Scooters are great on the road
Aside from “How many miles per gallon do you get?” and “How fast will that thing go?”, the most common discussion I have concerning the Vespa focuses on a belief that it’s great in town but you need something different for “the road”. It’s not hard to imagine the origins of this belief, at least in the United States, since almost all the marketing and promotion of scooters focuses on it’s utility in the city and frugal consumption of fuel. The marketing agencies probably recognize the equally well ensconced belief of American riders that you need a liter sized engine or larger if you plan to do any serious riding. Like riding 50 whole miles to breakfast with like minded bikers.
The reality is you can ride a scooter practically anywhere other than through deep water. The Vespa GTS 250 scooter I own will cruise all day at 70 – 75mph on the freeway (shoot me if I regularly choose that route). And on all other roads it is just fine. All day long.
So if you think a scooter is only good for running down the street to pick up groceries (which it is) think again — men and women criss-cross the continent on scooters.
I made the above photograph after descending off the Allegheny Front and heading home on a road crossing Bald Eagle Ridge. The Vespa didn’t blink being away from town. It will rip along at any legal (and some illegal) speeds making it a fine companion for anything from a Ducati to a Harley.
You can see the world on a scooter
I’ve ridden my Vespa to a lot of places in Pennsylvania. It’s a great sightseeing machine that will take me and my gear (including food and water) anywhere I want to be. Even if it’s a muddy field that I need to traverse to photograph a tree.
Whenever I start to think about longer scooter rides I always think about two riders who have pushed the scooter envelope:
Mike Saunders and his transcontinental scooter expedition on a 50cc Honda Ruckus
Mike Hermens and his trip across America and back on a Vespa GTS 300
Both these fellows, and a lot of other riders, have done big rides on their scooters and saw the world in the process.
This picture was made near the village of Rock Spring. Turning off PA Route 45 I was surprised how watersoaked the field was. Luckily the turf was thick and I didn’t have to content with the mud below.
Scooters are OK off the pavement
While my Vespa GTS scooter is not a dirt bike it’s fine for wandering along the thousands of miles of dirt and gravel roads in Pennsylvania. Don’t plan to jump or ride over logs or expect a soft ride when the road surface gets rough — the suspension was designed for pavement and reminds of that fact when you hit a rock or pothole unexpectedly. More aggressive tires adds more stability and feel, especially in loose gravel. If you go this route keep one thing in mind — it’s hard on the cosmetic appearance of the scooter. Lots of scooter riders, particularly Vespa riders, keep their machines glistening in every detail. Riding off the pavement will challenge that goal.
I made this photo on a road I had missed for years. I passed the turnoff many times but a new township road sign caught my eye. I must have thought it a private road in the past. The township should have added “Dead End” to the sign post. After wandering for some miles through the woods and up the side of the mountain I came to the end of the road — a big dog standing in my path probably saying in a canine thought wave, “MY property starts here.”
Luckily for me he was friendly and was content to watch me turn around and head back down the mountain.
Scooters support contemplation
There are moments and places that reveal themselves during a ride that cry out, “Stop, look and listen!”. I’ve encountered them many times and have learned to heed that call. The words are loudest when I’m alone and traveling slowly, the landscape more a still life than a movie, and there’s time to hear the voice and stop. Had I been racing along at 60mph I would be cresting the hill before I understood what was happening and unlikely to make a decision to turn around to see what just happened.
In this case I found a hardwood remnant from an agricultural past — those lone trees left in a field to park a team of horses in the shade when the farmer had lunch. With air conditioned cabs and working draft horses relegated mostly to Amish and Mennonite communities those trees are confusing icons to more modern visitors. One thing I hadn’t counted on when I turned off the road — the tree capturing my attention — is the field had been heavily dressed with cow manure and the recent rain had left an inch of semi-liquid manure covering the ground. Once you’re in it though what can you do. Riding up the road I let the bottoms of my boots drag along the pavement to scrape as much manure away as I could. Maybe tomorrow I’ll wash the scooter…
Scooters can take you to creepy places
Some places have bad energy and unfortunately the scooter has no warning system that signals their approach. On a rare occasion I stumble into a place that feels haunted by something dark. After wandering along a narrow path through the woods I found myself beneath a railroad bridge still used by Amtrak and whatever commercial traffic crisscrosses Pennsylvania.
