I enjoy my Vespa (GTS250ie) a lot, I use it both for professional transportation, as well as for personal use.Downtown, traffic is often congested, parking is always expensive or problematic, and the Vespa is a very effective solution to both.
On holiday trips, I started to realize it is actually one of the best vehicles to discover the world :
* riding on a motorcycle (or bike) allows to experience the landscape and scenery in a more intense way (compared to car, bus, train,..)
* it's speed is slow enough to be able to experience everything, yet fast enough to make some progress through the day
* it's not too expensive
The only disadvantage or problem is that you can't really take a lot of luggage with you : there is a small rack at the back, but it only accomodates a small bag. In front of the driver is a hook, which will hold a small rucksack.
I really needed more storage, either for equipment on profesisonal jobs, or for camping gear during the holidays.
After seeing some examples of single-wheel trailers for bikes and scooters, I decided to make a multipurpose-trailer for my Vespa
Given the complexity of this project, and the safety (and road-legal) requirements, this was going to be a project which would take several months. Your needs and capabilities are likely to be different, and so you probably won't be able to build one yourself simply following this instructable. Still I hope that this story may help and inspire you to build one, some day.
Good luck & Hope to meet you on one of my trips one day !
Requirements Meet legal requirements. They differ from country to country. Google is your friend, as well as the forums of local scooter or motorcycle clubs Safety : strong construction for worry free rides. Durable : must withstand Europe's roads and weather conditions. Payload : >100 liter of volume, and about 40 kg of weight. Legally, the trailer has a maximum weight of 50% of the vehicle towed by (150kg), so that means a total weight of max 75 kg. This led to the option of building it in Aluminum. Comfortable ride : should not limit maneuverability of the Vespa itself. Ideally it should feel as if there was no trailer being towed/ No permanent modifications made to the scooter. (in case I want to sell it some day.) Parts list 12" wheel : I managed to buy one on ebay for 25 euro Faes Cases Defender Aluminium Case. I used a FA-74 type of 990mm*450mm*380mm (162 liter of volume) Aluminium tubes : 40mm*20mm*3mm 2 * 1050 mm 2 * 400 mm 2 * 360 mm 2 * 150 mm 2 * 380 mm 1 * 220 mm 2 * 255 mm Plywood : 980 mm * 440 mm * 12mm 2 x 4-function light block (rear light, braking light, turn indicator, license plate light) 3" caster. 2nd license plate
Tools
I can't be 100% exhaustive on the list of tools, but here are the most important ones Tape-measure, Caliper Steel carpenter's square Disc grinder Drill press AC TIG Welder Costs : total 500 euro = 650 $
Case : 300 euro Aluminium tubes : 70 euro Argon (TIG Welding gas consumed) : 20 euro Plywood : 5 euro Lights : 40 euro Caster : 15 euro Wheel (second hand - ebay) : 25 euro 2nd license plate : 25 euro
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