Modern Vespa

I would like to surprise my wife and get her a Primavera 150 as an upgrade from her Honda 110 Elite/Lead scooter. I'm 98% certain it will be a good move not to mention the fact that I want one! We picked up the Honda Elite about 7 years ago and my wife really took to it, in fact she loves it for the easy starting fuel injection and huge under seat storage capacity. She's logged about 7,000 miles on it and myself another 3,000 miles, hence my attraction to scooters.

The Primavera and Sprint models with 12" wheels and fuel injection sound like a logical choice. I'd like something that can reasonably sustain 55-60 mph/~85-100 kph for short highway hops. The majority of the riding is on back roads and city streets. The little Honda 110 does well but tops out at 48 mph/~80 kph, so a little extra oomph is desired to make it more practicable for this environment.

My wife loves her Honda, so it has to be a positive move, she's not going to initiate this Vespa move on her own. She almost gave up on motorcycles until I found her the Honda scooter, and it rekindled her fun on two wheels. She's smaller in stature at 5'5" and I'm fairly certain the large frame heavier Vespa is out of the question. The classic look of the modern small frame is so spot on IMHO!

I guess I'm looking for some affirmation on a 150 purchase, your thoughts or anything that I have missed. Thanks in advance!

On the Vespa a sidestand is optional and the bikes are a bit unwieldy at times. It is usually a good idea for lighter or shorter riders to have a side stand.

Thank you, those little items are what I need to hear. There is so much that I don't know regardless of the hours of internet researching and Robot videos!

The only drawback might be a lot of full face helmets won't quite fit in the pet carrier.

Good point, the addition of a tail trunk should solve that. It's kind of unfair to compare the Honda Elite's under seat storage capacity to most scooters. That's a key feature that my wife is focused on. I figure a trunk that holds a full face helmet would distract my wife's attention from that matter!

My partner, shorter than 5'5", found the default Sprint a little too tippy and heavy, but had much less trouble with it after it had the lowering bracket applied and a lowered seat installed. I would also mention that getting it on the center stand was always a bit of an issue for her, but that may be down to experience, etc.; I never had an issue and rather miss the bike--it was such a pretty sweetie.

If you'd consider something in between, the Liberty 150 may also be interesting to somebody smaller wanting a step up from the Elite 110. One of the things I like most about it is that it just effortlessly goes onto the center stand and is easy to move around. It also feels nicely a little more narrow and compact overall. I can't say I personally find it as nice looking or feeling though, but bigger wheels have their charms.

I used a Givi rear case with both of them and it felt and looked just fine.

besupa, thank you and great points. The Liberty 150 did come to mind as well especially with its larger wheels. I'll have to do a little more digging on that. I do feel in this case my wife likes 'form before function' thus the pretty and classic styling of the Vespa. She does well at getting her Honda up on the center stand, although a side stand would be a nice addition yet not a showstopper.

I'm a small guy myself, 5'8''.

For me it took some time to get used to the fact that I could only touch ground with the tip of my toes when sitting on my Sprint. It was taller that it looked like.

Of course soon I learned to move a bit forward at traffic lights, but it was a tad annoying when e.g. trying to duckwalk backwards when parking the scoot. Weird to say, but I find e.g. my current Triumph Bonneville to be easier from this point of view

Otherwise Sprint/Primavera is probably just what you are looking for.
It definitely feels less bulky/heavy than the 300cc range.

For the record. I think the Primavera is the best looking Vespa. There's only 3 reasons I don't have one. 1) Floorboard not totally flat. 2) Too slow. 3) air cooled.
This is the opinion side.

Piaggio/Vespa 150's = 12 HP.
Honda/Yamaha/Kymco 150's = 15 HP.
Top of the head, ballpark fact.
A 25% increase in HP is huge for any engine.

If the new Kymco 150 was water cooled, I'd buy one to replace my SH for Door Dashing.

My daughter is a bit less than 5'5" and has no issues handling our Primavera and sprint.

I initially put a lowering rear shock bracket and side stand on,
both were unnecessary and quite frankly, shiite

The lower bracket reduced suspension travel and degraded handling, also scrapped the undercarriage on speed bumps,

The OE side stand is spring loaded to automatically go up, good recipe for a scooter on the ground
not sure if the more expensive one that comes with a kill switch is as dicey.