But something wasn’t right here. I could feel it in my bones and a little voice was telling me I don’t belong here. I made a few quick pictures but could not stop looking over my shoulder wondering when something would appear from the woods. I heard no banjo music. The Vespa scooter started and I left this place behind.
Scooters give you choices
A scooter gets you off the wheel and onto the road, away from the chains of responsible living and to places where you can make choices based, for once, on what you want. Seems a rare occurrence. Never happens in the car but time and time again I find myself standing in the middle of the road wondering which way I’ll go.
I wandered this intersection for about five minutes before getting on the scooter and turning around and heading down the road to the right. When I got to this point I was planning to head straight. Mental calculations told me the right=hand route was longer and would provide more riding time.
Just a few of the things you should know about scooters — Vespa or otherwise. They’re not just good for town. They’re good for the soul…
Having two friends who own and ride their scooters on a more or less regular basis including the three wheel Piaggio (One friend calls it, his Italian donkey) can understand the thought behind this particular posting.
Many non-riders of these machines figure the mechanicals are not intended for anything other than urban and city areas. One only has to look at the example of a Vespa engine opened for all the world on a bench in a shop to be repaired from a major fault, in this case the oil disappeared at some point. The engine was repaired and is still operating to this day. A very robust design, and then there is the three wheel donkey. When you test drove it Steve, did you have a reall good look at the amount of engineering that the scooter has? Solid design, and too more or less easy to repair. My friend’s donkey is currently in the shop, having been used all winter, needs a front end overhaiul, he has almost 85,000 kilometres on it and drove it only when there was no deep snow on the streets.
As for your travels, please continue; that machine is your psychiatrist!
Like me he is long-bodied however his height is not from the knees down where my height originates. The distance from the middle knee for me to the bottom of the foot is almost 2.5 feet. Hence no blinking way will I ever get my legs in behind a Vespa; fairing and too it means the handlebars can’t be turned either.
The Piaggio MP3 is an engineering marvel and from what I”ve heard remarkably durable. The only downside in the US is a perception that parts are hard to get and finding training mechanics to work on them is a challenge too. I loved riding the MP3 and had it pegged as a future ride should leg strength become an issue.
Italian donkey — that’s one fast donkey!
The Vespa does play the psychiatrist role every now and again. Too bad it’s not covered by health insurance.
I’ve seen some huge stretched choppers around here where the rider’s legs are stretched out. A custom rig — should be able to get one made for 50K US!
Of course the world can be explored by a mere scooter, and people have roamed all over the place on their tiny machines. It is not a matter of cc’s. The best thing about a Vespa is that you can still take it where big bikes can’t go.
Like off the road or under that bridge for example… which looks like an excellent hiding place for a dead body by the way… sorry the eeriness had me there.
Sometimes I think the scooter manufacturers reinforce that urban machine image in hopes that one day the American consumers living in cities will flock to them…
That place definitely had a dead body feel. Very weird.
I have ridden piaggio scooters for 12 years here now in northern New Jersey and totaled over 90,000 miles ! You’re blogs are so right on and this last post of yours is a great ” answer ” to those questions we scooter riders get all the time from motorcyclists. Vespas and other scooters are for the soul ! My wife and I visit Rome twice every year and they have more than 600,000 scooters of all types just there alone ! There is a quality if life dimension that people who don’t ride scooters never experience ! God bless you ! Paolo. I currently own Vespa et 4 which my wife rides while I ride a Vespa 300. I also owned in the past a Vespa 200, Vespa 250 , and a piaggio 500 X 9 . Nothing compares to scooters !!!
