Modern Vespa

I'm picking out my Vespa tomorrow, and I thought I might as well start a new thread and just put all my experiences, doubts, upgrades in a single thread as they come up instead of littering the whole forum. (I post a lot, i love forums). Also my forum presence would be smaller and more easily avoidable for those who wish to do so.

I'm feeling excited tonight as anticipation builds for tomorrow. I've never driven a scooter in my life so I will take it walking to the park and start practicing there for a while. Even at 50cc I feel it will meet my needs as it will not be the daily driver, I do own a car. I am a novice at this so i thought 150cc might be too much. First "upgrade" would be a good wash to assess the scratched on the paint, then decide whether I want to repaint or sticker it up. The right mirror needs painting or changing. Obviously I'll take pictures and post them right here, so I can get advice on it. I already have a jacket that I suspect was made for riding motorcycles, I need to upgrade the helmet to a full faced one ASAP and get gloves. My other upgrade is the chrome bars. I'm not looking forward to it but there's a possibility of falling down. The more protected I am the better. Getting up early tomorrow to get the bank check and go down to the DMV. It's going to be an exciting day!

Enjoy the scooter, and don't bother to patch up the 50cc - you'll be moving up in short order to 150cc, I promise. Just pass it on at cost to another excited new owner in a few months time.

Congrats. The whole picking out and subsequent delivery of my scooter rated as the most fun I've had (still having) in a long time!

Edwardo that is so freaking exciting.... i couldnt sleep for a whole week before i picked up my first real scooter....

forget the chrome bars and listen to jim... the bars add weight and do absolutely nothing unless the drop it...

good luck ,
Hp

I figured that I needed to learn on a "cheaper" model, it would be easier to move and not get hurt financially if i totally detest it. The asking price is $1200, with vespa chain, luggage compartment, 2 helmets, vespa cover, a 2005 with only 650 miles on it. That is practically trade in value. So if I get the itch for a bigger one I can trade in (or paint and resell) and I would have time to save some scratch for a bigger one.

Congrats and enjoy!

Woo hoo! Post some pics tomorrow!

Congrats!!! You are going to love it!

Is it an ET2? Also where are you located? USA? Seems like you got a decent deal, however I always say to start with a 150cc so you won't grow out of it that quickly. It always seems that people who buy 50's enjoy them so much that they upgrade very soon, usually to a 150cc.

Puerto Rico, technically USA, but taxes are higher here so i think dealer sale price is even higher. I bought it because it's in great condition and a steal for that price and the things it comes with. I have never had a scooter before or any motorized 2 wheeled transport, so it could go either way. If I hate it, I can sell it and still come out ahead. If I love it, I can commit more money and trade it in. I just didn't want to commit 3 to 4 grand to something I might not enjoy.

Great news on the 150 Eduardo, have a fun time ridding it, you won't look back and you'll wonder what took you so long to do it. The 150 has it all over the 50.

it's a 50cc ET2.

Well today's the big day, going to go get it and go to the park to practice. Come back home wash it and take pictures!

Oops, sorry I got that wrong. Enjoy the ET2, it is a two stroke right? They are pretty zippy for a 50 cc scooter. You'll have a great time on it.

I'm not sure acout the ammount of strokes it's a 2005 model.

Ok Audrey is home! But it's bittersweet. The ride was scary, this baby can go! Nut whem I got home my parents didn't agree with me much. Also I can't get here to start, I think it may be flooded. Pictures after the jump!

It looks great to me. Enjoy the ride.

Paul

Well you don't have to worry about the first scratch! Commence to riding.

Now here's the big question, should I repaint it myelf (somehow get the color right) or just put a huge sticker over it? I was also thinking about getting the chrome style mirrors.

You can even put a big magnet over it. I wouldn't bother with re-painting it just yet.

Welcome to the community

Bet you can ride year round down there. As I'm looking at snow flurries out my window.

It's summer year round, in summer it just gets hotter. I already did my first "mod" the front reflector was falling off, the front peg had broken off so I put some emblem glue on it and stuck it back in. Worked like a charm.

Already considering changing the mirrors. What do we think about chrome mirrors?

I like the look of the color-matched mirrors on the ET2 but the Mod style mirror kit from Motorsport Scooters might look good too.

That mirror is quite an eyesore being all scratched up and all. I don't know if it's a doable proyect to paint the Vespa as a DIY. The seller already stiffed me on the DMV label that cost me $195 extra.

Overall looks good...now mirrors...check this thread and see pic below...very, very tempting!

Adding a bar end mirror, should I add one, or two??highlight=mirrors

Wow those look very handsome!

I am looking at the damage on the sides and it looks extensive, does anyone has experience retouching that kind of damage?

agreed, i think jim and vezpa have this pegged. you will need more bike within a couple months. just ride it as is and you should be able to get every penny out when you upgrade.

Just go get a rattle can paint of silver or Black and give it a 2 tone paint job.

Now you got me thinking, this might be a good look for her:

As Jimc and others have suggested, just her for a while and figure out what's next. You may find any home made repairs look worse than the current dings. The mirrors can be swapped out pretty easily for something chrome but I would add some decals or a sticker over the worst of the side damage. The silver is not an easy match and the existing dents and such will make any new ones easier to accept.

Ride it and enjoy!

The two tone black and silver idea looks great!

I hear ya! I'm giving her a throughout wash today and see what's up. I took off some marks with rubbing compound last night. But they looks like obvious rubber transfer. There's a black paint spot on the dials that i will take off today with thinner probably. After I see the extent of the damage I will probably get a magnetic sticker with a pinup girl of some sort to cover the dings up until I think of the nex step. the chrome mirrors are definitely coming, both mirrors are scratched up to holy hell.

I thought so too. But I don't want to fiddle with it much. I do have a can of paint from AutoZone but I don't want to mess with it. It might end up worse.

Original, even if a bit tatty, is always preferable to 'touched up'. At least then the buyer can see all the defects, and can be sure there are none 'covered up'.

Just finished a long ride and it was exhilarating, I definitely need goggles to ride. My current jacket is way hot. The 50cc is holding well enough I did take it to the mas today which is about 35mph, still scary, always scary, there was one corner that gave me chills. But I felt today that if i focus on positive outcomes and not think about crashing, i will be okay. The bike goes where I look.

I went over the Vespa with some rubbing compound and got most of the paint transfer on the mirror off. I would still like to get the chrome mirror that looks like the current and vintage model. I figured tomorrow I'll go down to pepboys and see what decals they got to cover up the nasty spill on the side. It's pretty long so I'll probably need multiple, maybe some nautical stars and pin-up girls.

Today Audrey met Baby BottleRocket for the first time, they seem to get along just fine.





Also rubbing compounded more rubber transfers off. This stuff is awesome.

cute couple!

I went to Autozone today and picked up some GM style stripe roll. I cut it in half and did the front and it wasn't so bad, I was feeling cocky so I decided to do the sides. Big Mistake. I had never worked with Vinyl before and it was really difficult to get it on right. Specially with all the curvatures. after some trial and a lot of error, I finally got it looking half decent. Of course I plan to redo them but I wanted something to cover the huge scratch and right now it's doing the trick.

Not bad. I really like the stripe on the leg shield.