Modern Vespa

...you got me there

Pause. Rewind. Was the cut you a reference to this?

Either way, the thought of calling it "THE MOST DANGEROUS HIGHWAY in North America" never crossed my mind. Busiest and ex-largest was good enough. I'll leave Anjelah Johnson and the ice road truckers to fight it out. My money's on the trucker's though.

It was actually a reference to a very popular post (from quite some time back) on The Bloggess: But for all I know, she (The Bloggess) was referencing the movie. No idea.

I don't know what the lane splitting rules are in Toronto but for me, the busier and more jammed up, the better. It allows me to sneak right through the cracks. If things are flying along up there, I tend to stay on the streets.

The scariest road around here during rush hour is Angeles Forest Highway/Angeles Crest Highway, a two-lane road that winds over the mountains that people commute on in a crazed frenzy in the pre-dawn hours. No thanks, please.

nope

Same same.

Anyway if anyone is interested my partner and I last month rode down from Oxford to Barcelona via Marseilles on the French South Coast and back up to Santander in Northern Spain for the Ferry and then Plymouth up to Oxford. Total miles was 2300 and I reckon at least 1800 of those miles were on multi lane roads.

In France, Spain and the quieter stretches of UK's motorways we were overtaken by the vast majority of cars whilst we overtook all freight lorries and the vast majority of Recreational vehicles/Camper vans

In the UK we have congested Motorways/Freeways and it was very easy to filter
between the cars on such a light two wheeled bike, much easier than it is even one up on my Triumph Tiger.

I generally kept the GTS300 speed at an indicated 70mph/110kph with the occasional burst when I needed a quick overtake.

To sum up I always felt safe as I've been riding 2 up on Motorways on Vespa Scooters since I was a teenager but hell did it get boring!

ok I have had enough. ANYTIME you add more weight you need to adjust your suspension and tires pressure to accommodate the added weight.
this does not matter on if its a scooter, big harley, sport bike, what ever. Also riding 2 up is very much an experience thing and plopping an unknown passenger on the back can lead to serious handling and safety issues. Did you educate the passenger in where to hold on? how to not wiggle around and rubber neck? how not to counter lean away from you? how to communicate to you while in motion and not just to say how pretty the skyline is.

now you throw in freeway riding on top of that on a smaller vehicle and not have the reserve power to get out of your own way, your asking for trouble.

Agreed, 100%. But anyone who has been riding more that a short while knows this, that's why this topic is a total waste of space and time. And I was foolish enough to reply, but you summed it up perfectly.

Wait, did you actually read the first post of this thread before replying? lol

I get the impression you think adding her made things worse... so to repeat what I already said in the very first post of this thread:

adding her as a passenger IMPROVED stability on the highway.

And yes, she does know what she's doing on the back seat. She does several thousand miles per year on the back seat, including our trip to Quebec City and back last year (1.2k miles), around Italy this year (she was with me for two weeks of it), and every day routine stuff we take the bike not the truck.

Should probably also mention she grew up riding a dirt bike on her family's farm as a kid, used to ride her own bike, and watches motorcycle racing on Sundays religiously.

So, to repeat, adding the passenger improved the stability at highway speeds, which is what has me perplexed and wondering, was it the added weight, was it the experienced passenger herself, or was it all in my head? Hence, asking the question to other riders if they've experienced the same thing two up on the highways on their Vespas.

In a frivolous spirit, I've offered a number of times to have Trixie jump on the back of my GTS300 and zip around with me, but she continuously, and predictably, recoils in horror and disgust at the mere thought.

She is simply 'not among us' in our enthusiasm for our little Italian wonder bikes.

Her loss....obviously.

She is an experienced motorcyclist, with about twenty machines under her belt, going way back to the late 70's, with her current mount being a Triumph 1200 Speedmaster.

As I said, her loss.

Just gotta keep shooting your shot and fighting the good fight
Hopefully one day you catch her in a moment of madness, or weakness, and she accepts!

I would like to see some sort of analysis on how adding a passenger to the back of a scooter helps stability. Most belt driven scooters have a weight distribution of something strange like...what?...40/60, or worse, front to rear as opposed to a motorcycle's 48/52? All the weight is below and behind the rider. Adding more weight to the back should make a scooter wheelie prone I would think.

That's happened before....and suddenly we were married.

Poor girl.

I just go by 'the seat of my pants' in these situations, if it feels stable, it probably is, if not, well, it feels, what...'icky'?

It's like countersteer, don't over think it and it comes naturally and is done unconsciously. The confusion when understanding countersteer, especially to new riders, often arises with the technical explanation of the dynamics involved.