Sounds as if you have scooters in your blood now. Reading your description of Rome there is nothing comparable in the states lest you think of Harleys at Sturgis.
Scooters in the US occupy a strange mental place for lots of people — toys, cheap transport, not “manly” — the list goes on and on. For those of us who ride them though, we know a secret.
Ride safe!
‘Much appreciation for this offering. The text and photos are wonderful.
Although I ,as many do, prefer riding only with my thoughts as company; My last mount was an obscenely large and fast sport-tourer on which I would infrequently, grudgingly, accompany other riders on like machines barreling across the landscape. Seeing nothing; way too focused on staying alive while “carving those corners”. ‘Some of the least pleasurable miles I’ve spent in 50 years of motorcycling. Tens of thousands of wasted miles. Slow learner, eh?
In retrospect the most pleasurable came from two years in the middle 1960’s aboard a 305 Honda Dream ( “Yes, please take all my savings; I’m young & stupid, but I want that motorcycle”) , covering as much of the western Ohio countryside as time allowed a teenager absent from school, work and family. It opened my eyes to a much more effective means of metaphorically and physically “running away from life’s difficult situations”. Previously , all I had at my disposal were my constantly-in-motion feet and bicycle. Effective, but now the possibilities were endless. I thought. Sadly it was stolen after those two years and my future rides, acquired after a brief (in hind site way too brief) pause for education, were larger obnoxious beasts. Oh, what we think we desire. Peer pressure and ego often get in the way of the young and clueless. And it can take years to find one’s way back home.
I think your comments comprise some of the best ideas about riding style and machines. Your idea of riding being an exercise in staying alive really does sum up for me what I do not want from the experience. Speed, groups — all that robs me of what is most important in riding.
You outline a lot of the ways we can get sidetracked — peer pressure, ego and others to name a few. I try and not have regrets and focus on what’s in front of me today. Yesterday is history.
And thanks for the kind words about the photos and writing. I appreciate them.
I missed your longer posts. They are wonderful adventure stories of your life on the scooter. They are such a joy to read. This one really touches home with me. Although I have the three bikes and two of them are scooters I still remember being smitten with there design at an early age. I had the same thoughts. I could go anywhere on that. It would be the best thing in my life and those childhood fantasies and promises held true; when I was about 50 and got my first one. After a loss of a loving relationship it filled the sadness with those long ago dreams. It was truly like finding out Santa Claus does exist!
Lately there have been too many non-riding demands getting in the way of those longer posts. Not sure what the future holds. For now commutes to work seem to be the most exciting rides. We’ll see.
You mean there was a time you didn’t believe in Santa??!!
Sounds as if you have a place in your life where scooter riding amplifies existence…
Yes well, put. I cant imagine not looking forward to riding. I’ve always thought you can’t be bored on two wheels. Yes Christmas as a child was incredible and those memories are sooo wonderful!!! The scooter is like my best toy! I also like little power boats..ha ha!
I, too, have ridden to places that seemed somehow inherently evil, and whatever might not have been inherent in them was made far worse by an overactive imagination. Nevertheless, your last article about riding safety was far scarier than your scenario under the tracks. Scary, but worth the read and review of the video. Thanks, Steve!
-Joe
Not sure if it was imagination or something else. Either way, it was unsettling.
Safety is always a scary subject. Best to face it head on though.
I just had to make a quick 1800 mile turn around trip Portland, Or. in the minivan to retrieve a sick wife. Going up and back I5 I saw no bikes until the northern part of Shasta. That’s when I saw 3 people on adventurer bikes heading into the rain heading south over the Shasta pass, I was envious, I knew the Burgman and my Aerostich gear would have been up to the job of the pass and the rain all the way to Sacramento. For the most part there hasn’t been a trip that wouldn’t have been better on the scooter. It was nice having the minivan that I was able to make bed up in the back for my wife for the long slog home.
