Hey, everybody, it's Peter, and I'm here at Jim Gilbert's PowerSports where I have complete access to the full Vespa lineup. And I'm going to help you decide which Vespa is best for you. And I'm doing that because I think it's confusing. I think there's a lot of differences that maybe people don't pick up, but I don't know if there's a ton of resources out there to tell you some of the key differences that you may want to know as a buyer about some of these vehicles. So we're going to go through in-depth what you should look for in a Vespa, what you should decide for yourself on how you're going to use it so that you end up with a Vespa that's perfect for you.

And if I don't answer your question, make sure you subscribe and give me a comment down below so that I know what your questions are so that I can come back to these vehicles because that's one of the amazing things about working here with Jim Gilbert's PowerSports is they give me complete access to the Vespa line. So if you have questions, I can answer them in the comments section, but I can also come right back to make another video here, again, to make sure that you get what you need. So, let's dig into the review.

So if you're going to be choosing a Vespa, you really have to make two decisions to start off your journey. The first decision you have to make is simply a budget decision. Now, a lot of people keep their budget nice and small because they view a Vespa like this as an around-town vehicle. However, some people will raise their budget when they realize that you can take a Vespa anywhere your car can go with something like this. So again, the first decision you're making is a budget decision and also how fast you want to go.

So each Vespa is listed with a number behind it. This is the GTS, it's a 300. When you see that 300, that's the largest engine you can get, and that means this one is fully highway capable, it can go anywhere your car can go. And then you have two different models here. And now these ones are set up, this is a Sprint and a Primavera, both of these trim lines, and we're going to talk about the differences between these trim lines in this video, but both of those trim lines are available in 150cc and 50cc. So a 150cc can go up to around 100 kilometers an hour, just a hair under 100 kilometers an hour, which means it's great for those secondary highways here where we're filming in New Brunswick. You're going to want to go to the 300 to really get up to those full highway speeds.

But if you stay with the 50, it's an around-town vehicle only and it's going to go around 50, maybe 60 kilometers an hour. So it can handle all of your around-town driving, but it's not really going to get out of town too much. So we'll talk about that. And like I said, the other thing we're going to discuss in this video is all of the differences, not just in engine size, but between different models. The Sprint and Primavera, a lot of people think they're virtually exactly the same. We're going to show you the differences to help you decide what's best for you. And, again, with each engine size, there's different technology, different style options, and different features. So we're going to try to cover as much of those as we possibly can in this video. Let's keep going through.

So I'm going to start with the Primavera here and the Sprint over there. Again, very, very similar models. These are more of the narrow-body, traditional type Vespa models. The wide-body version is the GTS and we'll work our way over that. So Primavera and Sprint, big thing you're going to notice just to identify them right off the top is the different style of headlights. So you can see there, let me just take a peek through my camera and make sure you can see them well. Yes, you can see over there we have a more, they call it square headlight, but it's really a, not a octagon, but it's a different shape. Somebody in math can comment below what shape that is. But you have that square-ish style light versus the traditional round light. Now, the other couple of differences here, you have a little bit of a throwback to that little nub there.

And again, this will have a name one, I'm not sure what it's called, but this one does not have it. So the Sprint, the idea is it's the slightly more modern take. A couple other of key differences is you have these oblong shape mirrors on the Sprint where you have the round mirrors there. Now, that may make a difference to you for safety because these are going to give you a little bit extra of a wide-angle view. We'll talk about that as we work our way around the other side. Down here, there's some style difference here, sort of the horn grill down here. This one happens to have chrome, this one's painted. There's going to be a lot of style differences that you can check out both in person and on the website to see some of those things. But functionally, that round headlight versus the more square headlight. A little bit of a black lip up there. And there's also some differences in the wheels. We'll get a little closer look to see some of those.

One of the cool things with Vespa scooters is they have that single-sided suspension piece over here. So you can really show off the wheel over here. The Primavera's got a wheel like this, there's various versions of the gunmetal. Sometimes when this is tinted, the outside is not. So you have, generally, this style of wheel. And then as you see over here on the Sprint model, this is a Sprint S, it's more of a sport model. Again, black rim there. So there's some styling differences. What are the same though is the tire and wheel size. Whether you get a 50cc or a 150cc, you're going to have the same size tire and the same size 12-inch wheel.

A 12-inch wheel is a decent size for a scooter. It's kind of like a mid-pack. They start around 10 inches, they go up to 12 inches for the best, but they've got decent width on them here. And then you also get up to larger wheels, 15, I believe, inch wheels on something like a Piaggio scooter. But this is the standard scooter wheel. And in the past, sometimes they were 11-inch wheels. So you have the same size wheel on both and sometimes the internet will tell you differently. Now, one thing that's interesting here is the tire tread. This is a Michelin tire here. This is a different brand, which I don't remember the name of right now. And, oh, where are we over here? Can't see what it is.

