Modern Vespa

This dreadful winter inspired me to plan a 300 mile loop, one night solo campout in Shenandoah National Park in early May. I will enter at the southernmost park entrance, and have the joy of riding the entire 105 beautiful miles of Skyline Drive. I will camp at about the midpoint and come out of the northernmost park entrance. Not exactly the Cannonball Run, but this is huge for me.

Below is a picture of the Vespa mostly geared up. I am not too thrilled with the reserve gas situation, but I have time to sort that out. The blue bag is a camp chair that I probably will not take, but it is there in lieu of my little tent which I lent to a friend and have to get back. The front rack is the Faco removable one which arrived from SIP yesterday. I did not want to drill any holes in the leg shield so I opted against OEM.

I have been taking practice rides with the additional weight and so far, so good. I am very used to camping, so I don't need much help there, but this is my first time on the Vespa, so I will take any suggestions you may have. I have checked out a lot of posts on MV in my planning and they were very helpful. I thought if I posted my prototype pack style it would help with your being able to provide insight. Thanks as always!

Looking good to go! If the practice rides went OK loaded, then all's good. Personally my first pass was you look kinda heavy loaded for one overnight. I managed an overnight with the top box and 1 x 24 litre ortlieb bag on the seat, but as I trained as a mountain leader, I had the advantage of some ultralight camping gear, including a Terra Nova Ultralight tent (3lb) that at one time was the lightest available anywhere (they've beat it since I think), small thermarest and summer sleeping bag etc..
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tents-and-spares/all-tents/laser-competition-2-tent/

It sounds like you have a fun trip planned and are well prepared - I hope you'll give us a report once your done.

Classic racks (or 'Didge rack' after the guy who makes them) are popular ways to get a spare fuel tank secure on the footboard...
http://www.classic-racks.co.uk/

...or you can do a DIY mod.. Carrying extra fuel on/for GTS

Heres a few pics from my trip....


trip down Skyline Dr.

I love the photo. Yes, it is clear that I am coming from car camping with my gear. I think I can swing it like this, but I agree with you that it is more posh than is necessary. I'll see about trimming down, but it is also fun to see how may amenities one can bring on two wheels. :)

Will do for sure! I'm thinking about getting a good travel camera for the trip.

Thanks for the input. I need about a gallon since there is not much of an opportunity to refuel once in the park. It is funny how much space a gallon takes outside the Vespa considering that the tank has 2.2 gallons.

Love it! I am even more excited now than before!

This was from my first big trip and I've since learnt to cut down the things I need to take. I do still take my swag but it's half the pack size now after changing out the big foam mattress for a hiking air mattress, which is the large black bag you can see. I like the rotopax containers for gas as you can mount them to the rear rack, front rack and i've seen pictures with them mounted under the topbox. Get out there and enjoy!!

Oh sure, why rough it when you can have a lil' luxury I'm a little too conditioned from time as a soldier when you humped everything and cut weight out of every item. Not quite sawing your toothbrush in half but you get the idea! Bodyfrompas trip pics are about what I travelled with on the Vespa (all this talk makes me want to do another camp trip)

If you gradually slim some of your car gear, I can recommend a thermarest style sleep mat teamed with a chair kit (series of straps that the pad folds into). Looks a little odd but very comfortable and a fraction of the weight and space of a camp chair. Some stock pics below, various companies make these...

Having done Blue Ridge Parkway myself I have only 2 suggestions. These may be obvious but...
#1 - The lower your center of gravity the better (put all the heaviest stuff as low as possible, like you've already done with your extra fuel). When carrying a load, there is a remarkably small margin for error between leaning into a curve & getting face-first road rash.
#2 - Your great mpg on the downhills never seems to quite make up for your crap mpg on the uphills. I could almost see my fuel gauge dropping by the minute on my Vespa-dition up Mount Charleston.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents, have fun & watch out for all the idiots who aren't watching out for you.

Mine looks a bit trampy here but I took it through the Peak District, the back box and under the seat were totally full, I had a tiny one man lightweight tent under the seat. I'd just make sure all the things strapped to the outside are waterproof.

I checked out Rotopax and they have a one gallon container that looks a lot more manageable than the one I have in the picture - thanks!

Thanks for #2, I will definitely take the gas in that case since I think there is only one gas stop in the park (if that) and it is only open seasonally.

As for #1, I have also noticed it is a little more difficult to manage from a stop - same as with a passenger. I don't know if experience makes that easier, or you just get used to it and have to be more careful.

It looks like your load on the front carrier is about the same as mine. Did it give you any problems? I know it is good to keep a low center of gravity, but any thoughts on front to rear distribution of weight?

You probably don't need to worry too much about front-rear weight distribution...as long as you're not overloading with too much total weight. Although acceleration is important, when it comes down to it, braking is more important. Braking shifts the center of gravity forward from wherever it was centered while at speed. Since the majority of your body weight is towards the rear, the weight of the engine is at the rear and the majority of your luggage is towards the rear, this will help you when braking by giving you a weight distribution closer to 50/50 which allows you better control. On non-ABS scooters, you could actually improve (shorten) your overall stopping distance by adding a certain amount of weight...depending on how good you are at using the front brake in conjunction with the rear brake. The added weight adds more traction and can prevent skidding with locked-up breaks.

Have fun but watch out for bears. Used to see quite a few. We stayed in the Lodge up there and BooBoo got in our trash one night. It was on our porch covered. Keep your food hung form a tree away from camp. Bears can smell food a mile away. Don't leave any crumbs on the scooter. Hiked the APP trail thru VA and we used dehydrated food and bears got into them one nite. Thankfully we hung them far enough away. Jealous. Love that part of VA but never did it on a scooter. Perfect road. Shouldn't be as many tourists if you do it soon. Be careful but have fun.

