Modern Vespa

Most provinces? I thought Quebec was the ONLY province that does this. What are the others?

We all know someone who has bought a 50, and spent money on the variator, and the exhaust, and the rollers, and then after their second season with it sold it and bought what they really wanted by their third season.

They usually tell us, with shit-eating-grins from ear to ear, how much they love their new bike, how great it is, and how much they wish they had just spent the money sooner, and that it is the most perfect bike every made in the history of bikes.

This is because after a 50cc, any bike that follows is the most perfect bike ever. Trust me. I started on a 50cc too. My next one was older than me, and in hindsight, a piece of complete junk, but coming off of my 50, it was two wheel perfection.

That being said...

I strongly encourage everyone buy nice bikes, and then spend a ton of money on customizing it. Money that you won't get back on resale, when someone like me buys it to feed his crack habit addiction to shiny toys that someone else has paid to modify.

Please support the crack habit of people like me. We need well-intentioned modders so that we can afford the habit.

So true. I spent thousands building the best Ducati SS and traded it for three magic beans.

Issue #18 of The Scooter Zine - the Small Bore Issue - is all about small displacement scooters.

It seems like 49cc bikes have much appeal to many people. It's an interesting read and it makes you understand, that upgrading to 150cc or more is not the answer for a lot of riders. Even though I never had a small bore bike myself, growing up, I got to ride those of friends and I understand the appeal and the excitement people get when modifying to their tastes.

For more about The Scooter Zine see:
https://thescooterzine.com/

As others have mentioned that modding a 4T is not the same as modding a 2T. You are basically rolling a turd in glitter.

So far the choices are:

1. Variator and …..
2. A small fly screen
3. Big bore it.
4. Do nothing and enjoy
5. Get a larger displacement scooter 150cc
6. Electronic gizmos (fuel and revs)

Not necessarily in that order.

Someone (PAPAGIRL) asks for just a little more speed, after saying they are NEW to scooters. AND in true inter"nut" fashion, we respond.

My questions to PAPAGIRL are:

#1 What is more speed?

A) acceleration from a stop.
B) more top end speed.
C) A&B
D) just a little more peppy when I want it
E) like it has JATO & Nitrous Oxide

#2 Why are you still listening to us?
Possible responses exceed the alphabet.

#3 WWGD?

I went from a gb450 to a 50cc puch
T-boning a car that "didn't see me" took my license, due to not having insurance on the bike
I was tickled to not have to take the bus or walk

The best mods for the Puch were to drill the plastic restrictor out of the carb, exhaust & advance the timing
If I advanced the timing too far pedaling was required off the line, the reward was a 37mph topspeed
I had several discussions with LEO about the excess speed & the volume of the drilled out exhaust baffel, never got the ticket...

A couple of years ago I went from a 650burg to a 150 liberty
I enjoy riding the 150 more than the 650, the extra power is a distraction for the most part

A whole 250km! Haha. I fifured that was a lot for break in season 😂. Guess not.

Alberta as well. Under the TSA, a two wheeled motorized unit with a displacement above 50cc requires a class 6 motorcycle license.

Lol

I think a lot of what a person wants and needs in any mode of transportation is where they live and what exactly they want/need that transportation for.
Where I live in central Illinois a 49/50 cc scooter will get me around our small town but now that Walmart has moved out of town, it's not very safe as cars will crowd badly, the same for riding such a slow/small scooter to the plant for work. But if I was living down in St. Louis, or many cities where I was running on city streets with the restricted speeds those usually have, it would be great transportation and modding it might be right up my alley. On the same line as owning an electric scooter, not here, just would not work out well, not a good investment for me, but if I lived in a city, yes, just the ride to own, and even better if I could support 2 rides, 1 for popping around the city streets and 1 for those longer rides.

I totally buy this scenario but there are circumstances where a modded 50 is really a nice solution. Over crowded tourist destinations come to mind. I live in one and I am faster than any rubber necking tourist in their rental car looking at their phone app instead of the road. When your on the fastest thing in the city there is no need to upgrade.

Hey, you forgot this guy:



https://www.engadget.com/2006-08-17-ron-patrick-s-jet-powered-honda-scooter.html

Not too many of us living on islands like that though...

More importantly, being faster than traffic isn't what makes you safe.
Being able to quickly get AWAY from trouble is what makes you safe.

A larger displacement scoot has more potential options for avoiding danger, because it can quickly accelerate away to safe places that a 50cc can't.

Quick addendum...

1) Being able to get away from trouble quickly is what makes you safe.
Being able to adequately brake and control your vehicle is what keeps you safe.

2) Thinking back on the 7,000 km I did on a 50cc two stroke, and living in a very hilly area, I should have added this to my previous diagram

Literally cutting the number of possible directions you can go to avoid trouble down by half or more if you run into dangerous situation while riding up an incline...

I'm less interested in speed. I have a handful of motorcycles. The appeal of faster than a 50 to me is primarily a matter of safety...

PS: Sorry for making this a 3-part series... I don't know how to attach images in different places in my post so this was the best I could do to make it easy to follow haha *shrug*

I hear this a lot. Are there real world situations where using brakes is less effective than the throttle?

