Modern Vespa

I'm thinking about buying a Vespa 150 or 300 and wonder about the real-world performance and ownership cost differences. I live in an area of Texas (USA) that has some rural roads with 70MPH speed limits, though most are 65MPH. I need to be able to run with traffic for safety so, a real-world capability for 60MPH is needed. I also don't want to destroy the engine prematurely with too much high RPM usage so, I'm thinking the 150 might not be a viable option.

TIA,
Sid

A 150 is good in the city

A 300 is good anywhere.


300s are way way quicker, get one 🛵

It depends on what you want to do. Around town, a 150 is perfect. If you want to venture out and need to take a freeway to some nice twisty road, two-up, or go camping, then get the 300.

I'm with steelbytes, and vote for the 300 as a good all arounder.

Take the MSF or equivalent in your state; and, determine your comfort level. You are the only one to know your comfort level; hence, which Scoot to purchase. Best of luck!

I have my motorcycle endorsement and I have taken the MSF Basic course.

I wore out my Kawasaki KLX-250S doing about 1,000 miles a month on it. Mine had the enduro frame and suspension and was a ton of fun but, struggled to do a sustained 55MPH.

Putting both your posts together it seems like the 300 is for you - I suspect you'll outgrow the 150 quickly.

That being said I do think smaller scoots are best for true dense city-only riding. But that doesn't sound like your use case

You live in such a big state, it would be a shame not to be able to roam a bit.

If you plan on any interstate work or faster roads, 300cc all day. And this is from a 150cc owner that never leaves city and side streets.

"Dense-City only" is avoided even in my car. Life is too short to spend it in heavy traffic with distracted drivers.

I like nimble rides but, ~12Hp seems pretty weak for my use out in the 'countryside'.

The 300 is still pretty nimble. Well, until you load it up for a 10 day trip and enough tools to start a Vespa repair shop.

But, barring that insanity, the 300 will surprise you with how "flickable" it feels.

I've only ever had the 300, but I wouldn't ride any smaller on those roads. My HPE gets up to 70 pretty easily, but takes some patience on the flats to get to 80. If you're riding on 70 MPH signed roads, I wouldn't even consider anything smaller.

Unless I need speed, my Moto Guzzi stays in the garage. As much as I love her, I love my Vespa more precisely because she is so flickable.

+ 1

If I lived in Texas (or the USA in general) I would always be in the saddle and would make sure that I could have more time for the miles to go using a faster but also more comfortable vehicle.
Certainly a Vespa for style and agility or an X Max 300 for sportiness but not a 150.

I see the Yamaha and Suzuki versions mentioned a lot. My time in Italy over the years certainly demonstrated the popularity of rides like this.

Why are the X Max and Burgman so popular over there? Is it a cost issue relative to Piaggio and Vespa or, a capacity issue? I would tend to think the local Vespa/Piaggio options would be huge but, random observation suggests the Japanese variants have a very strong following.

Like the Fiat 500 and Panda, I would think Vespa would own the market more than my observations suggested.

I can say from experience (my 200 is a 12hp) that touring on back country roads is totally fine on it - done some long distance riding and very enjoyable. But freeway is a no-go. I don't know how hilly it is where you are, but that can even make higher speed secondary roads frustrating in some cases if there's traffic behind you.

Sounds like the type of riding I enjoyed a lot on my KLX-250S Kawasaki dual-sport. ~45MPH on a Sunday morning was super nice!

The two biggest issues for highway riding were its light weight causing it to get blown all over the road and, the steering which was way too fast for the highway and great for technical trails.

Horsepower was similar to your ride.

It looks like the consensus here is the large frame Vespa FTW. Buyers remorse is much more likely if you find you don't have enough HP for the task at hand. I'm admittedly a bit biased as I see the 300 as a small ride and couldn't see myslef on anything smaller. I'm 5'11" and 185 pds so there is that I suppose.

Regarding riding on the slab we all know the 150 is punching above its weight class so best left on the side roads. The 300 honestly I think is just fine and I don't hesitate for a second when it comes to freeway travel on it. Yeah it's a bit light maybe so avoid very high winds and inclement weather. Otherwise just point it where you want to go and it will get you there. I find in many ways I have more fun with the Vespa on the freeway than my Bavarian girl that is literally built for it.

The other benefit of the large frame is storage. I don't know about you but as an urbanite I very often find myslef grabbing some groceries or other essentials when out and about. The 300 can hold a surprising amount of stuff especially with a top case and front rack.

I always find it a little funny when people start recommending other brands when someone asks about what Vespa they should get. Maybe I'm just a rare breed but to me nothing else is a Vespa. I don't see the Vespa as just a scooter I see a Vespa as a Vespa. I will always have one in the stable. I do get that many people do see it as just a ride but to some there is more to it than that.

There are scooter people and there are Vespa people. I'm Vespa people.