Our minivan has served in the same way with a bed in back when the need arose to transport a sick passenger. But during some of those drives I’ve mused about riding instead of driving. An 1800 mile trip would be a nice diversion wouldn’t it…
I’ve been touring on large motorcycles for 45 years, and I’ve been touring on 250cc scooters for the last 12 or so. I would not hesitate to go anywhere on either – and I have a great time every time on both.
Yep. Probably the only real concern with long tours is how long you can sit on the back of the machine. But as far as capability goes — they all can work.
You might be interested to know I was hit by a left turning driver in Daytona, and the Sportster is pretty messed up. I traveled around for the week on a rented scooter, although 150 cc was as big as I could get. I had plenty of safety gear on and the crash bar did a marvelous job, so I’ only bruised, maybe a broken rib.
Geez Robert — that’s not good news. You trailer the Sportster to Daytona or are you flying home?
I’m home. Trailered it both ways. Went with Mike Wilks, his truck, my trailer.
We’ll catch up sometime. Hope you’re on the mend.
I bought a 150 cc scooter in December. I have a grand total of 355 miles so far. I’m already wanting a motorcycle. The couple-hour long trips I take on the scooter are fantastic. But I would love to take day-long trips and think I would feel more comfortable on a MC. Would I lose any of the wander on a motorcycle? Pros and cons?
I’ve ridden plenty of motorcycles on day long trips. The experience has been different for me. I’ve shared before that on a motorcycle I am always aware that I am piloting a machine. On a scooter I feel as if I am flying. The mechanical nature is less intrusive. But that may be unique to me.
Motorcycles, at least bigger ones, have some advantages in regard to distance but only if you are traveling on freeways at high speeds. As far as wandering goes — the only limitation I found with motorcycles was with the big ones — BMW R1200 and K1600, that sort of thing. They are huge and not as simple to do U-turns or head down little unpaved paths.
It’s a personal choice. You may want to consider a jump from a 150cc scooter to a 300cc scooter if speed and distance are a concern.
Hold it: you’ve just helped nail something for me (yet again). I recall my days on motorcycles, and while they were fun, and I wouldn’t have missed those experiences for the world, my re-acquaintance with the motorized world via the Vespa has been profoundly different…and, I daresay, better. The Vespa is more of a magic-carpet experience, where I’m not exactly divorced from the machine itself, but the mechanics of the thing are subservient to the ride itself, and all the outer sensations – sights, smells, even sounds sometimes – that too often are overlooked in favor of the visceral effects a larger bike (or even a typical maxi-scooter, at least for me) emphasizes – speed, noise, rev counts and shifting, anxiety about adhesion. Nothing exactly wrong about any of that stuff, mind you, but it’s not where I’m at anymore. Just as on the bicycle, I always ride alert, but I’m not into being on tenterhooks every time I hop on the saddle. So, no, you’re not alone on this.
And, as mentioned in another reply here, with this Vespa, I can go where I want, when I want. And I want to go places. I’m still sorting out destinations, but I think of a line Tom Hanks’ conductor character says in The Polar Express about trains (coincidentally my other favorite means of transport): “It doesn’t matter where you’re going. What matters is deciding to get on.”
The motorcycle experience has changed since I was a kid when a 350cc Honda was a “big” motorcycle. Now a 750 is considered an entry bike and machines over 1000cc are everywhere. The experience on a Vespa 300 is so different than a big motorcycle that they’re almost not comparable. It’s not the speed or sound or revs on a motorcycle that I’m first struck by — it’s the weight. Ponderous and at times irritating at slow speeds where the Vespa is quick and nimble. You give up stability at high speed but more and more I ask myself why am I going so fast…
I like the comment about deciding to get on. That’s the important part!
Thanks for the comments and advice guys. I’m still torn.
