Vespa GTS 250

I bought used Vespa GTS 250 about a month ago from Vespa San Francisco. It was a pretty sweet deal, about 3000 miles since new on a 2006 model.

It’s pretty nice. My reasons for buying a new Vespa (and no longer riding my classics) were:

1. busy lifestyle over at slide.com means no time for self-fixing
2. brutal downtown parking situations mean a lot of damage to increasingly scarce parts on vintage bikes
3. predictable annual maintenance costs vs. high-ticket sporadic expensive repairs to the vintage bikes

I also considered an entry-level Ducati. I still want one, but I need to face the fact that I rarely leave the city and even if I wanted to, the GTS 250 pulls at 76mph stock. (I haven’t yet tested this, real-world is probably 70-80 depending on wind conditions)

So, what’s it like? Well, it’s fantastic. I’m comparing vs. daily driving my Lambretta Jet 200 for the past three years:

1. much faster to pick up from the line — even two up
2. much faster to stop on the line
3. push button starter
4. hella storage space
5. doesn’t scare your passenger — less deathtrappy

The biggest downside is:

1. style

It’s no fair to compare a 1976 200cc (the cylinder is cast iron, yo) to a 2008 250cc. But the reality is that dollar for dollar over a few years, the cost of owning a modern GTS 250 is going to be (I hope) about the same, if not less, as a classic — with less headache and unexpected big bills and waits for parts.

The style thing — I’m not sure yet how I feel about this. The GTS 250 is a much bigger bike than, say, the diminutive Lambretta (they are parked next to each other) but despite this Vespa’s stylists have made a lot of progress in the past couple of years integrating the elements of beauty the classic bikes possessed into their new line. Remember the Vespa ET4? Nasty. The GT line in general has a much more rounded back end, the GTS takes this a little further and grabs some more cues from the GS 150/160 series from the late 50’s/early 60’s.

The GTS 250 is no slimline Lambretta, that’s for sure. Style was the reason I got into scooters, it feels odd to de-prioritize it. Perhaps the fact that I was considering a motorcycle also should tell me something.

I dunno what happened, but I think I’ve finally reached the point where having a great day riding around is more important to me than the kind of bike I do it on. The classic bikes will stay but I don’t think they’ll be daily drivers again — the practical advantages of the modern Vespa are just too great.

Ciao, baby.