Vespa 300 GTS HPE

[Data]

Interesting to hear Scootles about the laminar lip. I may have to try that on my mid size screen. Thanks for mentioning.

[MrGrumpy]

I had a laminar lip on my former mk3 Tmax - worked brilliantly, apart from silly sticky fixer things they gave you. However, I think they are model specific, so check. There are other deflectors such as MRA/Puig - these seem to work well as well.

[iansoady]

I had an MRA on my Triumph Tiger 955i and it worked very well. As I have a long body so lifting my head more than the average person I made a deeper deflector out of Perspex and that was great.

[Scootles]

Mine is an MRA Type XC KBA 31048. It came of my CB500X.The mounts pivot so it can adjust to screens of different curvatures. It adjusts from 1.75" to 2.75" above the fixed screen. I'm 5-10" and at it's lowest setting I would find it a bit intrusive on a wet night, when I prefer not to be looking through a screen. But I don't do that any more, so it's all good!

[abitmad]

The medium screen finally arrived after a few weeks wait. I fitted it today and went for a 10 mile run including some fast stretches to test it. It makes a huge difference. Previously I had the flyscreen that comes original on my Touring model, looks neat but it was never much good, even in the summer, especially as I prefer to ride with an open face helmet. But with the new med screen I can ride with an open face and no visor, just my shades. I'm 5' 8" and have to sit upright to see over the screen, or accept looking through it if I slouch. It doesn't look too bad either, avoiding the awful appearance of the full size screen whilst still providing very decent protection. Not sure Ii'll ever go back to the flyscreen, even in hot weather.

One odd side effect is that the bike sounds different, louder, presumably due to the sound being reflected off the larger screen.

That makes three items I've added, a CTEK permanent battery lead, a Beeline nav device and the new screen. Oh and I bought a pair of heated gloves, the kind that use their own rechargeable batts.

[Data]

Excellent Abitmad. Glad you are having fun. I too have the genuine Vespa mid-size screen on my GTS and it is a bit noisy. I'm 6'2" but still find it useful for keeping off the wind blast from my upper body. My normal cruising speed over big distances is around 60-65mph if I'm not in a hurry and it's fine at that speed. Above 70mph surprisingly I find the bike gets quieter, as if the wind is going more around and over me. I too use an open face helmet a lot of the time with a visor for protection. In winter on long rides I tend to use my full face which is a bit quieter.

On another note, I was asked to take a friends Burgman 650 down to Kent during the week. A distance of around 130 miles one way. I came back by car. Got to confess the B650 was horrible compared to the GTS300. I've had two of them in the past a found them pretty much ok except for the transmission belt breakages. And they are quite comfortable, but the weight was horrendous and I'd forgotten just how thirsty they are. Handling was very sluggish. Getting back on the GTS was a pure joy, that flickability, the acceleration, the fun diving into corners etc etc!

ps: not trying to insult anyones B650 it's just I've been off of the B650 for so long and it was a shock to get back on one after 5yrs of the GTS.

[abitmad]

I've now done 2,070 miles so an oil check was required, particularly in view of some reports that these engines are oil consumers. My last check was at about 1,000 miles when it was right on the max mark so I've done about 1,000 since. The new level was just a couple of mm below the max so it has used a little oil but not enough for a top up yet. My riding is a lot of fast roads at higher revs so I'm likely to be on the heavier side of usage.

[smeghead]

I popped out for a quick spin on mine yesterday. 95 miles later I came home. Awesome machines.

[Data]

I've now done 2,070 miles so an oil check was required, particularly in view of some reports that these engines are oil consumers. My last check was at about 1,000 miles when it was right on the max mark so I've done about 1,000 since. The new level was just a couple of mm below the max so it has used a little oil but not enough for a top up yet. My riding is a lot of fast roads at higher revs so I'm likely to be on the heavier side of usage.

Just a suggestion abitmad. 1000 mile oil checks are a bit too far apart to be safe. I know of a couple of folks with the HPE that ended up running the bikes down below the min Mark on the dipstick. This resulted in engine damage to one of them. Worst was it wasn't covered under warranty! You can get away with it maybe the first couple of thousand miles after a service when the oil is nicely in spec. But after 2000 miles on the oil the motor starts to consume a bit more and you'll almost certainly find the level dropping much more. So keep an eye on it. Mine used none up to 2000 miles then it's starts to use some as the miles go on the oil. In my case we are talking tiny amounts of oil but the HPE can use more. The oil starts to break down bit by bit and is the reason for the extra consumption. Nothing to worry about and quite normal.

[abitmad]

Will do Data, thanks for the tip. The handbook says to check the oil before every ride, which is ridiculous in my view.