Modern Vespa

I would like to buy a used small trailer to pull behind a 1979 p 200 vespa any condition any color. Let me know what you have charles

I have given up on finding anything that is commercially available myself. It seems that there are a (very) few vinyage scooter trailers (mostly from poland!) floating around or you have to make your own.

Design ideas could come from the Kymco Scooter forum on yahoo groups where some guy made his own pretty sharp looking trailer or you could copy the designs of www.rackandroll.com or www.sportsrig.com trailers, both of which use a simple lightweight design. (They would probably work on a scooter but are to big in my mind).

Another option might be to modify a well made bicycle trailer for the scooter. I am planning on building my own aluminum trailer this winter if all goes well.

Good luck,

Desi

This one's a Euro site but it does have a trailer that does fit a Vespa. The top one I believe is the one that fits. Check it out...
http://www.f2motorcycles.ltd.uk/trailers.html

There's tons of scooters with trailers on this page. Nothing for sale I don't think but gives a nice feel as far as looks go. Check it out.
http://www.singlewheel.com/Scoots/PAVFR.htm

The next few a from this sight. Maybe able to work it.. not sure though..
www.motorcycletrailer.com

Stow "n" Go Trailers
Only $695.00 Plus $50 delivery East-coast and $100 Mid-west and $150 Western-states
Features:
Steel frame powder coated in black Fiberglass shell Mudgard 1 7/8 coupler
48 inches long 36 inches wide 22 inches deep 170 lbs. empty weight,
Call 712-461-1435 to order.



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I think that these two a pretty nice looking and would accent the vespa nicely. Take a look!!
http://motorcycletrailer.com/zz/

http://motorcycletrailer.com/donkey/index.html

The problem is not so much the trailer portion of a rig, it's the mounting ball joint system to the scooter.

The only secure way to mount a trailer to a modern Vespa is to the engine mounts like the Scooter Media trailers.

Tikka, I was also going to throw Scooter Media up there, but forgot to do it. Thanks!! After seeing those guys zippin' through downtown Boston I instantly went back to work to google it and read about them.

Hello All,

Thanks for the helpful info from Louis and Tikka! I had stumbled across some of this info in the past while doing research for my trailer project.

A couple of comments/questions:

- I think some of the ready-made motorcycle trailers look like they would work fine behind a scooter but they all seem to be excessively heavy (150+ pounds). I think that a reasonable scooter trailer shouldn't be more than 50-75 pounds or so. What do you guys think about the weight issue?

- Second, it seems that motorcycle or scooter wheels are much better suited to making a scooter trailer than conventional trailer wheels. They would be lighter and with their larger diameter should handle rough roads a little better.

- Has anyone on this list-serve ever made direct contact with the Scooter Media people about who makes/designs their trailers?

- Regarding Tikka's comment about the hitch, I agree that an engine mount or two should be used. I just purchased a nicely made sturdy Stainless Steel crash guard from Motorsport Scooters that I think I can weld a couple of extra attachment points to for those mounts. Then the actual hitch ball/pin can be welded or bolted straight onto the crash guard in the back below the license plate level.

- Last, I plan to use the trailer ALOT as my scooter is intended to replace my car (and I am a part-time commercial contractor/designer) so I don't want/need something with a nice fiberglass shell on it. My needs will be best met with a simple and rugged 'flatbed' with sides on it. This is why I was intrigued with the designs of the sports trailers I listed above, due to their simplicity and the ability to put a simple bed on the frame of the trailer.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated

I don't think that 150lbs on wheels is that much really. It's not going to be a dragster, but it shouldn't hurt performance more than my fat gut does.

I guess if you did a lot of welding and attachment points from crash bars it might be safe. It doesn't sound so great to me though.

I'd copy what has already been done and works...

Scooter Media was profiled in the last American Scooterist Magazine. Check this out:Good luck and keep us updated!!

I wouldn't mount anything to the crash bars. They are not sturdy enough for a trailer.

I just sent off an inquiry to the f2motorcycle folks in the UK to see what kind of hitch mechanism they have developed for a Vespa (they say they have one on their website!) and also sent an inquiry to the Scooter Media folks to see if they will share their trailer/hitch sources with me.

Keep your fingers crossed!

I was planning to use the crash bars (which are solid - not tubular - stainless steel) as the hitch mounting point but want to essentially attach those crash bars directly to the body and/or motor for lateral strength.

Desi B.

You need a frame mounting point. Picture it this way. Get a red wagon, the one that kids have. Put say 100 lbs in it. Now hold the handle and extend your arm all the way straight. Keep your arm straight and yank it hard. That type of movement will rip those crash bars right out of the body of the scooter.

Good point,

I guess I won't be able to truly figure it out until I take the cowls off and look at potential anchoring points.

Given a reasonable european history of scooter trailers I wonder if there will ever be a market for them in the US?

Also - just heard back from the f2motorcycle folks in England - they make a hitch for the GT and GTS but not the LX150 but didn't give me any details.

Desi

scooter media picture from frlickr.

.clickyclick.

Good picture, it is better than most on the scooter media website. I still have not heard back from them, maybe a phonecall is on order!

The size of the trailer looks perfect to me (minus the fiberglass shell on top). The hitch also looks much more substantial than most home-made ones. This is an encouraging sign in regards to how they actually mount it to the body of the scooter - it seems like they would do it right with a set up like theirs.

Desi

Hi all,

A trailer update...

I just talked to a person at 'Scooter-Media' who seemed fairly knowledgeable about their trailers. He said that they make them 'in-house' along with their own hitch design. Unfortunately, he then said it is a propriatary design and they don't sell them or share the info with others primarily due to insurance/liability fears.

