Vespa GTS 250 - 2003 Motorcycle Review

Owning a Scooter

If you live in a big city but are frustrated with the parking, crowded public transport, and expensive cab fares, owning a scooter could be the answer to all of your problems.  I wanted a Vespa for close to three years until I finally got one.  Living in Chicago and with so many great areas to see I thought owning a scooter would be the answer to all of my problems.  Not only was I right but it proved to be so much more enjoyable than I ever imagined.  Owning a scooter provides you with the freedom to enjoy a big city without the hassle of parking a car.  On top of that, the actual experience of getting to your destination is an adventure in itself.  My ride to work used to consist of cramming into the overly crowded CTA train where I'd be smushed up against someone I didn't know for 30 minutes while I contemplated the work I had ahead of me.  Since I've owned my Vespa I actually look forward to the commute into work in the morning.  For whatever reason it also seems to help me with stress.  If I ever get overwhelmed with life I can just go for a ride and it puts everything into perspective.  The other thing I didn't realize until I started riding my Vespa was how great the gas mileage really is.  It costs me $5 (sometimes $6 if gas prices are high) to fill up my tank every week and a half.  The only real negative I've encountered is the tires need to be changed out fairly frequently, the reason for this being a scooter's tires are much smaller than those of a car and therefore will wear out much sooner.  A great place to read more about scooters is www.modernvespa.com

The Scooter for you:

When I originally started looking at Scooters I was dead set on getting a vintage looking really small Scooter.  The ideal for me was something that was easy to park so my girlfriend and I could go out dinner.  Since I had a lot of time to research I ended up choosing a bigger model.  The reason being:

1.  The smaller models are very hard to fit two people on

2.  The GTS 250 was the fastest model Vespa had to offer and the expert I consulted with assured me that you would want the extra umph in Chicago with cabs weaving in and out all over the place.  (I actually didn't believe the guy at the time, but now that I own It I'm so happy he told me this because it can get a little hectic especially heading into the city).

3.  The Red color was only offered in GTS 250

GTS 250

As I've said the GTS 250 is the fastest model Vespa has ever made.  It claims to be able to get up to 75 mph but I've yet to try.  It's the same size as the GranTurismo, which is noticeably larger model than the LX but not quite the size of a motorcycle.  It fits two people comfortably and has great pick up which helps get out in front of cars at stop lights.  The GTS has an automatic transmission which may be a little girly but really makes everything easier.  Overall I've loved my experience on the GTS 250 but must say that depending on what you're looking for there are definitely different Scooters for different people.