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Having just spent waaaaay too much money on Hildegard (lights, hand/leg/foot shields, horn, battery) I have got her the ultimate accessory to save her the ignominy of my erratic inner-city riding style.

A Vespa GTS250ie. Dragon Red, of course. No accessories yet, save a short screen and topcase. It comes home on Saturday. http://piaggio.com.au/vespa/GTS250ie

Having started research on new-to-me thingies like "variators" I've found our Jess' "Modern Vespa" forum a revelation. Seems scooters are incredibly cheap to farkle - though I'll probably stick to suspension etc until the warranty is up.

I've been riding my Piaggio Fly 125cc for the past 3 months - http://piaggio.com.au/piaggio/Fly125 (is "fly" a pun on "wasp"?) - it's perfect for solo work in tight lanes, at just 110kg (~240lbs) and OK up to about 70kmh /40mph in traffic, but with only 7.8Kw/10.5hp & 10Nm / 7.4ft/lbs it can't handle a pillion or sustain 80kmh / 50mph on steep hills, and its suspension is made of spagetti while the brakes feel like soggy pizza. The GTS at 148kg / 325lbs is more of a handfull in tight spots, but its 16.5Kw/22.1hp & 20.3Nm / 15ft/lbs and acceptable brakes (ABS in Europe but not US or Australia .. huh?) + more supple and capable suspension means it will do the rest of the city work with ease. Plus take the cute one places, which the Fly on wished it could ...

I thought I'd have trouble adjusting to scooters after a lifetime on BMWs - in fact, a few years ago I test rode some and walked away shaking like a leaf - but not so now. It's the other way about: I find the R12R steering unresponsive for the first 2-5 km (then the supreme ability of its motor, suspension and brakes take over). I now sometimes find myself doing ridiculous things on the tiny scooter, before I calm myself down ... the Fly has no chicken strips left, for instance (that's a wowee for me), and I've locked up the brakes inadvertently a few times ... even slid sideways to a halt in front of some kids once (pure arse, but I took my bow anyway ). The GTS250 will command more respect - a long-ish test drive in tricky streets (steep, cambered, tight, bumpy) tells me I'll have to grow up or come a cropper (and I've read similar gotta-grow-up comments from longtime bikers who test scooters for magazines).

My best discovery has been not so much the ease of city scootering, but the Corazzo brand of riding gear (jackets and gloves). Stylish enough to wear into a cafe, OK for short runs in city downpours (it is designe in Portland, Oregon!!). It can't replace quality touring wear, but then it's about 25% of the price of my BMW gear ... I wish they did pants and shoes!!
http://www.corazzo.com/

Congrats on the new scooter! Have you sold your BMW and replaced it with the scooter or do you have both? I have been dreaming about owning a Vespa like the one you just bought but would want it as a second bike. Unfortunately The insurance costs here in Canada for a second motorcycle are as high as for the first one- you don't get an discounts. But I hope that my dream might become true one day in the near future....

Can't wait to hear how you get on with it!
All the best
Stef.

I had a GTS250ie for a while - great scooter but I found I always wanted to ride a bike instead so ended up not using it much. Riding two-up most of the time didn't help. If I want to ride something with small wheels I've got my '67 Lambretta.

A screen is an essential accessory for the GTS - it increases wind noise a bit but makes motorway cruising hugely more comfortable. Top tip - carry a spare exhaust collar/gasket with you. It's made of a kind of fibre-reinforced graphite and doesn't last very long - high speed riding results in a shorter life than city riding. Really you need to replace it anyway each time the exhaust comes off (which it has to do for rear wheel removal) but the collar lasts less time than a rear tyre...... Not good to ride with it blowing as the exhaust starts to melt wires

Happy scootering.