Anyways, you'll notice the tread difference. So, keep in mind that the tread difference doesn't seem to be model specific, just seems to be what comes on certain models. So you can keep an eye out for that, but it's not going to be something that is specific to a particular model. A couple of other little differences here. The Sprint model here has an Alcantara style or a suede-type feel on top and the leather type feel down low. This is the Sprint seat, whereas the brown leather seats right now are only available in the Primavera. So you've got different style seats. Now, seats can really change based on the exact trim package. Sometimes there's special edition models that can really change, but that's one thing that's different.

And you also want to pay attention to these rails. Now, both of these have the top case added on, but this rail can be different where it can fold down towards the back. They can be different colors. We have chrome, some of them are black. It really depends on the exact trim you get. But that is another difference that can happen between the Sprint and the Primavera is, I believe the Sprint wraps around in a circle, whereas the traditional or the Sprint here wraps around... Oh yeah, the traditional Sprint comes down, it can fold down in the back as a little different style. So just something to keep an eye out there. Now let's talk about some of the differences between the 50 and 150cc version.

All of the Vespa scooters we're looking at today do have storage underneath the seat. On the 50cc, you have a key to get in here. On the 150cc, you won't see that keyhole there because it's an electronic release. There's a button on the dash and in some cases, they have a remote control that can also pop that. The other difference with the 50cc is if you see this where it says Piaggio down here, this is a smaller drive unit for the 50cc and you will see Piaggio written there. And I'll show you the 150 right now so you can do the comparison. So a 150cc engine is really almost, and actually, it's over triple the engine displacement. So you have a different drive unit here. It says Vespa on the side here, no circular Piaggio.

It's a little bit more beefy. To me, it's a little bit more stylish, but you can tell at a glance without looking at just the labels, which one is the 150, and this is the 150 here. So just another little difference to keep in mind there. And there's a couple of other little differences I want to point out here as well between the 50 and 150. So this difference is a little harder to see to the untrained eye, but there's a few differences here. We're looking at the 50cc. Let me just spin that towards you there. And you can see that you have a rubber brake line here, no big deal. And you have what is technically a smaller brake disc than on the 150. So we're going to show you that. So the brakes are different.

Now again, a 50cc vehicle, disc brakes are overkill probably for it anyways, but it has the same brakes on the rear as on the 150 and the 50cc. The front brakes are different. There's no ABS on the 50cc. And we're going to show you now the 150cc, some of the key differences. So we have some obvious styling differences here. The other one had the red spring there, this one's the black spring. That's not really a 50cc or a 150cc. The difference here is a larger break disc. And it has this piece right here. Well, this is your ABS sensor. You can see it's got a little ABS label right there. So if you want to know if it has ABS, you're looking for that label right there or this type of disc in there. That's your ABS sensor.

And then you've got those braided steel lines. Now, these aren't really a big deal except that they use them on race bikes and high-performance vehicles. So they really give a little extra bite to your braking. And you've got a different style brake in here as well, a two-piston. It really grabs your wheel. And again, you're going pretty much highway speeds here up to around 100 kilometers an hour or so just in that range. So you need some brakes that are going to stop you. And the ABS is only on the front wheel, so you're going to keep that front wheel from locking up. It'll just chatter in your hands as you lock it up. And again, the front wheel when it locks up, that's the one you go down in a hurry. So if you're driving in poor weather, you may want to consider the 150cc if you're concerned that you might be locking up a wheel.

And that's because it does come with the ABS there included in there. The other thing is just general suspension on all these vehicles because it is on the one side. The general geometry here helps as an anti-dive suspension. So it's kind of an advanced suspension, kind of fun to look at and it does cool things. And that's, again, how you end with that one-sided suspension here. On the other side, you end up looking at that entire wheel. So as we talk about storage, we're going to start with a 50cc and it actually gives you a little bit extra storage. Now, that just hit the key on the way out. Usually, it would flop right open. So the 50cc, there's storage in here for your phone, your wallet, the basics, and storage in here. On the 150, you've got a little bit extra panel in here so there's much less storage on the right-hand side.

So 50cc's going to have an advantage there. We'll show you the 150 in a second as we work our way over there. Let's look under the seat of this 50cc before we move on. The 50cc, again, we have to put the key in the side here because it does not have that remote pop or that button pop on this vehicle. So we got to turn the key and open the seat. Now, the 50cc actually has a little bit more space than the 150. There's some space over here that's taken out on the 150 that has some emission controls unit. So we're going to show you that again in a second. You can take this out and look at your engine in there if you wanted to. It's very easy to do. They are very clear to not put your pets in here. I guess that's an issue.

