Modern Vespa

Picking up what should be the first of a few Vespa's in my garage. I've been lurking and drooling for years.

Modest start, a 2006 LX50 for my son, wife and I to ride around town. Only 1000 miles on it...really clean. Went with a 50 so that they could ride it without an endorsement. They have both been on 2 wheels before.

Will likely add the 78 main jet and Malossi variator first to see what I can get out of it. If that's not enough I might consider the Malossi big bore kit.

Next one....GTS 300 Super for dad. (Although with 5 kids and one in college already...it might be a while 😉)

Hello from another Minnesotan!

I lived in Mound in the mid 80s. Good times on Lake Minnetonka!
Enjoy the new ride.

to MV from the Sunny Aegean!

Congrats!!

Welcome to MV, have fun and ride safely.

Welcome to MV. Keep it safe out there!

I will. The Lake Minnetonka area is a great place for a scooter.

Aloha and welcome to the forum from Hawaii. Congrats. Pics or it didn't happen. Keep an eye on CL. You never know when a 300 will show up.

Welcome and congrats!! =)

On my way home with it now...pics to follow!!

Um, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but an LX50 is NOT moped-legal in Minnesota.

To be moped-legal and not require endorsement, a bike must me all three of these criteria:

1) 50cc and under (yes, obvs this one is ok)

2) less than 2bhp (i think this one is ok as well)

3) restricted by the manufacturer to 30mph on a flat surface (nope. i do not believe Piaggio restricts)

All that said, IF the original owner got lucky, it MAY be moped plated. DVS and local service centers are not always attentive/clear on plating requirements. If it's moped-plated, you're golden.


EDIT: All that said, WELCOME! Didn't mean to be a Debbie Downer on your intro post!

Welcome to MV from the other side of the river.

Welcome aboard from the left coast.

Is this your first motorbike or just your first Vespa or scooter? It you "are" a newbie, I just want to warn you that you probably will get stuff you need like jackets etc., but later on you'll want something different instead that you now realize is a lot better..

This is not my first bike. Grew up riding motorcycles.

This 50 is already registered as a moped. So Im good to go there.

NICE!!! \m/

Welcome!

Welcome to the forum. Good to see another MN member join the boards. Have fun with the new ride. 8)

Welcome to the Vespa fold. Understand that I very much like you wishing to get your wife and son involved as well. I do have a question though? Regardless of "moped" registration rules in your area, why would you avoid having your wife and son (and you, for that matter) take a motorcycle/scooter safety course? I have found the MSF courses to be excellent, and they certainly make everyone who takes one a better and safer rider. Also takes care of the endorsement issue. I strongly encourage you to look into this.

I can't speak to why others don't take courses.

I personally won't sign up for an MSF course due to my chronic pain. If it picks class day to flare up, I wouldn't be able to ride and would be out the registration fee. (I ride for fun so I don't ride when I'm flared up.)

So this is my first on-line post ever . . . not just on this forum so I apologize in advance if I screw up the format or what have you. I'm a fairly new Vespa LX50 owner and would love to take the MSF course but in Pennsylvania you can't take the course with a 50cc. I've decided to go to the next local scooter club meeting to see if anyone has figured out a way around this (though it's a bit of a moot point for me at present because I pulled off of a country road onto hard-packed dirt with the tiniest bit of gravel on Sunday, the bike went down, I flew off and landed squarely on my shoulder neatly fracturing it).

I just retired to this part of the country and we've got to have some of the most beautiful roads to ride on . . . thru corn fields and past dairy farms sharing the road mostly with horse and buggies.

Have been enjoying this forum and am learning a lot from the many experienced riders who post here.

(BTW, my Vespa came thru the crash with flying colors . . . not a scratch on it. It is such a tank!)

Too bad you can't rent one for the class without a MC endorsement.
Contact those who offer MSF courses to see if you can borrow one. I had never ridden a Vespa more than two blocks before taking a class. Luckily, they had loaners.

Welcome, let the addiction begin.

Pictures please.

Dreu222, Ebersole Power Equipment, where I'm guessing you may have bought your scoot offers a class with the use of scooters. I've thought of taking it there for two reasons, firstly I need a refresher, secondly, I think they use Vespa 250s and I'd just love to try one out. I currently ride a Buddy 150.
Heal up quickly, yet don't 'push it' shoulders are difficult to deal with.

Watch out - You won't be able to go back after riding a Vespa 250! I used a Buddy 125 in my class and it's trash next to my 350 pound Vespa GTS 250!

You're definitely right that there's a huge difference between the GTS and the Buddy but after 5 years of riding the Buddy I'm still loving it. Financially speaking, a Vespa is not in the cards for at least the next several years. But I can dream for the future.

Indeed, I could get a permit and take the course using a loaner bike provided by the group that offers the course and I also have the option of using my husband's Piaggo which is 250cc. The problem is that I don't feel at all comfortable riding something that heavy. I've tried riding my husband (Larry)'s scoot in the school parking lot near our home and I can drive it just fine but am unsteady when I stop; whereas, I feel in complete control of my little 50cc. A month ago I began weight training in earnest because I really want to take the course and figured that the only way I'd be able to do it would be on a bigger bike. With my current injury that's on hold of course.

In lieu of the formal training I spent a lot of time reading up on and then practicing my riding skills in that parking lot and I even practiced maintaining control on both grass and gravel which I was able to do given the light weight of the bike. I also was zealous about using protective gear, including shin guards! When the state policeman came out to take my accident report he told me. "When I heard that someone had wrecked their scooter I thought I was going to find a yahoo in shorts and flip flops with no insurance . . ." I was happy to provide him with a different image . . . as fun and, yes, addicting as it is I do take the risks of scooting seriously. (Other than the broken shoulder, I don't have a scratch on me; of course there's always the chance that if some other part of my body had hit the ground first my shoulder wouldn't have fractured but, still, I'm very happy not to be dealing with road rash.)

Why did my bike slide out? I didn't slow down enough for the type of terrain I was pulling into. Would I have made the same mistake had I taken the course? Probably those of you who've taken the course are in a better position to answer that.

For now, I'll just patiently work on my healing and revisit this issue down the road a bit, though I feel less inclined than ever to ride a bigger bike.

Thanks to you and everyone else for your feedback and concern.

[quote="KABarash"]Dreu222, Ebersole Power Equipment, where I'm guessing you may have bought your scoot offers a class with the use of scooters. I've thought of taking it there for two reasons, firstly I need a refresher, secondly, I think they use Vespa 250s and I'd just love to try one out. I currently ride a Buddy 150.
Heal up quickly, yet don't 'push it' shoulders are difficult to deal with.

-----

Yup, my bright yellow bike was sitting in front of their shop for months apparently and the first time I laid eyes on it I knew it had my name on it. I grew up in Taiwan and rode a Honda 50cc there and, though that was 50 years ago, I never forgot how much fun it was. See my earlier response about the MSF course . . . I want to take the course on my 50cc and that's a no go.

BTW, I don't think EBERSOLE is doing the course anymore . . . the building that's right next to their shop is closed up. You can register for the course online and I think they hold the classes in a couple of different places around town.

Sounds like you've had experience with a shoulder injury; unfortunately, so have I . . I tripped on a rug a few years back and injured the same shoulder. Yeah, extremely painful and takes a long time to heal. I'm very motivated though so will just have to see this thru.

Small world!