Vespa GT200

I have owned numerous motorcycles and have been on two wheels since the age of 11. I currently own 2 Harleys and 3 Vespas, possibly soon to be 4! My experience with Vespas has been nothing but extraordinary. Quite possible my Vespa purchases have been the best money ever spent on two wheeled vehicles. We currently own a 2005 et4, a 2012 Lx150ie and a 2005 GT 200! We are considering buying another 2010 Special Edition Hot Pink Lx150. We keep 2 at one home and 2 at another home which are both close to the beach. We ride these to the beach, grocery shopping, etc. They save our cars from the sand and wet bathing suits. Our Vespas haven't failed us yet. We simply turn the key, pull the throttle back and smile the entire trip. No shifting, no parking worries and no big gas bills!

I owned a Vespa GT200 from March 04 until August 09 and can say that without a doubt it is a very good scooter. Apart from the first service that was done by the dealer I carried out my own servicing which I found straightforward. Good handling, brakes and economy. Cruises nicely at 65mph and I found it reliable still after 15000 miles. Vintage Green in colour and gorgeous. It had to make way inevitably for the GTS300.

My scooter, a 2004 Vespa 200 GT, has run perfectly for 4 years and 6 months it has 5000 miles and all services done by the dealer.

I developed a miss and thought it was bad fuel. It seems that my kill switch, that I never used, had corrosion or faulty wiring. By switching the kill switch on and off several times we corrected 90 % of my problems.

Now, if the scooter sits for more than 24 hours it is very difficult to start. After cranking for several minutes, with no succuess, I will let it sit for five minutes and it will start instantly and run perfect for about three miles and then the scooter will die and it takes about 5 minutes before it will start up again.

I have changed the fuel tap, checked all vacuum lines, installed a new electrical antenna and removed the spark plug and found no excessive fuel. Any suggestions?

I have had my Vespa GT200L since November 2005. I put 5000 miles on it in less than one year, then got disconcerted because my dealer (now out of business) actually damaged the scooter. I finally took it to someone who repaired the damage and got it running great. I have put 3000 miles on it in since June and it is now great. It is stylish, smooth, powerful and reliable. It is stable cornering and running on the highway at 70+ mph. In addition to this it is practical at 70+ miles per gallon. I am constantly amazed by its abilities and build quality. I would not trade it for anything...except maybe a new 300 Super.

I have a GT 200 (2006) and it has just under 1000 mi on it. The scooter has started shutting off (dying) after slowing down and going to idle. It will not restart. I have had it towed to the Vepa dealer 3 times and have spent over $700.00. Picked it up yesterday, drove home (5 miles) and died in my garage. Will not start. Had a major blow-up with the dealer so can't take it back. Anyone else haveing a related issue? Dealer claims to have replaced all major electrical components.

After years on Honda VFR750 (Interceptor in the US) and Cagiva Raptor 650 - I bought a scooter because I moved to Singapore - city state, max. speed 90km/hour (about 55mph). Don't have enough self-control to use a big bike that slowly but the Vespa GT200 has been brilliant. Perfect for in town and hit's an indicated 120km/hour on the main routes around town. Conmfortable, solid and well finished, I wouldn't dream of changing it - except I'd really like to try the 300cc version they now have in Italy! Strongly recommend this machine to anyone considering one.

12" wheels are a good compromise between low speed handling and high speed cornering. U-turns in town are easy yet it only really gets a bit floaty on fast corners at over 65mph. Nice solid build, not too heavy and centre of gravity low. After 2 years and 7,000miles I still look forward to using it and enjoy the take-off, leaving traffic behind every time. Funny how you want the lights to stay red until you reach the front - oops - I'm in Singapore.

I picked up my scoot used, but only a year old. Rides great and is fast and smooth on city streets. I haven't taken it on the freeway, but have gotten it up to freeway speed. No problems with it at all, great gas milage and only adds 10 minutes to the commute over my car.

They didn't tell me about the vapor lock issue until after I had put my money down. I put about 133 miles per week on this scooter commuting to work during the week. I give it weekends off. I've been adding gas as instructed by the mechanic at the place I bought it. "Wait till the low fuel light comes on then add 2 gallons or less." On average I add 2.07 gallons per fill up, and I usually ride it more than 15 miles after the refill light comes on. I kept it below 55 during the break in until after I passed 700 miles on the OD. The 1 repair was covered by the warranty. No cost to me except time lost on the GT200, and increased gas expense running my 2000 Mazda B4000 truck (17mpg) and 1982 GPz750 (40mpg). As long as they keep paying to fix it I guess it is an o.k. deal. I'm still getting the gas savings value and the repairs don't cost me anything. I'm probably going to return it if the same problem happens again. If I keep it the extended warranty will be a must. I'm disappointed. This one is probably a lemon, since it seems that most GT200 run fine, and consistently. I wanted it to be the ride I count on when I'm fixing up my 1982 GPz750, which is turning out to be a more reliable ride.

Solid feel. The Vespa GT200 is able to easily keep up with traffic. gas mileage (65 mpg). Traditional scooter look. Liquid cooled which is important here in the central california valley where summer temperatures routinely reach 100 degrees.

I've been riding motorcycles for over 40 years. This is my first scooter and it's more fun that any of the motorcycles I've owned. It has become my daily commuter. The GT has enough power to easily keep up with freeway traffic and I'm not complaining about the 65 mile per gallon.

Fuel tank overflow is a big problem as there is no way to accurately guage when the pump shutoff should stop the gas from going into the tank. It overflows into the under seat compartment and onto the right side of the scooter at every fill up unless I stop with about 1/4 tank capacity remaining. The engine is cheesy for something that is supposed to be top of the line. It dies every time I stop in hot weather and when I turn the idle up, it idles way too high in the mornings. Turn signals are virtually non-visible from the rear on sunny days. This probably contributes to so many Vespa accidents. If I had it to do over again, I would not have purchased it, but would have kept my Suzuki Burgman 650, which was 100% trouble free and was a perfect scooter in just about every way. Vespa is not much more than they were 50 years ago. Oh well, live and learn.

Don't buy it unless you like working on scooters every time you want to ride. Dealer says that's the way it is. Whatever.