Modern Vespa

Now I am just wondering about the speed on the PX vespa 125 is it wise to go faster than 55 mph on these Scooter's l have done 50 and boy you are going some feels like you are good much faster than that the balance is a bit worrying at them speeds more to the point is it safe 😂 l much prefer 45 ish or even just,,,40 feels better and safer to Go just a thought !! Best foot forward soulboy74 🇬🇧

Hey Soulboy,

Where I live 60 mph is the flow of traffic, so it is imperative that my scooters all go at least 60 mph sustained.

Good shocks, balancing the hubs and tires, and having a CHT gauge to keep an eye on the temperature are all musts for me.

For example, there is a downhill stretch close to my house. I wasn't comfortable letting my hands off the bars until I balanced the hub and tire, then it was no problem.

And shocks. I have stock shocks on the Stella, and they are crap compared to the $120 shock bundle I have on the P200 from ScooterMercato. So I don't ride the Stella as fast because it doesn't feel as safe.

Bottom line, these machines are capable of fast speeds, they just need to be set up properly to do so.

It depends. It's a combination of riding skill, suspension quality, and road conditions.

When I first got my Stella, it was fairly terrifying at 52 MPH (its top speed stock). The stock suspension was set up for slower (30-40), rougher roads. It was perfect for riding around downtown Chicago like that. Eventually, I got more comfortable with it and would ride it WOT on Lakeshore Drive, but even then, when someone blew past me doing 80, the wind buffeting was pretty scary.

By way of comparison, I had my Smallie up to 86 MPH on GPS last weekend before I lost my nerve. It has top-quality suspension components (performance shocks, tubeless speed-rated tires, urethane motor mounts), I routinely ride at 65-70, and it was a recently resurfaced stretch of straight highway that happened to have almost no other cars on it at the time.

Now that I've done it, I'll never do it again. Eventually, I'll put a short 4th in it, because I'd rather move the power a few MPH lower and have it available in a way I can actually use for more than proving a point.

Need everything frame wise upgraded. Suspension, brakes, wheels, tyres, engine mounts etc. After that the PX is less scary.
A properly set up MHR with everything, will do around 90mph. Very exciting indeed.

It's the suspension on the bike, but for me, it was also skill level and getting used to the difference in handling characteristics of a scooter as it reaches speeds higher than 50mph. That's when I feel the wind resistance come in and the bike feels more squirrelly.

I hadn't ridden a Vespa for 30 years, and any crack in the pavement or gust of wind would scare me a little. I don't remember that from 30 years ago. As my skill level comes back, it's feeling normal again.

My Stella will also get better shocks and balanced wheels this spring.

My PX125 2016 70th anniversary edition does 55 mph and is completely stock apart from a Sip 2 racing exhaust as it was only doing 40 mph before I fitted it. I'm also planning on buying a new Zeus CDI and upgrading the suspension front and back for the summer. I only paid £500 for the scooter with just 58kms on the clock. The guy who sold it to me had a seizure 3rd time out on it and he's been hanging on to see if he could get his licence back but there was no way so I had a modern barn find. I took it for the MOT the next day and it passed with no advisories I even have the matching helmet and leather bag for the rear carrier and they are changing hands for £5000 on ebay at the moment. But I need to upgrade the suspension first before I get a new unrestricted CDI. Thanks for looking.

Like a lean jetting seizure or the neurological event type?

WOW what a find new vespa PX for a steal !! And thanks for the heads up with the upgrades needed for faster riding will look into it as yes I think it will need better stability around ! Got a sip 2 ready to go on as l am upgrading slowly to learn how each one does it job! If l can get 55 out of it with the sip 2 l will be pleased and stop there for a while love you find ! Mine the 2015 model and I thought I did well at 1800 with only 1720 km done so many miles to go 🤞 peace and love soulboy74 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Get some decent tyres, I run michellin S1s, These are speed rated to 62mph. If youre really worried, investigate the tubeless tyre setup, dont just blow out with puncture.

Get your tyre pressures correct, makes a lot of difference.

As your scoot is relatively young, i very much doubt you need steering bearings.
When i got my scoot that is 20 years old it would pull to the left and tramline on the roads ground out by heavy goods vehicles which is bloody hairy cause you sort of cant steer out of it. However, you might want to get somebody to grease up your bearings.

