Vespa Granturismo 125

My next bike was the Vespa - which I have ridden for most of the time I have been writing this blog.



2005 Vespa Granturismo 125 – Smoke Grey

Two years, 18,000km

I decided it was time to move on to a bigger scooter. Booked my CBT and took it on this brand new machine. I considered many alternatives, and have never been especially keen on Vespas, but the size and comfort of the bike, along with its highly visible front and rear lights convinced me to buy one.

Cosmetics

What can you say? Love or hate scooters, you have to admit there is something appealing about the smooth curves of the Vespa styled scooter that Piaggio have been making variants of since 1946. This particular model is larger and heavier than most Vespas, but it also has a modern four-stroke water-cooled engine. The exhaust paint lasted longer – but like the Zip, this needed constant attention. Other than the exhaust the build quality and quality of finish on this bike is excellent. There are loads of opportunities to customise Vespas – whilst most London commuters customise theirs by sliding them down the road, I customised mine with a handmade fabric seat cover from scooterseatcovers.com.

Storage

A large under seat space is great for carrying stuff, but there is not enough space for a full-face helmet. The dealer threw in a top box as part of the deal, so with the huge box, the under seat storage, the glove compartment in the leg shield and a shopping hook there was almost no limit to what this bike could carry.

Speed

A bit of a halt on pulling away whilst the clutch engaged, but after that it pulled well up to over 50mph. Easily fast enough to beat most cars away from the lights, and fast enough to keep up with the traffic on all but 70mph roads. Top speed was just above 60, but fitting a Vespa sports screen not only made dual carriageway riding more comfortable, increased acceleration above 40mph but put more than 5mph on the top speed making 70mph possible.

Handling

The suspension and larger wheels give the bike a much more certain feel than the Zip ever had. Cornering was very precise, but I found that I had to use very deliberate counter steering to get the best out of the machine. I rode the bike outside London many times taking it as far as Brighton down narrow windy country roads. It was very comfortable and very capable of handling some terrible road conditions!

Probably because the bike is quite heavy, and only has 12” wheels, but handling was very dependent on the type and condition of the tyres. It ran very well on Michelins, but the original Savas had it sliding around in the wet. The tyre on it when I sold it were Cheng Shins – never heard of them before – but the only thing I could get when stranded by a rear puncture. They proved very good with very precise handling even in the wet and so I replaced the front with one when the time came.

Economy

Fuel economy was about 58mpg but this varied a lot with the type of riding. Stop start London traffic gave about 55mpg, but a day out in the country cruising at 40-50mph would get better than 65mpg. Servicing was more expensive than the Zip, with oil changes needed every 6,000km. None of the parts that needed replacing, including the belt and rollers at 12,000km, were very expensive. I got £1200 exchange when I sold it so twenty months use only cost me £1400 in depreciation – not bad for a bike with 18,000km on it with the 18k service needing to be done.

Comfort

Very comfortable – a good wide deep seat and plenty of leg room. There is plenty of room to move about and change position to avoid cramp etc on long journeys. The suspension gives a good smooth ride on all but the roughest surfaces. The 125 engine works hard so the bike does tend to be a bit noisy.

Reliability

The battery died after 13 months, and the centre stand pivot needed constant regreasing. Other than that nothing could be faulted.

Commuting

A perfect city commuter. Lots of storage, big and visible, very manoeuvrable, quick to change direction etc. The big widely mounted mirrors give a great view of what is going on behind. The only real thing against the bike is that the servicing costs and fuel economy can be beaten by other similar bikes from Japanese manufacturers, and being a Vespa you get absolutely no respect from other riders.

General Riding

With the sports screen the bike is easily capable of going wherever you want. It will cruise on motorways etc at between 60 and 70, it will safely manage steep windy roads etc. The excellent front and rear disk brakes give great confidence, and the bike always feels very stable.

Fun

This bike is great fun to ride, very easy to manoeuvre and with great comfort. As an all round bike, that has some style, character and history, riding this was always fun.


Value

Nearly two years of ownership, 18,000km and the dealer that serviced it was prepared to offer nearly half its original price as part exchange on another bike. The running costs were higher than some other similar commuting bikes, but overall this bike was excellent value.

What would I change?

Being so heavy for a 125 the bike could do with being more powerful as at times it is a bit sluggish. However, the restriction in power is a legal one so I think the one thing I would change, is taking my test earlier, then I could have ridden the 200cc or 250cc versions of this bike! I did make some modifications – I removed the strap from the seat – it serves no purpose but is bloody uncomfortable if you sit a way back on the seat, and I fitted the sports screen which as mentioned, increased performance, economy and comfort at speed.

Overall

An excellent all round scooter perfect for commuting and going further afield if you have not yet passed your full motorcycle test.