I take my 150 on the freeway for 5 miles, I'm generally pulled along by all the cars right around the rev limiter 67mph, Consistently over 60 on level ground, no wind or cars
A good honest 55+ against wind & most hills

The 300 is watercooled, the service is more complicated, requiring coolant changes & probably a new water pump seal from time to time & is bound to burn up more fuel, insurance & registration slightly more expensive
There are less things to break on an air cooled one & it's easier to work on should you choose to

How much time do you spend at full speed?
1000 miles a month sounds like a 50 mile round trip commute
On your 250 you have figured out light bike windy conditions
The 300 is a 100 pounds heavier & a couple of inches longer, marginally more stable in the wind

You will bottom out the suspension on either scooter [not curb jumpers] more often than you did on your kawi, but the scooters turn better with smaller wheels
The gyro is all in one place with the back wheel bolted on the gearbox
The relatively relaxed steering geometry of scooters keeps everything predictable in a slide in the dirt & wet

There is no replacement for displacement
Lighter is easier

Bought a 50 in May and a 150 in July. Both were plenty big when they Arrived!

I wonder when the 300 will arrive?

Buying the first two were quite an adventure. Can’t wait to do it again!

But then a new house with larger garage. Oh my.

Curious why the 50? The cost difference to the 150 seems pretty minor and the 150 seems to have some mechanical improvements that are worthwhile. Even puttering around a retirement community at a fast walking pace, I think the 150 would be an easy choice over the 50.

In Europe, I can see the 50 being a more viable ownership experience due to the layout of those cities and licensing requirements.

Now if someone had an unloved 50 languishing in a garage somewhere, I could see taking it home for a good price and using it to check my mailbox and similar things.

In Europe, pretty much the only people to ride 50's are youngsters who are too young to ride anything larger. 125cc is the golden number - in many EU countries you can ride one with just a car licence.

Simple.

1. I had never heard of MV

2. I was buying as a lark and just wanting to get my feet wet.

3. I confess, that even the 250 pound 50cc Vespa seemed big and intimidating then. I know that’s laughable to you experienced pros but for me the first powered two wheel vehicle in 50 years.

4. Found a great deal on a like new 2015 machine. Cheap enough that it wouldn’t be painful if I decided to trade up later.

I do prefer lighter more nimble rides in general. I'm having a hard time getting a ~900cc ADV or ~1,000cc sport tourer for normal everyday rides. I got a 250cc dual-sport instead of the 650cc for that reason. All I needed in deep sand or on a challenging trail was another 80lbs up high tiring me out faster and making it much harder to get to the end of the trail. About the only time a 650cc dual-sport would have been better is running on the Interstate and on really windy days. I could get a weeks worth of groceries on my KLX-250S with no storage in the backpack I typically rode with during normal pleasure rides.

I did look at a Piaggio Beverly 350 which is a storage monster but, it is plenty big and didn't do much for me. It really depends on what you are after. Is it just a "commodity" that gets you back and forth to work or the grocery store or, is it really a passion for the brand and the ride? I see this same thing with Harley's, Ducati's, and BMW's in particular. I have a good car so, I ride because I WANT TO! Some people are passionate about their horse, boat, or airplane but for me, it is all about the ride.

Personally, I don't want to be close enough to "draft" because I see too many unpredictable things that could get me hurt or outright killed. My KLX-250S is water-cooled which definitely had advantages when I was in stop-and-go traffic. In terms of maintenance or expense, it has been a trivial difference between it and my previous air-cooled Honda dual-sports.

In terms of tangible cost differences, compared to safety gear (jacket, boots, gloves, etc.) the cost differences are pretty minor. MPG for me is really as much about "range" as it is about penny-pinching at the gas pump. The daily workweek was ~32 miles with long weekend pleasure rides and a few during the week for good measure.

100lbs of weight difference is a lot on a bantamweight like these! Yep, my days of hitting speed bumps on the street at 40MPH to get the suspension to compress are in my past.

I don't draft, it's like having the wind at your back everyone going in the same direction, especially with a topbox & a windshield

I find the bigger the scooter the less scooterish it is
The more it weighs the harder it is to recover from a mistake

I bought a 400 burg for my wife to graduate to after a chinese 150, she never could get comfortable with the weight
I had a 650 burg, super comfy on a smooth road, 2 up, a bit of work at lower speeds
In recognition of my increasing decrepitude & my wife's joy of soloing, traded it in for a 2nd Liberty

Our situation changed when my wife fell & hit her head walking & had what amounted to a stroke, knocked a few connections loose we weren't sure about soloing

We traded a liberty for an MP3, which doesn't feel as big as a burg & has a plush passenger perch, the locking tilt greatly eases mounting up
It's hard to explain how scooterish the mp3 feels, some piaggio geometric voodoo, that at worst feels 1/2 planted in the front


The wife took out the Liberty for a ride much to our mutual relief

When I agreed with Le Wife nearly six years ago to forego getting a full-on MC for a scooter, and then decided it had to be a Vespa, the choice was clear as day. When asked where I'd possibly want to go with a GTS, my answer was pretty clear as well: "wherever the hell I want."

Many 150 owners love them and never look back.

But many others find out quickly that, for their expectations, a faster scooter is needed.

I recommend that you decide now how you want to use the scooter.

I went from a 50cc Malaguti to a Vespa GT200 when I realized that I wanted to ride to distant destinations.

If you don’t, then a 150 will be fine.

Bill