Modern Vespa

Hi everyone, I searched the forum and couldn't find what I was looking for.

I am an experienced motorcycle rider and I want to get a Vespa. A few months back I checked off a bucket list item in my life by riding a Vespa in Italy. Rome to be exact. It was nuts.

Anyway I am looking into used bikes. I am pretty sure I want a GTS 300. I am 6' tall and I will ride with my wife on the back from time to time and she is 5'8" so I'm sure we could use the extra room.

I have been trying to research the differences between years and I'm pretty confused. I am in Southern California and I have seen a few for sale like 2014, 2016, 2018. Are there differences in those years? Do they have LED lights in the US? I had read other threads saying in Europe they got LEDs on some years but we didn't. Is it still the case that we don't get LEDs? If not what year did that start?

Anything else I should know about the years? Anything I should look out for so I don't miss out? The 2014 Super I saw looked like it had a really old style speedometer. I like the newer looking speedometers I have seen.

I also don't understand the difference in 300 models. What does the Super model actually change? I get that touring has racks. Does it matter which trim all that much?

Thank you for your help.

Same engine and transmission in all three . The 2015 and later have antilock brakes, 2015-2017 has a different design front shock. Otherwise, they are pretty much the same until the HPE engine came in 2019(?).

Thank you. I finally found all of Robots videos explaining the differences of years and trims.

I see that everything is pretty much the same it mainly comes down to colors and trim bits.

He mentioned that the 2016 front shock may be more fragile than the other years. Is that the consensus around here or should I just focus on getting the best condition bike I can find regardless of year?

Get the best condition bike you can. If you want ABS, go for something 2015 or later.

This is a great bike with low miles. I think it's overpriced by $1,000. Has the new digital dash, and ABS. Best of all for me, non HPE. You could ride it home: [California - Bay Area] SOLD 2018 GTS 300 for sale

There is some controversy among members about the merits of the ESS front suspension on the '15-'17 GTS. I have a '15 (owned it since new) and I like it better than the suspension on my previous GTS. If I were personally looking for a used GTS, I would seek out the ESS model.

Wow thanks for the tip. Why do you not like the HPE engine?

So you think a year and mileage like that should be $5,000? Thanks.

HPE are a better engine but a few people don't like that you have to check the oil more often.

As in just checking the dip stick more often and topping up?

How is maintenance on these bikes? Do they need much more than oil changes regularly?

Yup. Old GTS generally didn't need topping up, the HPE i find needs one or two top up between services. No biggy. I've never had a car or motorbike to compare to only Vespas so I'll skip this question beyond saying they feel low maintenance to me

Scooters need tires more frequently than cars, and belt changes are an issue that you don't have with cars.

Pull up the maintenance interval charts for the HPE vs the non-HPE. Belt and valve adjustment every 6k on the HPE. Combine that with a rear tire every 6,000 miles, and you are looking at a very expensive hobby. If I can spend $5,000 on a scooter that will deliver 90% of what a $9,000 scooter will with half the maintenance costs that is the one I would choose.

There is a 2018 with 650 miles near me for $4,500. That is why I think the white one is over priced.

Oh yeah if that's the case I totally get it. I am actually trying to get away from maintenance intervals. I thought about an electric scooter but it just doesn't make sense for the price right now.

I have a couple ATVs, the cars and a motorcycle. Everything needs oil changes and it gets tiresome. Lol

with a non HPE bike if you're riding for enjoyment and leisure then you'll probably only do one or two oil changes a year and probably about the same on a rear tire and maybe a front tire. throw in a big service every other year.

Yeah that's what I'm looking for. I have a BMW K1600GTL for longer distance rides and fast stuff. I'm really just looking for a fun thing to putt around on locally. Head to a store on my day off and look at stuff or something fun to take to go get breakfast or lunch.

That brings me to another question. I was originally looking at much lighter weight scooters in the 125cc range and had seen that some people would chain them to bike racks.

