Modern Vespa

What are your experiences riding on sand? How does the Vespa cope with it? I should imagine wet sand would be quite alright to ride on.

Just a strange wondering of mine...

Anyone got any stories/thoughts to pitch in?

Saltwater makes bikes rust very quickly. As for sand dunes away from the ocean, deflate your tires down to about 12-15psi and have a blast. It's a whole new riding experience. My mechanic has a few scooters out at the sand dunes near here and they are a lot of fun. The best so far is the typhoon due to its large wheel size and 70cc kit.

Make sure to clean your airfilter when you are done.

P.S. As a Motorsport Employee, I DON'T recommend doing this. Road bikes are not meant for off-roading. You will get sand in places you shouldn't get sand, you can blow out your shocks. Don't bring a jacked up bike into my shop saying that Max said it was ok to off-road it.

Peersonally... it's a lot of fun, but not very good for your bike.

You might have a really hard time geting home if you forget to bring a means to re-inflate the tires after you're done putting sand in crevices all over the Vespa.
Dry sand just means a comfy landing when you inevitably go down. Comfy for you; crap for the Vespa. Hitting an unnoticed sand pit at speed is spectacular and dangerous.
I wanted to ride across the sahara desert when i was young and foolish and I tried but I gave up real early and threw my motorcycle in the back of a truck and rode in the cab for 800 miles with a mad ex-Nazi who spent three days trying to decide whether to drive or strangle me and lose his place in the convoy. It was still better than trying to ride a motorcycle in sand.

That's an excellent story. Reminded me of an HST episode.

Ah, sounds like a no go then.

Just thought a Vespa on a beach would look pretty damn good.

it probably would look nice

Also, on sand or gravel, don't apply just the front brake, it can get messy easily doing that.

Be AFRAID be Very afraid. Just like black ice. Your a lizard on tile, going no where but down. I slow down on certain corners that sometimes have sand on them here. Hit a patch on my helix years ago and the only thing that saved me was i wasn't going fast. I managed to stay upright but i was all over the place.

After reading this post yesterday, last night I dreamt I was riding on a little island, on sandy beaches and over rocks, and I was lifting the Vespa up like it was a skirt whenever the waves would come...

This Vespa thing is finally getting to my head...