify important visual cues around you. Even thinking about other rides you've been on, or trying to figure out the point of the last billboard you passed can affect your perception. Attention must be in the here and now. For me, maintaining that focus for more than 60-90 minutes at a time is difficult. If you've never done this before, you might want to stop when your mind begins to wander.
My longest one-day point A to point B trip was 280 miles, half of it in the first rain I'd ever ridden in. Mostly it was two and four lane divided country highway with speed limits 55-60 mph.
My longest single stretch on a trip was about 130 miles in two plus hours, nearly a whole tank. It was not that trip, and was on quieter country roads with occasional slow-down for towns. After that stretch, I was only 50 miles from home, but decided I needed a sit-down lunch and a rest for 45 minutes.

One 230-mile day on a big, plush scooter like yours is not much of a challenge for most folks. String a bunch of them together, and that might be another story.

After 6 consecutive days averaging 330 miles/day on an LX a couple of years ago (and then doing it again on the trip home 3 days later), I was walking kinda funny.

Yup, the 300 will be just fine, it'll eat up those miles. If you've not done much motorway riding, its just more of a slog. A roads will break it up, and give you some riding variety.

+ 1 on proper breaks, Take your time, enjoy it. Not sure how you rode your 125, but I upgraded some of my riding gear when I moved to the 300, as a spill at 70-80mph is a different ball game to 50 or so.

Simple answer: You could quite easily do that kind of mileage on your 125, if you really wanted to. The bike is up to it. The question is more whether you are up to it.

One's butt/back/bladder will determine the non-stop distance, unless fuel is needed sooner.
With the needed stops, one can easily do those 230 miles in a day.

FYI, my maximum was 440 miles in one day with a GTS 250, others have done a lot more.

The GTS will easily do that and more. It's more about whether you are comfortable with riding that long, sitting on the saddle for 8 hours with breaks, etc. I usually do a few 250-350 mile trips each year, but most of my riding routes are rural highways with not much town traffic snarl.

As others have said, the scoot will be just fine, it's you that you need to worry about!

For me, I was unable to go more than 100 miles on my GTS250 because the seat got VERY uncomfortable. And it's no fun riding with a sore backside. I solved the problem by getting a Sheepskin Seat Pad from Alaska Leathers. There are other solutions as well -- gel pads and air pads (like the Air Hawk), etc. Now that I have a more comfortable seat, I can basically ride forever. Have done 300 miles in a stretch and loved every minute!

-Dan

That's what I have too. Priceless. Doesn't prevent a sore backside so much but a sweaty backside and keeps the seat quite cool in the sun.

My 2 cents worth about riding longer distances (and endurance) on a scooter:

The sit up an beg riding position on a scoot gets tiring because its impossible to avoid the upper body and head buffeting from simple forward motion. No matter what screen you have fitted.

My Ducati by way of comparison, even at considerably higher speeds, has ergos that make the buffeting so much more comfortable.

I have high regard for anyone riding scoots for 100 miles + and as others have said..it comes down to your personal endurance level.

The Vespa scoots are certainly up to the task though.

I feel quite the opposite. To me, the typical sportbike riding position is agony. My Vespa is bliss.

+1,000,000

I rode to Hannibal Mo from St Louis and back.... About 116 miles or so each way. Beautiful ride and fun. I have a GTV with a GTS seat. The last 20-30 miles.... Oh my poor butt. Looking at some of the options mentioned above. But the scooter did just fine. And actually, for me, the position of riding my scooter is a lot easier on my back than my car is. I have a 2004 Sebring and the seat does NOT agree with me. I don't have a windshield other than the little short one that came with it. I have not ridden a scooter with a taller windshield so I don't have anything to compare. I will say I did a 30 mile each ride a couple of weeks ago and the wind was a steady 20mph with gusts up to about 28 mph and I was WORN OUT when I got home. The trip out wasn't so bad. Coming back felt like a much longer ride. But even then, the GTV felt stable. A little unnerving when an 18 wheeler blew by me, but still okay.

