Using a Scooter as an Expo Vehicle?

haven

Expedition Leader
"On our way to Prudhoe we stopped for gas in Coldfoot and were surprised to see a bloke on an old Vespa."

I guess this settles the question, "Can a scooter be an ExPo vehicle?"
Still open is the question, "Is there a 2 wheel ExPo vehicle that's better than a scooter for the same money?"

I'm partial to the old Honda Super Cub.

Greencub.jpg


The larger wheels will roll through ruts better than the scooter can. The Super Cub bodywork provides good protection from water and mud. The Super Cub seems to be the national vehicle of most countries in Southeast Asia, and still has strong sales in Japan.
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
My wife has a 2006 Vespa 150 ET4. It's been slightly modified to squeeze out a bit more performance. It's a blast to ride. We use it day in and day out during the warm months to zip around town. Would I tour on it? Sure. I'd much rather have a Vespa GT250 for the higher speeds, but it's plenty capable.
 

robert

Expedition Leader
The Rucki (plural of Ruckus :) ) are slow even for a 50cc scooter. There are folks who have put bigger engines in them and there are big bore kits, but they're still slower than more comparable scooters. The Big Ruckus was a 250cc but was only imported for like two years IIRC.

The Yamaha Zuma is available in a 125 though and seems to have a cult following too. It'd probably be my choice in a Japanese scooter.
 

The Swiss

Expedition Leader
Back in the days, I took my 125cc Vespa camping; sleeping bag on the front carrier, tent and heavier stuff in the back, clothing strapped to the rear part of the seat. Took her all over Switzerland and neighboring Italy and France. Biggest draw back of the Vespa was the limited range - about 90 to 110 miles - and that that particular model needed pre-mixed 2 stroke fuel. Average speed was about 50 mph, up the mountain passes in the Alps about 25 - 35 mph, down the other side topping 75 mph (that's where the speedometer stopped) :bike_rider:

I still feel my numb fingers, the times I did not had a single piece of dry clothing with me anymore, the time we were running out of food (and money) and still had two days to go, trying to calculate the fuel consumption to see if I still would make it home with the little change I had in my pocket. Oh, sweet memory lane. I'll see if I can dig up some old pictures from memory lane :elkgrin:
 
Last edited:

805gregg

Adventurer
Check out ADVriders in the ride reports, there is a guy that rode a scooter named Dot from Australia to England. Simple is better.
 

robert

Expedition Leader
There's also "Rucking with Wan" where a Korean guy came to the US, bought a Honda Ruckus 50cc, started in NC and rode around, not across, the US. You can google the story on the ruckus forum; he's a funny writer and he managed to meet all sorts of folks across the US who got involved either to share a beer with him, help him change tires, etc.
 
Last edited:

ETAV8R

Founder of D.E.R.P.
There's also "Rucking with Wan" where a Korean guy came to the US, bought a Honda Ruckus 50cc, started in NC and rode around, not across, the US. You can google the story on the ruckus forum; he's a funny writer and he managed to meet all sorts of folks across the US who got involved either to share a beer with him, help him change tires, etc.

Posted above already...amazing story
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,527
Messages
2,875,535
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top