Modern Vespa

I thought it would be fun to see the progression of bikes that people had up to their Vespas and assorted scooters.

#1 3.5 HP Sears mini-bike at age 12 I'd guess. Bought used for $50 Used it like a bicycle as soon as I was out of sight from my house.
#2 70's Honda QA-50 best mini-bike ever. My friend still has it! $100 for that one
#3 70's Honda SL-70 used, set me back $250. Mowed lots of grass to get that. This was my first dirt bike and I drove it like I stole it. Rode the wheels of it.
#4 The moped craze had begun. I found a French Solex moped and traded the Honda 70 for it. The Solex was like new, the Honda, not so much lol
#5 70's Honda 350. First bike with a MC license at age 17. I remember running out of gas at 2am coming home from the Jersey shore once. I must have pushed it 5 miles before giving up and falling asleep in the parking lot of a closed gas station. I have no recollection of what happened to this bike.
#6 Suzuki 550 four cylinder. At this point I was an electrician and I put some outlets in a dude named Mongo's house and took the bike for payment. It didn't run. Just needed a battery. Score! Several years later, I traded it to a carpenter that had done work on my house.
#7 1973 Harley Sportster 1000 XLCH. This bike was a beauty. Raked, Chromed, bored out, shave heads and valve work, S&S carb. Had this baby over 20 years. Motor went out with a bang and simply wasn't worth fixing. The market for these things was well over.
#8 2018 Benelli TNT135 "The Gromm Killer" This was a cool street legal bike I had for a short time. Woods Cycle in Wisconsin shipped it to my driveway in a big ass crate and I assembled it myself. Sold it during covid to a guy in NYC that was afraid to use the subways. Found a guy that wanted my Sportster frame and clean title and used that towards the Benelli.
#9 2018 Yamaha MT-07 Bought new and had no clue how much bloody power it had until I drove it off the lot. It was the end of February and I almost froze to death getting it home. This was a fun bike for after market parts, it has a Yoshimura carbon fiber exhaust, a custom intake, and a wicked tune. Goes like a raped ape. Last payment next month.
#10 2009 Vespa GTS250ie Only had it a week now. Tax return funded this.

I'd never wrote down all the bikes I had. Wow, on #10 and have a few more left in me. LOVED THEM ALL!

What was your odyssey?

#1 1977 Motobecane 50L moped at age 14.

#2 1978 Garelli Gran Sport LTD moped at age 15. Bought brand new from Moped Palace in Summit, NJ.

#3 1985 Honda Elite 150 Deluxe Scooter at age 22. Bought brand new summer before I left for Army active duty.

#4 1985 Honda Elite 250 scooter at age 37. Bought used for $350.

Since the year 2000, I've owned hundreds of 70's and 80's vintage mopeds, several more Honda Elite scooters of varying displacements, 2009 Suzuki Burgman 650, 2013 Kymco Like 200i, 2005 Vespa GT 200, and presently a 2021 Vespa 300 Super HPE. I also still own and ride a 1976 Snark moped that I bought back in 1997.

1. 196? minibike with a B&S engine. Would go anywhere but not very fast.
2. 1969 Triumph 250 piece of crap. Dropped a valve during 90 day warranty and also had the charging system checked because it wasn't charging the battery. I replaced 2 more exhaust valves during the first year, then the 4th valve dropped and the cam shaft cracked and it never did charge the battery to full. dumped it.
3. 1978 Honda CB 125. Ran like a dream until a car pulled in front of me and I t-boned him
while I was doing about 35 MPH.
Wife said, "NO more bikes!"
4. 2021 Vespa Primavera 150. It is NOT a motorcycle.
5. Wifes 2022 Buddy 125 is awaiting delivery.

No disrespect, but if that's what you want your wife to think, fine. But, yeah, it is classified as a motorcycle.

About 25 bikes in 50-odd years, mostly common stuff.
I started on a 1960 Zundapp Super Sabre 250 and began to collect speed tickets, pausing in 1975 when I won the jackpot with a Dunstall Honda 750. The judge threatened jail time and I rode a Schwinn Varsity for 6 months. I restored a Triumph 650 and a R75/5 I rode to Alaska, keeping the speed down until I got a K75s and then two Ducati 900s. One was stock, the other far from it. I married a nice lady and decided it was time to explore safety. Bought a clapped-out pre-unit RE Bullet and rebuilt it completely, converting it to RH shift. Enjoyed it completely on back roads and sold it to a Hollywood screenwriter for a pittance
Started following Robot on YT and itched for a simple Vespa with a carb. Seemed like a good toy for retirement. Bought my ET from a young lady who had it serviced by Robot's techs.
Twist and go.

Close to being in order:
70's Baretta moped at 13. Well used.
Honda Elite 80 scooter at 18ish? New.
Late 70's Honda CB500. Free!
Honda Helix. New. Paid cash.
Followed by early 90's Honda CBR900RR. New, financed.
Another Helix, gently used. Crashed other one.
Totaled CBR900RR. Replaced with:
Honda Hawk NTV650.
Totaled other Helix. Replaced with:
Kymco People 250. First gen. used.
Blasted head gasket on Hawk, sold it as-is.
Sold Kymco and replaced with:
Genuine Buddy 125. New.
Sold Buddy and purchased a:
Yamaha Zuma 125. New
Sold Zuma and bought:
SYM CItyCom 300. VERY used.
Lost end bearing on SYM, replaced with:
Suzuki Burgman 200. New.
Suzuki falls apart, gave away and replaced with:
Piaggio Liberty 150.

I didn't include 50cc modded Zumas, a few Honda Elite 250s and a shared Kawasaki Ninja 250. Had unlimited use of rocket bikes when I worked at a service and tuning shop.

Never got to buy a new:
Yamaha T-Max.
Genuine Blur 220.
Interested in the Kymco AK550.

But I no longer ride on the interstate and only use 2 wheels for commuting to work nowadays.

Wife:
Hyosung Sense 50cc. Used, sold and got:
Genuine Buddy 125. Used but mint.
Sold Buddy and purchased:
Can-Am Spyder RT.
Sold Spyder and purchased:
06 Honda Silverwing. Used but clean.
She retired and quit riding, Silverwing is on consignment.

Totaled a CBR 900RR and lived to tell about it. Impressive. The guy that tuned my Yamaha has a thing for Hawks. JD Hord from Ohio. He's won 4 national championships on a Hawk. He's got all kinds of parts for Hawks on his website.

#1 Vespa S125 '09 aged 58
It has been a revelation and I absolutely love it.

I don't think there is enough space here. At last count, about 50 or so motorcycles and scooters. Now, I pick up about 3 to 4 a year, usually non-runners, fix them up, ride for awhile, then sell. Repeat. It all started way back in my teens with some Japanese 2 strokes, then Triumphs, Harleys and BMWs. Got married, three children later, my lovely wife asked me to stop riding for awhile. That lasted 15 years as we had yet another child. I needed to supplement my income, so I worked on bikes at night and weekends when I was not doing other side work, often with one of my children (usually the youngest) "helping" me. I'm 66 now, lots of busted knuckles, smashed fingers, but the times with my kids were golden. Except when my son, all of two, had a habit of throwing the smallest of parts out of the garage when my back was turned. I never did find all of them....