Modern Vespa

Hi guys may have given my mate the vespa bug lol ,he,s been looking at late low mileage px,s ,is there something we are missing? seems to be bikes with unusually low milage ,He contacted a dealer with a 2013 with 350 miles on the clock but not had the first service? according to my owners manual and the shop its either mileage or time but must be ,6 months or 1000km ,2nd service 5000 or 1 year?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Piaggio-Vespa-PX125-Scooter-Tutti-le-Cose-Special-Edition-plus-2-helmets-/231755689791?hash=item35f5b72f3f:g:QwsAAOSw6dNWSjha

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Piaggio-Vespa-PX-150-2013-63-ONLY-764-MILES-/262109863362?hash=item3d06f71dc2:g:cCUAAOSw~gRV4HzQ

bit bemused,i,m not for a moment suggesting people are just putting new speedos on but
why buy something and never ride it,and its does seem to be a lot with vespa px,s
george

five years ago i bought a 1964 vespa 90 with 400 miles on it.

it happens.

Hi mate that i get occasionally it happens on an old bike ,but void the warranty..........
and i,ve seen several others all around mot time the mileage is then recorded,and several speedos for sale perhaps i'm just getting old and cynical
george

What's strange about that ? Here in the US you can find Vespa's mainly P series that some old geezer bought, rode to store a few times and covered up in garage. Sometimes even Lambretta. My buddy bought a 1979 P200 with 165 original miles. Last bought during fuel crisis in 1979 - ride it home. It scared the crap out of her and parked in garage. Son got as u heritance. Put new seals in, ride for a few weeks and sold.

Hi mate all sounds ok then, i'm just not used to incredibly low mileage bikes no first service abandon the warranty no service history
and people buying tons of chrome add on bits then not ride it ,it does seem a scooter thing,its a bit like this registered as a 125cc but its really a 177 etc
see lots of those as well, people must just buy them either lose interest or as you say just bung it in the garage and forget about it,i have usually bought new or pretty
standard mileage bikes , ive lived by the "if is looks too good to be true it probably is" but might well have cost me a few bargains



george

My 2004 Ninja had 500 miles when I bought it this summer. The guy I bought it from had it for less than a year - he got it with 50 miles on it . It happens - all it takes is one scare and it gets parked.

Bought my ET2 used with 200 miles or so in 2006 (it was a 2002). It happens. These things are toys / flights of fancy for a lot of people. They buy them on a whim and then either get scared, bored, or buy another toy and suddenly it sits for 4 years almost new.

guys i think your right,its me .........every bike i,ve had if the weather's good and its running i,m out on it , 2800 km in 4 months with a crap back lol

on a previous bike 1000 run in, so keen to see how fast it would go, norwich, york ,bristol etc just stop long enough for a burger,i,ve always been a bit dubious about low milage ,but we live and learn

just need to find a p200e 50 miles on the clock dry sored lubed up ,owned by a nun that was addicted to vespa,s but needed to kick the habit ...............

george

there are numerous pretty looking scoots from SEA with under 500km from 'new'.

here is a good example - this is over on FB Vintage Scooter Community classifieds. Priced slighly high as ive seen similar for a little less and no damage.

**Was sold to a guy almost a year ago. Took a deposit and waited 6 months. Guy went bankrupt. Then I have another guy, gives me $300 and 5 months later, he can't come up with the cash.
5 original miles. With MSO. Still has red factory oil in sightglass. Fires right up. Damaged engine cowl and headset cover. Scratches and dings from being a long time showroom bike and long term garage storage. Bought with 2 other NOS dealer vespas shown in pic (sold). Includes NOS replacement cowl and headset cover. West coast delivery possible on truck going west in Jan.**

Hi guys you've convinced me,its probably more common with smaller bikes as you say ..........scared off or a new toy ,and that "i,ve always wanted a vespa" thing ,buy it put it away in the garage ,people that showed virtually no interest in my other bikes seem to be drawn to my little px .I'm amazed at how much attention it gets ,i suppose its a bit of an enigma the classic design but new ,i only notice if i park in town with a row modern bikes
keep me eyes peeled for that bargain
george

it happens with all kinds of bikes. Maybe you just have not noticed. My frnd got an Yamaha RZ350 (RD350LC) with 650 original miles. The guy bought brand new -rode it back and forth to his girlfriends house while she was in college for a few months. Parked it - he became a Arctic explorer or something and never had a chance to ride again. So sold to my buddy.

i,ve never bought or even been offered a cheap low milage bike from and arctic explorer

350lc fun days great bikes ,sold my kh the lc felt like a moto gp
bike ......................destroying the planet is a small price to pay for beauty cant we just ban lawn mowers to compensate ,hate mowing the lawn lol
I do scoure the classifieds late px,s seem to come up more than most but the reasons you guys give make sense,

funny how a memory clicks in
my brother in law was a diehard mod "way of life"now drives an audi lol he's had limited mechanical experience ,we looked at a lambretta in kentish town it was mint condition he missed out as guy wanted cash by the weekend

its probably just that everybody else seems to buy these bikes,perhaps it my turn,this would be nice 20 miles on the clock ................