Dont have any things like decorative wheel caps on the wheels, unless they are the nice flat type T5 ones, anything else will create crazy wheel balance issues and make riding at speed a bit unsettling.

Here some info about scooter tyres and speed ratings
http://vespalabs.internetscooter.com/wiki/vespa-101/dynamics/tyres

60mph speedometer reading and 60 mph real GPS is a big difference, my PX 150 reads close to 10mph over and my old original P200E reads 11 mph under.

I ride with GPS whenever I can and for me anything above 60mph GPS is nuts. I had a rear tire blow out with a passenger at only 35mph on a PK75XL decades ago and even up to this day I just can't believe that I did not hit the floor. I completely lost it, the tire lost pressure immediately.

A lot of good tips have been said so far, tire pressure is critical, when the tires are not well aired up the scooter feels like is floating. When they are over inflated they are hard and they bounce on pot holes. A good set of tires are also important. I switched to SIP one piece lighter aluminum wheels and I feel much better riding around.

In summary, too many factors but to me going over 60 mph GPS is scary on 10" wheels but the 50-55 is a sweet spot.

I took my px out today for 2nd time this year, it's only a 177 but has a devil in it and it pulls to genuine 60mph really quickly , and yes having not driven since last October it felt too fast. I had a puncture with two pillion being daughter who was 13 and although we didn't come off I haven't taken any pillion since as it did shake me up, not so much for danger to me but to the pillion passenger .

Installing (fresh) quality tires are probably the biggest factor to having a safe vehicle. You can install brand new cheap Shinko whitewall tires, but it's going to sting after you scoop yourself up off the pavement. I myself feel comfortable at pretty much any speed on 10". The stakes get a bit higher at around 80~90mph...which is about the same time i slip into my 1 piece leather track suit. But at 65~70mph, i'd be the idiot in a tank top and shorts (i don't make a habit of doing that though)...which isn't too often in Oregon because it's usually cold and rainy.

I was thinking of this thread recently as I was checking the speedo on my Stella with GPS.

Turns out 60 indicated is 52 mph on the GPS. Not really surprising. The first time I did this was a little scary, but feels comfortable now. I imagine that 55-60 would be fairly comfortable with better shocks. I am still running the stock Stella shocks.

What would be a good choice for shocks for this speed range without getting into the spendy high performance stuff?

Ive done 100 on my old Lambretta GP230. As long as youhave good tires and suspension its good.

The o.e. Stella shocks are 3rd world garbage. You can spend anything you want on shocks but the Carbone adjustables are very good value for the money. Mercato sells them as "performance adjustable shocks." Not sure why Mercato does not mention the Carbone brand. If you get those, resist the urge to crank up the preload. Unless you are quite heavy or ride two up, you don't need it. SIP has a tutorial on this that is worth watching.

In terms of stability, in my experience, it is more a question of aerodynamics than suspension. There isn't any difference between 50 mph and 60 mph. At much above 60 mph, however, air starts to get under the floorboards and lifts the front end, causing things to feel a lttle squirrely. Your setup should have no difficulty hitting 65 mph +. The more you do it, the more comfortable with it you get.

Just to add to what you said, cranking the spring preload will have zero affect on the spring rate (in other words stiffness of the spring). Cranking down the spring down will only affect static ride height and the rider sag (ride height with person sitting on the moto) of the vehicle. Which means that whether the spring is compressed 1" or 12", it will stay the exact same spring rate. The same holds true for a variable rate spring. The only way to change the "stiffness" of a shock is to change out the coil spring. To add to that, the fancy shocks that have built in compression and rebound adjusters affect the rate that the shock piston compresses and rebounds. Then there's also the internal valving which is another variable. So that makes it a total of four different entities (spring rate, compression, rebound, valving) with a shock that hopefully should work all harmonious together. How do i know all of this?...for the amount of $$$$ that i've spent over the years on motorcycle suspension i probably could have bought meself a GP, TV, or SX.

This info might be important to someone interested in selecting a particular shock based on body weight and luggage.

