Modern Vespa

Anyone know of dealers who have the PX for sale?
http://www.vespausa.com/products/px150-splash.cfm

Vespa Austin had a few of them a few weeks ago. Last I heard they had a black, a red, and a silver.

512-482-8377

reina autosports in milwaukee has a few. they have a gt-60 as well.

Vespa Boston's got one

It's used right? I think I contacted the guy on craigslist that sold it to them.

Yeah, it's used. Looks to be in nice condition though. Clutch lever is much more free than that of "old rusty". You should check it out!

If it was silver, its the same one. Nah, I'd rather get a p200! I almost bought this one before the guy sold it to Vespa Boston!

Curious, what is Vespa Boston selling to for?

It is indeed silver. I think it would be cooler to get a vintage P too I actually have no idea what they are selling it for, but I bet it isn't a steal... I find their prices are pretty solid in truth, but they are what they are - a dealership (and no folks, I'm not insulting dealers, I'm just saying they can't afford to offer as low a price as a private seller might)

I know this is a stupid question, but bodywise, what exactly differs from a P200 and a newer PX150? Could you theoretically replace a P200 cowl with a PX150 cowl? I've never actually seen a P200 or PX150 in person.

I don't think it is a stupid question, I personally am not sure... I think the body is mostly identical (which I think is very cool). That said, I think there is a whole locking mechanism on the new Ps for their cowls (which is nothing but a good idea I am sure). This might involve the latches of the cowls differing in some way that would prevent them being mounted on a vintage P. Anyone?

Oh crap. I didn't even think about this. When was the locking concept added to the PX line? Does one have to worry about having one's cowls stolen??

I think 1985?

Not on a Stella. I wonder if the PX line is the same in that respect too? Lock arms for the cowls are under the seat which itself can be locked.

Like the Stella, the PX is difficult to license and register here in California.

Well then you can just ride to NC and take mine for a spin!

you wish....

Busted!

Well, I guess we're just crafty here in the Napa Valley. The only reason why I was interested in the PX is because my local club already has most of the Stella! colors.
We have:
Orange
Blue
Green
Black
and even a white one and a fireball running around town.

I sold my Special Edition BRG one when my son got cancer and I am now looking for a replacement.

If you find any PX150's sitting out there at dealers - would be interested in prices if your willing to share?

reina has black, silver and red. he wants $4,299 + the tax and title fees.

1984 was the first year for the locking cowls. Also column ignition and new horncast as well as a few other changes.

Thanks Provastian. For those of you who do not have locking cowls...what do you do? Pray?

Pray that most people are too stupid to know WTF it is anyway.

The 86 PX200E body on my son's bike is identical to the 2005 PX150 Canadian limited edition that I ride.

jacqui

I'm not riding mine yet as I'm fixin it all up first, but I imagine I'll go with the "thieves won't know what the hell they're doing" hope. Anyway, unless they themselves own a P with messed up cowls I imagine that won't be a terribly interesting part to most of them, not knowing they are worth something.

We've got 60 of them... no joke...

All in silver.

T.

Could you illumine us as to the antecedent to the pronoun "them"? Cowls or PX 150's?

Al

PX 150.

We would then have 120 cowls.

double

how much?

no disrespect to 'teacherquinn' (i'm a teacher too) but it is not that difficult to register a new px in CA.

at least that was how i felt. actually, i guess 'difficult' is a relative term here.

i have a pretty darn new and sparkling px cruising the beaches here in LA.

you will have to license and register the scoot out of state and then have at least 7500 miles on the odometer when you are ready to register it here in CA.

the bike needs to be out of state registered and 'used' w/that minimum mileage.

i found that accomplishing both, were not too 'difficult' if you know what i mean.

by the way, you are allowed to ride a vehicle in CA w/out of state plates, i believe, for up to six months legally. i know several people who have lived here for years and never have changed their registration. CA did start a campaign in the past two years to call in out of state license plates to the dmv/chp. lame! i've been teaching 25 years and i still dislike when the 'good kid' tells on others.

you want a difficult way of doing the registration, etc? buy a vespa in greece! now that was an adventure! curious if aviator likes the greek 'byzantine' way of doing things.

john

John-

The minute we received our resident visas, we purchased our car. Took 5 mins at the Transport Ministry office. The seller delivered the documents the day before and dropped them off because there was a line. We both returned the next day and that was that.

I paid a deposit on my PX 150 at the dealer in Athens on Wed afternoon, provided the necessary info, picked the registered scoot up at noon the next day, drove to the ferry and came home.

