Modern Vespa

So the fugly seems to be at an end. It's given me great years after I rebuilt the top end due to a defective piston that piaggio has never admitted to. It is leaking oil in an area that I am pretty sure I do not want to go into. Not worth the time or money. So...looking for a new ride. Will probably not go with a vespa...I'm just a bit too tall to ride them comfortably. I am looking at BVs and Aprilia Scarabeos. I like the large wheel of the Scarabeo.

Anyway, anyone have input on either or have another recommendation? I like roomy bikes with great handling but not really interested in a motorcycle. I like nimble.

Have I got a deal for you! Step right this way.

Have you ridden a Vespa? Not just sat on it at a dealership, but taken it out for a good rip down a back road. I’m 6’4” and I find my GTS to be a lot more comfortable than my MP3 500 Touring ever was.

Just sayin...

I have.

How tall are you? I guess I make assumptions that most everyone is much under my 6'7" Most of the time I'm right.

Anyway, I find both my GTS and BV reasonably comfortable. I would give my BV higher scores for roominess however, and of course a bit more powerful. Considering your previous ride, it might be a good move. And you're still in the Piaggio camp.

Now, the big challenge...finding room for a frog sticker.

6'2"

Honda NC 750 X Brilliant and Boring in equal measure.

Highly recommended.

The larger the wheel of a scooter and the less manageable it is, the difference ratio between front wheel and rear wheel (rim diameter) is usually one inch. The BV has motorcycle stability but is hard to throw down on corners and in the city it tires your arms (I had one years ago), long-distance scooters. I suggest a Yamaha X Max 300, someone here in the forum has it ... Ask him.

Have you tried the Yamaha XMax? I sat on one and felt just a little high. I'm also 6'2", but shrinking.

I owned a large-wheeled Scarabeo 200 for several years - the Chinese-built variety from about 10 years back - and found it both nimble and surprisingly powerful. Not as much torque as the GTV 150ie I now am riding - but quite zippy. Occasionally, on a highway or a freeway, going at speeds of 65mm, it almost felt a bit too lightweight - as though a strong wind might blow it away.

By contrast, riding a friend's BV250, was a different experience: it felt much heavier - more solid - less likely to blow around in turbulence --- but also it felt a little less nimble or zippy in city driving.

Years before, I briefly rode around on the earlier versions of the Scarabeo - the ones dating back to the early 2000's. The larger one, I think it was a 250, felt very very heavy, solid and well-built. The phrase "built like a tank" comes to mind. It felt significantly heavier than my Scarabeo 200. A good scooter for highway cruising but the adjective 'nimble' doesn't come to mind. I also briefly rode its smaller sibling, the Scarabeo 150 - the one with a Rotax engine that so many people used to seem to like - and of all the Scarabeo's, honestly, it felt the nicest to me. Nowhere near as heavy as its larger displacement sibling, and surprisingly powerful for "only" a 150. I would be tempted to buy another one but, of course, having a 20 year old scooter without a huge amount of parts available, can be risky.

The other larger-wheel Aprilia scooters that always intrigued me were the Sportcity series - but they aren't very common, either.

The Sportcity (out of production since 2008) had 15-inch wheels and therefore very agile and was also light weight (130 kg.). It was produced in displacement of 125cc and 200cc (with three disc brakes).
It went out of production together with the big Scarabeo (250/300, 400 and 500 with Piaggio engines) due to the crisis that was enveloping Aprilia.

I am also 6'-2 and find the large frame Vespa to have the most comfortable seat and seating position of all of the PTWs I have ridden.

The only one that has given me pain was my Honda NC700X, even after changing out the seat for a beautiful Sargent.

But we are all different.

I think a BV350 might be the best choice.

Bill

The BMW scoots are good rides. The C650GT would fit your frame. It's a great ride and a fun bike.

Hey Sticky,

It's too bad Aprilia doesn't make the Mana anymore as I think that'd be a very good option for you.

I'm seriously considering selling my BV350 when I buy a truck in the next month or so.

Has the Gilera GP 800 maxiscooter ever been imported to the USA?

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I have something in the works and once I figure out the logistics I will post about it.

You little tease.

Nope, I wish Piaggio had imported the 800 to the U.S., I would definitely have purchased one.

At just over 6’, and owning an NC700, I am going to disagree with you on this.

Too bad, he was a monster for over 125mph. :?

I'm dying to hear a little more. Is it the "brilliant", the "boring", or the "recommended" with which you disagree?

The NC 750 X 's real selling point is the DCT gearbox which has a tendency to read your mind.

