Modern Vespa

so i was coming back from kelly paper in santa fe springs and i zipping by cars and getting through traffic like a vespa can. well i was at the front of a stop light and a guy in a, think it was a BMW or Harley, the ones with the radio/gps/phone, the big ones, come up next to me. i said hi and that was that. well the light turns green and by the time i get my feet on the floor board he was like 100+ ft in front off me already......

all of a sudden my bike don't seem so fast.... ok i know it isn't, it's 150cc

so if anyone else out there ever has this happen to you... just hold our head up high... and remember you drive a VESPA ...... and then down the line when your warranty is up, get a 190cc upgrade, new clutch, rollers, etc. and make their jaw drop........

i almost always have it the other way.
ricer or hog i am always through the light before them cus they have to go through the gears.
then after a few hundred feet they blow by me.
but the most respect i get is from motorcycle riders.
they always ask if i what cc i got or if i modded it.

Well, I was on the highway the other day and had my 150 at about 70+ mph indicated. This was a downhill, clear day, wind at my back sort of scenario, but all in all not bad for a stock 150. Throttle wasnt even maxed out either! That being said, there were plenty of motorcycles passing me like I was standing still. Displacement nearly always wins. If you want to keep up with the big boys, then maybe you need a bigger bike.

Not sure a kitted 150 would make any of those MC riders "jaws drop" in terms of speed... its just for fun and personal satisfaction of tweaking out your bike. I am chomping at the bit to do some mods myself.

Not to pee in the cheerios by any means. I agree you have to just breathe and enjoy your scoot for what it is.

I just think about it like this...

I had to get a scooter because my enormous man part simply didnt fit between myself and a motorcycle tank. That is what the 'bag hook' is there for isnt it?

Not sure why this is surprising. Almost any motorcycle will beat you off the line if the driver is half awake.

LX150 with 150 pound rider (lighter then me) = 0.0285 hp/lb
My VTX with same 150 pound rider = 0.125 hp/lb

Even a small 650cc sportbike would be more extreme.

i just think about it like this: who cares?

Not gonna matter. There's always a faster bike or quicker rider. Other than my GTS, I've got a fast bike, but there are faster, and then are even faster ones than those.

The LX is a great bike for what it is, but wasn't built for speed. Well, unless you're racing against bicycles. That said, Chuck Norris on a bicycle will beat anyone on an LX 150 any day.

I had a chuckle the other day...
stuck in traffic was this guy on a loooooooooow rider harley, the one with a fat as in phat rear tire, he had a leather waistcoat was a massive bloke and his registration plate had something tough written on it (which I can't recall right now).
I did a bit of a lane split as the traffic was stationary and passed him to get to the front of the que. I saw him clock me.
Next minute, lights go green and I hear this big roar as he thunders past me doing over a ton.
Just down the road at the gas station was a Motor Cycle Cop and I see the harley brake lights going on and off like it was a disco
the Cop though (I give him some kudos here) didn't pull the harley over, he just gently pulled up along side of him in the next lane and just looked at him and followed him on to the freeway with me behind and made harley man keep to the speed limit
a bit further on the Cop and I manage to pass the harley as he's caught in traffic..................again!

Robotribe....."well said".

Always, someone going to be faster, for sure. So true.

And to be cliche "slow and steady" wins the race.

Going fast is only as cool as you getting to your destination in one piece and walking away to ride another day.


[/quote]
Not gonna matter. There's always a faster bike or quicker rider. Other than my GTS, I've got a fast bike, but there are faster, and then are even faster ones than those.

The LX is a great bike for what it is, but wasn't built for speed. Well, unless you're racing against bicycles. That said, Chuck Norris on a bicycle will beat anyone on an LX 150 any day.[/quote]

I normally accelerate slower on my Ducati than I do on my GTS. I have had the the ass end slide on me which isn't a good feeling when you're already doing 45.

Where I live and ride, the first one off the light gets creamed by side traffic still running through the red lights. I always wait and watch a few seconds before throttling up.

I don't need 1200 cc between my legs to get the job done!

You will never beat the Power Rangers for speed so why try, How many times have you seen some Joe in his family saloon trying to beat a sports car on accelaration in the traffic lights grand prix, what a waste of time and fuel?? Modern scooters are fast without doubt but there is a limit. You want blistering speed buy a sports bike, you want to be "urban cool and caf'e chic" buy a Vespa and as you said hold your head up high..... nuff said..........Paul

I have to smile when these things happen. Is there anything sillier than a litre bike rider proving he's faster than a scooter a sixth their size?
Come on, does he go to the biker bar bragging he pwned a hot 150cc?

Regards
Harvey

I've noticed a few times a week people have posts about how they "easily pull away from traffic" or "leave the cagers in the dust." I think this gets bandied around enough that people have started to believe their scoots are faster then they really are.

The fact is any motorcycle and any semi-performance based car will be faster and accelerate faster then a non-Maxi scooter. Little scooters just don't have the power to weight ratio.

I'm not trying to bust on Vespas. I bought mine knowing full well what it could and could not do and I'm happy with that. I did not get my LX150 for speed but rather for its intrinsic Vespa-ness and ability to put a smile on my face.

I had a great Vespa/Harley experience yesterday. I was riding home from my workout class and a couple of Harleys passed me on the left lane. One of them gave me a peace sign. I nodded to them and let them continue on. We all arrive at the lights together. They are in the left turn lane and I am still in my right lane, but one car behind. The light turns and we get a green with an advanced green. They wait to turn left until I pass them and we nod again. I toot my horn at them and they start laughing and I head on. I think they were happy to share the road with anyone and they looked like they thought my vespa was a great ride.

The reason I love my Vespa is because I don't have to go fast so I can enjoy the scenery and it's much quieter on the ears. I've had numerous bikes, yamaha, ducati, suzuki, still have a bmw k1200 LT. Guess what i ride the most...yep...the vespa. On my race bikes I felt if I wasn't going fast I wasn't "validating" the bike, my touring bikes are so big they are a pain to get out of the garage. On my vespa (250 GTV) I go as fast as I want to...and when it's maxed out...i'm still way in my comfort zone.
No more 100+ speeds. Fine with me. I must be gettin' old.

My husband, Dad, Brother, brother-in-law and step Father-in-law all ride Harleys. One of my sisters in law and her husband also ride bikes (not harleys) and my other sister in law is thinking about gettting a Sportster.
So pretty much my whole family rides big fast bikes! I was asked a while back why I didnt just get a Harley, my responce... because I dont want one! IMO a big bike is a little too macho for little ol me! I wanted a vespa! They are beautiful and pretty much the top of the line in the scooter world! If I want to ride a harley I will get on the back of my husbands!

Well, yesterday I was bragging about how I beat a Hayabusa in a light-to-light drag.

He did stall out going into first, but hey, I still won right?

8)

So . . . they have bikes other then the Harleys? What fast bikes do they have?

You know what that is? That is skillz and skillz count!

Consider this: Harleys and the big BMW LT's (probably the model you are talking about), are considered SLOW among sportbike motorcyclists.
So the guy picked on a Vespa, something he could beat. Any decent sportbike 600cc and above would blow away this guy off the light, just like he did to you. I wouldn't worry about it.

Heck, if both tires on Chuck Norris' bicycle were flat, he would still beat any Vespa ever made.