Modern Vespa

My new bike seems to drive superbly. So far, I have done short trips on city streets (less than 45mph) plus two speed tests (up to 60+ and back). All seems well and I will be getting all the scheduled services done.

But I have questions someone might want to comment on.

Can the modern Vespa do many longer, several hundred mile, trips without undue stress?

What cruising speed would be recommended? It will hold an honest 60, 55 feels unstressed, and 50 is nonchalant. I am seldom in a hurry but hate to impede traffic.

I assume the weakest link is the CVT and, if failure is probable (hope not), a roadside belt swap would need to be carefully planned and all tools carried.

I frequently do 400-500km per day for a few days in a row on my HPE. Usually riding between 70-100kmph as I like windy roads. when doing long stretches at 110-115 for an hour or two the bike does get a little hotter than typical, rises from the normal 85-86C to 88-89C which is still fine.

Basically the GTS is fine for touring at the speeds you'd want (assuming no autobahns ).

his model is listed as a primavera, not an HPE. so your advice, while important and cromulent for an HPE has not much bearing regarding his question for the primavera.

I'm firmly in the "most scoots can do almost any sort of trip you could want" camp. The real questions are whether you should, whether it's a reasonable idea, and whether or not you actually care about the first two answers.

I've ridden my Liberty as far as 150 miles one way, pretty much wound out the entire time. People say "Oh, that's bad on a air cooled motor...." and other nonsense but it didn't hurt anything. I don't do it everyday but if a 100+ miles ride pops up I'm going on my Liberty. Ride it and enjoy it. I've also ridden a Buddy 125 some crazy miles (200+ miles round trip) before. Same thing, wound out most of the way.

I just check the oil level and tire pressure before doing a longer ride.

yes, I was aware. just volunteering the info anyway

I wouldn't stress worrying over engine stress! - The Primavera should be able to cover long, sustained periods of travel without any adverse wear on your engine and the CVT belt will be fine if changed at the recommended service interval.

Just remember not to go WOT for long periods, adjusting the throttle speed regularly will suck extra oil up around the piston, rings and cylinder cooling the engine and reducing wear. And as sc00ter mentions, check your oil level and tyre pressures before any long ride.

It is very capable of long rides and sustained speeds. Vespa 150's, I believe Sprints, have been ridden in the Scooter Cannonball and had little issues. I think a Sprint 150 finished in the top 10 in the 2021 cannonball.

IIRC Lostboater rode his LX150 from Florida to CA at least once.

I doubt you'd outdo that.

MV Word of the Day brought to by Greasy's Lexicon Emporium = cromulent.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cromulent
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_the_Iconoclast

Just binge-watched "Patriot". Every time he was asked how he was he replied "Pretty good". He should have said "cromulent". Next, I'm going to learn how to pronounce it and amaze my college-degreed granddaughter. Apreciate all of you.

A bit off-topic but I can't figure this forum out. I posted the start of this thread and I can see all the replies. (Thanks!) I replied to several of these but I cannot see my own text (gained by using the quote link). I cannot find a control that allows me to see my own, third-level, thread comments. Anyone know how?

i just wrote under the quote in the same box and hit submit.

Drive belt is good for about 6000 miles. According to the manual.

So no roadside drama until then.

Speed is not an issue just don't continually hold the throttle on the stop.

only one level of replies back is quoted.

so, you hit quote and you get the "post a reply" screen with the box. which is where I'm currently.

go to the end where [/quote] is and start typing after that.

hope that helps

to see your reply, click "preview" and you can see what it looks like and edit.

Assuming the maintenance schedule has been followed on things like belts and oil changes, the limiting component in any well-engineered scooter regardless of displacement is not any part of the scooter.

It is your butt, followed closely in no particular order by your back, your attention span, and in many climates your tolerance for sustained heat or cold.

A Primavera, kept in good condition, won't have any problem on any trip of any distance.

I, personally, would choose a 300 for long rides, but the 150cc scooters are fine as long as sustained speeds higher than 65 are not needed.

Long hill climbs can be an issue too, but again, if you are fine with the speeds, the scooter is most capable.

Bill

Thank you everyone for the information and encouragement.

