Spec me a Vespa 125

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I'm after a Vespa 125, but being new to this sort of thing am rather unsure as to what the difference between the various models are. There's an LX, an LXV, a GTS and a GTS Super (125 released in July). All that seems to be different is price and the fact that the GTS comes with fuel injection and not a carb engine.

So, what are the main differences, and which is best? I'm going to basically be using it for commuting a 12 mile journey through London, but a brief hurrah into the neighbouring counties at the weekend isn't out of the question.
 
£2000 for a 125cc Vespa? Doesn't sound like much of a deal to me. Why not choose something that isn't a Vespa and save yourself some money? Vespas do seem a lot for what they are.
 
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Janesy B said:
£2000 for a 125cc Vespa? Doesn't sound like much of a deal to me. Why not choose something that isn't a Vespa and save yourself some money? Vespas do seem a lot for what they are.
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Fair point, I'll look at other stuff out there (guy next to me just screamed HONDAAAA!!!). I'm aware that there's other cheaper models, but in my ignorance I'm prepared to pay more for something that looks nicer. :)
 
I had an ET4 that rode quite nicely. It could be temperamental sometimes though, so I might be inclined to go for the fuel injected one. It'll have a bit more power I expect as well.

Might seem expensive but it's screwed together a damn sight better than any of the other peds and they hold their value.
 
atpbx said:
Ewww vespa's.

You might as well get yourself a pair of assless chaps while you are at it. ;)
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I've got a closet full of 'em, the incessant moaning is a nightmare.

Jonny69 said:
I had an ET4 that rode quite nicely. It could be temperamental sometimes though, so I might be inclined to go for the fuel injected one. It'll have a bit more power I expect as well.

Might seem expensive but it's screwed together a damn sight better than any of the other peds and they hold their value.
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I'm not that fussed about spending a few hundred quid more on something that's going to keep that value. Looking on autotrader, the going rate for a GTS/GT 125 is about £1800, but can pick up a 25k miles one for £1300.

What's servicing costs / intervals like? What's the average lifespan in miles?
 
I owned a Vespa GTS 125 from new and sold it a few weeks back, a month before it would be 2 years old. Here are some questions I think you need to as yourself, and I will give you my brutally honest opinion

- Sure tax is cheap, but have you got an idea of insurance costs for it? Mine was £330 TPFT insured to commute and kept ina secure parking space both ends, for 4000 miles a year. Thats 10% of the bikes value!

- Fuel is cheap (cost me approx £10 a fortnight to fill up, did on average 70mpg), I think you could get better economy on other bikes....

- Do you really want a twist and go? I "only" had a CBT license, but whilst the automatic nature is very easy and convenient for town, and helps the "cool" and easy package, I think you will find, especially for commuting, it will place a lot of strain on the parts which leads me to....

- Service costs. And for me this is where I drew the line. Do you have an idea of service costs?

If not, then budget for this. To keep it properly maintained as per handbook you need a service every 2000km (or year). Cost of parts per service is £20 - £75, no big deal. But labour is a different kettle of fish. I had mine done at the main dealer I bought it from. Which charged £75 p/h plus VAT! And each service would take 2 or 3 hours, so for my commuting habits, I needed approx 3 services a year, which would cost an average of £300 all in... call it £1000 for a year, and my commute was almost 20km round trip each day...

Sorry to put a downer on it but the running costs outweighed the immense fun I had on it. The problem is, with commuting you are often going full throttle then brake, full throttle, then brake, all the time between lights and traffic etc. And I simply dont think Vespa's are built for such stop start driving.

If you are hell bent on getting one and you want my opinion, forget a GTS or any newer bike that might command a premium and get a 2002-2003 plate GT and look for one in as good condition you can find, with as lower mileage as possible. Ive heard the engines are usually only good for up to 30,000 km. With a cheaper bike you wont mind getting it dinged or scratched if you park in public (I kept mine mint by paying to park securely at work, but just adds to the cost). Afterall you could pay for a respray for what secure parking costs for 3 months. Also you wont be held to getting it serviced at a main dealer to hold value, if you can find a quality independent, use them, Im sure it'll be better and cheaper. Also, with an older bike insurance might be a little more reasonable.

I wanted a Vespa for the looks, but if I were doing it again, Id buy myself a cheap, reliable (read Japanese) manual bike. More reliable, more economic, cheaper to insure and service and better suited to commuting. I guess sadly, commuting requires substance over style. I'd take a manual PX Vespa over an automatic if I had to have a Vespa. If you do get one, invest in a flyscreen (half or full height), they really do make a difference!

For the record I bought a bike to commute to work on, and it takes 5 mins longer to get from SW London to Canary Wharf where I work! Such is the effect that traffic lights have.
 
That's very useful information, thanks.

If I were to look further afield, what are the obvious candidates? Would all auto-boxes suffer in the same way you described - i.e. does a manual have an obvious advantage?

If I do go down the Vespa route, a lot of what you say about getting an older model makes sense. I'm fairly sure that my insurance costs will go down over a few years as I get my full license and can keep it secure at work. Similarly, there seems to be a bunch of motorcycle garages around here so I guess I can shop around for some quotes.

The thing that's really important for me though is that it's cheaper than going on the train. I pay £1500 per year on train travel and even with heavy insurance and servicing costs, it still comes in under that, and I get a shorter commute.
 
