I have always heard that Vespa used to be one of the most premium scooter during its old age times. And when they relaunched the new Vespa in India, people like me who likes to see retro things were very amazed and happy to see. The Vespa came with soo many different and exciting colors.
Cut to 2021 when we bought our first Vespa LX 125. We bought a red one from thane, Maharashtra.
During these years I have noticed some things about the bike which I will be sharing here.
At first I found it very difficult to insert the key in the main key socket as it is a bit at down side on the front board and it is also in a very deep cavity so we really have to look carefully on to the key spot and then insert the key.
The bike’s ride quality and the load balancing is very good. I have used the 2018 Maestro Edge, comparing to that the the balacing of piaggio Vespa is very good. The looks to be a little heavy and it is by the way but when you start riding it will not feel any heaviness on the bike. The control of the Vespa is exceptionally great. I live in Thane and here the traffic is just too much and even though the traffic is heavy I was able to maneuver the scooty through the traffic very easily. Even at high speeds the Vespa does not loose any control. The handle remains steady and does not wobble at all. This is maybe because of the good load balancing and the tire alignment of the scooter. Even though the scooty is heavy the pickup of the scooty is very good and amzingly fast compare to other scooters.
Vespa has decent comfort for rider and the person sitting behind the rider. The person sitting behind the rider does not get much space to sit as the handle bar is not even up to the seat’s level. The foot rest area of the driver has a partition in between which at times causes problem. We belong to indian households and more often than not we have carry multiple things on the scooter but the partition in the middle of the footrest area does not allow us to place any package or even light goods there. This bar in the footrest area also restrict the rider to side his foot in if he is a tall rider.
The Vespa has a very less mileage. Piaggio claims a very good mileage but the scooter does not deliver that much of the mileage while using it. Still gets up to 35-40 kmpl at times. This less of fuel efficiency can be a big concern for the indian buyers.
The vespa has a very bad engine sound and there is no way to get rid of it. Some people does likes that sound of the engine but some really don’t. Piaggio must be thoughtful of this fact.
Also the parts of the component of vespa are very delicate and expensive. And not just that these are very much rare to be availabale in the vespa service centers. The vespa also requires many a good maintenance. The services at many vespa centers are not soo good but some are decent vespa center.
The speedo meter and the control switches looks premium and retro too. The have good look and feel as well as great
accessibility. You will never have any problem reaching out for the buttons while riding the vespa.
As I have told you that the parts are a bit delicate in vespa, I recently had to change my rear rim as it went out of shape. I have a habbit of not riding over 60-70 kmph that too on highways and in city I go with the speed of 20-30kmph max. I have never jumped any speed breaker as well and I still got this problem in my rear wheel.
I bought the rear rim for 850rs and when I went to change the rim I found a fact the in order to change the rear wheel we first have to remove the muffler with the exhaust. This whole process of removing the exhaust and then removing the tire and then changing the rim and again fixing them all back into place was very time consuming then other scooters. So this is one drawback of Vespa.
The product is a bit pricy and does not justify its price and the features it offers but the ride quality, look and feel and performance wise also the scooter is a good choice to go with.