Personally, the choices I make regarding most things have only a little to do with fact and a lot to do with emotion. When choosing a camera or scooter I can rationalize just about anything. When I find harder to get by is my emotional attraction. If I want a motorcycle no amount of fact and data will overcome that feeling.
I used to have a Yamaha Majesty 400 scooter. I loved that thing! It was so fun to ride. But like you, I’d get all the questions about speed and worthiness for longer trips. I ended up making a series of videos (posted to YouTube) showing me taking some trips around. Here are just a few of them
Yamaha Majesty 400 Road Trip – Scootin’ to Devils Lake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWzfP-p-4NY
Yamaha Majesty 400 Road Trip – Scootin’ to David’s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-BOt_XSQyU
Yamaha Majesty 400 Road Trip – Scootin’ to Cave of the Mounds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8nJxv0XP_M
Yes, it’s not the size or motor size, its the fact one is willing to ride and explore.
As to creepy feeling places, I’ve only found a couple here in Colorado…what’s weird is that both were placed I’d been to before, yet not felt anything untoward. Weird how the mind goes into overdrive in such cases, isn’t it?
As to riding on top of liquid manure….hope it didn’t get into places you might miss while washing the Vespa!
I was surprised to read your scooter moves as fast as it does. I always think of scooters as being slow, which is why I always think they’d be dangerous to ride, especially on narrow side roads where impatient car-drivers can’t wait to pass safely since you’re poking along.
I must admit there’s appeal in such a lightweight machine being able to go anywhere and everywhere. And to stop easily to make pictures like you do.
I was delighted to discover that you have a strong inner voice AND that you listen. If a place doesn’t feel right and something is telling you to leave, you were wise to move on post haste. Some people call it gut instinct. Some, like me, call it “the voices in my head.” I always listen nowadays.
When 1) I decided it was time to have a two-wheeler with an engine, and that 2) at my Sig. Other’s request, I would get a scooter instead of a motorcycle, I deliberately chose a new Vespa GTS because I was determined to have a machine that wasn’t limited by territory. If I suddenly got it in my head to travel across several states, either to visit an old friend, or just for the hell of it, I didn’t want the bike to be the limiting factor. The GTS feels capable, trustworthy, and – dare I say it – friendly. How many people ever use that word to describe their bike, or car for that matter? You’ve pretty much iterated my feelings about this bike, and the feeling gets stronger with each ride.
And, yes, more than a few people have taken these bikes on truly epic rides. Here’s my favorite rider to do this so far (and she’s still at it):
http://tinyurl.com/gv2wbd4
And, just for the record, somebody did ride a Vespa underwater, though admittedly not in stock condition:
http://tinyurl.com/gowwap2
(Don’t try this at home.)
Great piece as always, Steve.
You’re absolutely right about the Vespa being “friendly” — to the rider and to others by being an approachable presence.
I’ve followed Quezzie’s journey for a long time. What she’s doing is remarkable and requires stamina that I cannot comprehend.
You’ve nailed it, Steve. Well, all except the creepy places… haven’t been there-yet. Sharing this with my non-scooters friends…
It’s a nice feeling when non-scooter riding friends convert to scooter riding friends. Doesn’t happen often but it’s a great event. Hope you have some luck.
I live in northern England 2hrs from the Scottish border Steve, also the English Dales lovely riding areas. I have a large engined Yamaha 1300 motorcycle but also hava a Vespa GTS scooter, I love the scooter because I can ride slowly and take in all the views in both areas and find the scoot sometimes better than the yam.l enjoy your tales and pics of your rides and will in future ie next summer put pics of my rides for you to see.Regards Geoff.
I’ve always wanted to visit the Yorkshire Dales. My experience of England has been limited to Heathrow, and a few days in London in 1968. Very little of the English countryside experienced during those visits.
Having ridden big motorcycles and the Vespa, I can certainly attest to the advantages of a smaller scooter for some riding. Especially those trips where you might start and stop a lot to explore. The big bikes render each stop an event.
Look forward to seeing your pictures. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts here.