Modern Vespa

I am leaning towards getting an MP3 and maybe the 500. But I am almost 57, have never owned a motorcycle or scooter and my wife and kids think I am crazy. Of course I am but they shoulda known that long ago.

How old are most of you guys? Do you usually ride solo or with others?

62 dead money. Where in Florida are you? I ride both solo and at times, like today and yesterday, with my wife.

i'm in Jacksonville. My wife would never ride.

Hey Jacksonville! The largest city in America(by area). I'm from Waycross, Ga, originally just an hour and half up the road.

Anyways, 36, and riding strong...

I got mine in May and am also approaching 57. My wife won't get on so I have only ridden solo. 6,300 miles since May 24 and trips over 300 miles from home.

Go for it.

well dead money I could tell you but that is classified info and then I would have to kill you. I will tell you though when I was in the military back in the day (early 90's) before iI retired, I taught motorcycle safety classes for the state of south carolina and I did teach 2 little ladies that were in their late 60's who never sat on a motorcycle and they passed the class. Then 17 yr old kid who thought he shit didn't stink failed. Take a MSF class first and use their equipment then go look for a scoot and test ride some.

I got mine last year at 43...my wife wouldn't get near it. A couple months later, she was riding on the back of it. It only took a total of 7 months before she had taken the MSF Basic Rider Course and had her own BV250.

Fuzzy, I was up in your area about 6 weeks ago. At Lake Oconee. What a great place! If I could find a job up there, I would move tomorrow.

29 almost 30 here. And for those who don't respond..................
https://modernvespa.com/forum/topic24985?highlight=owners+age+location

In Florida, you have to pass a course and get properly licensed to ride more than 50 cc. I am trying to find time to take the course. The local Vespa dealer provides a couple of the courses here with scoots so I am going to take one of those.

my search skills failed me. Figured it had been done but didn't find it. Sorry.

not a problem. When I first came to this site, there were only 3 pages to search through. Now there are way to many, and it's even hard for me to find topics that would interest others who ask the questions. Welcome.

Lake Oconee is pretty high priced property. I live on Lake Sinclair, the blue collar lake that shares water with Lake Oconee. Every night when electricity is cheap they pump water up to lake Oconee and then in the afternoon when electricity is expensive they run it through generators back to Lake Sinclair. The job market has gotten tight here like most places. A couple years ago the sawmill I work at had 35% turn over now it is single digit turnover. I moved here 3 years ago. It is a great place to live. It is loaded up with bikes on weekends with people coming out of Atlanta to ride.

48, newly licensed, and loving it.

Hi...I'm a 62 year old "girl" and never have ridden a motorcycle but knew I would never ride on the back of my husband's so if I wanted to go and do with him, I needed to learn to ride my own. I bought a MP3 250 last April and still haven't ridden it (my husband loves it and rides it for me...his Kawasaki just sits in the garage and glares at him!), but I am getting really good on the 50cc beat 'em scooter that I bought to learn. I am taking the motorcycle class in December and so it is not to long now before I tackle my little "beastie". Go ahead and do it and use me as an example if you wish...if I can do it, so can you!

Good luck,
Janet

Short, 58 year old woman...My MP3 is my first...And I'm loving it....
So what's wrong with being "crazy." I say Have Some Fun, Feel The Wind, Go For a Ride, Be Alive. If that's crazy, then Welcome to the Asylum...
Get the scoot...Welcome....Cheers...jacquie

46 years young here in SoCal and this is my first motorized scooter...absolutely loving it 8)

8)

Dead Money

I am 59 and just got back from a 20 day cross country Cannonball. Over 7000 miles in 20 days. I have 2 MP3's. My 07 250 that I took across the USA and back to Nevada has 15,500 miles on it. The other one is an 08 400 with 6800 on it. All I want to do is ride. Be safe, take the riders courses, buy good gear and go have some fun. You won't regret it.

R.B.

I am 49. I have had many motorcycles. I love how this one is unusual. The power isnt bad (more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow). It isnt foolproof though and you do need to master some skills or you will surely experience problems.

Thanks for all the replies. I am strongly leaning towards doing it. Hmmm. Now 250 or 500?

Forgot to mention. I have the 500. Love the futuristic look.

RB, did you have to do a lot of wrenching on your scoot during the Cannonball. I'm considering 2010 but am not mechanical. I read some people's blog's with non mp3-Vespa's who did a lot of work while on the road and that is my concern on whether I could do it.

