Mud
Riding a Vespa in mud isn’t a great idea. The small wheels and street tires can bog down and leave the scooter motionless. Worse, you run the risk of sucking wet stuff into the air intake which is quite low on the scooter. The only plus side is the relatively light scooter (compared to a big adventure bike) can be pushed or pulled out of the muck.
Fortunately, in this case I could easily ride around the mud. But I’ve been on a number of muddy roads that did not offer that option. In almost every case I was able to continue onward, however ugly, without incident. Only a couple times that I remember did I have to turn back. Usually because of deep water associated with the mud.
So, checking my list of things the Vespa doesn’t do well:
- Deep, watered mud
- Speeds in excess of 80mph
- Production of ear splitting noise
That’s about all I can recall at the moment. I’m sure there are more but right now I just don’t care…