Modern Vespa

Hi All:

There doesn't seem to be a lot of discussion about the BV400, so I thought I'd throw out some impressions.

I bought mine a few weeks ago, after having had a PCX160 for about 6K miles. I wanted a scooter that can be comfortable at Interstate speeds, which the PCX just can't do, as it's totally wrung out at about 65mph.

I traded it in on a BV400. There have been literally no Piaggio/Vespa dealers nearer than 300 miles from me, but luckily, a local-ish Kawasaki shop decided to start carrying the brands. I'd considered the semi-equivalent Yamaha and Suzuki models, but, again, availability is a significant issue.

Anyhow, I put enough miles on the BV in a week to get to the first service, which is quick and easy, aside from the common scooter problem of other parts being just in the way enough that the oil/gear oil want to go elsewhere other than straight down. I now have about 2K miles on it -- I ride a lot.

Things I like : The speed is definitely just what I need for the kind of riding I do. I'm regularly at 75mph and the bike still has more oomph left for passing.

The bike handles very well, even in very windy conditions. I can't flat-foot it, but tiptoes are more than enough at stoplights.

It's very easy to do low speed maneuvers, I can do a smooth u-turn in a little less than the width of two parking lot spaces.

It's a remarkably quiet scooter, for 400cc's!

I'm 5'6", and whereas I needed to install a tall windshield + windshield extender on my PCX to be comfortable at extended 55mph+ speeds, the stock BV leaves me in a nice bubble, and I don't even get any helmet buffeting. I may put a taller one with hand protection on when winter rolls around, but we'll see.

The underseat compartment stays remarkably cool, for the times when I'm getting groceries. It's such a contrast to the PCX, which turned into an oven very quickly.

Things I dislike:

The shape of the underseat compartment is too small for my 2XL modular helmet to fit, which I could do on the PCX.

The full shrouds on the handlebars are incredibly annoying. I have a Zumo XT 2 GPS, which mounted easily on the PCX via a RAM mount. I'm currently using a mirror mount, which works, but is less stable than I like.

The shrouds also prevent the use of a helmet hook, which I always used on the PCX. The bag hook on the BV isn't positioned in a way that I can use it for the same purpose.

The electric cooling fan is VERY loud and has a lot of vibration when it turns on. Granted, it only does so when at stoplights for an extended period of time, but it's highly noticeable.

That's about it so far. I've installed a 45L top box and have Givi panniers on it for weekend trips. Looking forward to lots more weekend trips!

Looks really great in that Arancio color.

These Givi panniers, never seen that before. How do you fix them to the scooter?

Good looking bike. From the rear, it almost looks like it's got an extended swingarm.

Looks like the Givi saddlebags that fit over the pet carrier/under seat with a strap holding them... Nice!

I am on the fence about getting a BV400. We have a BV350 with 5500 miles which we love. I tried the BV400. Plusses are the extra power and the better seat, negatives are the dash of the 350 is nicer, the 350 has the rear carrier case, the 350's floorboards are parallel to the ground instead of at an angle and the 350 has less vibrations. And then there is the cost of course of getting a new bike.

But the 350 is located and licensed here in Switzerland. We just bought a house in the Algarve, Portugal which is 3 countries over and 1500 miles away. We're treating as a holiday house initially but will most probably move there early next year.

So our predicament is, sell the 350 and buy a 400 in Portugal, or ride the 350 over there and go through the whole importing process… this last option is very attractive because of the week long road trip, but I also kinda want the 400 just to have a scooter in PT. But then we'll end up with both a 350 and 400.

Yep! Givi 101C bags. In spite of how it looks from the side, there's 4-5 inches of space between the bottom of the right-hand bag and the exhaust shroud, and is big enough that while the bag gets slightly warm, it's not enough to melt or endanger anything inside. The bottoms of the bags are stabilized with a bungi strap that goes under the pet carrier/etc, with the main straps under the seat.

That's mostly just the distortion caused by the wide-angle lens

Do you really need to import the 350 formally into Portugal?

You may be moving over there permanently but if you have relatives in Switserland, I am sure you have, then maybe one of them is willing to have the 350 registered in his/her name? Then you can just keep on using the 350 in Portugal with Swiss plates. Should be no problem.
Of course, it goes without saying, you pay road tax, insurance, tickets.

Our former neighbours were German, and their cars were registered in Germany on his mothers name. (In Germany road taxes for somewhat larger cars are way lower than they are over here)
They never had any issue with that.

There is nothing illegal about it.
Just a suggestion.