Modern Vespa

https://www.royalenfieldowners.com/index.php?threads/didnt-know-vespas-could-go-this-fast.1818/


Have to give Fritz Katzenjammer credit for getting me looking into Royal Enfield.

I have taken my 2021 HPE to 130kph (clock speed) without issues.

A certain Vespa fundi (who does know but shall remain nameless) told me today that the Vespa integrated rev limiter and ABS can be disabled (warranty destroyed!) to allow the motor to rev into the 9 000 range, which may allow it to go much faster than 80mph...!

I can attest to seeing my BF hit 95mph (odometer) on his 2005 GT200, downhill. I've had my GTV at about 82mph (odometer), so probably mid-70's; that's beyond the top end of my comfort level, but she'll get there!

I've rode my GTS300 HPE to close to 75mph (120kph) and I'm not surprised that it can go even faster. But what caught my attention is the response that 80mph is probably not what it's designed to do. From my experience, given the traffic and road conditions here in NY, 65mph is probably my limit.

"I didn't know Vespas could go that fast" is what the California Highway Patrol Officer who pulled me over said as soon as he got out of the car.

"Neither did I!" was my response.

(Which wasn't true at all. I know exactly how fast I was going -- 82mph -- on an unmodified 300 Super)

I regularly hit 88 on the speedo before the limiter kicks in. I don't know what that translates to in actual speed, but it's damn fun!

Excellent! 👍

For me, Melody has hit an "official" 84mph (GPS) just as the limiter kicked in. Frankly, that's fast enough for me.

(Note: The speedo might have read something around 88mph, but I didn't see any flash of light, let alone run headlong into a barn or anything…)

No pics or clips on my part, but: standing in for all of us is this young lad from years back, making the point.

I've seen 135km/hr on the clock and it felt more solid than the Ninja it replaced. It also felt like it had plenty left.

However, every Italian vehicle I've ever been near has had a speedometer that could only be depended upon for gross exaggeration.

My Gilera's speedo was an entertainment system in its own right with all of its weird gyrations.

You are talking about Kawasaki Ninja, right? The one that when released, somewhere at 80's, was the fastest bike around? I think I'm missing something here...I know fastest does not mean the best to ride, but c'mon, most true Ninja's have been pretty decent below 300 kmph...

Top speeds on Vespas vary greatly.

I have found that my three current GTs and one I sold years ago would top out at around 75mph (gps) in neutral conditions.

This can vary a bit due to belt age and general scooter state of tune.

But it varies a lot when conditions change.

My fastest top speed ever was on Rocket on day one of the 2014 SCR.

Running downhill, downwind, in a draft, in a tuck we approached a truck that had to be passed.

With the no real traffic on that British Columbia road, we gained on the truck quickly and moved to pass at 85 mph (gps). The speedometer was buried well past 90.

I have hit 83 on all of the others.

I don't find myself riding at top speed much anymore.

I am getting old and am trying to keep the scooters running well.

No real need to push them so hard.

Bill

I doubt he meant the Ninja 650... they build Ninjas down to 250cc, I think.

It was not the most stable machine I'd ever ridden, mine would shake its front end quite sharply if you cut the throttle and sat up abruptly and was capable of some impressive weaving if you were hard on the throttle in a corner.

Oddly enough the instability went away after I was hit from behind in traffic and driven into another vehicle before going down.

Ahhh... I did forgot that. I was thinking only the top end Ninjas

Sounds almost like there has been something wrong with your bike - or the Kawi has had 'bad years' with the line up.

I've always been too non-sporty to take advantage of sports bikes, so can't even remember how a Ninja felt when I rode one a long time ago. Around here it does have good reputation among sports bike nuts... one of which is my neighbour, who just swapped his Suzuki to a brand new Kawi the last summer. I went for a ride with him and another bloke (ridesTriumph Speed Triple, or rather flies as it often looks like... ) and can comfirm they went fast enough

Mine was solid enough most of the time and yes, I think the chassis wasn't right from the factory as the bike was known for its solid handling. Once you knew the tricks mentioned above there was nothing to worry about regardless of speed. The weave it would do accelerating out of a corner was used more than once to get tailgaters to back off. One look at that weaving chassis was enough to make anyone back off for fear of being entangled in the wreck that appeared to be imminent

I was quite annoyed when the original cams were totally worn out at 20,000km in spite of being carefully serviced and treated properly. The dealer even went after Kawasaki saying they should cover the cost of the repair as the cams were obviously defective. Kawasaki said it was "normal wear"... really, cams, worn out in 20,000 when the rest of the bike is mint, normal wear?!

Needless to say it was my last Kawasaki.

I'm too old to ride anything that has 'Ninja' written on it.

This is precisely why I posted this thread. After I started taking the GTS300 on to the parkways here in NY (speed limit of 50mph, average car speed of 65mph) I found the engine to be powerful enough but the lack of wind protection and small wheels do not inspire confidence. Problem is it's challenging to navigate here in NYC suburbs without getting onto the parkways or highways. I started looking at Triumph Speed Twin and Kawasaki Z900rs until I see that the Royal Enfield 650 twins may be good for highway travels.

That said, today I took the GTS300 on Hutchinson Parkway, through the Bronx , over the Whitestone Bridge, and into busy Flushing Queens to buy Chinese roast chicken. It all went very smoothly. The only things to improve were to swap out for a bigger windshield and to bring the food home in the pet carrier to keep warm 😊.

I have to agree with Bill that speed on Vespas can vary greatly. On my 2006 GTS I hit 97mph indicated coming home to Houston from Galveston once. That speedo was approx 9% optimistic. Tail wind, traffic moving fast sort of sucked me along. Heading to Utah my husband's 2019 GTS barely cracked 80mph. While long downhill grade on I25 between Trinidad and Pueblo I hit 93mph by GPS on my 2018 GTS 300 though normally I hit record limiter between 84 and 86. Note I have the Keubler tone ring installed and that brought my speedo within 1 mph of my GPS. After my husband had more miles on his 2019 he was able to get 83-84 at sea level.

I rap mine out on the freeway often...love the double takes I get from folks in cars!

It's also about you getting used to riding the bike on the fast roads. Vespas are designed to run fast, if you want or need to and they do. It may feel a little different to a larger motorcycle of course but once you get used to the way they go it's fine. They are very safe. On long journeys I hang out at around 65mph most of the time. My bike is very comfy at that speed and there's plenty left for overtaking. I rarely ever take mine over 80mph indicated these days but it will go 82mph indicated on the flat in neutral conditions without any issue, and probably a bit more although the rev limiter will kick in at 83mph on mine. Actual speed is slightly less but not much as my speedo is usually only 2-3mph optimistic at those speeds.

The look of surprise is priceless.

I hit 84 MPH per my GPS on Day 2 of Cannonball this summer.

I have hit 87 MPH per GPS, but I was behind a tractor trailer on I-75 getting pulled along in a draft.