Modern Vespa

Still feeling really unsure about my decision to purchase my 2008 LX150.

Due to the following:

-Vibration transfer through the handlebars

-More 'feel' of every line/bumps on the road

-More rotation on the throttle needed to get higher speeds (40+mph. I'd like to do the country roads at the 55/60 that they're meant to be ridden on, but sustaining that pullback, even when I try to 'walk my hands' to reposition a bit to make my wrist more neutral is trucky for me now)

-More hand power/reach needed now that I installed grip puppies to stop adequately.

I'm getting my hand pain (mostly RSI/fibromyalgia related) flared up everytime we ride. The flareup intensity depends on road condition, how fast I go (throttle rotation) and how many times I have to brake.

*This is not a minor thing*. I can't take most pain medication/NSAIDS due to me getting the bad side effects. And I don't recover from pain quickly like normal people usually do.

We went to see Burke who sells Vespas, and he pointed out that my scooter is carb'd, and (he had a good explanation that I'm a little too foggy to remember now) the breaking tech/feel of the levers is better/more responsive now.

He said most women buy 150's/Primaveras/smaller stuff from him due to the lighter weight. But it doesn't provide the 'better' ride. And that if I wanted to stay with this size, even a newer LX or the Primavera (which fit me well ergonomically) would help a little bit.


Other than the higher weight (which is a concern, but I could touch down and move it back and forth OK) and finances, is there a significant down side to the GT* 300 lines that I'm not thinking about? In regards to either the scooter itself, its ergonomics, or suspension/stuff likely to flare up pain in a delicate flower (snorts laughing) like myself?

While I agree that a bit less vibration in the newer LX and a bit better suspension in the new Primavera are true, I agree with your dealer that the difference is not dramatic. I also observe that an LX is not the best choice if you want to routinely cruise at 55-60 mph. That is the top end for an LX150, not it's preferred cruising speed. I would suggest an alternate bike such as one of the GT/GTS series if that is your need. It is not clear to me that will resolve the symptoms you feel from road vibration, handlebar movement, and the like, however.

55-60mph is what I'd do on a very good day, most days would be probably 20-50ish depending on what short errands I have to do. I ride for pleasure only, and when my pain isn't too great.

You might consider an MP3 250. I just got one for my wife, who has trouble balancing at stand-still. It is smooth running (I rode it home from purchase), and quite capable of 55/60 mph all the time.

As for throttle rotation, one thing you could try is grip the outer end, along with the handlebar weight. Works as a sort of cruise control.

One issue with the bigger bikes is they are also heavier. Stopping force required on the brake levers could be higher. Honestly I can't help you there, beyond something like grip puppies, or perhaps oopsclunkthud's dog-leg brake levers. These may help, but in the end, how fast you can stop comes down to grip strength.

I have fibromyalgia as well as a right wrist full of titanium. Any throttle use will be wearing on you. I generally use the pressure of my palm to hold speed and rest my fingers on the brake lever. A throttle rocker is another option but it can be a bit tricky to get used to in stop and go traffic. Riding causes me a good deal of pain, but for that matter so does driving. I already had to give up bicycling and I'll be damned if I'll give up riding without a fight.

Madison Sully - they're so tall. I can't deal with my husband's Buddy, I need to feel like I'm riding IN the scooter, not ON the scooter (so it feels like a weight distribution issue with me/scooter). So I'm not sure how this would work, sadly no one near me has one for me to try/buy

The Mocker - I do a lot of 'full fingers on top of throttle' riding, as my thumb web is one of the first things to 'go' when I start hurting. I may try the throttle rocker, I haven't tried that yet. I've given up almost all my hobbies due to my pain (fiber spinning, almost no knitting, bicycle riding, almost no online gaming), I'm not letting this one go too!

I don't think the MP3 would resolve your problem. In any case, all of the Vespa and Piaggio models have fairly high seats - certainly higher than the Buddy. Have you tried one of the Japanese scooters with a lower seat and feet forward floorboards like the Honda PCX 150, Honda Forza 300, or the Suzuki Burgman 200? Very different riding positions from the Piaggio bikes, and they are all fairly smooth running in my opinion.

I can touch down fine on my LX 150 and the GT*'s, 946 and Primaveras that I sat on today. Primavera I was honestly fully flat footed even! Surprised me!

Vespa is fine for me sitting 'in' and not 'on' it =)

How could you possibly flat foot an LX and a GTS, but not be able to deal with a Buddy? I am completely confused here.