Yes you can encourage it a bit to change down with liberal applications of front brake but it's the up changes that are really impressive.

All you can feel is a little thump as it changes gear and the revs drop a little but because it's revving so low when it happens you barely feel it.

Also because it fires like a single the ( higher than the posted limit ) speed you quickly arrive at and the rpms don't exactly tie up.

It chugs away beneath you but your'e belting along at 80 mph while it's doing 75mpg.

It's very very impressive but because it's so good it doesn't really have a personality.

Well it's certainly boring, I'll give it that.
It's also horribly uncomfortable with the stock seat. It tends to let me slide forward.
Steering is no lighter than my MP3 500.
Fuel economy is only 'OK' at about 55 mpg, though it does use regular unleaded instead of premium. (I commute on it, cruising at ~72-73 mph about 120 miles per 135 mile round trip.) If I cruise at 80 mph, fuel economy drops to 50 mpg (to be expected).
Wind protection is better on my MP3, even with a Madstaad 20" screen on the Honda. Due to the lack of fairings. I tried adding wind deflectors for my legs, with some success. And keep in mind, when riding the MP3 I'm on out-board footpegs at least 90% of the time.

In the end, not brilliant, and not recommended.

I wouldn't write off the 750 because of the inadequate qualities of the 700 because the bigger one is such a better bike.

The seat on the 700 is a torture device and the engine really isn't powerful enough for such a heavy machine - which is typical of Honda to over engineer something.

It's only another 50cc but it makes a world of difference with regards to grunt and mpg.

I've ridden both and I lasted an hour on the 700 because it's so uncomfortable, where as the 750's seat is a godsend.

If I had a choice between riding an IB on a 700 and waterboarding I'd never let on as to where the secret missile base was and take it like a man.

Here the Sports City was only available in 150 and 250. The 250 was my son and husband's favorite scooter.

For comfort the Scarabeo 500 is the single most comfortable scooter I've ever ridden. Like the Sports City they haven't been brought into the US for a long time. The BV 350 or 400 would probably work very well for Sticky. The BV 350 replaced our Sports City as my son's daily rider. A 6'6" friend rides one regularly. He did make a modification to the seat to make it flat instead of stepped for extra room but other than that has done nothing to it.

You're gonna need a bigger 'gallon'

In other news the NC 750 X achieved 80 mpg at 80 mph today with a tailwind and the 115 mpg while tailgating.

How do they do that with an engine that's been pulled out of a Honda Jazz and then cloven in twain ?

Answers on a postcard.

Cheers, Bill Dog.

Is yours the very latest 750X?

I've ridden the first revision from 700 to 750 in 2018. That still had the torture device they called a seat as a standard equipment.

Engine and DCS transmission were truly excellent. It even sounded very nice.

I've read the very latest model now has a new seat design, some other fine tuning too?

Mine's a 2018 750X so it's not the new model but I believe that they made some good improvements, like making the first 3 gears a bit bigger because lets face it you don't stay in them for long on the way up.

I've found the seat on the 750X compared to the 700 so much more comfortable as I had to stop and get off it 60 minutes in because I was in agony.

If I have any complaints it's mainly about the snatchiness of the drive when going from zero.

If you're filtering you have to be careful with the throttle as it bites really quickly from low down.

When caning it off the lights it's perfect but being subtle from stop isn't it's thing.

I really like the bike so I may think about buying a new version in a year or so.

The NC is certainly very economical Bill. You will know it is a long stroke motor to keep the revs down but not actually a very long stroke motor. They wanted to keep the piston speed feet per metre/minute low to keep engine wear down. Think I read it also has an "offset crank" to further reduce piston and bore wear and produce more power and torque. If that's the case, it works! Love the DCT gear box which seems to work reliably, unlike the ones often put in cars. Sorry, hadn't got any postcards!

Agreed

suppose that rules out a Messerschmitt Kabinenroller then

https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/blogs/classic-scene-blog-vespa-lambretta_2795/post/the-messerschmitt-kabinenroller_6247

It does but that is really cool.

Paint it green and it is a frog!

Honda NC 750 X is a twist & go... like a hop-on scooter? 😉

Actually, it was also available in the US as a 300, although I don't know how many were actually sold before Aprilia discontinued their larger scoots. I owned an SC300 for several years and found it to be a great touring scooter.

I really like my SC50. I'd probably like it more as a 250, but for what it is it's a great bike. Looks good, rides great, holds up traffic ... all the things you want in a scoot.