...and this normally triggers people to comment that this is where the GTS stepped seat design isn't right for everyone also. As I have long legs, I have to straighten them out occasionally on a long or motorway ride, pushing myself back along the seat to do that, straightening my arms aswell, ndas 'hunkering down' a little to more of a racing style. This means I push over the lipped seat, and its still not that comfortable for long either (like a sports bike) so I just have to alternate and accept its part of journey riding on the GTS

its gonna come down to you ,not the bike....


i do a commute of around 60 miles round trip 30 mins of which is 70mph most of the way...


on a still day its easy, but when its windy i do a portion of the journey on the inside lane cruising along at 55-60 mph....

i find that helps hugely for me as the winds can be hard work...especially on a gtv with a useless flyscreen!


what im saying is..vary your speed with your endurance in mind and be happy to be sat behind a truck at 50mph for 10 mins here and there.....and open it up when conditions allow and when you feel like it...


sounds like fun though..

Thanks for all the tips as ever
I'd be going to see my old ma you see, and wondered whether it's ok, instead of getting the train

I shall be ordering my RED 300 GTS on Monday next week

Happy Christmas to me!!!!

Happy Christmas to you......... enjoy. Your GTS will eat up those miles. As another post said, don't make your petrol stops your comfort breaks, breaks up the journey better.

Easy peasy. Back in my college days (1969-ish) I regularly rode from Torquay to Manchester on a Vespa 150 Sportique - 300+ miles in one day.

I recently (2012-ish) did 400+ miles Hertford, NC to Asheville, NC, in one day.


As stated above, it's not the horse, it's the ass.

I think 230 miles is just a warm up.

We rode several 300 + mile days this summer, with a 365 mile day, all on backroads. I think the key to riding long distances and keeping one's arse from dying is wearing some sort of Under Armour type shorts under your pants that will wick the moisture away from your body and keep your clothes from blotching up when you move around. These scooters need fuel about every 150 miles or so, but I always make a point to look for fuel at half a tank when riding smaller roads. This gives you a chance to move around for a few moments allowing the blood to flow and one never knows when you'll see a gas station in the sticks.

I've done that here on Oahu in one day. We did circle back a few times but my 150 did fine and as others have said da butt wasn't liking it, nor the back. Freq stops help. Like others have said it's more are YOU up to it. Sounds like fun. Be careful

My opinion was more about "buffeting" than the physicality of the riding position... but I am also very o.k with that as well over long distances on my m.cs. Wrists can tire a bit if leant on though.

Sit up and beg Vespa position for around town is comfortable and great for a higher view of the surounding traffic , road, hazards etc... GTS300 seat suits me fine.

Did 350 miles before 13.30 hrs on Cannonball so you should be just fine.

GTS300 - Made for the job.

Bill X

I would work up to that kind of ride. Do a 50 and then a 100 mile ride before attempting the big ride. I've done 950 miles spread over two days with a total of 2200 miles spread over 9 days. When I was done the GTS was fine. Took me a couple of weeks to get rid of a shoulder pain from the bumpy roads.

The long rides may take a bit of practice to become comfortable.

I found that my back got a bit sore on the early rides until I did a few. Moving around helps. I stay in a slouch on the long stretches...it is simply my natural riding position and it keeps me in the lee of my midsize Faco windscreen. Whenever we slow down, entering a town or approaching a stop sign, I sit up straight to stretch my back.

You can twist your torso, stretch your back, slide forward and back on the seat and adjust your hand position at will to keep from getting uncomfortable.

On group rides we stop every 75 miles or so for bathroom breaks. Everyone walks around and we stay quite comfortable. When on solo rides, I only stop for fuel...at 130 to 160 miles depending on speed and terrain.

As for butt discomfort, I have none of this. I use no pads or anything, simply the stock GT seat. It works fine for me but we are all different.

Hi Kitty

Given that you are in the UK and heading into Winter just be very aware of the cold. It can sneak up on you and when combined with tiredness can become a serious problem. It only takes a light shower of rain to make the whole experience dangerous and miserable.
For the first time, pick your day (weatherwise) with care and ensure you have good quality (previously tested) wet weather gear.
Then go for it and enjoy the trip.

Good luck.

230 is a dottle for a GTS and quite doable on even a 125cc but if you aren't used to longer rides plan on stopping frequently every hour or so. When I say stop, I mean just that stop, get off the scoot, walk around, have a cuppa, get some gas, whatever. You maybe able to go a bit longer but on a first long ride figure you'll need to stop frequently. Make sure that you have the gear to be comfortable and not cold.

I'm debating about a ride up to Kansas this Sunday which is more than double that. Though I may not do it all in one day.