Modern Vespa

Now, I'm not encouraging anyone to break the law--but I just so happen to have an abandoned stretch of flat, clear pavement near my house. This afternoon, while I was breaking in my new scoot by riding it like I stole it (as urged by many on this site), I was able to crank up my GTS250ie just past 82 mph (that would be 132 kph for those of you who continue to insist on driving on the wrong side of the road). While I had heard that the 250s were capable of exceeding 76mph, this was the first time I was actually able to do so. My scoot is not modified in any way, the road is absolutely flat (I live in central Illinois, after all) and I weigh in at a fairly average 175 lbs. (that would be 79.4 kilos or 12st 7lb for you old-school monarchists out there). Unfortunately, I ran out of pavement before I ran out of acceleration. So I have no idea yet what the top speed might be. But I was quite pleased that my little scoot had that much get up and go. Now, I don't want to entice anyone out there with a 250 to do the same or to do anything illegal, but I'd be interested in hearing if anyone (purely by accident of course) has managed to push their scoot to a similar speed or beyond.

Your bike will not achieve max speed until you have 2000 miles or so on the clock.

On my bike 85 indicated is really only 72mph....when checked by GPS.

My last ticket was for 83 in a 50 zone....caught on radar......and the bike will go faster.

Enjoy your new toy.

R

8)

I got mine up to 74 on the GPS, which registered at 85 on the speedometer, but I weigh around 250 so that might be the top end for me.

Check your speedo against a GPS if you can. At lower speeds I have a 5-7 mph discrepancy and about 10 mph at the high end.

Thats odd. We measure speed in kms/hr up here AND we drive on the same side as you!

Must be some sort of parallel universe

Dan

Yes, I've heard that about Vespa speedometers. But I tell you, my eyes were watering, my ears where screaming, my lips were flapping, snot was fly out my nose--and I had a full face helmet on...

Canada has roads?! Who knew?

Oh, sure. Great way to deflate my already-fragile ego...

Come to think of it... there was a cheetah that beat me to the end of the road...

Cheetah? Did I say cheetah? I meant a squirrel...

Just yesterday, with Michelle riding in back, I hit 86mph indicated and felt the rev limiter kick in. Flat road with just a little tail wind.

Hmmm.... do you mean to imply that Michelle somehow made the difference in this highly illegal mad dash of yours? Might the speed of all 250s be enhanced if we each had a "Michelle" riding in back? Sounds like a research question for the "Department of Mad Dash Scootering" at the University of Toronto... if only Canada had roads, that is... dang.

just curious - how many miles on your scoot?

Real or imagined? (Imagined, I have well over 30,000; if real, then a mere 350...)

right at 5,700

Michelle in back helps my aerodynamics!

I own a GTS 300 Super and have gone only 60MPH on it. I know it can top out at about 85MPH, but I've only gone 60MPH.

Yes... well... I'm not going to touch that one out of propriety and good taste...

For Christ's sake sell it to someone who will use it properly.

Pronto.

We're on a coast to coast ride and yesterday we hopped on the New York Thruway. My wife is on her GTS250 and held a GPS measured 82MPH for a few miles while passing and held 75MPH for almost 200 miles. She kicks ass.
Her exhaust now makes more noise, so it looks like I am in the market for a header gasket.

Your weight has very little to do with top end, just may take a little longer to get there.... tuck it all in and be areodynamic and you will get the speed up there ,
BUT PLEASE... ride safe and make sure that you have plenty of road!
Cheers

I commute every day, Monday-Friday, about 35 miles round trip on my GTS 250. Most of that is highway. I've gotten up to an indicated 85mph consistently and have held between 75-80mph indicated (70-75mph GPS) for most of my trip. Around 83-85mph indicated I can feel the rev limiter kick in.

I ride with a mid-size Faco screen. I'm the second owner so I didn't get to break it in but it seems to be performing just fine for me. My speedo is consistently 5-6 miles optimistic even at the top range.