Modern Vespa

Picked up my 500 from the dealer this afternoon, and only had the chance to put around 30 kilometers on it, mostly in the rain

First impressions - the first 10 km smelled of burning plastic... I looked around and couldn't find any smoke or pinpoint what was smelling (I have a head cold), but it went away.

Love the power. I didn't even have to TRY to take it easy. Even at half throttle it seems to accelerate like a demon compared to the GTS. Hit 110 on the Gardiner expressway like it was a walk in the park - smooth even without a windscreen.

Handling - took a lot of getting used to. The heavy front end is a definite learning experience, and feels really heavy at low speeds. Streetcar tracks in the rain are still dangerous, though I'll admit the extra wheel does give some added stability.

Controls - instinctive, fine.

Suspension Lock - I'll admit that except for parking, I didn't use it. Alright - I tried it once, engaging it as I rolled up to a stop light. Slight downhill slope and I kept rolling - instinct is to lean/roll a bit and steer, but not being able to lean messes everything up. I'd rather leave the lock off than have to retrain the instincts.

More to come I guess... but one question!

After about an hour of light rain, I found a nice little puddle in the pet carrier (and it wasn't from the raccoon I saw running away). The GTS might not have had an airtight seal, but water never got into the pet carrier. Anyone else have issues with this, or other leaks/problems from parking in the rain?

I guess I might have asked this before diving in, but I'm an outdoor parker and this could be a major issue for me.

About the burnt plastic, I could bet my last $0.02's that it is from the exhaust paint work. I think most of us have encounter the burnt smell before. Mine gone away after months of riding and it came back after I repainted the exhaust with a can of black spray paint. have to be the paint I guess. Cheers!

Definitely a plastic smell though - not paint. And the 500's exhaust is a chromed unit - not painted. It does have a plastic anti-burn-your-leg protector, but that wasn't it as far as I could smell.

I had a leak that puddled up my helmet stashed in the seat carrier the 3rd week I owned my 500. After drying out my helmet and gloves I found that the rubber seal had come out of it's track around the back on the left side of the scooter. So I assume it was just coming right in there. I just slowly worked it back in the groove all the way around and haven't had a moisture problem sense then.

I hope that helps.

Thx! I'll check that when the sun comes out

The part he's talking about is not the large chromed section of the exhaust. He means the exhaust tip. If you go out and look, by now yours will look like its got little chips and flakes around it. That's because if you look at the unridden ones on the showroom floor, they all start off solid black(painted). This paint burns off in the first few dozen miles or so and create this smell. It smells like plastic because those idiots used a plastic based paint for a 'nice look' I suppose as the reason. Anyways, as we all know heat and plastic don't mix. You can mask off this area and spray it with a nice, heat resistant engine paint that will hold up to the heat.

The rain just compounded the new bike smell . How bout the way these babys handle in the rain. I don't think any bike gives that much confidence.

Congrats

No smell today, but it was 5 degrees riding into work - didn't really get it up to temperature.

So far I'm impressed with the handling - though streetcar tracks are still a danger in the rain - no surprise there. It will take a few more miles to loose the cautiousness - I used to flip the GTS around like it was a BMX compared to this beast.

Any issues with rain pooling in the speedo/odo, or are they pretty well sealed? Between the crap weather last night and cold today, I haven't had the chance to go over Blackie in more detail.

Coley, Mp3 250 13,700 m. 2007


5 degrees , wow . I have riden mine in some real downpours, with no electrical issues. All that plastic covering probably helps. There is a forum member that is in Alaska. He had some cold weather issues he dealt with.
Can't remember his name though. Seems it had something to do with the front lockout, and some have had the parking brake freeze up, can't seem to release. I would love to ride mine in the snow, I'll bet they would drift great, but not into a snow drift.

congrats

5 degrees in Canada is probaly reported in Celcius which is equal to 41 F. That is about what it has been in the mornings in central Georgia this week and balmy for Canada this time of year. I spent 6 years in Alberta and never saw a Halloween without snow on the ground. We bought adult size costumes for kids to go over all their cold weather clothes.