Our Yesterday and Derbi were a bit more difficult, as we did not have EU compliance certificates for them, as we bought them in the US and brought them here with us. So Customs gave us 6 month "tourist" permits to use with our US plates while they figured out how to get them registered. Thus, we legally drove them while the details were worked out, and then were issued Greek plates.

Now, if you are not a Greek or EU citizen, and do not have a resident Visa to live in Greece, you cannot purchase AND register a vehicle here, which makes sense. At least to me. Of course, that means that if you aren't a citizen or legal resident and purchase a vehicle to remove from Greece, you can only do so without the registration being transferred and with only a bill of sale.

All in all, our experience with the Greek governmental employees has been positive. While some transactions took time, no official ever took the view that anything was impossible. Unfortunately, our experience with US governmental agencies often resulted in a "You can't get there from here" attitude. For example, due to budget and staffing cuts, we were informed that a letter verifying military retiree health insurance took at least 4 1/2 months to produce - no exceptions, even if it meant our Visas could not be renewed and we would have to return to the US and start immigration proceedings all over again, or buy an expensive six month non-refundable Greek insurance policy. The lady at the Greek immigration office here was shocked, but after a quick chat with her coworkers said to simply submit our expired insurance letter so she could submit our renewal "by clerical oversight". She figured that it would be a couple of weeks before Athens caught the error, and another couple of weeks after that before the proper letter would have to be submitted, and by then, my letter would be in hand. Worked just as she predicted.

Nope - no complaints here.

A&A

al, happy it worked out for you.

this was not the experience i had.

i absolutely love greece. i have a home there and have lived there off and on since the 1960's. i usually spend 3 to 4 months a year there still. the country has gone through an unbelievable change in the past 15 to 20 years, mostly good in my opinion. though i do miss the simplicity that was greece back in the 60's and 70's. w/all the economic growth greece has had, i feel there has been a cultural loss. recently the international herald tribune called greece 'the usa of the balkans' due to what has been happening. again, i think most of the change has been positive.

you can register a vehicle in greece w/out citizenship or a visa card. you simply need to a have a 'tax id #' which i have done a few times. believe me, it is an experience. nothing negative, but i must of gone to 5 different people to have official stamps put on my documents at 3 different offices just for my scoot. i speak fluent greek. i could only imagine what it would have been like for a non-greek speaker.

was it a 'byzantine' experience for me? yes. but, i think i had a complimentary kafe' at each of those stops and wonderful conversations with each person. have never had that happen at the dmv here in CA!

also, kefallonites are known to be just a bit 'off' when it comes to doing things. just ask around about the reputation that we kefallonites have throughout the rest of greece!

john

Ah, yes, the ever present stamps. But, we came to accept that long before we moved here. And they still use the little multipage registration booklets for 50 cc bikes.

How do you explain to a Yank that the fist place to go for a driver license is the Bank? Pay your tax and the ophthalmologist and physical exam fees there and give the receipts to the doctors you pick for the exam. Then take everything to the transport ministry. And, of course, kafe' at every step of the way.

We had our tax numbers for a couple of years before we moved here, but still could not register a car. At least not through the office on Paros. If you are Greek-American, it might be different.

We are making slow progress, but fluency in Greek has not been a problem. The Parians are friendly and patient people. One shop keeper once called her son in Thessaloniki five times for translation help while helping Ardy make some finishing selections when we were building our house. Ardy offered to get a local friend to come and translate, and the shop keeper insisted it was OK to call her son. All over a kafe', of course.

Our only problem has been that we should have moved sooner!

A&A

Vespa Seattle has one in stock .... 206.284.7631

So I stopped by Boston Vespa yesterday to pickup some more 2-stroke oil, and saw their grey 2005 PX150. Looks in really good shape, althought they could clean it up a bit (grease in wheels, etc - small stuff).

I did notice that the grips were odd - it has the nice leather grips, but it seems they are too big! They flop at the ends where they extend past the bar. I wasn't sure if they weren't pushed on enough, but I just found that a little odd. Perhaps they put on LX grips?

Are you talking about this?


They are the stock grips. The red arrow identifies where the handle tube ends. The metal end cap is simply snapped into the end of the polymer grip. Just a bit squishy at the outer end when the grip is fully up on the tube, and more so if the grips slip down the tube away from the headset.

And they are among the most uncomfortable hot weather grips I have ever dealt with. Get all wet and sticky. Have to constantly take your hand away from the grip to let the perspiration evaporate.

They look nice, however.

Al

Ever get an answer?

Al