Modern Vespa

Hello everyone brand new Vespa enthusiasts (future owner of a Vespa 150cc picnic) I'm taking the motorcycle test on Friday (hopefully everything goes well!)

But I'm here to ask the experts.

My partner is getting a dual sport bike and I was thinking if I could also take my future Vespa off road (nothing crazy, mostly plain road just some grass and gravel) and if so what types of tires do you guys recommend? I was told to get a Honda Trail 125 (which is really nice but I've been wanting a Vespa for a while now)

Let me know your thoughts
Thanks in advance

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He seems to do a little light off road on what appears to be regular street tires. I'm sure he's on here and will chime in when Australia wakes up.

I did very mild off-roading with my Sprint, just with the standard tires.

Forest paths, grass(sy) paths, roads with true, harsh gravel and fire roads with quite smooth surface.

Forest paths and fire roads were the easiest. Not much ground clearance though, just had to be carefull with the surface (roots, larger 'surface' rocks etc.).

Grass I found more diffult. Especially when it was wet it is really slippery. Mud even more so.

Harsh gravel, with loose, big chunk of stones was otherwise doable, but at least my Sprint 'rattled' and vibrated quite a lot, comfortable it was not.


All in all, I'd probably consider trying it out with standard tires and modest speeds first. Avoid mud and other wet stuff and accept that neither tires nor the suspension is made for harsh gravel.

Have fun!

P.S In the end I got bitten by the off-road bug so bad that I swapped my Sprint to a Suzuki VanVan (200cc)...now that bike was just hilarious in the woods, then again not so much on the road

IMO tires are the least of the consideration. If you are talking about true off road, trail riding, deep mud or gravel a vespa is never going to be much fun regardless of tire choice.

However, if you just stick to dirt roads or grassy areas as you indicated regular street tires should suffice especially if most of your riding will be on paved roads. Knobby scooter tires tend to be loud on pavement and are not optimal for performance.

for unsealed but properly maintained - typically this means fine gravel & hardpack - then normal tires are fine. for what I call offroad (bit of mud etc) then normal tires are a pain so something more chunky would be nicer (Kenda big block K784 are a extreme example of this) but wouldn't recommend for lots of onroad. I stick with my Pirelli Diablo because although I do regularly lots of unsealed it's when I'm on sealed roads pushing really hard that I need maximum grip.

and suspension as RRider mentions ... the real problem is the 6.5cm of travel. both stock and aftermarket have the same travel. the rubber stopper at the end of the stock is thicker and softer so not as harsh when you bottom out when hitting a pothole too quick. but with aftermarket and their firmer rubber stopper, if you set the compression a bit firmer than stock then you're less likely to bottom out but is bouncier - it's a trade off. also using the preload on the aftermarket is handy for getting a better balance of extension/compression.

but more important than tires is practice in particular reading the road surface

there's some slippery mud halfway through this clip of a ride

Kenda 761, Heidenau K58 or K66 are three of the most commonly available 90/10 tires in the US that come in Vespa sizes. I think the Kendas are more of an 80/20, which will give better off road performance.

https://www.heidenautires.com/tires/scooter/

K66, K58

Thank you so much for y'all's responses! (I thought I could leave comments on your responses like in Reddit lol)

I feel confident if I get either of them I'll be happy with the bike.

I love the aesthetic of both bikes (both are completely opposite vibes) but man I've been wanting a Vespa for a long time now. I've have a few people tell me to just get both since they're are on the cheaper side.

I'll do a test drive for both end of next week so I'll keep y'all updated.

Again, thank you so much for all the information. I really appreciate it!