Modern Vespa

I've been hoarding my vacation days to take a sabbatical and ride a moto around Vietnam, but it doesn't look like SE Asia is going back to normal anytime soon. Now I'm thinking maybe I'll take advantage of the remainder of our WFH time (and some vacation days) to ride along the coasts of Italy.

Any tips on acquiring a Vespa in Italy? A quick Google search shows most shops charge 60EUR per day for a GTS. That gets into the thousands really quickly for a long trip. Makes me wonder if I should try to buy a used one, and give it to a friend when I leave.

I have local friends, but between jobs and timezones I haven't been able to ask their advice yet. I know people here have taken similar trips, so I'm asking you first.

I haven't a clue but wherever you go, please post a ton of pics.

My understanding (and I am by no means an authority on this subject) is that to own a vehicle in Italy, you have to be, at minimum, a legal resident: https://aipo.org.uk/2020/01/can-a-non-italian-citizen-legally-purchase-or-own-a-car-in-italy/

That said, I think it’s a fantastic idea. Italy is endlessly fascinating, and I think I could spend a year riding around Italy and never get bored.

I have never rented a Vespa nor purchased one in Italy. I have spent time in Italy and on Sardinia. I could ride a year around that place and it’s not that big.
Have you looked into a bike tours kinda place? I think there is one called Edelweiss. They might be the only company, but I’m sure they have some competition.
Maybe you can blend the expense of rental and accommodations.
Or see if the rental places have a long term deal?
Just spit ballin here, really, but definitely +1 on the photos, when you do figure it out.

I just remembered Facebook Marketplace is a thing.

There's an exact copy of my HPE Touring going for 4900EUR in Torino. The pre-HPE GTSes are going in the 3s. I don't know anything about taxes in Italy, but it sure seems like I ought to be about to buy one (or loan a friend the money to buy one ), ride it around for a month, and then sell it for much less than what a rental would cost.

Would be rad to have an HPE too. The ride would be familiar, and I wouldn't have to worry so much about e.g. a water pump failing.

I wonder how many more days until I go "fuck it" and buy a tomorrow ticket. It might not be many.

As for photos, I'm sure if anyone who knew me read my posts, they'd figure out it's me, but I've still been reluctant to post identifiable photos on public forums. 🤔 Maybe one day I'll post a trip report from my Crater Lake ride from October.

...now I'm wondering what would happen if I brought my US plate (and maybe speedo) and put it on an identical Italian vehicle...

No reason to do that if I can get my friend to title the bike, but an interesting thought nevertheless.

You can count on it.
And only by visiting the most popular places, knowing where to go, do you stay here and come and live there.

----> http://www.italia.it/en/home.html <------

Still doing research. My first friend I talked to doesn't love the idea of registering in his name in case of unforseen consequences (like affecting his property tax).

Here's what I've learned so far:
* It costs about 100EUR to register a used moto.
* subito.it and Facebook Marketplace are the places to look. A dealer in Verona has an HPE listed for 3408EUR on subito, which is suspiciously cheap. (It might be worth trying to register it in the US and export it for that.)
* A company called Allianz offers insurance that covers any rider over 30 for the annual rates shown here. (Found through an ad on subito.)

Of all the cities I've visited but never lived in, Como is at the top of my ranking, worldwide. I've cumulatively spent months there. I love Italy!

I'm now also researching airfreight. Maybe I should just ship my GTS. 😈

Shipping a GTS to Italy? Now there’s a scary thought. (said with no experience whatsoever)

In Italy the best used scooter deals (but with a few kilometers) are made at the end of the summer because there is a type of Italian rider who buys in March and resells in late September and early October.
Distances between 1000 km and 4000 km.
Mine had 450 km. and it is not a rare case ...

My neighbor has riden his Honda adventure bike for months at a time around the world. Last time he took off he rode to the east coast of Canada and shipped his bike to Lisbon. Said it cost $200!! I don’t know details but could ask.

Miguel

That would be amazing.

I spent about 2 years in Istanbul and was able to get a resident to purchase a scooter for me to use which I sold before I left. If you have a good contact there you could do that. It is not the most legit way to do things but works.

For what it's worth, if you're worried about 60/day costing thousands, but eying a 4000 purchase and the major headaches of taxes, reg, and who is gonna have it... I mean 4000 gets you 66 days of riding at 60/day.

