Modern Vespa

Just curious, has anybody done one? Results, thoughts, ideas.I did a search but found nothing.
Thanks.

You can do an Aux tank, but no room for a bigger in stock location.

Search Cannonball Run Aux gas tanks on here.

Has someone pulled the original and checked on where expansions could be made? I have a friend that has a V-Rod and he got an enlarged tank. With a little work, the company that made it was able to provide another 1.1 gallons and keep it in the stock location. Now the install was a completely different animal in itself, but another few liters would be a nice addition. If i had time and access to another MP3 that was not my daily, I would look into it and see what could be done. I recall see the Aux fuel tank mods way back when I joined and the only issue I see with them would pertain to the safety aspect. Especially here in Germany. You couldn't just go an add a mod like that without having all the proper certifications.

The easiest thing to do would be to plan your trips to include gas stops. Usually after an hour and a half of riding, I stop and walk around to stretch and relax for a few. I do the same when driving the car. Two hours and stop for 10 minutes to stretch and walk around.

yeah I have pulled a tank and its a royal PITA. there is minuscule room to expand it. you might gain .2 gl MAYBE.

Not worth the effort or aggravation. if someone needs a bit more fuel they are better off carrying a 1 gal rotopax or similar.

These are designed with CAD programs, pretty sure Piaggio uses every bit of space available.

Wished for a bigger tank as well especially for the 500!only avaliable space is below.mayb increase the depth of the tank by 10-15mm?

I've been researching mods to store some emergency auxiliary fuel on the Mp3.

I found the MSR-30 oz fuel bottle which gets good reviews for storing Oct 91 gas safely so I have a well reviewed container I can use. Just don't spill gas as that dissolves the paint according to a number of reviews so don't expect it to stay pretty for long after a gas spill; but it will remain safe to use overall.

So how to mount it?

I could strap it to the passenger hand-rails using the carrying-holster. That would be secure and hold it in place for sure. But I'm concerned that if the bike low-sides or falls over at a stop-sign then the bottle would get damaged and leak. A leaking bottle would turn an otherwise simple tip-over into a potential fire and a low-side into an inferno.

Doing some research on mounting solutions it looks like the safest place to mount the bottle would be under the tail of the bike. The Mp3 does not have a tail like most motorcycles but it does have a place to mount a top-case with bolt-thread holes that go all the way through to the underside.

Then I saw this Youtube video showing how a guy mounted an MSR 30oz bottle to his bike with a cushioned pipe-clamp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXKqpvAtVd4

That looks pretty solid.
The clamp
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R8JEN4

The 30oz fuel-bottle that fits snugly into the clamp
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015I0GE6

I can remove one of the bolts from my top-case mount and replace it with a longer bolt that would engage with that cushioned pipe-clamp. That would allow the clamp to securely hold the MSR 30oz bottle under the top-case and just above the brake-lights.

This solution would put the fuel-bottle out of the immediate danger-zone of a side-mount so the bottle doesn't immediately shear-off or get damaged in a low-side or tip-over. It puts it discreetly out of the way without interfering too much with the visibility of the tail-lights and over-all operation of the bike. Lastly, its easy to access when needed and can hold a regular water-bottle when not holding the fuel container providing a handy place to keep your beverage in easy access.