With having issues with minor arthritis and raynaud's syndrome, the vibration from the bars would sometimes have me hurting and numb from mid forearm down. My only thoughts, advice I'd learned here several years ago. Keep a loose grip resting your fingers up on the brake handles and the best defence I'd found is gloves with gel padded palms. Try a throttle rocker type device that can also be had for the lest side, bored hand, for just a resting place. I however found those best only on long open road streches where steady throttle is necessary, but it still helped greatly, any thing's worth expirementing to see what works best...
Good luck

Buddy's feel top heavy when I'm riding. It feels like my weight is balanced high up and precariously on a thin cylinder, while on a Vespa I feel like my weight is being supported by a low pyramid.

Since the MP3 looks tall and looks like more of its weight is near the top of the vehicle (I can't tell - There isn't one within miles of me to tell so its a moot point anyhow as I can't buy something not 'locally' available to me), I reasoned that it may be a similar issue for me with the mp3.

I have some nice mesh gloves, but I'm not above trying new gloves that look promising (like these, that someone else on here mentioned): http://www.qwinerveprotector.com/MotorcycleGloveBuy.html

I try to keep the grip loose as possible already, but it's good advice to keep remembering as I ride =)

That isn't what she means.

There's a "thing," mostly in the motorcycle world, where various bikes are described as feeling as if you ride "on" them vs. "in" them. Most of the big H-D touring machines for instance, feel as if you're riding "on" the bike, not sitting down "in" it.

The Buddy 170i definitely has a "riding on" feel to it, vs. the LX 150 which feels like you're riding "in" it.

Thanks for the 'tip' on the gloves, I'm going to look into a pair for myself.
What size grip puppies fit on the buddy hand grips?
It antually looked to me you had this 'thing' under control better than I thought I had.....

I'm not sure at all on the size grip puppies right for the Buddy. One thing to keep in mind is that I added a bit more size to the grips and now the levers are a bit more painful for me to reach (my pain point is that thumb/first finger web, YMMV!)

For the LX150, I just did a search here for which one to buy and those fit nicely. I'm *assuming* it may be similar for Buddy, but maybe ModernBuddy can shed some light on that =)

Get some Dog Leg levers on there. It really helps. I have RA. Then put some Malossi shocks on the front and back and you have a new scooter. Stock ones suck. Our roads are horrible here and i can't image riding without good ones. Trust me on this. Best things i ever did. Also changed out the stock grips to the LT ones. They have ridges so you can grasp better,especially in the rain. Will get a pic of them for you. Give it time. The LX is a great scooter.

I bot some thin gloves with rubberized palms and fingers. They are sorta sticky and allow me to not grip so tightly and that keeps my hands from cramping up.

This certainly demonstrates that each of us feels different things - and prefers different things - in a scooter. I own both a Buddy and an LX. I would never have described the difference between the two in that way, and I would never describe the LX as having an "in" rather than "on" feel when you ride it. That would be my description of a Honda Helix or a Yamaha Morpheus.

I like and appreciate both feels - but I'm a little more experienced than rdk (my wife). I haven't ridden any of the sub-maxis or maxis (yet). Just rdk's LX 150, the Buddy 170i (and an ancient Riva CV50 back in the day), and several (very) large motorcycles.

YaYaDave - I have grip puppies on them and some Indian mesh motorcycle gloves, they do a decent job of 'gripping' leather-on-foam, but I may mess around with other (cheap) gloves =)

judy - I was thinking along those lines too, hearing how good they were for you on your LX. With the levers, I rarely use my index fingers and mostly use my ring/pinky fingers to initiate the brake-levers (as my ulnar area isn't painful, just the carpal area).

(And.. the consideration of price in that I hate to spend the money on my current beauty if it won't get me quite where I need to be. =/ I'm not sure if we can do the shock work ourselves and good labor can be pricey.)

Dooglas - you're certain IN the scooter with both of those models =) I like them and they'd perform fine, but it's not my visual or 'agile feeling' preference (but I'm going *just* by reviews on them both).

The LX150 has a little bit longer wheelbase than a Buddy 170. The GTS, being a larger frame, definitely has a longer wheelbase. That contributes at least some to the taller triangle feeling. Depending on where your butt is on that bottom line of the triangle between the axles (your center of gravity in relation to the scooter's) will also change the stability feeling.

With smaller scooters, where you carry your weight can have much, much more of an effect than it would on a motorcycle. As I see it, the factors are high/middle/low vertically (torso length & mass), fore/aft on the seat (leg length & mass).