That being said, I guess there is a cool "long game" to play of actually buying a scoot there because you could return and do it again sometime for significantly cheaper if your partner in crime is game to keep it

*edit* P.S. I love the idea in general though. Take me with you

Warning ... The feeling you will have driving it will be different, a lot.
It will be like being at a scooter rally every day.
If you buy a scooter here then you might like it too much and you might stay here.

dont some airlines fly your scoot in cargo? not crazy expensive either i believe, but still might be more than renting

Do it! Do it for Charity! Make a Facebook Fundraiser, they are easy. We all should put the Charity part into all our events as often as possible. IMHO.

If it turns our an airline will ship a 320 pound shooter anywhere for $200, I'll be amazed. Only recently did Delta stop charging $200 to take a packed bicycle as luggage.

I’m guessing it was via ship freight. I could be wrong, though.

Before Covid, Air Canada would fly you and your bike on the same plane to multiple destinations in Europe and even Morocco and it was a reasonable price. Check it out.

I'll ask him. BTW, it was an 1100cc Honda Africa Twin, prolly 500+ lbs.
Miguel

I gave up and went to bed at 2 AM, but Air Canada was frequently heralded as an easy/cheap way to fly a moto. Unfortunately, it's a long ride to Vancouver from here.

I’ve done that ride. It’s a nice adventure.

I bet!

Took me 4 days to get to the Oregon border, riding up the coast, so Vancouver seems pretty far (unless you go full Cannonball and just ride from wake til sleep). Accusing to Google, it's 15h each direction if you take the 5 the whole way.

https://transporteca.it/spedizioni-dagli-usa/

Ship the vehicle by road with an internal courier to Vancouver.

But that would not be the fun way to do it!

I have riding pals who've used Air Canada to ship their Harleys to Israel and various cities in western Europe for a reasonable price.

from their website:
Air Canada Cargo's Fly Your Bike program is designed to transport motorbikes whether you are traveling with Air Canada or not.

In light of travel restrictions due to COVID-19 and the fluctuating flight schedule, the program is not available until further notice. Motorcycle bookings for leisure travel will not be accepted during this time.

Bummer - thanks for the heads up!

I two dream of shipping my Vespa GTS with pav trailer to Europe (from Australia) for touring. I’ve spend hours searching online for all kinds of info and as said, unless you have a willing friend to register a local bike for you and run the gauntlet of being for the most part illegal, you have very little chance of buying, registering and getting insurance for your ride.
Having said that, shipping your scooter over for an extending period is very doable and quite popular. Some, accidentally of course, leave their bikes over there for years and fly over annually for vacation.
What I do know is each country has some different laws and forms for temporarily bringing your bike and you will of course need a green card insurance covering third party only for EU countries.
As I said most of this is online so enjoy the search. As said, Air Canada does a terrific deal if you can get up there with your bike. I wish it was available in Aus.

I did a lap around Australia a few years ago. I bought a Piaggio X8 (iirc) from Scooter Central in Sydney and they sold it for me when I left. I did a quick calculation at the time and it turned out renting a car would have been cheaper. Don't know about renting a PTW, though.

Have a great time and as GuzziGal said, please post lots of pics!

I wonder if legal residency is a requirement in neighbouring countries such as France? They're all EU countries, so riding round Italy on a French scooter isn't going to be a problem. If I was going for a long time, I'd even consider buying from Spain or Portugal and riding to Italy along the Mediterranean.

I had the same thought. I checked Switzerland with no luck, but haven't looked farther afield.

I wonder if these do Vespas?

https://www.ride-in-tours.com/motorcycle-scooter-rental/motorcycle-sell-and-buy-back.html

I was just wondering if the Vespa dealer in Nice can do a short term lease.

I'm also keen to contact Piaggio to see if they have a fly-n-buy program, which is apparently more formerly called a European Delivery Program.

But Switzerland isn't an EU country - though Switzerland is formally a part of the Schengen Area regarding border controls.

They don’t and they don’t want to. Rolf Soltau, a club mate who worked for Piaggio, tried to get them to do it years ago. Even talked up the idea to a VP of PiaggioUSA iirc. They weren’t interested.

I suppose there's not much incentive when they're already selling them faster than they can make them, but I would legit buy a Vespa I wouldn't otherwise if they did. 🤷‍♂️