These seem pretty big and heavy for someone to just come pick up. Do you guys do anything special when parking or do you just park it like a regular bike and just set the key to lock the bars?

By the way you guys are a very helpful and welcoming community. I didn't get one snarky comment about using the search feature or anything. So thank you guys so much and hopefully soon I'll be an official member!

it's licensed as a motorcycle, even the smaller CC bikes, so it has to conform to all the typical parking rules. have I parked by a bike rack to run in somewhere? sure. but not for any length of time. same for the sidewalk-- like maybe for a bit but not for hours at a time.

park it like a regular bike and lock the bars. if you're concerned there's the usual anti theft devices out there. for some insight on that I will suggest the search function! ha!

welcome to MV

Hahaha. Yeah I get that by law it has to be in a parking space. I was just wondering if it is something to really worry about since it's pretty heavy but like my other bike I will have full coverage so if someone steals it I guess I'm covered.

I just use a disc lock as it not likely they will pick the bike up as the thieves here arrive on scooter!

I promise you that darned few scooter thieves in SoCal, or around here, arrive on a scooter. Most likely they arrive in a pickup truck.

Yeah I have a F250 with a 1,300 lbs. hydraulic lift gate on the back. I'm not in the stealing business but if someone with my truck was, it would be extremely easy to wheel a bike onto the lift gate and hit the switch to lift it into the bed.

OP you have chosen the path of wisdom.

Big moto for long distance / two up if any

Scoot for the rest - mega fun

Myself I have an RT for long distance / brutally cold weather and two (2!) GTS for all my in town, ride to work, ride for errands, etc. - scoots get way more duty than the 1200

All the best -

Nice! Why two GTS? So you can match the color to your outfit?

Fun fact: in Toronto we can park scooters on the sidewalk for free as long as they're not impeding pedestrian traffic.

I have a liter bike, a touring bike, and a small displacement Vespa. Personally I would rather take my 650GS through the city than a GTS. Similar size and weight, but the GS' suspension, weight, low center of gravity, and tranny (subjective), make it a much better small displacement vehicle than a GTS

However, I don't take my BMW through the city because I have a small Vespa instead. Small Vespa in the city = an absolute weapon for cutting through traffic. Big Vespa in the city = a not so great small motorcycle.

Food for thought, depending on where and how you want to ride your Vespa, a 150cc may offer you better variety to your fleet.

My people! My first bike was a 2013 G650gs. I loved it and sold it at the start of the pandemic after I got the K1600.

That bike wasn't my idea of low center of gravity though. I think too tall for that but it was balanced well. Handlebars also a little wide for splitting traffic easily.

Thanks for the tip about the 150. I think I'm firmly in the hunt for a 300 though. It's gonna be much smaller than my k1600gtl but fast enough to cover some distance.

I'm not really in the city over here. More like a massive suburban sprawl. So to get anywhere interesting I will have to cover a good amount of distance.

If you're over 6 feet tall and your wife is 5'8" tall and you ride 2-up, you want a 300. If you just ride alone and you are a small featherweight but you wish to ride on the freeway, you want a 300.

Based on your situation, I'd say good call. I'm in a big city environment, so a big scoot as a secondary (or tertiary for me) bike wouldn't make any sense.

Happy hunting

I found one. 2019 GTS Super with 2,500 miles. As a plus it came with a little wind screen! I had the choice between a 2020 also but I chose the older engine because of the maintenance schedule. It was hard passing up those LED lights though.

Thanks everyone for helping in the hunt for one and I'll definitely be sticking around here.

Now I have a little guy to go with the big guy!

That's a great looking Vespa. Good find! Here is to many fun filled safe miles.

A good friend of mine bought the 300 in my above post. 2018 wih 640 miles. It looks like it just rolled off the showroom. We took advantage of near record highs today to head for the hills. That's my Burgman parked next to it.