After a long absence from riding I went scooter shopping today.

The three bikes I rode were the Scarabeo 200, the SportCity 250 and the Vespa GTS 250ie.
I'm also interested in Piaggio BV 200 & 250 but none were to be found locally.
Important mention: I'm 5ft 2 and a half inches tall...29/30 inseam.
My last bike was an early '80's Yamaha XS 400 Special.
Someone else also appreciated it's beauty and made off with it.

I went into this wanting a red Scarabeo 200. Unfortunately that would take some serious travel.
I tested a silver one (not that it matters for the test). I prefer Scarabeo styling to that of the other bikes..
my first scooter was an early '70's Honda C70 (later called the Passport).
The Scarabeo (to me) seem's like an updated souped-up C70.. but way cooler.

At the onset of the test I was scared of dumping a test bike and having to buy it (or at least repair it).
I rode the Scarabeo 200 first. The seat height had me mostly using one foot down to stop (still toes)...
I could probably reach with two tip-toes down but that doesn't inspire confidence.

I found the Scarabeo to be very zippy.. loved the responsiveness / acceleration.
I was riding it in a city neighborhood. What caught me off guard was the turning.
I found turning a little awkward... it took me more room than I expected... or a slower speed.

Next I tried the SportCity 250. It has 15" wheels compared to the Scarabeo's 16's.
This wasn't a scientific test but I didn't find the 250 (fuel injected) any zippier than the 200 (without).
I imagine that would be more valuable on the freeway- which I didn't venture onto.
Where the SportCity cleaned up was in the handling in turns. I was leaning into turns and making them at a faster speed than
on the Scarabeo- without the previous fear factor.
Unfortunately - esthetically speaking- I find the front view of the SportCity to be butt-ugly. It looks like an angry alien.
Plus it only comes in silver and blue. I'm a red freak (tho I also love maroon but that's not offered either.)
I might make 1 compromise but color & design is asking too much.

Scooter test 3- a used Vespa GTS 250ie- this bike wasn't even in the running but a used one was on site so off I went.
Did I mention it was blazing eye-popping red?
It has 12" wheels and also fuel injected.
It was a fun ride.. nice acceleration...it was even better on corners than the SportCity.
It seemed to be the better fit for my height/ inseam size.
I found I had the overwhelming urge to wave at people and say "Ciao!" (thank you Eddie Izzard!)

I was riding in city neighborhoods and also went over to a very large empty parking lot to try tight turns without traffic to watch out for.

For my last trip I took the Scarabeo back out- hoping that my first ride might have been tainted by being my first time back on a 2 wheeled motorized vehicle in 20+ years. I still found the Scarabeo hardest to make harder turns with- most likely due to the larger wheels. By going appreciably slower I could tighten up the turns but that might be awkward in real life driving.
I did find that by sliding forward at stops I could get a better foot down or even pop to a 2 foot down standing stance at a stop.

2 other scooters I would like to try are the Piaggio BV 200 and BV250 - because they are a tad shorter in seat height than the Scarabeo and because I know I can at least get the 200 in red. The 250 would only compromise on the color. The newer ones have a style similar to the Scarabeo.

I do like the more modern design of the BV's and the Scarabeo compared to the old-school look of the Vespa..
however when I first saw the GTS 250 a month or so ago I thought it was very sexy but out of my price range.
The one I rode however was right in the middle of it.
I haven't made any decisions so far.. I'm still mulling.

My husband - who has never ridden a scooter or motorcycle- plans to get an endorsement when we get a bike.. so it's possible the maneuverability factor might be given more consideration.

Regarding compromising.. I would have to go to some extremes in travel to get my hands on a Scarabeo 200 in red or the BV's.
The Vespa may not be the style I wanted but it is sexy in it's own right.. and it is red....
but for now the jury is still out.
The upcoming week is going to be the first nice warm one since last summer so the jury may come up with a verdict in short order.

