Bike Trade Ideas

[oldbike54]

 Uh fellas , Jeff already bought a Vespa 

  Dusty

[Groover]

I guess I've missed this this thread until now.... Just wanted to say, Vespa all the way - I know, I know... already taken care of and you made the right choice, great model too (it's definitely a good one to have) - Anyway, I just wanted to cast my vote, even thought late 

[JeffOlson]

My wife's 150 Sprint will do an indicated 75+ mph, even though the website says it won't go faster than 59 mph. I imagine the 300 Super will do likewise (go faster than the website's top speed of 80 mph).

[jackson]

My wife's 150 Sprint will do an indicated 75+ mph, even though the website says it won't go faster than 59 mph. I imagine the 300 Super will do likewise (go faster than the website's top speed of 80 mph).

You can hit 80mph on the GTS 250 or 300; maybe 85 without a strong headwind.  But, if you hit any hills, you can't maintain much over 65 (depending on the incline).  You can cruise on most interstate hwys at a consistent 70-75 but anything over for any length of time is pushing the engine to it's max. 

[JeffOlson]

My commute is about 20 miles each way, half of which is on the freeway. I am still breaking in the 300 (I have a little over 100 miles on it so far), so I am trying to exercise restraint and not go faster than an indicated 65 mph (which is roughy 80% of the website's 80 mph maximum). However, I found the Vespa creeping up easily to over 70 mph on my ride home yesterday. I think it will keep up with traffic just fine, and with a windscreen it should be comfortable on the freeway.

By the way, the term "freeway" is misleading. Where I live, we are often at a standstill on the freeway, or jerking back and forth between zero and 10 mph. My Norge hates it because I often have to ride the clutch for miles, not even traveling fast enough for first gear! Around here, "freeway" often means "foot down"!

[jackson]

One more thing; Unless they've had a major change, the speedometers on modern Vespas will read 8-10% optimistic.  All of ours were exactly 10% off so if you registered that you were going 80mph, you were really going 72mph.  We checked ours with a GPS app on our Iphones and a Magellan GPS.  Many people on the Modern Vespa forum also checked theirs and got the same results.

[jas67]

My wife, God bless her, has approved the sale/trade of her 2013 Triumph Bonneville. (It has only 221 miles on it as she much prefers riding her 2015 Vespa Sprint 150.)

I could trade in the Bonnie on a new Vespa GTS 300 Super and satisfy my desire for an automatic transmission--and please my wife by having a ride that is similar to hers....

EDIT: should've read the whole thread first, now I see that Jeff already bought the Vespa -- good choice, looks great in blue, congrats on your new ride!   I'll leave my post here for others considering similar decisions.

I just spent 5 days with our Vespa GTS250 as my only ride (took it with us on a beach camping trip).    It is a fun little bike.    The 300 is the same bike with 30 more cc for a little better low end torque.   I had to ride in some heavy stop and go traffic in Ocean City MD, the one day.    I'd rather not ride in that kind of traffic, but, if I have too, I think that it is the perfect bike for those conditions.

Despite being in the flat lands, I found a twisty road to have some fun on.     I'm surprised how much fun I can have on it.      You'll also enjoy riding it with your wife on her Sprint 150 way better than anything bigger and faster.

Cheap Guzzi-owner content: Pre-owned 250 GTS's can be had with low miles for $2,500-$3,000, or half the price of a new GTS300.       Pre-owned GTS300's are in the $3,500-$4,000 range (2/3 new).    Pick up a pre-owned one, and then put the rest of the Bonnie money in your fund for Cali 1400 or RK.     Don't bother getting a newer Norge, I'm sure it isn't any better than your current one.

Hopefully, Warren Wren will chime in on this thread.    He's put over 25k on a Scarabeo 500, and now has a GTS300 and loves it.

If you're going the scooter route, go uber cool and take a look at the Piaggio MP3.

Just say NO to the MP3.   They're big ugly heavy beasts.    The only possible reason, that I would ever get on is if I need help holding a bike up at stops, as they've got a vertical lock feature that will keep 'em vertical under 5 MPH.

My wife's 150 Sprint will do an indicated 75+ mph, even though the website says it won't go faster than 59 mph. I imagine the 300 Super will do likewise (go faster than the website's top speed of 80 mph).

Wow!   I'm surprised that the Sprint 150 will go that fast.   I'm thinking that the speedo is a bit optimistic.    Have you checked it with a GPS?     Our 250 tops out at an indicated 80 MPH, which is about 75 MPH on the GPS.   The 280cc 300 has the same max HP rating at a little lower RPM than the 350.    From what I've ready, top speed is about the same as the 250, but they're a little quicker off the line.