Congratulations on your new Vespa. I have a 2005 GT (200 cc, with carburetor instead of your fuel injection) and love it. For around town it is unbeatable. Yours is faster, more responsive because of the fi, especially noticeable off idle. The fi engines seem to run a bit hotter than engines fitted with carburetors, no ill effects seem to derive thereof. Believe it or not yours should get better mileage than mine even though it is bigger and more powerful. Mine has the following accessories: Windscreen (I wish my R1200R had one as good), tail trunk (mine is the Vespa factory unit, Givi makes a nice one too), European tail light (much bigger and brighter than the US spec unit - I highly recommend this accessory), a rubber mat for the floor, alarm system (Vespas get stolen), and side stand. Those small tires wear out in about 5,000 miles. Continental makes the best tires for your Vespa, known as Zippy 1, which you will learn all about on the Modern Vespa web site. Mine has been flawless in 5 years of ownership. No mechanical problems of any kind, just routine scheduled maintenance. Way too much fun.

Bill

Stef. wrote:Congrats on the new scooter! Have you sold your BMW and replaced it with the scooter or do you have both? I have been dreaming about owning a Vespa like the one you just bought but would want it as a second bike. Unfortunately The insurance costs here in Canada for a second motorcycle are as high as for the first one- you don't get an discounts. But I hope that my dream might become true one day in the near future....

Can't wait to hear how you get on with it!
All the best
Stef.

No, no ... the Vespa is my second bike. My first bike remains the R1200R, suitably farkelled for touring, and it stays for that role. It's the perfect road bike for me after literally years of false starts. I haven't felt so 'at home' on a machine since my K100RT - I kept that 10 years and should have kept it longer, but testosterone and temptation put me on a K1100LT ... and the path to a 4 year break from riding. 3 years into the R12R and the love affair just gets better. I'm about to put Z-technik engine bars on, and perhaps a comfort seat .. once I get over the money I just spent on lights & R12GSA switch (ouch), horn, and hand/leg/foot shields ...

I got back on bikes via the F650CS "Scarver"- which I loved and couldn't let out of the family. My sister has it now. It was very scooter-like, and when it went I decided I still wanted to have some city wheels - hence the Fly and now the GTS250ie. What amazed me about the 125cc Fly is that inner city journeys are quicker than the nominally faster 650 - itself a very nimble ride. Supreme "chuckability" and twist-and-go driveline make for a very big grin!!!! I know the 250 will require a little more respect - it can bite - nonetheless it still is nimble and quick through lanes, traffic and tight little streets.

I do get a substantial insurance discount on bike #2 - my insurance is based on 104 days/year on each and the Vespa adds only $150pa (AUD) to my policy. I use specialist motorcycle brokers (New England Insurance Brokers - yes, we have a "New England" downunder as well .. tableands above 1000m ASL that have 4 seasons) and I've been with them nearly 20 years. I didn't bother with comprehensive insurance on the Fly - at $3,000 AUD on the road it was only worth having a third party property damage policy. Of course, we have a copied-from-Canada Medicare scheme for rider personal injury while third party PI cover (aka "green slip") is compulsory with registration and has a $5,000 no-fault component as well.

Damn. Found me out.

Welcome to the world of scooters. Careful, it's addictive. Everyone I know has more than one, like some weird disease that takes over your life.

So at what point did you say "Hey! I've seen that avatar before!"

jess wrote: Damn. Found me out. So at what point did you say "Hey! I've seen that avatar before!"

I did recall you mentioning you moderated another forum ... so I guessed as soon as I saw the avatar.

jess wrote: Welcome to the world of scooters. Careful, it's addictive. Everyone I know has more than one, like some weird disease that takes over your life.

That is a great forum, and I am beginning to understand why scoots get modded ... coz you can, and you can afford it! That Malossi head plus cylinder etc, plus a pipe, for less than an exhaust system for the R12R ...

.. and yes, I'd have a second one - but it would probably be to keep something like the Fly (or maybe a Sportcity one) because, solo, they're so nimble, quick, and easy to chuck about. Maybe I'll even test a quick 50cc, just for short innercity blats (they're cheap as chips here) ... but that would take me to 5 registered vehicles ... a little to indulgent, even for me!

My girlfriend has a GTS 250ie. I can't seem to get the hang of it. The 300 Super looks pretty cool, too.

