Modern Vespa

I have no clue how much any of my bikes cost as that all goes through my accountant. The only bills I see are when I add upgrades like shocks etc.

one big thing is that parking is free for motorbikes in Toronto and in season we also have dedicated parking spots just for motorbikes. My guess is I park about 3 or so times a day and the savings alone probably pays for the cost of the Vespa. In general though Vespas are not expensive to own or maintain especially if you do not own a car and have that expense as well.

Dooglas,

You are correct. The only thing here that can be adequately compared is
the annual road tax. Insurance and coverages selected are drastically different.

Road Tax: Minnesota annual cost of renewal license plates. $30 in Minnesota due in Feb.

Disclaimer: I am a licensed Insurance Agent in Minnesota. The big difference in
scooter insurance applies to the medical coverages that cover your body
if you are injured on your bike.

In the USA insurance is determined State by State (Not Federal country wide)
Despite this, State by State coverages are standardized.

If you go way cheap - you may have waived all medical coverage or have minimal.
Many do this if they have adequate separate health insurance.

The big cheap out is to waive or have minimal insurance that covers you if you
are injured by a At Fault party who hits you. This coverage is for wage loss, pain
and suffering and medical costs. Due to the statistic that you are much more likely
to get injured on a two wheeler, I find folks making a big mistake not having this
coverage. I have $500,000 of this. I pay $349 annually.

It is my blind prediction that in the USA, if you are paying under $100 annual for
your scooter insurance, you are not covering your body.

I publish this fact annually with my scooter riding group and tell everyone best of luck.

Conclusion/Restatement - you really only can compare the road tax and cost of fuel.
The insurance difference between countries and States here in the USA is significant.

Bob Copeland

Parking a bicycle or a moped is free here, but parking a motorcycle (anything above 50cc here with a numberplate starting with M) is not. They are considered to be cars.

The advantage is that in practice a scooter like my Beverly or a Honda SH or a Yamaha XMAX or similar is not really recognized as a motorcycle. So you can park them in the parking spaces for bicycles and mopeds without any problem.

Interesting. I would be interested to know how they define what is a 'scooter' and what is a motorcycle. Also how can they define a motorcycle as a car?

Parking a motorcycle is free in London (apart from Westminster) with a lot of options from dedicated bays to using resident spaces depending on the borough. It is a bit complex to know all the rules as it varies so much between boroughs.

2019 Supertech daily (not a weekend ride on 'historic' / 'special interest' plates that is way cheaper)

comprehensive insurance for replacement value of AU$12000/US$8800 is AU$403/US$296. Cheaper if I add an alarm.

rego AU$534/US$393. This seems high BUT it includes AU$430/US$316 that is termed TAC which covers medical treatment and rehab and income assistance etc in the case of an accident.

petrol: regular unleaded 91 AU$1.50/litre, super 98 $1.75/litre

plus $1200 in speeding tickets last year

parking in here Melbourne is on the footpath in almost everywhere. But not in most other parts of Australia

What percentage of the average wage where you live do you spend to own and operate your Vespa?

How much would it cost in bitcoin now?

How about now?

And... now?


The day I see a harbor freight motorcycle carrier on the back of a hearse, I will sit down and figure out what it'll take to take it with me. Until then I'll just keep sticking the plate with the valid tag on which ever of my scooters runs and has enough gas to get to the nearest filling station. I used to get free fuel, but now my neighbors cars have locking gas caps.

There is no definition for a scooter. Motorcycles with an engine larger than 50cc or with a 50cc engine but faster than 45 km/h are motorcycles. They have a number plate that starts with an M. Mopeds, 50cc, have a number plate that starts with an S.

Motorcycles are supposed to follow the same parking rules as for cars. But motorcycles, scooter type, such as the Beverly or the SH, are in practice tolerated in parking places for bikes and mopeds.

I'm not in the city of Harrisburg, but, a rural area 30 min. from Harrisburg. I'm 2 hours from Philadelphia, 3 hours from NYC, and 4 hours from Pittsburg.