Modern Vespa

Hey! been a while since I was on here. I started riding motorcycles in 1970. In 2006 I got my first scooter, a generic Chinese model. I gave that to my oldest and bought a GTS250! That was a lot of fun! Scooter rallies, scavenger hunts and joining a club. But as they say, life goes on. While I continued riding motorcycles I also continued with scooters. Big, small, modern and smokey 2-strokes, they were all so much fun! These days I have a variety of bikes from German luxury to sporty Italian and even a Chinese scooter.

I'm working out the details of my move to retire in another country. I will only be taking whatever fits in my suitcase. When I get there I think a scooter will be my only transportation. I'm torn between a GTS 300 and the MP3 530. The GTS is one of the prettiest scoots ever made! The same cannot be said of the MP3 but it has the advantage of that third wheel. In a place where the roads can suddenly turn to gravel I wonder if I should prioritize that or not worry about it. Should I ever actually need a car I can simply rent one. If you have an opinion about the GTS vs MP3 I would love to hear it.

I noticed that there is nobody on here from my new country. I'm surprised since there is a Vespa/Piaggio dealer in the capital. Once I get settled I'll invite you all to come visit.

Hey, good to see you!

I retired a few years ago, and my wife and I are in the middle of a long-term transition from California to Portugal. We've got our residency visas, and are on track to being able to apply for Portuguese citizenship in a few years.

Really glad you stopped in, and definitely interested in hearing more about your transition (including why you picked Albania, etc.)

Cheers!

having owned both a GTS 250 (still) and the MP3 500 and 250, I would pick the GTS all day, First dealers HATE I mean HATE dealing and working on MP3's , they are fun machines and do require a bit more finesse working on them.

The GTS is THE standard of scooters world wide. parts and service easy especially in the EU.

I extensively ride gravel on my GTS. Took a bit to get confident and then good at it. But it's fine once you do.

Tell that to the guys that follow me on the routes I choose every year.

I swear, its not intentional!

The way I remember it, the gravel is only on very short stretches before it's smooth tarmac again. Most roads are pretty new.
I saw lots of GTS last summer. I don't remember seeing any MP3.

On my trip to Europe last summer, I saw so many scooters of different makes and models - I almost got whiplash scooter spotting.

One thing that stuck out to me was how many MP3s I saw, particularly in Paris. But then I noticed that a lot of the roads are very uneven, with broken pavers and cobblestones. I think this is the reason for so many MP3s in Paris.

I think you're smart to consider the road conditions carefully in your new country. The MP3 is not a looker (and that's subjective), but stability and functionality are not in question.

Look forward to hearing more updates from you as you move forward.

I understand that the MP3s are so popular in France (and maybe other countries in Europe) in part because a licensing loophole allows driving three-wheelers with an automobile driving license.

This is the case in California, too, which is how that San Diego company that was renting Vespas with sidecars to random tourists managed to get itself off the ground.

(Whether renting sidecar Vespas to random tourists in SoCal traffic is a good idea is another question altogether, but I digress.)

Yes, it's the license.

True.

In Europe (EU countries) a motorcycle with a sidecar is not allowed to be ridden without a motorcycle driving license though.

This is because the rules require wheels to be located symmetrically along the longitudinal axis. 2 wheels back, one at front is OK....1 wheel back, 2 wheels at front is OK...but 1 back, one in the middle and one at the front is not enough like a car

Albania is not a member in EU, I don't know which rules apply there.

I'll ask when I get there. My motorcycle license should be valid so number of wheels isn't a factor.