If you "relocate" the emissions cann and get the euro bucket from Scooterwest for $50 you can fit a full face under the seat.

These little Vespa 150s get up to speed quick and handling is more nimble and fun than the bigger scooters

California Cruising, thanks for posting the seat bucket mod pics. My wife wears a full face helmet and it would be nice to stow it in the pet carrier. That blue color looks nice! I agree with lighter weight and more fun for zipping around town. If I picked up a large frame it won't go well for this situation. When she got the Honda her riding confidence soared, and I want to keep it that way! I must say she's content with it, so I have to be careful about this 'upgrade'.

Similar to Californiacruising, our daughter (5'6") can handle the Sprint fine. She scoots forward on the seat at lights/stops to get both feet down but doesn't need to. We haven't tried lowering brackets or tailored seats just stock.

I do like the idea of that Euro bucket for a full face helmet. The scoot came with a matching Vespa top case which is approx. 32 liters and does fit our daughters med full face Schuberth but not my large full face Shoei.

We also installed 12.5g rollers that greatly improved acceleration which in my opinion is a safety measure and the only mod this scoot really needs.

The scoot is our primary commuting and 2up scooter for everything around town. Nimble in traffic, lane splits with ease and looks pretty darn cool if you ask me. Good luck with your search.

I would echo that: one should see if they /really/ need the lowering bracket before committing, as eating potholes was rather unpleasant with it on.

As many have pointed out in the past, leg length is the actual important number, rather than height, which is decent proxy usually. If the inch or so really matters, it's great, but I'd definitely recommend going the path of a lowered Corbin or shaving down the seat first. (Even though I'm taller, I thought the lowered seat was a hoot.)

When looking for an around town scooter for my SO several years ago, we tried most of the available 125/150s. I had an LX at the time and hoped she might take to the small frame Vespa. She is 5'3" and the small frame Vespas have just about the same seat height as the GTS. She was immediately attracted to the Buddy with its significantly lower seat. Rides it still and loves it still.

Vespas do feel top heavy compared to most plastic over tube frame scooters. But not so much that it gets in the way once you get used to it.
A topcase will make it feel even more top heavy, compared to what she's riding now.
I would suggest having her ride one prior to making the purchase. There are a lot of Vespas sitting in garages that were bought as gifts and dropped once.
If she likes and feels comfortable with her elite, but wants a faster or quicker bike, an aftermarket variator will make the Elite 110 surprisingly quick, without sacrificing any of Honda's reliability.

Amen to that! I'm going to have to let her know what I'm up to, don't want it to be the wrong surprise. Honestly, I wish a big bore kit was also available for the liquid cooled 110 Elite, I've looked and no joy.

@ G8R, thanks for the input, that green is also a fun color! It looks like it fits your daughter very well. My wife does get around competently on her Honda and it was the saving grace with her 2 wheeled venture. It took some doing because the heavy Sportster that she wanted, against my wishes was a complete disaster. That bike almost broke her spirit to ride.

@ Dooglas and besupa, thank you I appreciate all the input, pro's and con's.

My daughter recently learned on a Buddy 125, that was a great old school feeling little scooter, she loved that little bike but once she learned how to ride and got confident the higher
stand-over and heavier 150cc Vespas were no big deal,
now she loves the Vespas and doesn't miss the Buddy.

She could probably ride my 300 now but no reason to tempt fate, plus the Sprint and Primaveras are so fast with little riders anyway

Sometimes it's just nice to change things up a bit and move on to something else. We've had the Elite for 7 years now. It's a Honda and they pretty much run forever with basic maintenance, appliance like and you tend to get tired of them long before they wear out! It would be good to have that little extra speed so we can expand our riding area while on two separate machines. That's another thing that's also driving this. Who knows where all of this is going. My wife may stomp all over this idea!

Get it before she stomps!

I agree with all the above comments. I have a Primavera 150 and I like the way it rides.

It is taller than you'd expect, which is all right with me (6'2"), but I ride with other Primavera owners who aren't as tall and they generally don't have any trouble. With the right technique it is easy to put on the center stand. I added a side stand, but I don't use it often. My pet carrier is always half full of junk; I carry my helmet or just hang it on the scooter. (So far, no problem with theft. YMMV) I also changed to lighter roller weights. I think it helps a bit with acceleration.