If I were to get one, this would be it...

http://motorcycleinfo.org/wp-content/up ... o-m500.jpg

They look like a blast!

Peter

Mollygrubber wrote:If I were to get one, this would be it...

http://motorcycleinfo.org/wp-content/up ... o-m500.jpg

They look like a blast!

I've got one of those as well. It's a disease, see.

They are a blast. The extra front wheel means your front end basically never washes out, unless you hit ice. So you can ride with near impunity on otherwise questionable surfaces, leaning way into the turn and pulling Gs that would otherwise be unwise.

That said, the GTS 250 still hits a major sweet spot in terms of size and weight. The MP3 500 weighs well north of 500 pounds, and isn't nearly as much fun on a goat trail as the GTS.

AllanCook wrote: My girlfriend has a GTS 250ie.

Add the factory topcase and half-screen, and that's my scoot. Black looks best, but the reds are more visible in my environment.

AllanCook wrote: I can't seem to get the hang of it.

Nor could I at first - a few years ago I took some long-ish test rides on the Vespa ET4 (now LX150; 10" wheels) and GT200 (same frame as GTS; 12" wheels) and they just felt to skittish for me. strangely, the GT with 12" wheels felt mroe nervous than the 10" wheeled scoot. This time I took out the Aprilia Sportcity 125 (14" wheels, telescopic forks) and the Piaggio Fly 125 (12" wheels, telescopic forks) - same motor as the Vespa 125. First 5 km were iffy, then it all settled down - the Aprillia was more 'bike-like' but the Fly was more comfy, nimble and cheaper.

After a few months punting the Fly around tight lanes and streets - it's supremely "chuckable" and frankly I ride it like a toy - I can mange the GTS. The GTS is still a bit of a handfull - it's nowhere near as easy as the Fly and the rear weight bias makes quick moves a bit jerky compared to a bike. I've no doubt treating it like a toy could bring me very unstuck!

However, it is more planted than a wee scoot and has brakes and suspension that work (the Fly and similar scoots have poor brakes and sloppy suspension) .. so as Jess says, it's a great middle option. I'll be treating it like a twist-and-go version of my old F650CS.

AllanCook wrote: The 300 Super looks pretty cool, too.

Sure does, and the torque was more obvious in every move when I tested it - although it actually makes less peak power than the 250 and has the same top speed. But as delivered in Australia right now (there are incentives on the 250), the 300 is not as good value as the 250: about a 25% premium that is disproporionate to the benefits ..

Mollygrubber wrote:If I were to get one, this would be it...
http://motorcycleinfo.org/wp-content/up ... o-m500.jpg
They look like a blast! Peter

Well, yes! But not really on my radar. 1200 + 250 + other toys (bicycles, kayaks, skis, trailer, 4WD) kinda fill my little inner-city garage and my time. My scoot is mainly to fill the gap between cycling and car use - ability to filter in traffic and duck down lanes is an absolute in grid-locked Sydney town!

Every once in a while i consider taking the wife's Vespa for a boot. Then I grab the R12R's keys and never look back.

HERE"S MY SCOOTERIST PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW ONE .... (a cross-post on Modern Vespa, but here for yoru amusement)

I still wasn't sure the Vespa GTS250ie was the right scoot ... I toodled over the Harbour Bridge and Spit Bridge to Scooter Central on my 125 cc Piaggio Fly, thinking that the trade-in wasn't really that much money, and nor was rego / TPI, so maybe it would be better to keep it for tight city work ... after all, I can have as many scoots as I want, can't I?

A bit of paper work, lotsa gear matching (I think I've single handedly guaranteed Corazzo's profitability) and it's crunch time.

A bit nervous wiggling across the pavement and out onto Pittwater Road to head up to a get-to-know-you ride around McCarr's Creek Rd (etc) before I dared try the citylanes wiggle ... I know it won't flick about like the Fly and I know its very tail-heavy, and, and ..... geepers - I wouldn't be this nervous on my R1200R!