Another item to take with you would be a short plank of wood or an old car license plate to put under your side/center stand to allow for parking on soft ground. Terra firma might not be so firma.

Mine seemed fine with the weight distributed as per the pic. It was nipping along at about 60mph and was fine into the corners etc. Hope you have a great time.

I like bb pack light, this is my standard rally set up two water proof stuff bags, and the second one is me camping at World Days last year. Who needs a seat when you have a handy bit of tree to sit on.

Where do your legs go?

Exactly, which is why I am going in early May mid-week. By the way, having seen your posts along the way, is there anywhere you haven't been or haven't done?

Great set up, but I agree with Ian, where did your legs go?

+ 1, although flattened beer cans can be pressed into service to do this pretty well. Always take items that have multiple uses!

I am doing a weeklong trip next month with my GT200. I have a rear rack and am having a front chrome rack installed tomorrow morning.

Here are the items I plan on attaching to the bike:

Saddle Bags - clothes and hygiene items/medicine

Rear Rack - Shelter items such as Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, pillow, and camping-type chair

Other items I have are the following:

MSR bottles with Reserve Gas - which will go under rear rack
Tire Repair Kit
Camping Stove
Food - granola bars, instant coffee, oatmeal

What items would you put on the rear rack and which items would you put on the front rack to distribute weight most efficiently?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. A friend and I are doing a test weekend ride with all of our gear in two weeks to Nebraska before our weeklong trip to New Mexico the end of May.

Thanks
Ross

P never seen a redwood,not seen old faithful. Haven't been to Louisiana. Still have a bunch of countries to go to but i'm working on it.. I lived in C'ville and Richmond VA for a while. New the PKWY quite well. Skied up near there and hiked the App trail thru VA,Wva and NC. Had planned to do it all but wimped out. I actually liked VA,esp Richmond. Altho it's about as south as this northerner could feel comfortable. Have fun and pics please. 8)

My girlfriend and I rode to Bike Week. Two-person tent, 2 thermarest pads, food, clothes, queen down comforter all loaded up. I've improved my attachment methods since then so the milk crate doesn't have 18 bungie cords holding it on anymore

With lots of vespa camping under my belt, I recommend you take the chair. I've done it both ways, and the 1st and only time I didn't take it was much less enjoyable. I have a Kermit, but yours looks compact and light enough to stash somewhere on the scoot. 2 words, Take It.

And have a blast!

Just saw this Judy -

I lived in C'Ville for 7 years and took a lot of hikes on and around the AT, but as of yet I have no plans to do the whole thing. While you've yet to see a redwood or old faithful (me either) you do seem to have earned the title of world traveler honestly. I guess the only thing I have on you is Louisiana

Nice work! All on a 150 with a passenger, sounds like you must have had fun!

As close as you are, maybe you could just meet me there with the chair! Just kidding, thanks for the advice - the chair will be the first to go if overloaded, but I will remember your two words in planning. Thanks again!

Can anybody help blackrod out with his inquiry? Along those lines, I have gotten conflicting responses on fuel reserve. I was going to take a gallon, but now I am thinking about taking less. Any opinions?

If you do decide to get a smaller setup, the sportz xtreme motorcycle pac is great for motorcycle camping. It's a tent, two bags, and two stools in a very compact pack. I used one for a month while touring uruguay on a bicycle. It's less than 2 feet long, and weighs about 20 lbs, and it's about a foot in diameter.

my daughter and I always make quick little overnighters around the bay area. this is from our last ride down to half moon bay. not too far, but there are some nice back roads to take and cruising up the coast is always inspiring.[/img]

Looks like the weight distribution is fine. With the GTV you get more use from a front rack because the headlight is down below.

I would definitely go for something sturdier for the fuel. A floor rack from Didge is really ideal.

There may be time to get one, but just barely. Otherwise, if you're handy, rig one with a piece of plywood. Mount the plywood on some feet to level it solidly on the battery cover then get some long screws matching the battery cover screws and screw the plywood into the battery cover holes. A little tricky, but doable.

I would replace those tie-dows and bungy nets with ROK straps or ROK pack straps. They are very secure, won't loose tension, and won't marr the bike.

You're going to have a great time. Make sure to post pics and a ride report.

blackrod: there's always the passenger seat unless you're going two-up. I'd put the bulk of the weight in the pet carrier, in the footwell, and on the passenger seat. I'd put lighter stuff on the racks.

Piglet: I brought a five liter can, never needed it. Figure on re-fueling at about 120 mile intervals, max. Figure you'll run dry at about 150 miles. If you see a gas station and fuel is nearing empty, stop for gas.

On my GTS, when the low fuel light begins to flicker I need to find a gas station in the next 25 miles. I'll run dry about 20 miles after that.

Find out where the gas stations are. For a 300 mile loop you'll need 2 1/2 fill ups.

Hope this helps.

Thanks David. My big worry is the 105 mile stretch through the park which will also be the hilliest part. I think I am going to get the 1 or 1.5 liter bottle I saw at REI just in case. That will be about 3 pounds and will fit in the saddle bags no problem.

105 miles that's like 165 km's??
I get way past 200 km's out of my 250 GTS, record is 240km's and even then it was still running I just chickened out
Even with 2 up on hilly roads I never refuel before the 200 km mark.
In other words I would not bother with that spare fuel can thing.

Just a one nighter