Modern Vespa

Anyone have a suggested route? Mapquest won't give me a non-highway route.

And can it make it? Can I?

check out this guys story.

so yes, it's possible. i did 650+ miles on a stock vino 50 in 26 1/2 hrs straight, on relatively flat land. i gotta imagine you'll have to deal with mountains and the like, which may lead to re-jetting your carb at sea-level.

break up the trip in legs, and budget plenty of time for rest. you'll most likely be on truck routes (45-65mph), so be prepared to ride in the shoulder, and be highly visible (flags, reflectors, etc..).

good luck, and be safe.

If you're using Mapquest to plan a route from Denver to Seattle on a 50cc, you probably won't make it. This is the kind of journey that is going to require serious planning. You'll probably have to get out some real maps, do some research on the roads you want to take (like finding out if they're under construction, actually paved, etc.), and create a real plan for getting there.

Alternatively, you can get a bunch of maps, pack up some stuff, and head generally North and West.

I think your Fuggin nuts but I love the idea!

If you really want to use Mapquest, you have to divide the trip into segments of less than 200 miles - maybe less - and select non highway route. So take the mapquest highway route for Denver to Seattle and then break that route into segments and plot a non highway route to the first City/Town north of Denver within 200 mi and then the next within the next 200 mi and so on.

Google Maps has an "avoid highways" option and shows this route
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=denver,co&daddr=seattle,+wa&mra=cc&dirflg=h&sll=43.67235,-113.589395&sspn=13.755616,40.869141&ie=UTF8&ll=46.195042,-112.148437&spn=26.341122,81.738281&z=4&om=1
I don't know what the elevations changes or road conditions are, though. As far as I know, it's not legal to ride on the shoulder.

Find a way to make it happen and have a great adventure!

my buddie's went from san jose to denver on a 50cc honda ruckus. their story is buried somewhere in this thread:



http://totalruckus.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6069&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

My wife and I did 700 miles on 50cc's. Go to each states DMV sites and find out which highways are bicycle friendly. That's what we did. They take into account shoulder width, as well as traffic speed and density. It can still get a little hairy sometimes.

I did Kentucky to Las Vegas round trip on a Vespa 90 in the 60's. 45 mph max. Also Kentucky to Philadelphia. I still think about those trips and I would do them again with the slightest provocation. Honestly, it would be more fun on a 200 or a 250, but nobody can ever take it away from you once you've done it.

I wouldn't go on the freeways at all. The turbulence from trucks is dangerous and exhausting. Road dangers on the shoulders are really bad: metal car parts, tire re-treads and liter.

This summer at age 64, I enjoyed re-doing the trip on a 1300cc Honda ST1300!

DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that kinda milage on 50 is totally reasonable....

you'll make it... if theres a will theres a way...

guys in europe do this shit all the time... the newest issue of TAG had a guy ridding a SYM RS50 from morroco to france or some shit....

you got balls of steel my friend...

like most said... keep it safe, reflective clothing and what not...

i guess i should clarify "shoulder". at no point should you ride in an unpaved portion of the road, but if you have a line of traffic built up behind you because you're doing 37mph in a 45 with a no passing zone, then yeah, you should pull as close as you can to the outer lane, and motion the vehicles to pass. or just pull off all together and wait until they pass.

great tip on the bicycle friendly routes, i know the garmin nuvi gps allows this function.

there are alot of these hand held GPS units that can map a route for you taking only back roads. The one I saw (sorry I dont recall which one) had a 3d map and a headphone jack so you could listen to the directions while riding (dont have to look at it). It had a selection when setting up the trip to avoid major roads.

Sure you can make it, provided you have a proper route. If you don't, you won't. Good luck.

I think I would get a couple of really big rear view mirrors. Just to make sure no jackass in a car runs over ya...

Some of the older heads on the forum may chime in on this one but in my early days of lurking I thought I had heard about a guy who took a 50cc from Alaska to somewhere in South America.

I may have read some of his diary which was on a scooter or motorcycle blog.

You might divide your days by the mileage you want to ride each day. We chose to ride at 20 mph and 100 miles per day. Our itinerary included each daily stop so we knew we would be in a town that had lodging. There are plenty of towns across America that don't have lodging. That is, unless you're sleeping on the ground. We chose to travel lighter.

another tip is to try and do it for charity. find a charity, send them a $5.00 check, and make yourself an elaborate flyer on on your computer, and a sign for the back of your bike. if any john q. law's pull you over, hand them a copy of the flyer, and people that get stuck behind you may be a little more forgiving.

Anyone have an opinion about keeping a gas container inside the seat area?

I love the idea of doing it for charity. How much can I put you down for?

too warm, get a 1gal can and bungee to the back rack or milk crate.

Are there really any stretches of road longer than 150 miles without a gas station?