Modern Vespa

Hi all, Second post. Got a Primavera 50 for my birthday, as noted in my other post. Weird thing is, we do NOT live in an urban area, where streets are tiny and all traffic is under 40mph. The main artery out of our neighborhood is a 4 and sometimes 6 lane divided blvd where cars are going 50-60. In order to get most places "urban" I need to be on this thing for a while.

I have staked out some side streets to avoid it, but it's not ideal. Very long, not direct at all. So just wondering, in fact one question: on a low speed scooter, in general is it better to be in the slow lane of say a 4 lane blvd, or in the ONLY lane of a two lane street where cars are still doing faster than my 50 will go?

I know there are tons of other factors, but in general, all things being equal?

And any other tips for planning routes? Thanks again!

I hate to say this, and I don't mean it as a snarky comment -- but a four lane highway is not the place for a 50cc scooter. Stick to the side roads until you get a bigger machine.

If you must use the highways for short distances, I'd suggest you wear hi-viz gear to make yourself conspicuous (not a bad idea anywhere you ride).

Ride safe!

P.S. Ride the highway that has a wide shoulder where you can bail out if you need to.

A 4-6 lane road means there will be a LOT of lane shifting especially around congested intersections and highway on ramps. You have great maneuverability but very little acceleration at those higher speeds and that puts you in a spot in certain circumstances that may encounter regularly. So my gut tells me that may not work so well.

If you're curious, though, what I would do is get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday when there is no traffic and ride that route and get a feel for how you generally fare on the road and then drive same route in your car with more traffic at roughly same speed and acceleration as your Prima, and overlay those two experiences to visualize what riding will be like with a lot of traffic.

You can always trade up after a while,so it'll only be a temporary inconvenience if you opt not to.

This^^
If you can't keep up with the flow of the traffic, stay out of the way, for your own safety.

The advice give here is sound. A 50cc scoot on multilane roads, especially one driven by a new rider, is not a good idea. Your top speed will be about 40mph max and you really have no power reserve to make a quick move. Unfortunately, the fundamental problem is having a 50cc scoot in a non-urban area where every road outside of a subdivision has a higher posted speed limit than your maximum speed on the scoot.

Yup, I know, kind of a dumb question really. I can avoid the one big blvd, well, except for about 1/8 mile if I want to go "away from town" where there's a market. For that I can wait out for no cars as there are big gaps between them thankfully.

But there are smaller 4 lane streets, posted speed either 35 or 40, that I'll need to take in order to get to the urban core. I drove some of the neighborhood streets too and those will work, albeit out of the way.

One thing I've noticed is that the increased number of stop signs or red lights benefits slow speed, no one has a chance to get up to 45 or more. So I'll look for those.

Tried to sign up for "mopedmap.net" but never could get the verification email to be sent. Weird, but not sure how good it is anyway.

Sometimes we simply make bad decisions.

A 150 would have worked so much better for your ride to the city.

A 300 even better.

Time to trade up?

Bill

I tend to avoid busy roads on my LX 50, but I have no problem riding in the right lane on a 45 MPH road. My biggest issue was the slow accelration up to 40 MPH. I fixed that by installing an 80cc kit. It's no longer legally classified as a moped, but it still looks and sounds exactly like a 50cc, and I'm sure the drivers behind me are happy with my decision.

Well, I made a comment in your last post about getting a 150cc bike. I did not want to come off a snarky-know-it-all, but the 50cc bikes are made just for 35mph and slower speed roads. Intercity if you will. If you are going to get on roads above that, you really need a bike with more power.

On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with slowing down and enjoying the side streets on a 50cc. Plus, there may be some advantages to riding a 50 into the city such as being able to park on sidewalks and bicycle parking. (Allowed in some cities. )

I would not want to ride a 50cc scooter on Broad Street in Glen Allen, especially during rush hour. Personally, I agree that a 150cc or bigger scooter would better suit your needs.

Riding a 50cc scooter in suburban Virginia isn't really for basic transportation IMO. You ride it for fun. So what if riding on back streets takes longer to get anywhere. That just means more fun! If you are trying to do something else with this scooter (like riding in 50 mph traffic), time to trade up.

Guys, please...bad decisions, whatever, maybe I wasn't clear, or mistakenly thinking most folks referenced my other (first) post: scooter was a birthday present, from my wife. A very unplanned, unexpected gift from a very un-mechanically minded but well-meaning spouse. 'Nuff said on that.

Thanks for the input though, more the merrier. Keep the varied ideas coming. And yes, I'm not dumb enough to think I should get out on streets I should not go.

I am already looking at mods and/or trading up. I know I need more speed, not for speed's sake, but for safety.

So: who can help me with input on mods?

