Re: Vespa LX125

Vespa LX 125 Ride Report

30 April, 2013."So, A Blast from the past or an old coot (scoot?) with a feet (tyre?) in the grave?? Let me see what it is...",

I said to myself today morning when instead of my Pulsar 180, I took out my dad's Vespa LX125, to write this ride report. It is now registered.

Damn!! Guess what? It has 54 kms on the odo; We didn't ride it for about 15 days... And it wouldn't start?! I started it using 29 kicks and then about 6 cranks... and it stalled again?? Applied Choke... Somehow got it running after 2 long & effortful minutes. I took it out slowly, having ridden a motorcycle for the most part of my life now. The vehicle is surprisingly agile, very responsive to steering (or lack of it, read on).

The performance was what you'll expect from a typical Gearless CVT type scoot. Upto 15 kmph, it moved lethargically like a rubber band pull. Beyond that it starts being responsive, as the CVT lands its rpm right near the max torque band. Its in running in period, so I didn't take it past 60 kmph. From 15-40 kmph, the acceleration was brisk and surprising even on minimal throttle. From 40-60 kmph, the acceleration was good too, even on limited throttle. Its performance leaves nothing more to be desired realistically, and this kind of performance is ideal for the mid-city commutes.As for highway, I can say that it felt quite smooth at 60 kmph. And it should be able to sustain 80 kmph for longer times, so tourers can try it out. 8 Litre tank is somewhat on the average side, but good enough for a scoot.

Coming to the handling and agility, I had a lot of doubts initially because I was riding a Pulsar yesterday and many days before yesterday. So, initially I found it too responsive & agile for my taste. But its in the DNA of such scoots, I remembered later on. You can't leave the steering on its own like you do on a bike. I just let my right hand off the handle to adjust the round Rear view mirrors, and damn, a scary shake before I grabbed the right side handle again.Then came the open route, where I rode at around 50-60 kmph. For a scooter that was so agile in the city, it handled quite well. But still, I wish it had a longer wheelbase. The stability isn't the strongest point this bike has.In short: it will remain in good control for most speeds, but its responsive. Be alert and its great for you.

The front Suspension is about 1 step softer than my Pulsar, which is good enough for me. It does have good handling though. Bumps were comfortably dealt with. The seat was somewhat on the slippery side. Noise levels are low enough on this scoot, no noisy stuff here. RTR lovers may feel disappointed, but again, why would an RTR lover ride this LX? Wait, I'm a RTR lover too. Although I did feel some "electric motor like" sounds running in the engine that appeared at some speeds, and disappeared at others. Can't say what was going on in there... But no worries. Its indeed a mysterious vehicle.

Vibration levels from 25-60 kmph were very low on the handlebar and seat, but I felt my feet numbing slightly, even after just 10 minutes. Yes, some vibes were there in the footrest area. Maybe the first servicing should solve it? Rear brake on the left handlebar was responsive. Front was not so much, but this could be solved by adjusting the brakes. Front Disk brake is sorely missed, but again this is a Classic, right? But everytime I applied the brakes, I slipped forward. The seat wasn't too grippy. I, being a 6 footer, as sitting somewhere in the middle of the rider and the pillion's seating place normally.

Everyday on my Pulsar, I used to go through the same familiar corners leaning at same speeds. Today was different. My Pulsar takes about 6-8 minutes to cover the route. This scoot took about 4 more minutes. But in the city, giving the throttle and watching it lurch forward... Amazing. And the agility, very responsive. And one more thing: Despite the morning hiccups, it always started in one crank attempt the entire day.

To summarize, its great for the city, for both the genders.

Pros:
+ Good performance and acceleration beyond 20 kmph,
+ Handles well for a scooter, And Quite agile in the city,
+ Attractive, Looks great and grabs eyeballs,
+ Smooth for the most part,
+ Excellent ergonomics, Fit and finish, (grips, handles, headlight, brake levers, etc.)
+ Well engineered scoot. Storage space, riding position, etc.

Cons:

- Low Speed Rideability (below 15 kmph, engine doesn't seem too responsive. Launching is not too good.)
- Slippery seat.
- Pricey, but 'maybe' its worth it.

Conclusion: For the average city buyer, its fast, comfortable and agile- one of the best for commuting experience. Its just the right things for its target group. Which is definitely not me. Thankfully, I'm going back to my Pulsar for the thrills, but my dad will be using this scoot.I can't however justify myself the premium on this scoot, except for grabbing eyeballs. That's it for now, but I'll have to spend longer time with this scoot to be more conclusive.

Pictures taken today:





































Comments & Questions invited... Although, I won't find myself riding this scoot too often. Yes, its good, but I'm not exactly what you guys would call a "True-Blue commuter".

Re: Vespa LX125

^^huge post above, so not going to quote it! Here is my reply to the above report from Samarth: (i haven't ridden a vespa)
1. Surprising to hear that the vespa has a 'lag' upto 15kmph - the activa and especially the dio is very nippy upfront - 0-40 is the nippiest
Maybe their CVT is not tuned for nippiness.

