Modern Vespa

Hi - I need the years of group experience to help me decide between an injected or carb LX125.
I'm after long distance/multi day reliability. In the UK the LX125 around 2007-9 seem good value, and some with very low mileage. I'm happy with some carb tinkering and cleaning - I guess the low mileage ones will have sat with stale fuel for years.
Buying an injected version seems to miss out on some of the fun of Vespa ownership - until you're stuck by the side of the road.
Thanks

There are advantages to both FI and carbed scoots. Carbs will work fine as long as you keep up with the scoot. If you are not going to use it for awhile, use some fuel stabilizer. These machines like to be run.

They updated to the 3v engine around 2012 which is a bigger change the carb vs injection.

I have owned 2 LX 150's. The first was a 2009 carbed scooter and the second was a 2012 LX 150ie. The second was far and away the smoother and better running scooter. And I'm not sure what you mean when you say that carbed Vespas link you to "the fun of Vespa ownership". Most modern Vespas have been fuel injected including all in the last dozen years except for a few of the 50s. If you mean the carbed scooters harken back to the days of the 2-stroke Vespas, well you can certainly hunt down a P/PX. There are quite a few of them still out there.

I wouldn't be afraid of a carburetor, nor do I equate it with unreliability. Like tube amplifiers and vinyl records, there are advantages and drawbacks. In my experience a well sorted carburetor is as smooth as can be.
The injected bike is going to be more efficient and get measurably, noticeably better fuel economy. And suffer less when parked and neglected.
Like most technology you don't get a free lunch. There are pluses and minuses, and increased cost and complexity is part of the deal in exchange for better performance.

My 2 cents. I had a new Liberty 150. Fuel injected. I would still have it but it started acting weird (at 30,000 miles) and no one knows how to use the PADS computer to diagnose it. So I got rid of it. What did I end up with?

A new Genuine Buddy 125, the carb model. I no longer worry about a computer giving me grief and not having a dealer who knows how to fix it. BUT for a 150cc air cooled scooter I feel the Liberty gave me my moneys worth, just didn't care to have to rely on a lousy dealer should any issues come up so I went super simple with the Buddy 125 for a replacement.

So if you have a Piaggio dealer who knows how to fix stuff if you have an issue that calls for a PADS hook-up get the EFI model. If you don't have good local support and don't mind spinning wrenches (my scooter always needs service in the winter and my garage isn't heated) get the carb model. Can't go wrong with either one for reliability, just good local support if needed.

I have 2007 LX 125, ZAPM44100, carb, with Malossi 187cc kit.
There is a lot of info on this forum, I did the same research before I got my LX with carb. I would like to thank all people here for sharing

What I found, basically boils down to two main points:
- if you don't have time/don't want to play with your scooter you should get the IE version. There is nothing you can do without a proper cable and software or going to service.
- but if you like to play with your scooter, set the idle rpm with a screwdriver, swap idle jet to test how it will improve acceleration, sometimes clean the carb without the reason (me!) or you may upgrade to 187cc kit, you take the carb version.

The IE will be more efficient and probably smoother, but Im happy with my carb (upgraded to 27 from 26.5). I was missing this old school tweaks, playing with my tools and feeling after something works better after I fix it myself

In my last 3.5k kilometers I had never any problem with LX carb, all issues I had were my mistakes, like not clamping vacuum hose to the fuel tank valve and loosing fuel supply, spark plug cap becoming loose. I'm using only super fuel (97-99) so I'm thinking this fuel and new little fuel filter is keeping my carb clean.

Thanks for all the responses - can't do 'thumbs up' yet as a Noob