Modern Vespa

Hi ... I am planing a long trip and will like to do a lot off-road, I am new to this forum. i need accommodate a new vespa 300 ... suspension, brakes, tires, lights etc ... I need advice

Why did you pick the GTS 300, specifically?

While you can certainly go off-road on a Vespa, and Vespas have been ridden around the world, I would gently suggest that a modern Vespa is the wrong choice for "a lot" of off-road, at least for most people (i.e not batshit insane).

You could beef up the suspension somewhat, but there isn't much suspension travel, and the small wheels make rough terrain that much harder. The carrying capacity is limited, rear wheel changes in the field are a nightmare, and the bodywork will become trashed in very short order. The gas tank limits you to around 120 miles of range, and adding extra fuel capacity (while it can absolutely be done) adds to the weight and complexity of your setup, and subtracts additional carrying capacity.

And then there's the matter of the unit construction of the engine and swingarm, which makes the entire engine a large mass of unsprung weight.

For the record, I have dumped a brand new Vespa on a steep gravel switchback in remote Utah. With an auxiliary fuel tank. It wasn't fun.

So, why choose a Vespa for this particular task?

Do you mean off the road or on unsealed roads (which in my part of the world means gravel)?

Do you need a Toyota Land Cruiser or could you do it in a Toyota Corolla even if it ain't ideal? Answer that and we then know if you could do it on a Vespa

I do lots of gravel roads but it did take a lot of practice to be comfortable.

The manual says not to ride on off roads

real men don't read manuals

Roads?

I road this road a week ago - easy and beautiful

I rode through this a couple of months ago.
Note, I did have the sense too walk through it first to check the depth and to see how slippery the bottom was

this recent bit of road was too much for me
(the tilt is because this pic was taken from gopro footage while I was turning around)

My advice:
Put the scooter in the back of a Toyota Tundra, then equip the Tundra with every possible off road option.

Make it a TUNDRA TRD.

It was a weird feeling at the bottom of what ended up being 8 miles of offroading to park next to this guy.

Obviously you haven't read the memo. Do you really consider me a real man?

you get used to it

I am going invisible on you.

a little tip when doing a long stretch of downhill at slowish speeds (eg on gravel / unsealed):

instead of solely relying on your brakes, blip the throttle (fraction of a second at a small amount then back to zero) to pop up the rpm to 3000-ish so that the clutch engages making the engine act as a handy amount of extra braking reducing the load on you actual brakes. The clutch will stay engaged even with zero throttle if you're doing around 20kph

just like putting a car in to 1st gear

Have a look on YouTube for "Scooter Cannonball".

A lot of GTS 300's riding on gravel roads, and the modifications should give you some inspiration.

The Vespas tend to have smaller but chunkier tyres though, which isn't great for big pot holes, but is good for grip on smooth roads.

The Piaggio Liberty might be worth a look as it has much larger wheels, but a lot skinnier - so worse on smooth roads but should be better off the beaten path.

Also might be worth searching for some Honda Grom adventure videos as they have similar sized wheels to the Vespa.

Here's the photo of my one-month-old GTS after I dumped it on a gravel switchback on Cannoball 2008. The damp spot in the gravel is gas that leaked out of the auxiliary fuel tank, hidden inside that gym bag on the back rack.

I agree that a Piaggio Liberty 150cc is your better ride off-road.
Power is excellent and tires are wonderful along with decent stock suspension. The price is right at less than $5,000 brand new OTD Out the Door for a $3,100 retail price. Do the math. Try riding the Liberty 150cc off-road. Keep smiling and enjoy.
Aloha from Hilo Hawaii.
the pic is the recent MaunaLoa Volcano blowing up outside from my front door lighting up the sky like it is daytime

The manual didn't mention puddles. Oof, that legshield trim looks a bit sketchy. If ever there was a case for all-round crash bars...
Not that they'd have done much good...

Looks like many of the roads around our place in Breckenridge. When we were in driving around Queenstown NZ we kept being told that New Zealand roads weren't like any other roads. My response was that other than more 1 lane bridges thy were exactly like the roads where we lived. Both Breckenridge Colorado and Queenstown are mountain towns with ski resorts and tourists. Though Queenstown was big in comparison.

Thank you every one ... I have been riding sense 9 years old now I am 57 ... currently have BMW GS 1,200 adventure, two Harley a quad and a Yamaha BWS 125 cc ... I have travel a lot on motorcycle ... now I want to experience the twist and go ... vespa is what I want ... the trip will start in the US and I am planing to visit a friend in Chile to do some good fly fishing ... that is why I am asking you guys

That's an epic journey on any bike!

One other thing to consider: the GTS burns through rear tires pretty rapidly, especially during long rides. That, coupled with the difficulty of changing the rear wheel in the field, is especially challenging for a ride like you are describing.

If you are set on a Vespa, then I won't try to talk you out of it. But better to go into it knowing what kind of challenges you'll be facing.

Epic!! Go for it. Send pictures. Take tires.

There is a German guy Alexander Eischeid who rode his Vespa PX from Alaska to South America to bring a bottle of water from the Arctic to Antarctica:

(German with English subtitles).

The Trip is called "Vesparicana", There is more material, also a book, I once saw a live webcast with him, very impressive!

On his webpage is also a englisch part ("Menu" -> "Die Reise" -> "THE PROJECT" / "North America" / etc.) https://www.vesparicana.de

So your plan is to ride a PTW from the US to Southern Chile and return (about 18,000 miles)? And you wish to use a CVT? My suggestion is that you first assemble a list of possible CVT's and then compare their capabilities to your expectations. My initial reaction is that a modern Vespa is probably not the best choice for this assignment - but I suppose darned near anything is possible if you are determined. Having owned an MP3, a sidecar Ural, and a couple of off-road motorcycles in the past - other choices do come to my mind.

for epic journeys learn to change the tires yourself and to change the belt yourself. carry the spare belt

18,000 miles will take a lot of rubber, both in rear tires and drive belts. Heck, it might even use up an entire front tire!

lol yes. I was just trying to add the belt to the conversation as well as also making the point of learning the rear wheel removal not just carrying the tire

Both good points.