Vespa-ring around Italy - Page 2 - Horizons Unlimited

**bholinath** · #16 28 Mar 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giacomo

Sorry it didn't work out, as you probably did find out in the end, buying is just stupidly difficult here in Italy, since a residence permit is required before you can buy and register a scooter under your own name. Plus the prices of classic vespas are incredibly high right now.

On the more positive side, LML scooters, (totally identical to PX series Vespas), are now very common in Europe. Outside Italy, it's perfectly possible to buy, register, (or even temporarily register for export) ,and presumably it's possible to come up with a buy- back agreement from a dealer.

I don't think there are very many rental outfits in Italy who have classic style vespas, and the only ones I've seen (in florence), actually rent LML scooters , and only appear to organize tours, as you said.

If anyone is thinking of doing something like this in future, I'd be glad to give any advice. I'm Italian, living in Slovenia by the way.

Ciao!

Hi,
Funny. I'm planning another trip on my Vespa Rally 200. This time to visit a friend in Slovenia sometime this year.
I've recently riden the vespa to Morocco and back to UK and still want to ride lots more miles it's great. I have a blog all about it.
My friend joined me on a Honda C90 from Portugal
A Long Lay Down: First we need some transport
What classics are the italians riding nowadays? Primaveras or ??
Ciao

**Donmanolo** · #17 28 Mar 2010

Hehe....cool..! I move around a lot but I hope I'll still be around so we can meet up for a

or few..!

Actually I read your Blog...great pictures and writing..! It's what got me thinking about choosing my PX when I go on my next long trip

Primavera's and any other older Vespas are getting very pricey in Italy and a lot of people keep them very polished so they'll look good for an occasional pose in front of the bar...

You see a lot PXs being used as a commuting bike (like I do, all year round), and a lot of these are in cool battle scarred condition. However they are sometimes used as serious travelling beasts too. You may, but probably haven't heard of a guy called Giorgio Bettinelli. He wrote 3 books, which sadly were never translated, about his various round the world journeys on a PX vespa, the last of which took him from Patagonia up to Alaska, then all across Siberia until europe, then down africa, back up again on the other side, back across asia, and finally ended up in Tasmania..144000 kms, in 3 years !

I have to admit to also owning a G/S, however on my next long trip, probably cappadocia later this year, I find the benefits of being able to rebuild the entire engine with (literally) 3 spanners and a flywheel tool, by far outweigh any other discomfort (actually not much) involved in travelling with a scooter. The luggage loading capacity is maybe even greater than on the BMW!

Keep scooting...and let me know when you'll be around, or if there's anything I can help with!