Good luck & have fun!

Thanks! Mrs. bearcat is a traveling nurse and I'm recently retired thus currently unsupervised...

Do it!

My 5'6" wife has no problem with her Primavera 150. Keep the Honda if you can; one of our greatest joys is going on rides together.

I have a Primavera 150 and I absolutely love it! I've only been riding since last August, so this is a newbie talking, but I haven't had any issues with the center stand or maneuvering it around. Though I did have a few dicey moments there when I first got it.

The majority of my riding is around town, mostly 45 mph and below, but I have gone 60 on the highway access roads here, and I didn't notice any straining or trouble (and I am, shall we say, not skinny).

It's the perfect size to me. I sat on a GTS at my dealer and it felt too big for what I wanted a scooter for. I think the Primavera is just darn cute, too!

Riding together on separate machines beyond 45 mph (limitations of the Honda 110) roadways is my desire. I have confidence that she will gel with the 150. She's competent and ready to operate at the next level.

The feedback/input here has been excellent and much appreciated. I need to rethink the approach. Purchase a 150 for myself and be ready to hand the keys over once she experiences the Vespa. If I'm wrong about that then I'll definitely enjoy riding it. .

Out of curiosity, why don't you want a aircooled scooter? I've preferred having one less thing to go wrong, and one less thing to service!

More HP, Florida's Hot. The big reason the Kymco 150 has 15 HP is 4 valves. My Honda's have 2 valves with 15.5 HP.

Personally, I LOVE the small frame Vespa platforms / 150cc scoots like the Primavera/Sprint and LX/S from 2005 until present. I ride a GTS now, but that's only because of logistics (found a low mileage GTS250ie in mint condition for pretty cheap, while a Primavera had certain two-up limitations that my previous Vespa didn't).

For a solo rider doing the kind of riding you're talking about, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Primavera 150.

You did use the word highways though, depending on what exactly that means I just want to point out that it's probably not the best idea to be on a highway with a 100 km/hr speed limit on a scoot that tops out at 105 km/hr, because

a) Our speedometers can be up to 10% optimistic, so an indicated 105 km/hr might be realistically more like 95 km/hr

b) As you probably already know, it's nice to have a little more power than you ever plan on needing, just in case you should ever NEED it there.

However, if highways to you mean more like an 80 km/hr speed limit, I think you're going to have a really good time. We have an "expressway" a few km away with an 80 km/hr and would regularly go two up on my old 2010 Vespa S150.

Food for thought: Maybe take her to the dealership and don't say anything about your plans, just sit on one for a while as if shopping for yourself and then have her sit on one and ask her how she feels? It's a lot of $$$$, might be good to ask first.

Best of luck either way.

Good idea. This brings to mind adri's post in another thread about how the heart can override the brain in purchasing decisions.

Bearcat, how would your wife react to the wicker basket and blanket of the Pic Nic model? I imagine there are a plethora of beautiful spots for a picnic in your area. My apologies if she's not the frou frou type.

She likes those frou frou things. I'll just level with her with what I'd like to do. My desire to get a Vespa does muddy the water so there is that bias. I feel the 150 would be a natural upgrade for her. If she likes it then all the better, otherwise it's mine. Ultimately the Honda scooter would be sold and I'd then get a 150/250/300 for myself. She'll be fine on the 150, it's just a matter of does she want it? I don't think it will take much convincing, but I've been wrong a time or two!

adri thanks, the highways are 100 km/hr for a mile or two. Get on and get off, that's it. It's to connect other country roads and expand our scooter riding area. I've buzzed down the freeway on a 250 dual sport and must say it's not my cup of tea. Doing it for tens of miles on a 150 is asking for trouble around this area.

I'm not sure why so many people get hung up on highway speeds when it comes to the V-150cc. I have a 2023 Vespa Sprint 150 Sport. The only mods I've done is install a Corbin low-profile seat and installed a Akrapovic performance exhaust. That's it.

I did not mess with lowering the suspension and would not recommend it. The stock seat on the Sprint was too high and way too hard for my comfort level, specially on rough roads.

I'm 5'9, weigh 180 lbs, and live in St Louis, Mo. I can easily cruise at 60-65 mph no problem. I've had mine up 70-72mph. But the sweet spot is in the lower 60's.

