Modern Vespa

Just wondering if anyone has any insight to how windy it has to be to have a parked vespa on the center stand blow over, with a medium OEM windshield. So far I've had it parked with what weather network says "40 km/h with 60 km/h wind gusts" and so far nothing…

Scooters and motorcycles with windscreens fall down ALL the time in inclement weather in lower Manhattan a block or two away from New York Harbor, with wind gusts above 25mph/40kph. At least that's when it's a concern for me!

It depends on a lot of things - the direction of the wind, the composition of the surface the scooter is parked on, and diffusing items as small as other vehicles and trees around the bike and as large as buildings. A cover, basically a sail for motorcycles, makes the risk MUCH higher.

Tornados will knock them over, but I don't think a lot of research has been done that addresses your specific inquiry. If you have access to a wind tunnel, you could put your Vespa in, facing the fans, then record the windspeed when it falls over. Repeat this on both sides and facing away from the fans, then start a thread entitled, "Is my Vespa totaled?"

My GTS never got outright blown over and I had...not the OEM medium, the Faco wide medium that covers the grips a little. That said, I was living in the Appalachian mountains where the wind shifts direction every 10 minutes & I always do the "shake test" when I park. I don't have experience with flatlands winds, so terrain depending....

Shake test: before walking away, put your hand on your saddle, press down a little, and give it a good shake. If you're not confident about the resulting stability, reassess & adjust your parking angle/slant. Rinse, repeat.

I very rarely use a cover because of the wind sail factor. The rare times I use it is for hiding and I try to park where there's a wind break in the landscape or architecture.

My Liberty has been parked at work thru some hella windy storms and has yet to get blown over. Now we had a tornado pass over the building once and and 2 co-workers were hoping their motorcycles would get destroyed and I had just taken full coverage off my old, tatty Helix. After the tornado passes over us and destroys a warehouse 3 blocks over, we all go outside. The 2 motorcycles were still sitting upright, my Helix got flipped OVER! I just cut the broken screen down with a Zawsaw and bent the handlebar back.

And yes, tornados are LOUD and scary as they pass over you! Water came in thru the roof from every seam and we had to remove all the flood water before resuming work.

We can get winds well over 40mph here during the monsoon, especially ahead of a storm, but my GTS has never fallen over, in the garage.

One of the things I discovered over the years of riding Melody, with a Euro-spec flyscreen,
was how the screen made the bike a bit more stable in windy conditions while riding, including crosswinds. (Also picked up a few extra top-end MPH This is why I put the same screen on Thelonica. This would also help answer a question of mine: sidestand with the wind, or against it?

Very.