My experience with scooters and with small/medium sized motorcycles is that you can mostly do what you want with any bike in decent condition as long as you have the patience for its capabilities. When I was in college in Boston, I rode a Honda CB160 from Boston to Portland, OR. It worked hard getting over the Rockies but it did the job. These days I take a GTS on longer rides, and smaller air cooled scooters on around town and shorter rural rides. I have a GTS because I like it, and enjoy its capabilities.

Eric from Kraken's Garage and Adventures did half of the United States on a modern Vespa 150. He flew to the dealer, bought it sight unseen, rode it back home. And he's well over 6 feet tall.

Go on ADV rider forum, type in Vespa, you'll find lots of people taking these things all over the place.

If you dream of touring the USA on a 150cc modern Vespa, this should be mandatory reading on a rainy day: https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/austin-to-the-old-dominion-on-a-155cc-scooter.1216197/

Rider goes 1,500 miles on his Vespa 946 (150cc) in a handful of days from Austin TX to Spotsylvania VA.

Note: It's a long read, but we really enjoyed it. The missus and I stayed up late to finish reading it all. Eric's an awesome guy, a real rider's rider, and a great person.

I am going to read it with my coffee right away. Thank you!

I wouldn't go pass 60 mph if you plan to ride hundred of miles. The Primavera is capable of doing a bit more than that but not much. If you don't have a GPS yet I highly recommend you getting one to see the true capabilities of the primavera. There is an Arizona scooter club in phoenix that they get together and they do big trips(250-300 miles in a day but most of the scooters are 250cc and up and most of the times are on secondary roads.

I know that this answer does not really get to the OP's original question of how fast can your ride a Primavera for a long time…

I do not ride my Primavera on the freeway or interstate. While it will run comfortably at 55 mph it feels too small, too quiet, and too slow for the highway. Even at 60+ with WOT, it is no competition for 80 mph semis.

That said, I do ride on semi rural secondary roads where 55 mph is appropriate. My Primavera is perfect for just this type of riding. Of course as you can imagine, on these types of roads you just don't "maintain" any speed but instead react to the twists and turns and periodic town areas. Throttle up and throttle down.

The OP can confidently go anywhere and as far as he wants on his Primavera. Just take the side roads. The scenery is better. And remember, the fun part of riding is getting there.

Chris from CLE

Yes - secondary roads where the speed limit does not exceed the speed at which the Primavera will be used (and that excludes freeways which are 65mph minimum here in AZ). My concern is because CVT's differ from transmissions and final drives used by the motorbikes I have experience with. I worried that long periods of near-top-speed (say, 55) might compromise reliability and because the belt, rollers, and other periodically replaced components are buried inside the case and require special tools. The reassurances I receive here tell me the CVT will not fail between scheduled services due to my taking long trips and prolonged higher speeds.

I really enjoyed reading his adventure. So interesting to even imagine. I know absolutely nothing about that kind of riding but it seems to me he took many risks with the rain, cold and fatigue. If I say any more, I'll spoil the ending.

I believe at the time he had three decades of riding under his belt.

I think, like me, Eric started riding as a teenager and normally rides 600+ lb Harley-Davidsons. Getting caught in bad weather on a Vespa that weighs half as much as your main girl... I won't call it a delight, but you if you're used to bad weather on a heavier, more powerful machine, you're happy to be on the scoot instead.

People ride across the country on bicycles, antique motorcycles, early Honda Rebels and Harley Davidsons.

What determines if it can be done depends on the rider. Ride within the limits of the machine and you can go around the World. See the thread about a young lady riding 44,000 km on a Vespa? It wasn't on groomed American roads either.

A personal story. In 1976 I rode to Laconia, NH on my 500 Kawasaki two stroke three cylinder. It was a noted snarling, uncomfortable beast of a bike. Leaving Long Island I stopped for gas with my friends when one of the pump attendants came up to me. "Where are you going", he asked. "New Hampshire," I replied. "On this??", he replied, "Why?" I said, "Because it's what I have."

I repeated that thousand mile weekend four times on that bike loving every minute. You have a 150cc scooter you love? You'll figure it out.