Vespa GTS 250

The scooter commute has changed from Kymco to Vespa GTS 250 and the smiles have increased with the additional cc’s.

Having sold the second car back in May, the plan was always to commute to Richmond during the summer on a scooter. The only thing preventing this from happening was the fact that I didn’t own a scooter. But why on earth go all ‘hairdryer mod’ when already the owner of a cafe cruising/mile munching Ducati?
Well, I’d ridden the Ducati to work a couple of times and as enjoyable as it was, the route through New West being really start stop just leads to clutch hand cramps. Not a pleasant experience at the best of times. The obvious answer was to ‘twist ‘n go’ on a scooter. No clutch, no cramps, no decision to make. Just do it.

Anyway, I’d checked out the price of new scooters and as much as I like my Italian motorised transport, I simply couldn’t justify the price of new Vespa. I remembered that I’d looked at Kymco scooters at the Vancouver bike show earlier in the year and thought they’d be worth a look. The price was right, but a trawl of the local craigslist turned up a year old Kymco Frost 200 at a very good price. So, at the start of June the scoot commute began. As reliable and as fun as the Kymco was, the seating position turned out to be a touch uncomfortable and so I hot craigslist again. Why I hadn’t looked for a used Vespa previously I don’t know. The timing was perfect and a couple of GTS 250’s were available. I was hooked on a well kitted out, 4 year old scoot with low mileage. I was now a 2 scooter, 1 motorcycle owner. The 2 wheeled Italian fleet was growing.

A couple of weeks in to my Vespa GTS 250 commute and I’m more than loving it. There were plenty of smiles on the Kymco, but there’s something special about riding the Vespa. The seating position is higher than the Kymco and to be honest it feels a touch unstable because of that, but I’m getting used to it.

The big difference is the engine. The extra cc’s really make a difference and the water cooled 4 stroke is silky smooth and silent compared to the Kymco (which is actually a 175cc). Acceleration is effortless and I’m getting the last laugh on the stereotypical mulleted mustachioed  truck drivers as I leave them standing at lights. Let’s face it, a scooter is only supposed to be 50cc and I can almost feel the ridicule pouring over me when a RAM 2500 pulls up beside me. Until it’s green on. Then it’s grin on for me.

So, my scoot commute is proving to be even more high smilage and low stress. I’d previously written about the changing the commute and the ride along the Fraser and I’ve continued to use this route as it’s just such a chill out ride. But now the ride is a Vespa, it’s totally cool and yes, I was forced to sit down and watch Quadrophenia again. Oh, and naturally enough Blur’s Park Life is replaying in the mind far too often.

Now, how many mirrors could I fit on a GTS 250?