Modern Vespa

Do you still have the Volusia?

Yes I've still got the Volusia. I'm waiting to get a set of handle bars as I bent them slightly in the wreck. Just enough to feel weird when riding. If you missed the story I got ripped off by a guy on the Intruder Alert forum. Sent him $55 for handlebars and a month later I still don't have them. Won't respond to email and his phone doesn't work either.

I had a 2000 Suzuki Intruder LC also that I sold to get the Piaggio. Put it on Craigslist on Thursday and sold it Friday afternoon. Guy in a beat up old Ford Ranger peeled off 44 $100 bills, loaded it up and away he went.

I put the Vol in a ditch mid May. Broke a rib on my left side. Bruise over the broken rib was the exact size of the iPod in my pocket. Right shoulder screwed up too. Both still hurt.

People have their own idea of how much a "scooter" or moped should cost. Even a good friend of mine who restores vintage Vespas and Lambrettas is living in 1970 dollars. He is trying to restore a totalled Allstate, and thinks he is going to find a body for $100 !!!! I recently sold a TOTALLED Sprint body for over $150. He simply can't accept inflation and the notion of supply and demand that has driven up used parts prices over the years.

Agreed, but I can still remember when all it took to use a pay phone was a nickel (you remember pay phones, don't you?); so were bottled Cokes in vending machines. I also remember when the prices on these things were raised to a dime.

In reflection, though, my 2008 Fly sold for more 2008 dollars than my brand new 1962 Chevy convertible did, but the economic charts available on the internet (that I've been able to find) won't let me do an accurate comparison of 1962 and 2008 dollars. My guess is, though, that the comparisons still wouldn't mean much since most new cars are technologically superior and come with many more features than available 46 years ago (standard AC, power windows/brakes etc etc),

Comparatively speaking, someone who knows a lot more about modern scooters is going to have to set the record straight on the techno stuff, but as far as I can see there's not much difference between your 1962 and 2008 Vespas (except for the 4 stroke engine and catalytic converter, that is). Ergo, it seems to me as if a Vespa in 2008 dollars ought to be selling for less than it is.

Why, I remember when the pyramids of Giza were just squares drawn on the ground with sharp sticks.

I HATE being asked how much my vehicle cost - I find it incredibly rude. Who would walk up to a total stranger and ask them how much they paid for their shoes, for instance? Nobody!

People are so inclined to see a Vespa as just a big toy - something they can spend $500 dollars on and put it under a christmas tree. I recently had somebody tell me they were looking for a Vespa for the price of a bicycle! Ridiculous.

Now I just tell people if they have to ask how much it costs, they can't afford one.

But here in NOLA a stranger may walk up to you and bet they can tell where you got your shoes...

And you can get a Sazerac too!

I figure if I enjoy discussing my vespa here on this forum....
why would I not be willing to discuss it with anyone in public?
They are nice people interested in my scooter. I just tell them the truth and why not?
I enjoy discussing it 'live' just a much as here in the 'closet'.

Some of the surprise on the price could be from people who might be comparing your scoot to a similar displacement motorcycle.

You can buy among others, a used 2007 Honda rebel (250), or kawasaki Ninja (250) with less than a thousand miles for $3,000 or less. A new, o miles one would be in the lower 4ks. Try that with a GTS, GT, or even LX150. You have to go to the 50cc range on the VESPA lineup for that kind of money.

I was surprised when I found out how much a new GTS would cost me when I first looked into it. I did not expect that at all. I still got it, because I could and wanted it. But if I was doing it strictly for financial reasons, I would have been much better served by something else than a Vespa.

completely agree!

We picked up our 'used' lx150 with 10 miles for under 3K. But we got real lucky.

Ha!!! They tried to get me on that one last time I was there, I felt like such a tourist!! (from NOLA originally)

-Mel

OMG too funny~ Im going to start telling people that!

My brothers wife asked me the other day if UPS was going to deliver my GTS 250 to me!!

My brother asked me how much I was paying for it and when I told him about 6500 after everything he nearly choked on his popcicle!! lol He said "thats more then we paid for our car". They didnt realize that they were "motorcycles" he was thinking of those little razer scooters that you let your kids ride!

A month after you get the GTS250 ask her how many miles she has in a month bet yours is more. My buddies with HDs ride 1-2 day a week I ride 24/7. Bet you dont want to get off. ENJOY the ride.

In the UK we (or at least I do) get a lot of folk walking up and asking " Do they still make them, I had one years ago and loved it" I was talking to one bloke at the petrol station who told me that in his youth he'd hitch hiked from England to Italy to pick up a brand new Lambretta from the factory and ridden it acroos Europe back home. A lot of the time they are just oldies trying to relive their youth but now and again you get one with a really interesting story