So I try a few wiggles to wear the coating off the new tyres and warm up the new brakes when it's safe to do so. Hmmm. even at low-ish speeds, this thing changes direction as easily as the Fly, and with an extra 40kg, it feels more planted on the road. Hmmm again. I get a few real wiggles in dodging the "mirrors - what mirrors" northern beaches soccermums out to kill their quota of two-wheelers on a sunny Saturday - hmmm again, even. I know the GTS' 1370mm wheelbase is only 40mm longer than the Fly, and front tyre is the same 120/70 12 ... so maybe that's why it feels almost as chuckable ... and the 130/70 12 on the rear feels less skittich than the 120/70 12 of the Fly ... and these Pirellis, once the slippery protective coating is a bit worn, do stick waaaay better ... so I wiggle around Church Point's bumpy corners and head into the bends of Kuringai Chase. A little slip on the new tyre warns me not to over-cook it but this is starting to feel like a great combination of flickability and capability.

Whooo - wee!

Calmness prevails on Mona Vale Rd, toodling along at 80-ish with the traffic and winding through S'n'Ives / Pymble in a way the Fly just couldn't. It seems a bright red Vespa makes more kids smile and wave than even my old electric blue K1100LT did ... so lotsa waving back. A more traffic'd run down the nice-but-choked bends of Lady Game Drive, Fuller's Bridge and Field of Mars takes me to the Rozelle back streets to get a helmet etc to go and show off to the cute one.

This is the acid test.

I knew a more competent scoot would be good at the longer city / bends and 'burbs trips I didn't need a scooter for (the R1200R does them quite OK). I knew it's suspension would make relatively light work of the speed humps and manhole covers the Fly stumbled and bashed over. The big question was, would it do the inner-city stuff I do want a scoot for? Would I feel as relaxed as I did on the Fly? The answer seemed to be "yes" ... well, with the proviso that you can't treat a 250 scoot like a toy, unlike a 125 (all the articles I'd read said a fella has to grow up just a bit on these Vespas - coz if you chuck 'em about like toys, they just might bite ). OK, let's try some tighter stuff with tricky cambers ... hmmm - still OK. It isn't the 110kg Fly, and I can see that if I misjudge steepness, off-camber or tight turns I can't simply stick a foot down and kick it upright, but it's not that shabby at the back-lane boogie, after all. Definite hmmm.

I skip around and into my one-and-a-bit car width street and park. Maybe .. just maybe .. I won't miss the Fly as much.

Trepidation.

Tomorrow I plan to take the cute one on the red GTS to Bronte. I haven't taken a pillion in a decade, mostly coz of my hestiation and jerky throttle control on a sweet-but-old BMW twin. Still, this is why I up-sized (after all, the Fly was perfect for solo city work) - so today's plan is to take a short shakedown run in the noonday sun to get her and me and big red acquainted.

I've got a matching white Nolan N41 helmet, matcghing red-and-white Corazzo gloves and a Corazzo Tempeste jacket in what looks to be the right size. Big red is all shiny and come-hither in the winter sun ... but the jacket is too big. Oops - cardinal sin! A fella will usually be forgiven buying a size too small, but too big ... ? I push and pull at the armour, but it's obvious the Medium is not a good enough fit. To my suprise - and greater trepidation - she suggests we scoot over to Brookvale to see if the smaller size is a fit. A quick chat with Scopoter Central - yes, they'll take it back even if she rides over in it, provided it's pristine - and we start out.

Oh, dear. Not only will I have to pillion in traffic at speed, I'll have to start with tight Leichhart / Annandale streets first.

Now for the technical bit (thanks for waiting, guys) - how rear-heavy will the GTS be two-up, even though the cute one is well under 60kg? How will it steer? And will it lift up over the innumerable speed humps? Well, the front does get light - as expected - so steering inputs need to be stronger. But it's not terminal - merely a little more judicious oomph in initiating counter-steer, and a little "out" lean in roundabouts to keep those Pirellis on their side "cone". We dodge the tightest, most speed-bumped lanes I used to bounce the Fly through, and it's disconcertingly effortless. The brakes are juts fine - they're a quantum leap better than the Fly, and will pull us up with easy confidence, even if they aren't the amazing ABS wonders of my road bike (why, why, don't Vespa offer its ABS option here?)

