Modern Vespa

that was one of our most memorable views this year on our Vespa Trip in Sicily. - it was a blast!

I kept having to move the V-Rod to get the Vespa out of the garage. The V-Rod was sold earlier this year. I don't miss it.

I lived for a year in Sicily back in 1989/90. I lived in a small town called San Pietro Clarenza on Via Umberto. It is about 1/2 between Mt. Etna and Catania. My step father worked on NAS Sigonela. It was some of the best times I've ever had. Very memorable. I drove an old Fiat 500 at the time but also envied so many of my Italian friends who drove Vespas.

I agree that the time I spend in Sicily was awesome. I recall when my mother would ask for a small block of parmesan cheese, a bottle of wine and some fresh bread to go along with dinner I would walk a mile down the road and come back with fresh food (bread made that day) for about a total of $10. Even then that was a steal. There was also a small pizzeria just next door to our villa. I recall knocking on the door one time, he was closed, but happily opened up and cooked fresh pizzas for us (their pizza is a small plate sized pizza per person). Great people and great food.

We'd also travel to Taormina and spend time snorkling in the med.

I laughed out loud when I read this. Moving my BV 350 about in the garage and just hopping on it and going for a riding fix is so much easier than hauling out the GoldWing. The GW is now history. Cheers.

I owned motorcycles, then mopeds, then a motorcycle, then nothing for many years, then scooters, and now scooters and a motorcycle.

I guess I'm kind of bass-ackwards. Scooters got me back into motorcycles, but I don't plan on leaving scootering any time soon.

I seem to be bucking the trend here: I'm selling the BV350 to purchase a small displacement motorbike. The reason is that I want a lighter bike with more horsepower and ABS. I'm leaning towards the 2019 Kawasaki 400 ABS that arrives in a few months.
My preference would be to purchase a TMAX with ABS, something that is unfortunately unavailable here in the States. Right, not lighter but not as heavy as scoot's available here with similar power and ABS (Burgman 650, BMW & Silverwing).
The handling of the BV350, TMAX and Kawasaki 400 ABS should be on about par.

The smaller Kawasakis are a lot of bang for the buck. When my son started to ride, we picked up a Ninja 250. You could not kill that thing and it was so much fun to ride. Sold it for more than we bought it for when he picked up an older 350z. I got a older SV650 in it's place. Best all around bike I've ever owned. We are now looking for a couple of Ninja 250s for street fighter/cafe builds. Enjoy the bike, I think the 400 will be a perfect size for city riding a nd trips out to the country.

I alternate between big bikes and scooters every few years.
Basically when I fancy a change. There are pros and cons for each.

You nailed it. My Vespa 300 can't do what my Harley Ultra does, nor can the Harley do what the Vespa does. If I had more room I'd have a 3rd bike that could do what the Harley nor Vespa can't. Different bikes, different riding styles and demands.

But if I could ONLY have 1,,,,,,,,,well, I'm nearly 60 years old and been riding many years. Long distance riding is done, getting "there" quick is a thing of the past and I guess ,,,,,,wait, I don't have to pick 1, I have $$$$ and enough room for 2, so they both stay !

^^^ exactly.

What I've realised lately, is that if I'll face the moment that I wish to throw even more money on my toys, I might seriously consider buying an electric motorcycle/scoot -type of thing. But I would keep a motorcycle too.

But no e-Vespa or anything like that, it would have to be something more radical.

^^^i agree...it's about buying the right bike for the intended use...there are so many different types of bikes out there for a reason...because a bike may be better at doing certain things but worse at doing other things...so you buy another that can do those other things...sure you can make just about any bike do other things that it's not really made for but it's probably not very efficient or fun...type of use, performance, comfort, ergonomics, luggage capacity, fuel efficiency, reliability, wind protection, maintenance schedule, ease/cost of maintenance, etc...are all factors in the choice of a bike...ideally i'd love to have some type of adventure bike/sport touring bike for the highway commutes, a dual purpose bike/dirt bike for the off road fun, another supermoto for rips around town and a scooter for putting around during the summer in sandals...i don't have the space or the time to maintain all these bikes at the moment but i can see myself picking up another motorcycle for commuting at some point later on down the line...the problem i have is i want the performance of a supermoto but the comfort of a cruiser...this bike doesn't exist

Reverting back, here. Haven't ridden the PX much. Bonny running sweet after long hiatus. Seriously considering a big twin. Buddy is unrelenting in wtb my PX. Don't wanna let go.



Big "UP" to Trotter!

Went from Honda 150's, to Stella 150, and then made the jump to a Kawasaki Versys 650. I was blown away at how stable and solid the ride was. Still have the Stella for fun rides.