My KLR650 was a hoot with a passenger on the back, it would softly loft it's front wheel when moderately accelerating from a stop light with little effort. Of course, it would certainly flip entirely over backwards if one was carelessly enthusiastic on the throttle with a passenger on board.

JBlacklund,

When I first got back into two wheeling in 2004 with a small scooter, my blushing bride would ride two up as we toured around surrounding neighborhoods looking over other houses and parks.

Then, when I started group riding longer distances she bailed out. It was like,
"go play with your friends" see you when you get home. I really quit golfing, hunting, and everything. Scooter group riding is my only passion hobby.

Bob Copeland

I can say that I never ride two-up anymore, not an ironclad policy, just that our respective current bikes aren't particularly suitable for such things. There was a time, however, when there was someone on pillion at least half the time I rode, mostly when I lived back in St. Paul/Minneapolis in the 70's and 80's.

I guess I should mention the 2018 Honda Goldwing my wife bought that year, just so she could have a fine-ass place to sit when we did ride two up. We sold it after a couple seasons because after the honeymoon wore thin, we really didn't ride it enough to justify the expense and bother of a bike like that.

My SH has a wobble between 70-75 MPH. If I lean forward(MC tank slapper solution) it gets worse, I have to lean back as far as my arms allow to smooth out the ride.

SWAMBO does not ride, so the only pillion I have riding along with me is firmly wrapped around my waist.

I do ride on freeways. We drive on the LEFT side. I am always in the slow lane with the heavy horse and trailer rigs travelling at 80km/h. I ride at around 100km/h so I have plenty of time to find a gap in the second lane, merge into it and so pass easily and safely.

In my more frenetic riding days, I could be found on the right, wrestling for position with the speed-freaks in their cages. That adrenalin rush is no longer appealing and I am quite content sharing lanes with other slowcoaches and truckers, thank you.

This Grip n Ride belt improves the passenger
It's easier for the pylon to feel what I'm doing than when using the grab handles on the bike, providing more direct feedback of the pilots body position
The passenger can also express their opinion about how I'm driving or warn of hazards
This belt has four handles so the passenger can switch it up

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ITIH82M

Hey Coddy, that's one helluva trip! 110 kph/70 mph is my happy place on the Vespa too. Like you said, you still hav a little power left to accelerate should you need to.

I also find at that speed the bike is still totally stable. Once I get to 120 km/hr (75 mph) it feels less planted.

Any difference in feeling for you at those speeds with versus without your partner on the back?

I don't know about wheelie prone, but, I definitely wasn't expecting it to feel better, because of the weight distribution, like you mentioned.

Unless she's actively, consciously or not, doing something back there. I need to send out a survey to everyone with wives and partners that two-up with them.

Fub,

I also usually ride in the slower lane and let the cars cruise by fast. It is tough on two wheels. They really can not see us - expecting a large car.

Bob Copeland

As long as my passenger doesn't wriggle their arse around on the seat I find
the ride more stable from wind when riding two up, I don't recall the stability
decreasing noticeably when ramping the speed up to 75mph.

This ^^^

Maybe you should sit on the back and let her ride the Vespa.

Nope, for several reasons, the main one being that she doesn't have much interest in piloting any scooter, including my Vespa even though she once owned a 650 Burgman.

She's also kind of 'stuck in her ways' and simply doesn't appreciate some of the finer, more subtle things in life....such as a Vespa.

I, on the other hand, enjoy an eclectic variety of things, especially those of the motorcycle kind large and small, and even though I also own a ridiculously excessive Triumph Rocket 3R, I have a lot of room left over in my mind and heart for my GTS300.

C'mon, don't they make a cute couple?

This is the confirmation I was hoping for! Thank you both. On the GS I didn't notice it much. On the Vespa the difference is substantial.

Good on ya. Variety is the spice of life. Swiss Army knives are great, but it's nice having the right tool for every job.

If you are dressed the color of the street black/grey & are riding a black bike
No one can see you
Take off the reflectors because they're not cool
No one can see you
Ride in the part of the lane where you can't see the drivers eyes
They can't see you
Ride on the right side of the right lane, or left side of the left lane, cars will lane split you

Curious, did you deliberately leave our 200's? Not a challenge, just curious as I ride my GT200 on the highway often. Upwards of 100kmh

Hmm... Good question.

Deliberately? Consciously, no. Subconsciously, maybe?

I don't have any experience on the GT at those speeds, and at this stage they're so rare around me that they didn't cross my mind when I wrote that... but I could speak with confidence on the GTS so I was just sticking to what I'm familiar with.