I'm 61, from the San Antone Texas area. I've only been riding my new
MP3 500 since September 6 and loving it. I must have been crazy .. butt ..
what's new? I've always been secretly jealous when I saw others riding free
.. now I are one too. Been reading here for months. Thought I ought to join
the discussions ...

8)

smrf

All I did was install a new belt and new rollers. My 250 had 8500 miles on it and had new rollers installed at 6000 mi service. I used the old belt and the rollers as spares. I kept my 250 stock and it payed off. I had no real issues. The only thing about the 250 is it needs a rear tire every 3000 miles. I did take a new rear and front tire with me. I also took all the tools to change a tire. When I got home I changed the rollers and belt out with the spares I took on the race. The belt that went 7000 mi on was stretched a little otherwise ok. I changed oil once in D.C. and again when I got home. I also changed the spark plug when I got home. The gap on the spark plug was a little big and that might be the reason my mileage was so bad coming home. It was 45 to 55 mpg.

R.B.

I'm 60.

I rode a scooter daily for a year when I was 16 - 17 (delivery job) and got back into scootin' last year.

38, female, this scooter thing was all my idea.
A blessing and a curse. The husband is insatiable in the scooter department.

Both my wife and I are 57. She started 4 years ago just out of the blue (she had previously told my older son "over my dead body" about getting a motorcycle). I rode 40 years ago but didn't start again until she did. Both of us plus both sons took the MSF course together.

I ride solo and with others. The wife and I rode around east Texas last Thursday (I took most of the day off) and put 363 miles on the bikes. The MP3 did extremely well.

35 years old. I like the 500 for commuting and it is just flat out fun and different. However I still find myself looking for a new dual-sport.

I turn 40 tomorrow. Previously rode a smaller scooter then a sport bike. Now have the 500 in demon black. Love it. While at work I think about getting to ride it home and when I have to drive the car I think about getting home so I can ride the scoot! Go for it!

I'm 61yrs old, haven't been on a bike for over 25yrs until I bought
an MP3 500 two months ago for communting around town running
errands, etc. I love it! Now I enjoy leaving the flatlands where I
live (40 miles east of Los Angeles) and scooting up nearby Mt. Baldy
where all the "crotch rockets" play on all the twisties at 7,000 ft.
They all gawk at my futuristic Darth Vader machine. It's way kewl!
Shane of Upland

62 now, haven't rode in 42 yrs, but picked up the 500 and somehow have over 2k miles on it in 2 months

Bought a Burgman 400 at 66 , two years ago; had never owned or ridden any type of bike before and had lot of fun.
Bought a MP3 400 this spring at 68 and having a lot more fun than before

Bought my 500 in July. First, scooter and enjoying the ride. Age 34 in Orange County, California.

Hey Jax! I am 45 and I have been riding on and off since I was 10. Wife won't ride with me on the "big roads" but she will in the "hood". Welcome to this forum and good luck with your riding class.

55 years old....female....and it was MY idea to ride! (A couple of years ago I would have said someone was crazy to think I would be riding!)

Took the MSF class last fall, rode son's bike while I waited for the 500 to arrive. Love it!

I will be 64 my next birthday...been on bikes for 47 years legally. Love my MP3. Have 14k on it now , and it runs better each day. I also have a Vespa Gt200 with 18k and my old Honda Valkyrie with 158k. Love to ride. I try to ride every day. motorcycle bill javascript:emoticon('')

I'm 29.

I previously owned a Vespa ET4 but I couldn't pillion on it because the top box restricted the amount of saddle space available.

So when I saw the MP3 and the technological advances it provides along with the ample saddle space, I was sold! And most importantly, the director of finances was as well.

Just turned 45.

I have a 250 and live in southern Minnesota. I am a young 70. I ride about 2000 miles a season. Love it. I store it myself in the winter. I took the state motorcycle safety curse for my license endorsement. I ride with my 57 year old neighbor and an 82 year old friend (now down and out due to health problems). If you have good reflexes, good vision (corrected), and use good judgement, riding into your 70's should not be a problem.

62 YOA, have a 500 and love it totally. If you really like acceleration get the 500. I've owned them all (250, 400, 500), liked them all. As long as I'm limited to one, it will be the 500. If I have two, the second would be the 250 just because of weight.