To be honest - Stella is more fun for me to ride, but the Versys takes me places.

this seems to be consistent with scooters vs motorcycles

This was my last motorcycle. I bought online from a dealer in Goshen Indiana.Got it delivered at Bradley airport in Connecticut. It definitely was a good looking bike, not too expensive, just over 4k in 2001. Connecticut DMV gave me a rough time to assign me a title , even after having it registered. They did not recognize the Importer's name from Minnesota. Anyway it took me a freezing March ride to Hartford to get it sorted out.
I upgraded the electrical to CDI, installed a better battery, mounted a different engine sprocket for quicker start from a dead stop. Installed old style saddle. Luggage carrier etc. And better rockers and valve tappets. It was a fun bike to play with and ride around town, not for the highway even with the smaller engine sprocket. I did ride it on the highway to go to Bike meets in Danbury on Sundays but the bike was not fast enough or safe for this kind of ride.
It was a great conversation piece everywhere I went.
But overall it was not a quality built bike, the metal was soft, screws would strip very easily. The charging system was not enough to keep the battery charged. The rear wheel valve blew out of the rim on one of my ride. The carb would blow out the cylinder head sometimes when kick starting it.
I bought it thinking it would replace my old Bonneville 750 but no it was not even close. Sold it on ebay after 5 years.
My new ride the Primavera 150 is everything I want in a bike, looks, quality and reliability.

The 2001 was a separate crank case/transmission, had ignition points and a carburetor. The recent models have electronic ignition, fuel injection and unit construction. The newer models are much more advanced and durable. Unlike the old models which were rolling antiques the new bikes are usable.

Refresh this thread as I see other posts on the forum that others have sold their big bikes to just ride their scoots. I have now sold all my big bikes and have 3 scoots .My 2 neighbors now have purchased Zumas [125] so we have a little group going.

What I have now

2017 Vespa 300 GTS
2013 Aprilia SR50 factory Max Biaggi race replica I just finished restoring this 2 stroke awesomeness
2018 Yamaha Zuma 125

Have some health problems that will, eventually, make it impossible to muscle around a big bike. Bought my scooters against that eventuality. But so far, still hanging on.

I figure I'll sell the big bikes (VStrom, FJR1300) when they get to be too heavy to handle, maybe try to get something mid-sized (600) for a few years, then sell that and rely on scooters. Sadly, I shop at the big and tall store, so the smaller bikes just won't fit.

Scooters are fun to ride. But don't quite provide the same adrenaline kick as a big bike. And with many local highways being, functionally, 80-85 MPH, little if any reserve left with a scooter.

Sold my KTM 690 Duke, fun lightweight bike but only because I expected Yamaha to start selling its Tenere 700cc but then it turned out its massively delayed, especially here in US. The Vespa makes so much sense here in my hometown, beautiful weather 340 days of the year, use it for commuting and errands, easy to hop on and park to get to venues around town. But miss riding a big bike, recently testrode a Yamaha FJ-09 but didn;t fall in love with it as I've done with the last 4 bikes "I was just gonna testride".

We got together with some old friends this week. He and I have known each other since 10th grade. I sold him my first bike, a Honda 150 Dream when I moved up to my "big iron" Honda 350.

On an earlier post in this thread I mentioned my hip issues, and how scooters, and especially the Vespa, are easier for me to "mount up." My friends were concerned about my limp, so we had "the hip" discussion.

He knows I particularly enjoy our hot tub at home and asked if I could still get into that... "Yeah, with some effort and a bit of grunting."

He said, "So, your Vespa is the motorcycle equivalence of a 'walk-in tub'?"

I had to chuckle... but, yeah. Except the scoots have turned out to be more fun than I would have thought, pre-scooter. I am happy just to be riding... well, if/when this weather in the Phoenix area (where we are visiting for the next month or so) ever becomes more typical. It has been cooler and wetter than usual since we got here. Looks like some good scooter weather coming up in a few days.

Well my friend who has been posting photos of snow on the Superstitions s saying that 70f temps start tomorrow. That sounds like perfect scooter weather to me.

Hi Cheryl. Your friend is optimistic. A good quality to have, but the weather weasels here are calling for 71º by Tuesday. 63º Sunday and 66º Monday. And: 0% chance of precip! I'm ready for some riding weather!

ALL GONE FROM MY STABLE













NOW THIS

I sold my Kymco X-iting 400 and bought a Benelli TNT125 and a Royal Enfield Continental GT.

The Continental has some build quality problems so it's going back and in it's place will be a Kymco AK550.

Bill x

In my house the motorcycles are known as "the mistresses"...
I have 5, not including Sunny, my 2012 GTS 300 IE.

Two are 1981 R80 G/S
(one on the road, one in crates for rebuild as retirement project)
1996 R80 GSPD
2008 R1200GS
2018 RnineT Urban GS

My knees are past their warranty period, so my days of riding off-road are limited. I will be selling at least two GS machines, possibly three - if I can get my mind around selling the motorcycle that I have enjoyed riding the most - my 1200GS.