This sounds like the kind of argument you make to your wife to justify buying a bigger bike

Going faster increases the danger
The ability to accelerate quickly will get you into far more trouble than it will get you out of

The stuff that will kill or maim you happens in front of you, going faster makes it hurt more
Counter examples are rare & avoidable with other methods

I still remember the feeling 9 years ago when i upgraded from an lx150 to a gts300.

Intersections were safer with more power. Being about to pull out into traffic at a T intersection or go straight at a crossroads was easier and safer with the increased power.

At the same time i continue to refuse to get a motorbike as i know that much power would kill me.

Strong acceleration opens escape routes such as needed when car crowds your lane, and allows quick repositioning in traffic. It allows to to use gaps in front of you to escape. Planning escape routes when dangers arise is smart and includes progressive braking as an option.
Sure cars are in front of you, but they also hit you from behind. BTDT.

Overtaking when filtering is one example. I have been caught short a few times on 50cc bikes. The 300cc GTS is the master of filtering.

You've expressed my feelings almost precisely. Since my accident, I've had two predictable questions lobbed at me: "Ate you still going to ride?", and, if answered in the affirmative, "What bike are you getting?"

The answers, in-order, are "Yes", and "A new GTS." Besides the safety-related stuff about the bike's design that I've gone over ad nauseum, this machine has been pretty much the nexus if all I need in terms of personal transportation: fast enough to go literally anywhere I'd care to go; small enough to sling effortlessly through the gnarliest urban traffic; gorgeous-looking and deftly unassuming at once; and, finally, the most fun I've had on anything with wheels in my life, straight-up.

(There was a question, post-crash, about whether emotional trauma would keep me from riding anything on wheels again. I'll be addressing this in a thread I'm starting in a few minutes, while on the train from Gotham back to Asbury. Hint: I can't wait to travel by some other means than this again.)

It's not about one versus the other. It's about braking options + acceleration options = more potential for a safe outcome.

But to answer your question, of course! Tailgater, or just anyone following too close that an emergency brake could end up with you being rear ended into the car you're trying to avoid anyway.

Other instances, no ability to slow down and move left or right (because there are no lanes available), or because you're boxed in.

Likewise, there are many cases where acceleration is absolute NOT the best thing to do. I'm not an advocate for always accelerating away, nor am I opposed to it. I'm an advocate for affording yourself as many options for as safe an outcome as possible.

What it sounds like to you, or what what you say sounds like to me, are both irrelevant unless either one of us are motorcycle safety instructors. I know I'm not. Are you?

If not, why not ask your local MSF instructors what they have to say? I've talked to 4 about this from two different schools here. All are in agreement. It's better to have more options than not. Yes, sometimes! But that doesn't mean more speed = more danger. Sometimes more speed = more distance from the danger more quickly. It all depends.

Personally, if my health and safety is at risk, I'd rather have the options available to me, than less. You realize this is entirely subjective?

Moreover, if speed, or a vehicle taking off too quickly for you to handle, is something you are concerned with, there are a lot of amazing rider training programs out there, and track days you can do, to improve your skills.

Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make. Trust me, I'm self-employed in the motorcycle industry lol.

Agreed. I made the move from a 50cc two stroke to a 250cc 14 years ago. I remember knowing from the HURT report that left turns were high risk for us, both us making left turns, and especially cars making left turns in front of us. Being able to accelerate to clear the intersection when necessary more quickly definitely made me safer because it meant less time spent in the "high risk zone".

It may have also made me less tense and therefore less accident prone, but I honestly can't remember that far back. Even a 150cc is plenty for anybody living in a non hilly city. 300 is a nice bonus though lol. I like the small frames because I have a few motorcycles, but if I only had one bike, I would go large frame Vespa. They can do A LOT.

Yep, that's exactly it. It's about the comfort of having as many possible escape options as possible. Whether it's because of an obstacle on the road, a driver about to hit you, or just because you can see the person behind you is texting-and-driving and you want to put some distance between you and that driver, without first getting closer to them.

That's some funny stuff
I especially enjoyed the bit about how a jack rabbit start at an intersection is safer?

While being able to accelerate quickly is an option, choosing it removes options, the faster you go the less options you have, the quicker it happens, the smaller the window for choosing various other options is

The more powerful the bike the more expensive the insurance, this is not an arbitrary decision

Adri,
How do you survive your reckless speed-crazed behavior?

Yea, accelerate into the intersection just as the other guy who was trying to beat the yellow light plows through on red.

Excuse the caps.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

If me on an 11 horsepower 150cc Vespa is too dangerous for them, they are going to shit themselves seeing me on my 120 horsepower liter bike.

At the end of the day...



If they know better then the safety instructors, then they know better then the safety instructors. Who am I tell them otherwise?

Lascia perdere.

Kevin T if you have an unrestricted coil on a 2v, you're good-50 or 80 kit.

Another mod or 2 I haven't seen mentioned-

1) Overgear driven pulley with appropriate belt. I wouldn't put it on a 50cc, even though I have. Bought the 80 kit and cam a day later...

2) primary gear set replacement. I would also put the MHR transmission cover and lighter rear axle.

These seem to be not nearly as explored topics. And I get why, but if you know your riding area and what you want to do, there are quite a few options.

Money, you can't take it with you when you go!