Thanks! My Stella has the Indian escort shocks. They are at the very least old. The Mercato shocks look reasonably priced enough that they would be worth a try. I also have a set of tubeless rims that are knockoffs of the SIP rims…or they may be from the same manufacturer. I would use longer studs to put them on. I also cut the heads off the tops of the lug nuts so I don't have to shorten the studs. I have heard they can be unsafe, but not sure why if they are well secured. Whenever I have a torque wrench out, I do a quick going over of the fasteners.

I agree with you about the aerodynamics. It can be an absolutely calm day, but at a certain speed, there are suddenly wind gusts and buffeting. The trick seems to be not to fight it or over-correct. I agree that higher speeds become comfortable with practice. Just got my VW bus out for the season and the first drive always involves acclimating to getting blown all over the road. Just have to relax and let it wander a bit within reason.

Spermy (1980 P200) had what were probably the original shocks when I got it and it was a Really Rough Ride. I replaced them with Carbone shocks from ScootrtMercado and S83 Michelins and now I feel comfortable riding in the low 60s. Well, sort of comfortable… anything over 50 mph still scares me (my riding style has been described as "Old Man Wimpy") but it's good to know that I can run faster if necessary

I hear ya. When I was 19, I wasn't scared at all. After 30 years of no riding, a clapped out vbb was enough to make my knees knock a little. It's not so much skill or reflexes, but fear of being maimed or orphaning my children. Seizing my scooter at speed on my first long ride didn't help either. The scared shitless part didn't hit me until it was over, but that is probably my greatest fear when venturing into higher rpm's…

I think the situation will improve with practice and getting the jetting and engine set up so that hard seizing is a lot less likely.

I hit 57 gps on the Stella yesterday and it felt pretty comfortable. I think you have to build up to it, both in terms of comfort with riding at speed and skill level. Skill is more important in being able to navigate turns at speed. Any fool can ride fast in straight lines. A lot of newly minted Harley riders make the mistake of driving their shiny new hogs right off the road on the first hard turn. It's exactly what I did on my very first long scooter ride back in the 80's.

60 is the speed of traffic flow on the state highways here, though the posted speed limit is 50. It's impossible to avoid spending at least some time on them if you want to get anywhere. At the same time higher speeds feel a lot more comfortable on these roads.

I really enjoy the back roads which are hilly, winding and in rough shape. I don't really worry about speed as much because I'm looking out for potholes and I'm quicker through turns than most cars.

60mph on 10" sure does sound rather daunting... luckily i only have 8"

I'm looking forward to seeing how 8" wheels feel. I'm finding that once terrifying speeds are starting to feel comfortable, especially on a decently paved road, but I've only hit 60 mph so far.

My biggest speed limitation on my PX is not really caused by the scooter itself at speed, but the wind speed, especially side winds.

With the bike being so light and equipped with such tiny wheels, it becomes a challenge to stay in your lane during windy conditions. And if an 18-wheeler truck passes you while you are going 60 mph, it is definitely a sphincter-tightening experience, to put it mildly!

Riding a 500-lbs plus motorcycle is certainly way easier to manage. I have had them, and there is no comparison.
Of course, suspension and tires properly working and serviced is a must, no matter what performance your scooter is capable to achieve, but I routinely find that a calm day with no heavy traffic makes my Vespa stable enough at 60 mph (indicated), and rock-steady at 50-55 mph.

One other thing, that may be a very controversial subject among many of us: my Vespa is equipped with a windscreen that reaches my eye level. The screen makes the scooter more stable in windy conditions, and actually allows me to get about 5 mph extra in top speed. A properly designed and installed windscreen makes the air flow over your helmet and deflected to the sides, instead of hitting you in the chest, which is not streamlined, aerodynamically. So the motor works less, and it is easier to STAY at speed. Fuel consumption tends to slightly improve, as well.

At least: Good sticky tyres (i use Heide K75's), adjustable suspension, nice spring, well setup brakes all are required...nah... essential... then go out and have fun! 60+mph on 8" is damn exhilarating & agile, you will never go back to 10".

Think about doing the ton (100mph) in a 60's Mini, vs a modern Mini... if you have done both you will understand which one will make you wake up & hit the throttle!