That puts me back at square one - designing and building my own - which will be fun but time consuming. Here's to lots of hours in the garage this winter!

Desi B.

Sounds like you need to find out where they will be working and go see them first hand. Take a bunch of pics etc. so you can duplicate!

Or turn to a life of crime and drag a scooter media rider off the scoot and take off with it!

Well there is that saying that floats around this board - Ride like you stole it!

I don't get out to California much but will keep my eyes/ears open for any advertising appearances they do.

I would definitely appreciate it if any MV members ever see them out and about if they would sneak in a closeup picture or two of the hitch and maybe the suspension and post it on the board - that would be really awesome.

Desi B.

I'm not sure how much more of the season they are going to be getting in here in Boston, but I will definetely keep an eye out for you, since I have seen them a whole 4 times since june infront of my work. Keep you posted!! I will also see if I can send the Flickr member, whose pictures I posted, a PM... he may have/be an inside source.

That would be awesome and much appreciated!

Desi B.

I was looking for a golf trailer earlier...

http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5031&highlight=golf

I ended up getting a bicycle trailer on EBay but it was damaged so I'm returning it. The ACE wagons looked promising but I'm not sure how fast you could pull them.

Good luck!

db

Sorry if this has already been posted. I didn't read all the responses beforehand. In my area, which is a destination for a lot of cruiser style motorcycles I have seen 2 new phenoms this summer. One is the trike conversion of a Gold Wing type ride. The other, more pertinent are the motorcyclists who are sporting a coffin as a trailer. Most of these have been painted to match the ride and have an axle about 2/3 back to balance out the ride. I must say they're pretty cool! I could just see a black Stella sporting one in black, how cool???

I still dig the idea of a single wheeled PAV style trailer.



Something with the wheel more hidden and streamlined though.

I agree that the single wheeled trailers look way cooler and would probably be far better for scooter touring. There would be less drag both from aerodynamics and wheel friction (plus lighter weight).

My intent is to find/build a nice looking super sturdy workin' trailer for hauling groceries, construction supplies (I am a part time commercial contractor/consultant), my tandem bike, pumkins for halloween, and a nice pine tree for Christmas.

Maybe I'll have to build both eventually!

Desi B.

I would LOVE to find a hitch for my LX150. We've got a Rack and Roll trailer that's very light and maneuverable. I'm pretty certain the Vespa can handle it at low speed. The tongue weight shouldn't be any higher than a rider. All I want to do is haul one or two lightweight kayaks to a nearby lake. I like the sound of engine-mounted hitches, but apparently nobody currently has a commercial product. I have to think there would be a very real, albeit limited, market for this kind of thing.

Hey 'mstevens',

Vespa Burlington hinted in another thread on this site that they may in fact start selling hitches specifically for Vespas sometime soon but I don't have any details yet. It wouldn't hurt for you to send them an e-mail to see if you get a response - I did but haven't heard back from them.

I am waiting to get my new scooter before trying to design a hitch myself, and am hoping that if I wait long enough, that theirs will be available for sale!

How do you like your Rack and Roll trailer? I love their design but want to make something about half the size of it with a similar suspension system.

Good Luck!

Desi B.

Kind of spendy, but that's my only quibble. My in-laws promptly ran out and got one after they saw ours. We've got a small SUV (BMW X3) and an even smaller garage door (made sometime between 1790 and now), so there isn't enough clearance for a roof rack even with short saddles for kayaks. Besides, now that the kiddo paddles, it's really challenging to get 3 boats up there. When my wife goes out and paddles by herself she has some difficulty getting a boat on the roof. The Rack and Roll is perfect for this. It's quite easy for her to pull by hand with 3 boats on it, and is undetectable behind the vehicle. It doesn't affect acceleration or handling perceptibly. I think the capacity is about enough to hold an LX150 (250lb, iirc) and I'd love to find some sort of track or mount that would let us do that but, oddly, nobody seems to have made a roof rack for scooters. Go figure. For us, anything smaller behind a car or truck would be ludicrous. I'm pretty certain it would be doable behind a scooter. I could see making it narrower, for example, and perhaps having a shorter tongue, but otherwise don't see how you could make it much smaller. Of course, if we couldn't load a boat on it we wouldn't see the point but others might have great uses for such a thing.

There's a huge list of trailers at this site:
http://www.aerobourne.com/motorcycletrailerindex9.htm

Including this little beauty:
http://www.stema.no/

Although you might be hard pressed to find one small enough for a Vespa,
But who knows, There might be something on one of those sites listed.

There is a single wheeled trailer here:
http://monogo.com/Anglais/laRemorque/description.php

Heh

Dave

I just found this trailer after doing a search for a "Mono wheel trailer":

http://www.uni-go.com/

Check out the movies they have on this site of this trailer on the road,
This is one really nice one wheeled trailer for your motorbike.

Movies of this trailer:

http://www.schoolhousemcacc.com/article_info.php/articles_id/5


Trouble with this one is that it might not be able to work with a Vespa,
You can always ask them anyways.

Interesting "Single wheel" directory:

http://www.singlewheel.com/DirectoryFR.htm

Dave

Those are beautiful trailers and I think they would work with an appropriately designed hitch. Some folks in Canada are thinking of releasing a commercial hitch that will fit on a GTS this spring although I think it will be for a two wheeled trailer. I am keeping my fingers crossed right now that this will actually happen.

I did contact them about hitch availability a while ago and was told that there were no plans to make a hitch that would fit a Vespa. Maybe if enough people show an interest they will change their minds.....

My first custom made trailer will be a two-wheeled cargo trailer which will hopefully mutate into a touring-styled single wheeled one like the uni trailers (that will be attempt #2!).

Desi B.