If and when I need to go on the highway, I stay on the right lane. I never race anywhere. My '23 Vespa Sprint is quick, powerful, and handles like a dream. A very cool looking Vespa! You can also take it on long road trips with no problem...one more thing, I keep the front tire at 26 psi & rear tire at 29 psi, I check it at least once a week.

Happy Vesping, Cheerio! BEEP BEEP

That and needing to flat foot. Surely people have ridden a ten speed at some point and weren't able to flat foot. It's the same principal.

I forgot that I started this thread over a year ago. It's time for an update about the branded title 50-mile Vespa Primavera 150 Touring model that I picked up. There's an older repair thread " The Ratto" in the Projects section.

Long story - shorter version: Supposedly the original owner purchases it new, promptly dumps it in the Vespa dealers parking lot, rides seven more miles and then crashes again. The insurance company writes the Vespa off and it goes to auction. It was then purchased by a couple who admitted they were drunk shopping and won the online auction bid for it... They also soon realized they were in over their head and put it up for sale to the next sucker, which would be me. I gave them an offer of what it was worth to me as a parts bike should it go down that path. Even with the stigma of a branded title, the initial cost, and repair parts, it is about one third the price of a new model. BTW, I would not recommend doing this. There are too many potential things that could go wrong. My gamble paid off with body work only. For once it was nice not having to work on the greasy mechanical side of things.

The Rat has about 1800 miles on it now and runs great. Top speed is about 62 mph indicated, which I'm guessing is closer to ~58 mph actual. That was a nice increase over our little Honda 110 Elite and perfect for 99% of the riding that we do.

Nice…

I've bought multiple auction bikes over the years… Several as-new Vespas @$400 or less.

I'm still sitting on my keyless estate sale 150s Liberty. I want to do something cool with it, but would probably swap for a running ET2 😄. Moved up to WNC, and the riding opportunities up here are mind blowing 🤯

Clarification - as-new "crashed"

And in my old state of Florida, getting something like that retitled was virtually impossible.

Maybe it's better to surprise her with a trip to a dealership. Have her sit on a Primavera and see how it feels. It's a good idea to add the side stand. When I dismount and step off my Sprint to my left, sometimes my right foot snags for a split second on the hump over the battery. It can cause me to almost lose my balance. Having it already balanced on the side stand eliminates a chance that I will drop the bike. Also, I was bummed the other day when I found out that my gym lockers are too narrow for my full-face helmet. I solved that by securing my helmet by its strap ring to one of the posts under the seat. It's very secure when the seat is closed. I think that Primaveras have the two posts under the seat, too, but I'm not sure. I then wrap a thin towel around the helmet to prevent bugs from going inside it, and also to disguise that it's a quality helmet. So far, so good. Your wife might like a Genuine Buddy, too. I hear their seat heights are lower.

Update: My wife rides both of our scooters now, however, she prefers her old Honda Elite. It comes down to that ~1.5" difference in seat height. The Primavera has become my scooter and she still loves her old Honda. It is what she is comfortable with. It has been a lot of fun riding together around town on these scoots. I think the Genuine Buddy would be a nice upgrade for my wife if the Honda ever wears out. The Buddy appears to be close in seat height to the Elite. For now, she's content and has no desire to sell it and "upgrade" yet. That is how the story unfolds!

Upgrade usually implies better or better performance. So the Buddy is not an upgrade. The 110 elite performs very well, and if she likes her Elite, and wants to go for more displacement, the Honda PCX or Yamaha Smax would be an actual upgrade in performance. The quality is about the same as what she is currently riding. I would be surprised if the Elite doesn't do better climbing hills than the Primavera.

The little Honda Elite with its 108cc holds its own for sure and is well engineered. I probably should have used the word newer as opposed to upgrade. The fact is that she likes the Elite much more than I thought. Much of that was based on the seat height difference. I've mentioned the PCX "upgrade" to her, and she just wasn't interested. At the end of the day, I decided to just leave it alone. If you're married, I think you can appreciate that, lol! It is surprising what the little Honda Elite can do on acceleration and pulling some hills. The Primavera outperforms it on the hills.

If you used to be married, you might appreciate it even more.