Modern Vespa

I am presently riding an '05 Vespa 200L. It is a really nice bike with plenty of zing, but I do NOT like the CVT drive system and would like to have a bike with a manual clutch and a four speed progressive transmission.
That pretty well limits it to a Genuine Stella with a four cycle engine here in California.
I would appreciate hearing from some Stella owners on how they like their rides and how well the rides are doing.

Time to log in over on the Stella Forum on Modern Buddy. That is where most of those folks hang out.

http://www.modernbuddy.com/forum/forum14.html

Youll get better and more objective, real owner info over on modernbuddy.com.

And of course youll be looking at the Stella 4t here in California, unless youre specifically serching for a used 2T which really was never legitimately brought into the "Golden" State.

I had an 09. Got it new. Kill switch broke. Fuel gauge broke. Speedo broke. Coil failed twice. Coil bracket broke twice. It ram fine bit the electrics were horrendous. I sold it after two years. Too unreliable. Numerous loose bolts. It was fun though. Maybe they have gotten better.

Doug and Gordy,
Thanks for the tip on the other forum. I didn't realize they even had one.

Funny you should ask...It so happens I bought a new 2009 Stella 2T late this summer, kept it for around 3 weeks and soon realized it would be a can of worms to own. Not that it wasn't fun to ride, it was indeed plus it was cute as can be. The problem I had with it was riding up hills at 35 mph and seeing the radiator of a log truck growing larger in my mirrors, worse even than Darth Vader.

Add to that the fact that various parts fall off while oil finds its way out of the dark regions migrating onto the hot exhaust pipe and that you'll no doubt soon become accustomed to riding in the dark without benefit of artificial lighting will all develop into a sort of status quo. Of course people will smile and wave and come up to you to ask about it in parking lots and ramble on and on about the one they owned as a kid in 1954, etc., which may or may not provide you with the fulfillment missing in your life. That would be the good part. There is also the buzzing along through the countryside on a warm sunny day with nowhere in particular to go and no schedule to meet which will give you a truer sense of the meaning of life. Italian style.

All of that is well and good but given that I hold an aversion to up-close views of logging truck radiators I decided to bite the bullet and soon took up the search for a 250ie. I found one in near perfect condition with all the right stuff and located not too far away. It belonged to the owner of the Wheel Works Vespa dealership in Eugene, OR and we struck a deal. What a difference, what a blast it is, just as friendly as the Stella and reliable as can be.

Would I ever own another Stella? Hmm...possibly but not likely as long as I reside in the land of large radiators. And the price, what about the cost of all this silliness of owning one for less than a month? I expect the hemorrhoids will clear up in another year or so.

LL75

My first thought upon reading this was, what a shame you didn't happen on to a decent P200 Vespa instead of that pretty Stella. Try one if you ever get a chance - goodbye logging truck fear. Lovely 250 regardless!