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I was trying to achieve the same, and if £1500 is your target, I hate to say I think youll struggle, and remember you are unlikely to ride to work every day, which will mean you will have to pay for the train on ocassion.

I would budget the following:

Servicing per annum: £900
Tax: £15
Insurance TPFT: £300
Fuel: £260 (assuming £10 per fortnight for a year at current prices)
Ad hoc bills: £75 (puncture cost me £150 to fix)

And youre at £1550...... add onto that some depreciation and I genuinely believe a train ticket is faster

However, you might save time, and it depends how you value your time....
 
Mmm, that's the thing though. I hate commuting on the train, and a scooter would knock 20-30 mins off my commute time. It's finer than I thought it would be, but I'm still swaying towards the wheeled option, mostly because it involves sitting down :p
 
You pay your money and take your choice. If you genuinely believe that the cost will be within 5% of your train fare then for the time savings I would say go for it. I have no experience of leaving a Vespa outside in the rain and Ive heard horror stories of problems with electrics and the like. So, although they look cool, take a good hard look at some other "less cool" manual bikes.

The auto gearbox on the Vespa uses some pulley system, and from what I have been lead to believe the bands and rollers can wear, they are utterly disposable and cheap to replace, but its something that needs doing fairly regularly and thats where you incur labour costs. Maybe the manual PX wouldnt suffer as much.
 
MrM said:
I was trying to achieve the same, and if £1500 is your target, I hate to say I think youll struggle, and remember you are unlikely to ride to work every day, which will mean you will have to pay for the train on ocassion.

I would budget the following:

Servicing per annum: £900
Tax: £15
Insurance TPFT: £300
Fuel: £260 (assuming £10 per fortnight for a year at current prices)
Ad hoc bills: £75 (puncture cost me £150 to fix)

And youre at £1550...... add onto that some depreciation and I genuinely believe a train ticket is faster

However, you might save time, and it depends how you value your time....
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£900 a year in servicing costs? It cost me £100 to run my Piaggio Zip 50 for a year, there's no way you'll burn through £900 a year in pure servicing costs.
 
MrM said:
You pay your money and take your choice. If you genuinely believe that the cost will be within 5% of your train fare then for the time savings I would say go for it. I have no experience of leaving a Vespa outside in the rain and Ive heard horror stories of problems with electrics and the like. So, although they look cool, take a good hard look at some other "less cool" manual bikes.

The auto gearbox on the Vespa uses some pulley system, and from what I have been lead to believe the bands and rollers can wear, they are utterly disposable and cheap to replace, but its something that needs doing fairly regularly and thats where you incur labour costs. Maybe the manual PX wouldnt suffer as much.
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I'm booking my CBT for next week at a place near me. I'll talk to some people there about their experiences and recommendations. If I'm going to do this and it is a bad idea, I want to go into it knowing it's a bad idea and that i'm just along for the experience :p
 
Janesy B said:
£900 a year in servicing costs? It cost me £100 to run my Piaggio Zip 50 for a year, there's no way you'll burn through £900 a year in pure servicing costs.
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Did you actually read his cost breakdown though? Personally I think you'd have to be completely daft to pay main dealer rates on a s/h bike worth £1500.
 
MrM said:
I was trying to achieve the same, and if £1500 is your target, I hate to say I think youll struggle, and remember you are unlikely to ride to work every day, which will mean you will have to pay for the train on ocassion.

I would budget the following:

Servicing per annum: £900
Tax: £15
Insurance TPFT: £300
Fuel: £260 (assuming £10 per fortnight for a year at current prices)
Ad hoc bills: £75 (puncture cost me £150 to fix)

And youre at £1550...... add onto that some depreciation and I genuinely believe a train ticket is faster

However, you might save time, and it depends how you value your time....
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Tbh mate, I don't know one person who wants to use public transport. In a metal tube with a bunch of strange people, possibly with screaming kids and all sorts, no thanks, i'd always pay the extra for personal transport.
 
To all the points above

On public tranpsort - I entirely agree. I dont like the tube which is why I bought a new Vespa in the first place. And its now why I have a push bike to commute to work on. But if private transport is suffuciently more expensive than public, then you have a decision to make.

On servicing - Im not going to argue £900 on serviving was a lot. But, having bought my bike new and needing to keep it serviced to keep the warranty in check, I had little choice. I did take it to a smaller dealer for one service who did a terrible job (didnt allow the engine oil to soak through the filter and top up, amongst other things), that I didnt trust them again. Plus working in the City and unable to drop it off somewhere during the week limits the options. Also you say servicing on a Zip 50 was £100 a year. It might have been, but theres no mention of the distance covered over this time, the type of driving done on it and where it was done. The Vespa I had needed a regular service as after about 1200km after a service it felt noticeably more ragged.

- I agree that main dealer servicing if buying second hand out of warranty may be unneccessary.

At the end of the day, I apid £2800 for my bike and sold it for £2400 after 2 years. Someone was desperate for an immaculate example with FSH, which mine was. So I didnt lose much on depreciation.

£900 on servicing is madness, which is ultimately what lead me to sell, but there were plenty of other aspects to ownership that were expensive and would be cheaper on a different bike for commuting.

Just my opinion.
 
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