But again, you could fit a full-face helmet in here. Well, certainly some full-face helmets, certainly a half-face, three-quarter face, but you have a little bit extra space here. Let's show you that 150 and go through there. All right, we've got a little different angle in the 150cc and that's because we can use the remote key fob. Now there's a button on the dash which we'll show you in a second, which you can use as well. Or you just simply hold this down and as you're holding it, you can hear it release. And it has released this seat, and there you go. So now you're into the 150cc and you can see this is the section here that you lose just a little bit of space and that is due to those emission controls pieces right up there on the 150.

So again, a little bit more action going down there. If you see down there in person, a little bit more stuff down there because it is a different engine, but you lose some of that space right there. And it's just something to keep in mind if you've got a really large helmet. It should still be fine with most helmets, but just again, tiny bit less space right there. Taking a look at this too here, we're going to cover a few things that we've talked about already. So the button to pop it, if you didn't want to use a remote, would be right there. That pops the seat. If you pop this section right here, you're going to get into that trunk area. Again, there's very little space on the right side, but again, the same good space over here on the left side, no issues there.

And if you wanted to see that it's a 150, it's usually labeled down here as a 150. If there's another label there, it sometimes can replace that, but usually, it means it's a 50cc. 150cc's are usually labeled. The safest way to do is check that drive system though. That's the easiest way to tell. The next difference you're going to see is in the dash. Now, this one here is the 150. The speedometer goes to 140 kilometers an hour, around 90 miles an hour. Now, of course, this vehicle doesn't go that fast. It goes right up around that 100-kilometer-an-hour mark. But if you see that 140 or that 90, whether you're Canadian or American, or worldwide or American, then you're going to see that this is the 150 model.

Down here, pretty basic information you can select through. You've got your trip A, your trip B, and your total odometer. And that's it down there. Now, there is a different dash. We're just going to show you the 50cc one for a second and then we're going to move over to that GTS SuperTech that we haven't really talked about at all yet, just to show you the dash in that one. All right, I'm free-handing the camera because I'm having trouble to get a view without the glare of the lights above. Now, this one has a red dash down there. I didn't know if that is due to the Sprint versus the Primavera or the 50cc versus 150. I'm going to be honest, I think it's just this sport model, I don't remember.

But again, same dash in here with the difference being the 80 kilometer an hour top speed on the speedometer, which again, is closer to that 50, 60 kilometer an hour on, maybe a hair over 60, on the actual vehicle speed. So again, speedometer reads higher than the vehicle actually goes, but that's another way to tell the 50cc. Now let's move over to the first vehicle we saw, the GTS and show you the pretty fancy dash on that one. So this is the GTS SuperTech, that larger vehicle we showed you off the top. So let's just show you the dash on the SuperTech. Now, you can get a regular analog gauge cluster in this one, but this one has the digital gauge cluster. Now, you're going to see some flickering in your screen. It's not flickering for me in real life, it's just the way it interacts with the camera.

This one adds a lot. You lose some of that vintage feel of this, but you gain some cellphone connectivity, you gain a lot more information that you can cycle through in various ways. Let's just see if we can go through. There's your settings. You've got 70 kilometer an hour, it's still empty, kilometers per liter, all kinds of different things. The battery's a little low on this right this second, top speed, average speed, those kind of things. So you have a lot more information in there. And again, that cellphone connectivity, we'll do a separate video on this in the future, but if you need a little bit more tech, you have the option of that dash as well. Let's just glance quickly at the storage compartments in this GTS model so you have something for comparison purposes and then we'll move through that as well.

All right, so sitting just in front of your knees on this larger wide-body unit, you do have a good amount of storage underneath here for cellphones, other things, and a good space on this side, less so on this side here. Again, this is a wider body, so you have a tiny bit more space, but you still see those grills on the side there. That's part of the liquid cooling and air intake type situation there. So not a ton of storage, but again, for what most people are going to use it for, that's perfectly fine. Underneath the seat of the GTS, it pops the same way. There's a button on the dash or you can use the remote. I used the remote just a second ago off-camera. And you can see a much larger area here. I don't know if it'll fit two helmets, but two half helmets should fit in here. It's definitely a longer storage area.

