Modern Vespa

Hi everyone,
I'm new on this forum. Having started to take a lot of interest in Vespas.
Having recently retired and thought would be a great way to get around.
I'm thinking of buying a used GTS 300.
So I started to have a look around as to where to buy parts etc.
I came across Scooter West in San Diago. Love watching Radar, his videos would make working on a Vespa very easy.

But....I live in Australia and their freight costs of anything is just horrendous.
I have never come across freight costs like they quote on their website.
I can away to disappointed that I most likely won't go ahead with buying a Vespa. Unless someone could mention somewhere else that is good for Vespa parts. there are a few here in Australia, but they don't carry anything like Scooter West...Hopefully someone may be able to help...Thank you.

Scooterpartsco.com is a great source of modern Vespa parts. The owner is a regular contributor to this forum.

SIP in Germany ships world wide https://www.sip-scootershop.com/

Any dealer in Australia can get parts direct from Piaggio
https://www.scooterstreet.com.au/product-category/vespa-gts300ie/ Seems similar to Scooter Parts Co in Australia.

I buy most of my parts from Peter Stevens who are the importers of Vespa into Australia.

https://www.peterstevens.com.au/

Thank you for the feedback.
I will check out those mentioned.

This post was not quite
What we were hoping to see
Try again, perhaps?

http://www.gpsimports.com.au/index.php


These guys are good for modern and classic.

Aussie company

1 KG is about $28US to Australia, 1.85 is about $38US.

Anything over 1.85 kg is very expensive to ship to Australia from the US, mainly because you can't ship anything there from anywhere else by rail or truck. 2kg is about $85US.
When we ship to Australia or New Zealand, we usually repack and make it as light as possible. It's significantly cheaper to send two 1.85 kg packages than one of twice the weight. Weird, but that's how it is.

What about 200g?

Hi Tonymacaroni and welcome to Modern Vespa.

Don't give up - A used GTS 300 is a great way to get around.
I'm lucky to live in San Diego and ScooterWest / Vespa Motorsport and Robot in particular are the best.
I've also had very good experiences with Scooter Central in Brookvale, NSW and Ace Scooters (used to be in Joondalup, WA). There was another independent shop in or near Cairns QLD but I'll have to search to find the name (which I'm happy to do if that'll be useful to you).
Hope you reconsider and find everything you need and want to get around on 2 wheels.

That's almost half a pound. About $15 to NZ or Australia.

As a GTS 300 owner, I've found a cost-effective solution that I'd like to share with you. Instead of ordering directly from SIP, I look up what I need on the web and then talk to my local Vintage Vespa repair shop. They regularly import bulk orders from SIP and let clients just piggyback individual item(s) onto their shipment.

This way, the parts cost around 20-25% more than advertised on the SIP website, including shipping. It may not be the absolute cheapest option, but it's definitely more affordable than ordering directly from SIP and paying for shipping on your own.

Not only does this method save you money, but it also supports local businesses. By patronizing your local repair shop, you're helping to keep them in business and preserving a valuable resource for the Vespa community.

Of course, this method may not work for everyone. If you don't have a local repair shop or they don't offer bulk shipments, then ordering directly from the web might be your best option. But if you do have a local shop that can help you out, it's definitely worth considering.

If their prices were like you have mentioned I wouldn't have an issue at all.
They are waaaay for them this.

Thanks for the welcome Ks7877.
I was real keen to buy an older Vespa and go all over it and replace whatever I thought would need to be replaced. Like something to do with my time.
Watching Robots videos he made it all look rather easy. By following how he does it.
So I started putting things that I thought I would need to get an idea on what it would cost to ship to Australia.
Wow!!! I have never seen shipping prices like what came up. I went no way am I going to buy from them.
So now it is will I or won't I buy a Vespa?
I will keep looking around and see what I can find.

Hey Tony

I'm in Melbourne and I've bought from SIP in Germany and Scooterwest. Scooterwest got a headlight to me last year in 48 hrs which was amazing! Note that we now get certain models built in Vietnam which have minor differences to Euro and US bikes. I learned the hard way with a custom seat for my GTS300.

Locally I've had good experiences with Scooter Central in Brookvale NSW.

Shipping anything from the U.S. to Australia is going to be super expensive. I get almost all my GT200 parts from Scooterwest. And I live in Arizona, only about 400 miles away. Their shipping is still high compared to some other places. I do enjoy Robots videos. I also have a Royal Enfield Bullet, and the best place to get parts for that is in the UK. The shipping is crazy high, but other than oil filters, there is very little parts availability for the older Royal Enfields in the U.S. RE dealers do not carry parts for the old 500 singles.

If you can possibly afford it, I highly recommend a Vespa. I've had quite a few scooters, and the Vespa is by far the best.

I did once own a RE Cont GT 535cc.
It was a great bike, not sure why I sold that bike.
Have been giving thought to going with an RE again.
After finding out how expensive the Vespa is.

I just think a Vespa would be so good to get around on. Like down to the local shops, and the local area. The step through has got to be better than a Motorcycle I would think.