Modern Vespa

i searched the net and couldn't find any info on how to drive a clutch vespa. i know how to drive a clutch car and motorcycle but wondered what was different. is it the same toe up and down? is there a neutral? any tips out there? thx!

http://www.argousa.com/Gentle%20art%20of%20shifting.htm

http://www.vtscoot.com/infobase/ib-13.html

I've been looking myself as I plan to get a PX or Stella as a second scooter in the near future.

There is no Toe up or down. Just squeeze, shift and go

same thing as a motorcycle except you use your left hand and the entire grip/clutch lever rotates.
1st
neutral
2nd
3rd
4th

neutral is between first and second. learning to ride a shifty is a piece of cake. i taught myself one night, and was out riding all over the place the next morning..

good luck..it's a piece of cake once you learn!

Like it's stolen?

4th gear?!?! What kind of chicanery do you ride, todd???



(my 90 is the 3)

RAWESOME!! THANKS EVERYONE!!!

yeah if you can drive a stick you can do a shifty vespa no problem.

I learned on my bike before i even owned it.

Just remember that when you pull the left brake lever the scooter WILL NOT slow down as it's the clutch!!!
I had the opposite problem going from a geared scooter to an auto, kept pulling the rear brake lever thinking it was thew clutch and wondered why it kept slowing everytime I wanted th change gear

I came this >-< close to putting an (optional) after 4th because I just KNEW someone would chime in and say theirs was only a 3 speed. Had to be someone eh?

and remember that neutral is not a gear in itself and therefore is less of a 'gap' to get into.
The individual gears are relatively easy to find when you twist, but neutral is not so pronounced and can be harder to find.

When i first started i would very rarely put it into neutral cos it was such a bitch to find in a hurry, but eventually i learned the ways of the force and everything became right with world

Any vintage vespa will lean to the right. Unless its a small body (ie Primavera).
The brakes will not stop as well as a modern.
Its a whole different beast.

good luck

Manny

i occasionally hit neutral between 2 and 3, is this normal?

It will take some getting used to but it will be worth the effort as the whole riding experience will be a lot more enjoyable Honest!!!

Two other small bits of advice :

Learn to not look at the numbers on your headset to see what gear you're in. Know by the sound / speed / and the clicks you can feel as you shift. Most of my bikes don't have the numbers lined up right anyways, so you'd be SOL.

Remember that every shifty bike is different, and so clutches will engage quicker or slower on certain bikes, some will launch off the line faster, some will take a lot of revving to get moving,...some will have low idle and will stall out if you don't give them gas, and others will have the idle set real high.

Learn to treat each bike individually, start off real slow on each, and let off the clutch slowly so you can appraise where it actuates.

That way you don't dump someone else's bike. I think one of the fastest ways to learn a way a bike 'SHOULD' and SHOULDN'T ride is to ride a lot of them ...different ones ...every one you can get your ass on.

+1 well said my brotha.

Manny