Out onto the Westlink and over the Bridge. It is a 16Kw, 20Nm 244cc single, so I'm not expecting serious oomph two-up - but the power is adequate and we can pull cleanly ahead of traffic after lane-splitting to the front (if you're gonna filter up, courtesy demands you don't hold everyone up at the green!). It's very easy to maintain 70-80 in traffic over the Bridge and up the freeway - it ain't my 80Kw / 115Nm bike, but we're doin' OK! The 50kmh wiggle around the back run and over the Spit is despatched with applomb - the GTS' variator is keeping good torque for cornering on throttle and the Pirellis are now clean of gunk and gripping well. The cute one is kept busy waving back at kids in Mosman tractors ..

We've got more than enough two-up oomph to weave through the kerbside lanes and back into traffic easily and safely - a little courtesy and a lot of big-red cuteness even get us some grown-up waves ... well, it's one of those glorious Sydney-by-the-sea winter days. We've got sufficient torque to motor confidently up the steep hills at traffic pace, with a decent amount in reserve.

John and Murray at Scooter Central are their charming, full-of-good-advice selves and the jacket changeover goes swimmingly. The small Tempeste fits very fecthingly (oh, my) and the cute one is feeling very good about the scootering experience. The seat and backrest (top case) get the thumbs-up as comfortable - not merely "not uncomfortable" and the whole experience is a bit of a buzz. Whooo-wee, indeed!

Back via Roseville Bridge - as good a test as any. Two steep hills the Fly couldn't hold more than 60kmh on, solo ... the GTS does notice, but responds with a solid torque urge that has us weaving through traffic with confidence. At almost any city speed (so up to 90, given we're still running in) the GTS feels "planted" and you're aware it has torque and power in reserve - where the Fly felt "nimble" at up to about 80, then "breathless".

Even before the planned first big outing, the GTS has answered both questions. One, it'll do any amount of distance, climbing and trafffic with sufficient competence to ride, corner and brake with confidence solo or two-up. Two, it can still handle tight city work - even if it doesn't quite "dance" the way the Fly could.

DAY TWO

A winter morning jaunt to Bronte beach cafes for brekky (sunny if @ 10 deg celcius) is still lotsa fun. The GTS is getting to feel even better, and the cute one is definitely enjoying the pillion experience. Home via Redfern / Chippendale lanes and inner city coffee is fine too.

I head off solo to get some more running-in done, and at 170km the motor is feeling a bit looser and more willing. I haul a 94kg mate uphill to the Woolwich Pier pub for lunch .. this does almost upset the GTS' balance and the steering is going from "light" to "iffy" on some uphill bends. A last wind around the tight wharf streets along the Lane Cove River proves the GTS truly isn't too much of a handfull, and it's a quick blat home across a very blustery Gladesville Bridge to establsh the GST is OK in wind, even with that sail of a topcase.

Parked - 220km up and one hell of a grin! The GTS is definitely a winner for me - it's known minus is that it is not quite nimble as was the Fly, but the surprise is it does quite OK in the tight stuff, with not too much drama to wheel it around. Its "planted" feel on the road, solo or two-up (a slight reservation for 90+kg pillions!) makes it an all-over-town machine. The upright ride position does have its limitations, but that's so for all scoots - at least the seat is good fro an hour (the fly was good for only 20 minutes). Yes, it's obvious you can take a country run or tour a bit on these, but I'll keep my road bike for those uses. The GTS is a real grin-widener aroudn town.

For those who read to here - it's OK - I've just spent waaay too much moolah on the R12R and I'll be out of town on it very soon ... in fact, the Vespa experience shoudl pre-condition the cute one for some weekend trips .. at the cost of a low comfort seat ...