And if you were to lift this here, again, you see a little bit more engine again because, again, it has a larger engine. The other thing to keep in mind, I'm not sure if you noticed earlier, but you do have the gasoline fill right here. And these two little knobs right here. I don't know if you can see them on camera right behind my finger there. That's another way to connect your helmet and lock it. So if you have a D-ring helmet, you can connect the D-ring over there, close the seat, your helmets are sitting off here hanging off the side of the vehicle on both sides. There's one there and there's one there. So you can hang your helmet there and use this for storage while still having your helmets locked to that area.

So you do have options there. While we're covering storage, let's just talk about the storage loop you have right here. You can store things between your legs on these scooters. The GTS has a little circular area that locks that bag onto here. So you can put a little grocery bag through there. It's not going to slip out of there. And again, it sits between your knees there. It's a little different on the narrow body scooters. Let me show you what they have right now. So same idea here, but it's mounted to the seat instead of the dash. You pull it out like that. It does not have that circle that fully encloses it. And it is a little closer to the floorboard here, but you can still put a bag in there. Sometimes you can lock it in there, but it's really not reliably locked in there. But you do have that between your legs and it's the same on the 150 or the 50, whether it's the Primavera or the Sprint, same piece there on the front.

Next thing I want to talk about really briefly is just seating position. The GTS is a wider vehicle, so you have to step across a little wider. I'm about six feet tall. It is a little bit of a step up to the seat because it's a wider seat. Now, again, it's on a center stand, so it's higher off the ground. The reason I'm leaving them on the center stand is because I can show you how it is to sit here. Now, as a six-footer, I've got tons of room. You can be way taller than me, but you can also be shorter than me. Like I said, when it's off the center stand, it sits shorter. You have good wind protection here. All of these can have windshields mounted up, so you could have extra wind protection if you wanted to. But overall, very comfortable seating position.

And you have a little bit more space for your passenger on this GTS model. Now, let me jump across over to here. Whether it's 50cc or 150cc, it's the exact same size seating position here. So a little tiny bit narrower, noticeably lighter as well. The 150 and 50cc, both feel fairly light. Again, all the weight's down low so you're really not dealing with it. Again, six-footer plus, no big deal. There's still space for a passenger here, but you're going to have a little bit less space for a passenger. But it's the same thing on the 50cc or the 150. The 300 has separate foot pegs that fold out. These ones have foot pegs built into the bodywork for the rear passenger. And if you opt for these optional top cases, these are not standard, you could put a backrest here on any one of these models and that gives your passenger a little bit extra comfort, it gives you a little extra style as well.

And that allows them, when you're accelerating way, to just have something behind them that gives them that option. So those are all passenger seating comparisons. The other thing you're going to notice with a Vespa, and it's something that you don't always see, is part of this bodywork that you see is actually part of the frame. There's a very solid frame. So something like a Piaggio scooter or most other scooters, they're a lot like modern cars. They have a frame with bodywork that covers it up and gives you the styling. Whereas this bodywork, some of what you see is that frame. They're very stiff vehicles, very good for handling, good for reliability, long-term longevity. They're kind of a higher-end scooter. And it doesn't just give you that iconic style, it also gives you a lot of strength and a lot of quality that maybe you don't get in some of the other brands. So it's something to keep in mind.

So that's your basic introduction to buying a Vespa scooter. Again, let's quickly recap. You want to decide how much you're going to spend and where you want to go. If you need to do all of your driving, this is really the only model that you should consider. If you decide you want to go in town, you can go with a 50cc or you can go with a 150cc. The 150cc is really going to expand where you can go because you can basically get anywhere on a 150cc. You can't take the same roads that you would take, but you can basically go anywhere on that 150. So it's something to keep in mind. The other thing to keep in mind is licensing restrictions. Here in New Brunswick, if you are 14 years old, you can get a license to ride the 50cc. If you are 16 years old, your car license will suffice.

There are areas in the country, areas in the world where a 50cc scooter's going to allow for different licensing and that might be all the difference you need right there. Whereas this one is just like riding a bicycle, whereas the 150 requires a different license class. So those are other things that you have to consider outside of that. And usually, in the motorcycle world, the larger the engine, the slightly larger insurance premium. So those are other costs that are associated. So if you have questions about Vespas, this is only just a beginning tutorial course and I want to know what you want to know about them. So let me know in the comments below. Let me know if we're doing a good job here and if you want to see more because if you want to see more, then we'll make more.

But also, we want to thank, Jim Gilbert's PowerSports here in Fredericton, New Brunswick because they are a massive Vespa dealer. There are tons of Vespas sitting here. We are into very late November 2022 and our showroom is full of them. So you can come see these in the middle of winter. You can come sit on them, try them, see what they're like, and explore them. So make sure you swing by there as well. And let me know in the comments what you want to see in the future and we'll continue to make videos for you. Thanks, everybody, for watching.