Modern Vespa

Does it qualify as an iron butt?

Nope. The IBA SaddleSore is 1000 miles in 24 hours.

I see they do have a 50cc coast to coast.. 2900 mile minimum. But it must be done in 50hrs or less. Infinitely difficult on a scooter.

Patrick believes it can be done.

I have no doubt it can be done, but it is incredibly hard. Not even counting for stops for gas, food and bathrooms, you need to drive 58mph minimum coast to coast just to do it theoretically with no stops. Which means you are looking more like 70-80mph avg including all necessary stops. Sure it can be done on a fast scooter by some extremely dedicated person. I'd love to try on a vintage, but i know that will end in misery with a costly trip home!

Been meaning to try it in my normal vehicle once in my life. Probably a good idea to do that before attempting on a scooter.

I couldnt do that in a car.

Wtf does this mean

Competition is the right definition, if it were not it would be a rally that is something more static and touristic. After all, why call it a "cannonball"?

Total WAG, but did you start the scooter at some point, and idle for >22 min?

I have no idea about Vespa ABS but on both my Honda and Can Am Spyder, there are routines on the ABS system that require the vehicle to move after starting up.

True, even on mine it is like that and the abs light stays on as long as the scooter is not in moving but only after the engine start.

Neato. So just cont riding with no speedo or rear asr? No other impact?

I would. Also, when you do start up, try to get moving >5 MPH within a minute or so.
Both of my rides seem to "set" the ABS at around that speed.

But, please do keep in mind, I have almost no idea what I'm talking about.

ASR tone ring is fucked from blasting through the rock me dirt roads lol

Bent up n rocks jammed in it whoops o

Dave, it's the Cannonball. Ride it till it or you drop😳

Hi all,, My scoot lost speed rapidly the engine light came on and the oil light blinked a few times. I stopped and checked the oil but that was fine. Was that a soft siezure?


Will I kill my scoot if I continue now?

Cut the ring off and keep going!

I never really stopped beyond the few secs to inspect. Will replace I guess at hotel or not if only issue Is no asr and spedo

A soft seize is generally associated with 2 stroke motors. Getting hit straight on with a wind gust can feel like a soft seize, just a quick hiccup, enough to make your fingers covering the clutch twitch and your heart rate speed up a little.

A hard seize on a 2 stroke locks the rear wheel. Just like I did on the 2012 run in TX at 65 mph. If the rear is sliding out be ready when you pull the clutch cause it's gonna try and throw you off the high side. It can be the most exciting 5 seconds of your life and seems like it takes a half an hour. Fun!

Will it hurt your scooter? No clue but it's the Cannonball, scooters will be eaten and as Jess has said before your scooter is disposable so keep going until it blows up entirely!

Personally I never take a scooter I really care about on a "timed endurance" event or the "track". That's why I have built bikes to run. If you're gonna race it you might wreck it!

Check that the spark plug cap is snapped tight on the plug.

I'm on a gts., so it isn't possible for it to soft sieze?

Weird that It coincided with the engine and oil light. That still seem ok?

Sounds like either spark or fuel, it doesn't seem like a soft seize.

I'm not saying that there is nothing wrong, just that is is not a soft seize. On a GTS you should get a warning light before any heat related damage occurs.

As far as I know, water cooled 4-strokes are not very likely to seize. How's your coolant level? What does the temperature gauge say?

I think it's more likely that the spark plug cap has vibrated loose and the engine is cutting out intermittently.

Vary throttle position when cruising. Don’t keep it pegged or in one position, Just a thought.

Thanks everybody. I'll start with coolant check and then spark plug,cap, etcetera. Roads have been hellishly bumpy - could have knocked something(s) loose.

Don't you have a mounted spare with tone ring on the truck? If not, talk to each tonight.

The only way to soft seize a liquid-cooled four-stroke is to run out of oil. If you’ve got oil, it’s probably not a soft seize.

The oil light generally comes on when the engine goes off but the ignition is still on. So I wouldn’t necessarily read too much into the oil light. It just means that there’s no oil pressure, but if the engine is off, there shouldn’t be oil pressure, because the oil pump isn’t running. Hence the light.

+1

also, when they run out of oil, they hard seize. nothing soft about it.

Ruben soft-seized his 4T Bajaj (or whatever it was) on a rally we were on. In the middle of blocking an intersection, no less. He put oil in it and got it running again.

Yes, I have three with rings. I am not familiar with the new sensors and what they muck up but the final 150 miles without it were fine.

The OBDII + Bluetooth “permanently“ installed is lovely.

It seems that someone's Vespa went up in flames ...

That was from a few weeks ago.

The filler cap came off of one of mine on a high speed run down I-10.

Most of the oil blew out.

Power and speed slowed considerably, with a distinctive knock telling me that it was seriously broken.

It would run, but barely.

I changed the engine.

Bill

I took road debris to the oil filter, punched a hole right through it. power dropped, noticed the oil light on, then nothing with crunching sound.

Perhaps the modern Vespa is unsuitable for these feats, or the engine should be mechanically modified.

The shortest IBA 50CC that I know of is from Ocean Beach in San Diego to Jacksonville Beach in Florida and it is real close to 2400 miles. So 48 mph total average will do it. I was the second person to complete that ride on a 250cc motorcycle. A 250cc scooter could do it but not much room for error.

I also rode the 2018 Scooter Cannonball and my experience was that an Iron Butt Association 50CC is much more focused on Sleep-Deprivation than the SCBR was.

I’m pretty sure that’s the MP3 250 I rode in SCR 2016 and 2018…it’s back to sitting covered in a yard…lol

This one?

Or this.

Sheebus y'all treating your scooters like you have left your favorite in the garage.