If you mean mods for speed - you will do better trading up. Most performance mods don't buy you much. The ones that do, like a big bore kit, also put more strain on the other components. IMO trying to mod your current bike in order to ride it in higher speed traffic would not be worth the investment.

Back to your 50. I gather you have little or no experience on a scooter. Why not take a basic MSF course, ride your new scooter on back roads this summer as it is, and have fun with it. If that experience tells you that you want to step up to a 150 or a 300 the following season - go for it.

I picked up my 2006 LX 50 last June and asked the same questions. And I got the same "buy a 150" from multiple people. I disregarded their suggestions and instead decided to pursue mods. I started with the Malossi variator. It's performance was marginal at best. I tried a larger carb jet. No change. Then I ordered the Malossi 80cc kit and Malossi cam, which I installed myself. Huge change. I no longer worried about being able to accelerate from a stop, and the top speed of 45+ MPH is ample. The good thing about your scooter is that it's a 4 valve so you don't need the cam. In fact my wife has a 2014 Piaggio Fly 50 (same 4 valve engine you have) into which I installed the Malossi 80cc kit, Malossi variator and size 80 main jet. Her scooter accelerates event better than mine.

Last fall I decided to mess with the LX and installed a Malossi kevlar belt, and opted to throw in a set of 5 gram Dr Pulley sliders (with the stock variator) while I was in there. I'm not sure if it's any faster, but the engine is much quieter on acceleration. The Malossi variator is very rattley (is that a word?).

So my suggestion is to purchase the Malossi 80cc kit, 5 gram Dr Pulley sliders, Malossi white contra spring, and a size 80 main jet. It will cost in the $300 range for everything, and it will wake up that scooter.

Actually under $275 shipped to your door.

My 50cc Yamaha C3 just hit 22,000 miles. I bought it with 1,700 on the odometer. I also have a Burgman 400 and a GT200. The 50cc is my favorite. I like the challenge of the route. I take mine all over the Colorado Front Range. I can hop on the freeway for an exit or two depending on the time of day. It's all about your route. Going downhill, multiple lanes, etc...I don't see much of a challenge getting places on a scooter that can do 80. It's fun for sure, but not much of a challenge.

Awesome suggestions, I'll check out the Malossi stuff. Thanks all!

Jim, I missed on my "bad decision" post, replying without all of the information.

We may have a very similar situation.

My wife and kids bought me a Malaguti Ciak 50 for Christmas in 2002.

It was, by far, the best present I have ever had for any birthday or Christmas.

It was a two stroke, large wheel scooter that topped out at 40 to 45 mph.

Luckily, I live in a huge neighborhood where I could ride the ten miles from Downtown to the Naval Air Station without seeing a road with higher than a 35 mph speed limit. All nice roads through a beautiful area. I lived and worked in the neighborhood and was able to get around easily.

It didn't take me long before I started to look for ways out of the hood, so I reached into Google Maps to find a route that could take me to my parent's house, 7 miles away from home and across the St. Johns River. I was trying to avoid Atlantic Boulevard and it's 40 mph speed limit where drivers think it is a 55 mph limit. I found one but and loved the freedom that I got, but eventually just rode on Atlantic Boulevard. No big deal.

I enjoyed riding so much that I started to look for routes out of town and found a few, one that could get me to Georgia in a a 100 mile round trip.

After a few long rides at the Malaguti's top speed, I could see that I enjoyed these rides so much that, if I needed to spread out even further, I needed a faster scooter.

So, as a present to myself, I bought Rocket, a 2006 GT, for my 50th birthday. It has proven to be a life changing machine, leading to most of my current fun times and best friends.

I now have 86,000 miles on that one and two more. They can take me anywhere, hence the earlier statement that a larger displacement scooter would suit your needs better. It came from experience.

Thank your wife again. That was indeed a fine present.

Bill

+1
Save your money to put towards a bigger scooter when you decide you need one. You can mod a 50 all you want, and it's still a 50 but with questionably legal modifications.

I don't see how any of the stuff mentioned will increase the speed. Acceleration and hill climbing maybe but speed not really. Unless the lighter weights allow the engine to rev a bit more.

No cam shaft?

Looks like another post to justify someone else's purchases. without any factual proof of performance increase.

And any other tips for planning routes? Thanks again![/quote]

My advice is to pretend you are a bicyclist and plan routes accordingly. For me, that would mean avoiding four lane highways.

No factual proof? My LX 50 had a top speed of 37 MPH, and it took a half mile to get there. Now I get my 230 pound body up to 40 MPH in under 20 seconds, with a top speed on level ground of 47 MPH (GPS verfied) in a quarter mile. Anybody is welcome to come take a ride to see for yourself.

And what I meant by no cam required is there's no high performance cam needed for the 4 valve because the stock camshaft will suffice for 80cc.