Modern Vespa

I'd reccomend an Aprillia Sport City. It's a 250cc fuel injected model that fits the "inseam-challenged" I'm 5'4", and have a longer inseam and love my GTV...however the Aprilia models have a narrower saddle, making it easier to handle and keep your feet completely flat.

yeaup, I was going to say. Also a lot cheaper than a GTS.

As an aside, reading through this thread, I think quite a few of us may hve some misconceptions about what FI actually offers. ScooterRaton is absolutely correct. Let's pay less attention to te marketing and more attention to what's technologically going on. For the OP, a very compelling reason to accept a carb'd bike is that the criteria you mention are hard to find in an FI bike now. And to those who suggest the LX150ie - they must have changed the seat height along with FI as well sine the LX is notoriously bad for even medium height riders. Many peoples first questions here are how to lower LX seat heights.

Btw, almost every carbureted scooter in the US (especially those sold by piaggio) is Euro3 anyway.

TheO.Z.: i can find documentation here and there on Euro 3 compliance but it's hard to come by.

thanks for the tip on the Aprilia to both inkslinger and TheO.Z. unfortunately it has a 32" seat height, even if narrower. we'll give it a "test sit", i suppose.

ok, i've softened my ideological stance against carbs to consider the buddy. however, i don't see why they are all that:

Genuine Buddy 125. $2699. 29.0" seat height with 10" wheels fore and aft. 220 lbs.

$300 in exchange for a FI Honda or Yamaha with otherwise comparable specs seems very reasonable to me.

The Buddy is quicker, better handling, and much better brakes

Better storage with the Buddy too.

I would suggest looking for a used ET4, I like them a lot better than the LX150s

I own an LX, A Buddy and MP3. My people have all the other styles, ET, GTS, etc. , that I have also ridden.

The seat height is a significant factor for new riders. I started on a Honda Metropolitan because it was important to me to feel like I was the boss of it. Rode everywhere on it, outgrew it, sold it for what I paid for it.
The LX is tall. I am dismayed that the model marketed to women (in the U.S.) is as tall or even taller than the GTS. (Not as wide, though.)
The Buddy is not incredibly shorter, it is just enough shorter. I ride the Buddy with more confidence and aggression than the LX, even after years of riding experience on both bikes. The center of balance seems to be lower on the Buddy, so it doesn't feel as heavy as the LX, though they weigh the same. The suspension on the LX is nicer. The Buddy is faster, both from a stop and sustained. I have been in the lead on rides (smallest/slowest bike sets the pace) and had people on bigger bikes struggle to keep up.

There are some good side by side reviews of these bikes, here on MV and over at ModernBuddy.com.
I would seriously consider the SportCity, if I did not already have 3 bikes.

I think in this case there are some major intangibles to the Buddy that do not and will not come through in the specs.

(As an aside, I have a strongly-held belief that selecting a product -- almost any product -- on the basis of specs alone is completely missing the point. Specs are what you use when there are no intangibles. Scooters have lots of intangibles)

First, the Buddy seat height is very cleverly designed. It slopes from the nose to the back, so that riders of varying heights can find a comfortable spot where their legs have room behind the legshield and they can put their feet down. The Buddy is, hands down, one of the best bikes available for short riders.

It's also fairly narrow, which enhances the value to short riders.

The weight distribution is also substantially different than an LX. All the weight in the Buddy is very low, and as such it is extraordinarily easy to balance and ride. I think, in fact, that it's the easiest-to-ride bike that you can get your hands on today.

It's also very quick, and has no problem at all keeping up with larger bikes.

All of these things make the Buddy a really good choice for new and short riders. Add the stupendously good gas mileage and the relatively high reliability, and you've got a really good scooter.

Specs be damned. Please don't buy a bike based on specs. You'll almost certainly be selling yourself short.

Here's my oft-requested Buddy 125/LX comparison:
http://www.modernbuddy.com/forum/topic4835.html

I really like the Aprilia line and wish it got a little more attention and love from Piaggio USA, dealers and buyers. Granted, the differences between their Piaggio-branded counterparts are few at this point. I just think the Aprilias have a little more character and spirit.

I am 5'2" and weigh more than the wife of the OP. I have a Buddy 125 and an RV250.

The Buddy is very easy to ride, no worries about simple things like staying upright at a stop, mounting and dismounting the bike, rolling the scoot around like in a garage or whatever, and getting it up onto the center stand is no problem once you learn the technique.

The larger RV is not something I would have wanted to learn on. And even after the MSF class you are still learning. I have gotten the RV stuck on the center stand and now I rarely use it-it is just too heavy, I have been able to stand on the lever for the center stand and still unable to get it to go up. I have also dropped it when I was not careful and it just went right over-I controlled it on the way down, but that was it. My son had to help me get it back on two weels. I now use my right foot to put the side stand down and rest it on the stand before dismounting. It is a lot to handle and I am only now-over 1000 miles later-feeling comfortable with it.

And, having been a wife, I strongly urge you to let her choose what she wants. Don't pressure her into what you like, it is her bike, let her chose what makes her happy and she is comfortable riding. Maybe once she gets a few K miles under her belt she will be ready for something bigger. But let her learn especially on what she likes.

-v

my wife will have the ultimate choice, yes yes. if she doesn't want to ride at all that'll be her choice, too!

back on the topic of small, light FI scoots, Honda seems to have announced a fine looking new one that'll be in the US in 2010:

http://world.honda.com/news/2009/c090914Scooter-PCX-Thailand/

2010 Honda PCX. 125cc. fuel injected. looks very nice. combined braking system. non-US models even have auto start-stop, a "micro-hybrid" system, if you will.

(unknown price, weight, and seat height at this time.)

That's a really nice-looking scooter!

Personally, the high step-through would bother me
because I like to ride in long, wide skirts
(but I'm in the minority there)

Nice find, I do love looking at these