Modern Vespa

Are you Valentino Rossi / feet out / outrigger style or original Kenny Roberts / feet on the pegs / knee dragger?

In either example, it would merely be my last desperate reflex before smacking pavement.

^^^THIS^^^

Neither, I got my own style. That means - scanning ahead for debris, setting up for the curve, trail braking if needed, downshift, hit the apex and blast out. Happy days.

I have my own style: I sit rather upright, like an old fart on a scooter. Obvious reason. OK, I do lean into the corner a bit and countersteer. In my head, I'm more like Kenny Roberts; to any observer: well, look at the first sentence.

I've been riding for 54 years now... if I were to lean forward like that through more than a curve or two, it would me quite a while to walk reasonably upright.

Awesome pic in the OP. I try to avoid lifting the rear wheel whenever possible and never in a turn at triple digits! lol

Great images!

Do you lead with your shoulder or your hip?

I bend at the waist, like I'm riding a dirtbike in the mud, keeping my weight over the bike
Off the throttle for bumps or the beginning of corners
When I'm on My liberty I find my leg going forward, when I U turn motocross style

Never been a foot dragger, more like the occasional well placed dab, trials style
Had a friend who trained flattrack riders
An early lesson was duct tape your feet to the peg & burn up a tank of gas
He felt foot draggin' to be a bug not a feature
You can't shift with your foot on the ground, also harder to shift your weight with one foot off the peg

I do a decent performative tap at intersections to keep LEO happy

I'm the knee dragger. I just got home, and I have to admit, I did it on purpose on the last huge curve on the way to my house.

I'm more the Mike Hailwood type. Hands gripping the bars and knees tucked against the tank.

There we go. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I find that my Vespa (2015 150) has a bit of understeer so, with all the rear weight bias, putting my butt into it helps get it around the corner.

This post was a bit of a joke. As a road rider (and racer) from way back, I've always kept my feet on the pegs (floor). But my brother, who is a more experienced Vespa rider, suggested to me to not be shy about hanging a leg out if you need it.

Hanging out a knee can be very useful to act as a dampener at high speed and a stabilizing force on a light machine. I use it often on my 1994 Ducati 900 SS/SP when on big tightening sweepers and weird transitions, especially in gusty wind conditions... also on the LX80! but less for the wind sail/stabilizing effect. More for the CG offset in the twisties on my little scrapper!

I was thinking more along the lines of a kind of early Geoff Duke style. Everything tucked in neatly, no unseemly limbs out flapping about in the breeze.

I remember when Kenny Roberts showed up on the 500 GP scene in Europe, the English motorcycle press went to town on his knee down riding style as freakish and nasty. Then he walked off with the title and everybody was doing it within the next year.

I like to keep my arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Why have a leg shield if you don't use it?

I tend to be a cautious rider, but on one particularly relaxed day, I surprised myself by taking a roundabout so quickly that I momentarily scraped the bottom/side of the Vespa from leaning over so far. Those tires do hold in a turn, even if I still doubt it every time even after a lifetime of riding two-wheeled vehicles.

I scraped the sidestand on mountain curves, with two front wheels it's easier to turn down ... too much sometimes. :?

At low speeds, I just lean with 'er. Once we get above 40 mph, I tip my outside shoulder towards my inside hand and on very rare occasions I'll slip a cheek off the seat.

I live in Florida.

What is a corner?

Bill

That sort of explains driving habits down there...

I don't lean - I use countersteering.
My torso and head remain vertical, pivoting at the hips.
My butt stays on the seat.