It sounds like the Vespa is calling to you, which is an important consideration.

My experience with the Scarabeo (which I've never ridden) seems similar to yours.
I love the styling, but my slightly shorter inseam was too short and the Beo's center of gravity seemed too high for that.

A big thing to check on is where your next scooter can get repairs, if/when needed.
I would recommend figuring this out before you purchase one.

_________________
~~~~~ Linda ~~~~~

Found out my inseam was shorter than I thought.. about 28 in shoes.
There is a good case for the Vespa but also for the SportCity. If I could get over that front end that would be a good pick too.
It was definitely a fun ride and had no problem going thru the corners at speed or better- I was able to lean into them. From any other angle than the front I like it very much. I assume I'd adjust to the Scarabeos turns but it seems far less natural than the others.
I tend to think it has more to do with the wheel size. Each bike had progressively smaller tires and the smaller they got the more nimble their handling was. Given that most of my driving will be short commutes in a small town, ease of turning would be highly desirable.

I found thru some research the Vespa that the 12k miles was very high for the age of the scooter. I could get one with a fraction of that but it again would involve hauling it back tho only a few hours. (Just not up for long freeway rides on a new bike at this point). According to KBB the average mileage for a small bike/scooter is something like 1800'ish miles a year.

The fixing factor.. all of these are serviced by the same shop an hour away (where I test drove them).
All three are made by Piaggio.
I will be adding a hitch to my car for the eventuality that I may need to take it for repairs. I can rent a small trailer for $25 a day.

Advertised scooter seat heights seem very misleading IMHO. By the time the width of the seat pushes your legs out and forward you are usually loosing the little bit of leg length you thought you had.

I am hoping that BMW will set a tend with their bikes that offer different seat heights as a option. They also advertise that their seats are created more narrow at the front making it easier for shorter riders to reach the ground. Let's hope the other manufacturers are paying attention!

What year is the GTS250?
The previous owner may not have been your "average" rider, either doing longer trips or using it as the daily commuter. I have an '08 which I bought used in Dec. of '09 and have 196XX miles. (subtract the ~4K miles that the previous owner had put on and that's still a lot.) I ride it back and forth to work 4-5 days a week with a round trip of about 25 miles.
I wouldn't worry too much about the high miles as long as it was serviced at the correct intervals, but I do understand wanting one with less miles.

Good luck on your decision!

Yes- I assumed he was maybe a scooter clubber. I don't recall the year but I remember it not being but a few years old.
I wasn't crossing it out but it would've taken many many years of low miles to average that back in.
Tomorrow we're heading north to check out 2 very hot potential buys.
I'm even considering the possibility of riding one back if I have to.
(instead of waiting to install a hitch and another trip back next weekend).

Last Monday I went to Portland to see the 3 scooters I had narrowed down to.
2 were used and 1 was new.
I'm superstitious about jinxing the deal so won't spill the full beans until it's in my name Monday...
but as of now there's a sweet bike sitting in the garage of the trucker who brought it down for me - 60 miles from here.
He's bringing it the rest of the way here Sunday AM (via smaller trailer) when he visits my neighbor.

What happened in Portland? 2 of the 3 scooters I had lined up to see were unable to be ridden!
Signs seemed to be pointing to the one I bought.. the one I think in my heart of hearts I wanted from the start.

More Monday. (expect a photo at least Ha).

woo!

And the winner is...

That shot was taken over at the neighbors house where the scooter came off the trailer.
The color is fire-engine red.. the photos tend to look pinkish or faded.

Wow! A red BV!

That's just too fine!

_________________
~~~~~ Linda ~~~~~

Ty! It's official now. I just got my tabs and title transferred at the DMV. Cost me $125 for 2 years.
And as I was driving home.. I saw gas just jumped to $4.01 ($4.09 at another place) .. was just $3.83 the other week when we went up to Portland to see the scooter. So glad to have sold the old Ford F250 4x4 before the hike!