george

Ive never understood, why the amount of miles on a Vespa matters. My speedo broke after about 500miles, replaced it and snapped after another 100miles, never bought another one. The amount of owners, if & when any work has been done & by whom is more important to me. If everything matches up, chassis number, engine number, decent tyres, rims, exhaust, no unusual rust & it runs ok then thats good enough for me. Im buying second hand so expect to change/fix a few things. Which is why its probably being sold in the first place, as the owner doesn't know how to fix it.

it's not just smaller bikes.

my father bought a less than 1000 mile 1978 Suzuki GS1000 Wes Coley race replica wit ha crate yashimura engine a few years back for $400. it was a limited edition bike they only made like 500 of.

story on it was the brought it in to the shop for service, got arrested and died in prison the shop sold it to my dad for back storage fees.

the thing with bikes is that unlike cars they aren't as practical for everyone, and they take up less space so they commonly get tucked into a garage or storage space rather than sold because it's less hassle to push them into a shed than deal with selling them. sometimes this si because life situations change like a new job, or a new baby. sometimes it's because hey have a scare in traffic. sometimes they get it for a fun summer vehicle and never bother to start using it after they put it away for the first winter.

hypothetically if one were to buy a new bike ride it ,not have it serviced ,so no recorded milage put a new speedo pre mot with say 150 miles ,there is a big difference on price based on mileage,i totally agree with the advice i,ve been given about general low mileage bikes, but i'm afraid not everyone is a honest as they should be i,m not a novice to buying bikes and a nice set of new grips, rubbers and a t cut

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news--general-news/26512-bikes-on-uk-roads-have-been-clocked/16262.html

with vintage bikes ,smoke .........you take a chance its just a value stem oil seal ,experience and optimism ,my px is mint don't ride in the rain clean regularly nearly 1800 miles nearly 4 months ,i don't commute just ride on sunny days, the more miles i put on it the more wear less value i dont care cos i,m keeping it but it does make a difference .low mileage sells

I had lots of great advice on buying a little 2 stroke i did consider a secondhand one ,but with previous bikes i,ve owned ,you would have to be either insane or valentino rossi to thrash them ,but the few px,s i,ve seen around norwich people do actually ride them like they stole them lol

A life time of freezing my bollocks off working on bikes !!!!!!!! no more ......a new bike to ride spare engine to mess with ,my mate loves my px so we are looking for a low milage one,i think the px is the perfect old grumpy man bike all the advantages of classic lines simple mechanics but decent brakes and no bloody points.......and an engine you can actually lift,loads of spare parts available and the stupid thing ,he moaned about 125cc ..we went for a ride last weekend and i,m actually waiting for him !

george

Sorry i was posting as you posted arctic explores and prison deaths

I live in norfolk united kingdom .......................we had a tree fall down in the town with the wind and people come from miles away to have a look,its the big topic of conversation at the local shop,its eclipsed the cat missing cat found story from last week ,and the previous gem "man with memory loss has bicycle stolen from outside shop ....stop press mans bicycle found in his garage" lol
george

me mate bought his an unregistered pk50 for his sons 16th that was found in the back of a shop .... his son duly fucked it

Its not just me then ..............mates ,fathers,sons and friends of arctic explorers ...............................everyone else seems to get all the bargains i,m starting to notice a worrying trend guys

george

George, a lot of people bought new PXs to get back into scootering after 30 years. They thought they'd missed their chance in 2008 when Piaggio stopped making them. However, many get thoroughly narked with the lack of performance and the novelty wears off after two rides. The upside is that others can pick them up for a song and work some magic with the strangled engines, all for much less than they cost new.

Hi the first bit i get and understand but get them cheap,they are i would say expensive considering the age related depreciation its the low milage that's the value,mates decided to go for lml 2 stroke great cash deal brand new with 2 year warranty no mot for 3 years
george

So now you'll BOTH have new bikes you can't fiddle with. I'm almost afraid to ask, but what will you do now?

hi mate the idea behind the spare engine is to allow us to as you say fiddle but have working bikes,he,s not too bothered about warranty in the same way i am as he has several bikes ,a couple assembled he can actually ride lol
its got very cold in the uk so the workshops not as inviting but its all in hand
but at our age everything takes a little longer
george

George, think I misinterpreted your OP. You're saying that the post 2011, low mile PXs are expensive, right? My experience is that many of these are sold cheap privately, but I think a dealer will always want top dollar.