2. The 'handling' when you left the handle bar - i think it got unstable because u tried to adjust the mirror ,i ve left the handle on my dio and it did not feel shaky, but again you need to get used to the scoot and the riding posture to adjust to a scoot after riding a motorcycle. Trust me, to me it feels a bit weird for a few minutes if i ride my dio after riding my rx100 or any other motorcycle. Maybe if you rode the vespa a lot more everyday, your opinion MAY change.

3. Cruising on these scoots at around 50-60kmph shouldn't be a problem. I have done a few long rides on my dio, keeping it at 60-ish for 2 hrs non stop and the scoot never felt strained/overheated or made noises and always responded crisply to the twist of the throttle. I think murlidhar has also done a few long rides so he can give us more info on the vespa's performance.

Give it more time and ride it more often and you may want to park your pulsar for good [of late the laziness/traffic has made me ride the dio more than a motorcycle]
no offense to the red color, but i loved the grey-scale pics, makes the scoot look more retro!

Re: Vespa LX125

1. Can't say what the CVT was tuned for, but one thing's for sure. Beyond 15 kmph, it more than makes up for the lag. From 15-60, its some good torquey response.

2. You're right here. There is difference between a motorcycle & a scooter. Like I said in the report, I would need more time to be conclusive. Right now, I've only spotted differences between a scooter and a motorcycle, while it should've been between this scooter and other scooters.
I did ride the Aviator some months back, but again, I didn't write about it because my memory of the Aviator is somewhat sketchy.

3. We agree here... There was good response at 60. It should be good enough for a stressful 80 kmph also, I'm sure.

There's no doubt that for longer city runs, this will be my choice.
But (un) fortunately, my college is on an open "outside of the city" road where the Pulsar doesn't even need to shift to 4th to remain in powerband. On such roads, riding the LX might make me late, but I'll definitely ride it more, once in a while.

Thanks for appreciating the pics. I was just going when my mind said "maybe some Sepia/ B&W pics will do justice?" and I shot them.

Re: Vespa LX125

yep 60s and 70s are good cruising speeds for this scoot.
the only thing i don't like about it is it grabs eye balls. i bought it for my own enjoyment. even bought the color red chianti so that it does not have that " look at me" i know it comes under pros but for me it comes under cons. nevertheless i enjoy riding it.
now got so much used it that i don't care if people are staring at me or how they judge me by looking at the vehicle i drive.



for all the tweeple out there, you can follow me by my twitter handle @murlidhar

Re: Vespa LX125

Slight OT: Vespa VX 125 have landed in showroom.

Happy to see a thread for vespas.My dad too owns a vespa LX125.he is a great fan of vespa scooters.he used to use a 150NV(1990).It still runs,though its just like deploying a smoke bomb.but he wont sell it and its going to be restored soon.But to be truthful,the new vespa cant quite match the performance of old 2 strokers..i love the old one.

Re: Vespa LX125

4 strokes can never match the performance of a two stroke engine but rest assured the engine is rock solid.

for all the tweeple out there, you can follow me by my twitter handle [MENTION=49187]murlidhar[/MENTION]

Re: Vespa LX125

has anyone plugged open filter???

Re: Vespa LX125




open filter?





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Re: Vespa LX125

k&n, uni............................................... ............

Re: Vespa LX125

@open filters/k&n etc etc.. i don't think we have a wanna be racer boy yet on this thread
IMO.. they are just not worth the money spent.. unless you do more radical mods to improve performance and do not care much about long term reliability.

Re: Vespa LX125

Did any one Vespa owner got chance to replace clutch? It says that the price is very steep around 7500.

Re: Vespa LX125

7500 for just the clutch? Just check with the service center and ask them what all are included in the price of the clutch.

I thought honda's were expensive on the spare parts, if my memory serves me right, the price of oem spares for the 102cc activa/dio:

- clutch shoe kit (set of 3 shoes, small springs plus rubber bushes) is around 850rs
- drive belt is around 600rs
- set of variator rollers (either 360 or 550rs.. can't remember exactly)
- clutch bell.. 800rs iirc from what i enquired
- big clutch spring (torque spring) .. 800rs.

Normally the clutch should last you around 25k km but it depends on how the scooter has been driven.. mine lasted over 45k km on the dio. It's very easy to inspect the clutch on these scooters and replace if necessary.
Each of these 5 items above are sold separately and make up most of the drive system. So find out what are the parts being replaced.

Re: Vespa LX125

Glad to find a Vespa thread here .

My sister bought Vespa LX 125 in 2012. She is facing the issue of getting engine stalled during idle within few moment of starting, since long time. Told ASC guys several times to correct this problem, every time they will say its corrected, and the problem shows up again and again. And the ASC guys have lost the manual, during last free service.

Now I have regarding the problem, I thought that might be idle stability problem, but without the manual I am not able to locate the idle screw. I looked online for service manual/service station manual, but all waste. I did not find the manual for the model I am looking for. As vehicle is already facing problem, I did not want ot screw up any more by adjusting any wrong screw.

Can someone help me this problem? I am uploading the engine area/bay image, for finding location of idle screw.

Re: Vespa LX125

Finally, found the ideal screw and solved the long lasted problem. Looked for screws similar to my motorcycle's ideal screw(one with spring and easy to rotate by hand). Now, the Vespa rolls like a charm.

Its the one in the box.