I will invest in a new HP to replace them - while we still can buy high output IC engine motorcycles.
2 Vespas and 2 BMW's seem just right for my needs in the golden years.

Sigh.. why?! You had some really beauties in there. However what you have now is a fine choice if paring it all down to one. I have to admit my Vespa is probably my most "fun" ride and it will get the job done. The biggest drawback of a Vespa for me is the lack of storage and acceleration when riding two up. Even with a modded Vespa that easily goes over 100 MPH and pulls like a beast it bogs down a little when pulling away when adding an extra 100 pounds plus pillion. The larger CC bikes handle the extra weight and weight distribution much better.

That being said if I only had to choose one. Yes, probably the Vespa but it would be a bit of a hard choice and not the one my wife would want us to keep. She much prefers pillion on the C650GT for comfort and view.

As discussed elsewhere (the married non-married, happy not happy, gay, non-gay - thread...) people definitely either do or don't change when they grow up and older.

I just spend a wonderfull week riding a rental motorcycle abroad. And, got reminded that it was no worse due to the fact that it was not my own bike.

So darn, I just realized that if there would be a realistically priced way to do short term rentals and change the bike according to the need and mood - heck, I would be in right away!

I'm not saying that I will never get myself "a project" bike, but right now I would love not to own any bike. Instead, have an access to several different ones.

I used to ride a 94 Honda CBR900RR. Also owned a Honda HAWK NTV650. The CBR got me in all sorts of trouble and I ended up with a Honda 80 Elite. Then a Honda Helix. Then more scooters. I never really went back to bikes after the scooters. My wife caught me drooling at a project 96 CBR900RR and gave me an option. She gave me a pretty good budget to buy whatever I wanted. I looked a CBR's, a Buell White Lightning, Speed Triple, 748 Duck and a few other bikes. What did I buy? A 1998 Yamaha Zuma for $400! I enjoy taking bikes out for a spin but cant see me owning another one. Im a scooter geek for life I guess!

I just sold my Harley to a nice young guy who, I'm sure, will use it more than I did. Can't wait to get my new GTS 300. It's arriving early April. (Yes, I know, it's a bit overdue)

I had a Harley 4 years ago and now a Vespa. I like the more relaxed feeling of a scooter so far. Not a highway driver but love it for urban rides. Vespa is only a few weeks old. [/img]

If you can't buy a Toy with cash, you should not be buying the toy
Good decision Jimjar.

Most of the time. There are however plenty of reasons to finance a purchase even if you have the cash. A credit card obviously is not the way to go on a large purchase unless you can pay it back immediately. I could buy a Ferrari with my credit cards but I'm not about to do it. However paying back a low finance loan improves your credit score and you still have the cash in case of an emergency. There are other reasons as well but this isn't the place to get in to managing finances and I'm not that good at it anyway. I'm married to a CPA who also happens to be the CFO of our company. Handy for sure

I do the Dave Raset thing myself, cash is king. No cash, no buy.

If you pay cash for everything, why would you care what your credit score is?

My inlaws never used credit till they had to get a credit card to rent a car when they were in their 60's.

I've had a bunch of different sport bikes over the last 11 years but just sold my Honda VFR800 this spring and am buying a GTS300.

Just want something practical and fun.

You'd think this would be a good alternative in the US. Travel to an interesting area, rent a motorcycle or scooter and enjoy the ride for a week or two. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work out. Only two bikes readily available as rentals in the US - Large Harley cruisers (at high rental rates), and 50cc scooters (mostly built in China). Neither one holds much interest for me.

Yeah NA sucks for bike rentals. I wouldn't be surprised if it comes down to how our insurance works. I imagine also a cultural thing as not many people here have MC licenses and many that do don't ride much. Maybe in the southern states it's better? Definitely more MC riders in places where you can ride year round without having to plug in to a heat source.

Eagle rider has tons of rental locations in the states, and they rent a lot more than Harley.

This: https://www.twistedroad.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw_T0wJXi4gIVDVXTCh1XBgxwEAAYAiAAEgIiJPD_BwE

Well, actually they don't when you get right down to it. I have contacted Eaglerider 5 or 6 times before a trip . No other rentals actually available but large Harleys. Couldn't even get a Sportster 883 Superlow, let alone a Street 500 or 750. Maybe they have some medium sized bikes available somewhere, but no place I've ever traveled to. There is even an Eaglerider franchise near where I live. The have nothing smaller than a 1200 Sportster and only one of those. The local H-D dealer (which operates the Eaglerider franchise) is actually also a Triumph dealer, but no Triumph rentals.

The Eagle Riders at the BMW/Triumph dealer in Denver has the BMW 310R, BMW 310GS, several BMW 1200s, Triumph Tiger, Triumph Bonneville and even a Zero (something I'd consider renting if it weren't $149 a day). That location doesn't have a single Harley though the other one in Denver has nothing but Harleys.