Hi mate not really expensive as they are cheap bikes ,but a 3 years old out of warranty low mileage bike with mot pending perhaps as people haven't used them they probably don't figure those factors into the price ,we scoured the classifieds and auction sites gumtree private adds etc i suppose it depends on what you see as typical depreciation,my bikes 2015 2800 km in warranty mint ,what do you think its worth? what would want to pay for a say vgc 2012 under 500 miles?be interested to know

george

depends how bothered you are about quality control. the 2011-2012 vespa px's come with more problems than most,a quick search will confirm this. the main problem people seem to think was a new factory with new staff?

Hi mate when you put details in to the price guides milage makes a big difference to value ,having looked at numerous bikes and the info i,ve had i do think people either buy on a whim lose interest and put it in the garage or
learner riders as its a vespa and 125cc ,the fact its a vespa has a value that's very had to define, i figured you lose £500 just taking it out of the showroom but an out of warranty but very low milage bike private sale doesn't seem to depreciate that much,might also be down to location, its actually a hard bike to get a average price idea on
i thought my bike was probably worth 2000 /2500 ish cost 3250 ?its not important as i,m not selling it but my mate thought the prices he was getting were crazy so has opted for a new lml 2 stroke
george

LML's are always going to be a lot cheaper than a vespa..years ago I got some fake nike air trainers off a market stall,they were half the price compared to ones from Nike...lasted half the time a real pair would of

your mates LML will be worth half yours in 10 years

same in the lambretta world before anyone kicks off

When I was in the market for a PX three years ago, I looked seriously at a nearly new one, which would have been a 2011/2012 model. However, I found that there were plenty of excellent pre-2008 models available at a better price, so went for a 2005 PX150. It was cheaper than the PX125s, but was registered from new in the UK (PX150 was not officially sold in the UK at that time). As it was always going to get a 177 kit, being a 150 was irrelevant. I also bought the 2011+ seat for my 2005 which is a really nice touch.

I have only anecdotal evidence that the pre-2008 PXs are somehow better than 2011+ (build quality, engine, paint), but I would recommend one over either the post 2011 or an LML. You just have to look carefully and be very selective.

mate,totally agree i think px,s hold there value really well compared to most small bikes.
yes, you can occasionally find bargains, but lots of cheap late low mileage px,s we couldn't find them,you made the point about 2011/2012 we did factor that in so looking 2013 on.if you work on typical 20-35% depreciation in the first year and up to 50% or more over three years with average milage they hold value well ,i think my original question was answered with the buy it put it away in a garage i have never owned a bike i haven't ridden when i can ,we live and learn and most riders i know aren't scared off riding because of the dangers of bikes, that's probably more stupidity than skill lol

george

One thing we hadn't considered was all the bolt on extras and accessories some people put on ,and some get a little "narked" if you say you don't actually want the mirrors or chrome bits etc spending £100s of pounds on bars and bits doesn't add any value for me ,but i can see if you spent the money you might think it adds value,

what is surprising is how many people have a bike registered with the dvla sa a 125cc that isnt .................must invalidate your insurance ,we are "Scatalizzare"the spare but just gathering data testing then will kit and port as my mate has lots of 2stroke experience and access to diagnostic stuff
he,s the guinea pig lol

george

Registering a 150/177/200 as a 125 is common, but those of us that have full UK bike licenses don't need to take the risk. My insurance premium didn't change at all when I slung my 200 engine into my PX150 for 2014. They just made a note on file.

Hi that 125 thing seems very much a vespa thing ,i cant believe how cheap to insure my px 125 i had classic bike insurance and full nc discount on my xs650 and the px is well less than half , i will inform the dvla if i put a bigger engine in, but i know a couple of guys that put a 750 big bore kit in the xs650 and didn't bother telling the insurance thanks thats handy to know it didn't change the insurance may just tell them so i can drop the test engine in anytime
george

if your not changing cc why tell insurance?

you can tell insurance about a 177cc kit but your vehicle would still be illegal as your logbook states 125cc so that would need changing which would make swapping over for testing a ball ache

easier just to be a rebel

hi mate i have now realised people don't register them as they don't have a full license ,both bikes and the spare will eventually end up with some form of de euro or tuning,my mate has a more shall we say adventurous wrenching nature and is already hot on the tail of balls out ..................... testing on private land wont be a problem,so until i decide she will stay 125cc my rebel days are definitely gone not naming bikes lol but i don't believe supermoto slicks are legal for road use .........................i know the little px only does 50/55 but your not going to lose your licence riding her,sports bikes are so easy to ride but feel so pedestrian at legal speeds , the px handles like a camel on roller skates ,has the aerodynamics of a hippo,heavy back light front ,funny gears but all round a really engaging enjoyable ride, i should have bought one years ago
its getting back to the little functional runabout motorcycle,no digital displays no fuel injection simple phut phut 2 stroke ,the second i sit on her and look down at the shift ,clocks i'm transported back 30 years


george