Solid classic scooter for beginners
Written: Aug 03 '00 (Updated Aug 05 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: reliability, parts availability, easy to repair yourself
Cons: dodgy styling, still an older scooter, lack of fuel gauge
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| dannyFMSC's Full Review: 1977 to 1981 Vespa P200E |
After admiring a number of Vespa scooters in the LA area where I grew up, I finally took the plunge once a long while ago and bought myself one. A previously unowned '81 Vespa P200E. After taking many long trips (one was 500 miles each way) and much day-to-day commuting, I became very attached to this scooter.
What I feel is good about the P200E:
+ Reliability - With little effort, the P200E is a kick and go scooter. In fact, it's more reliable the more miles you ride it. I found the main thing I regularly replaced were cables, tires, tubes, sparkplugs, bulbs and the battery. All small, inexpensive stuff. It even comes with it's own spare tire, which is very easy to replace. First tire change I ever did was late at night on a lonely road and that time it took 15 minutes. With practice, I was doing it in 5 minutes.
+ Parts Availability – You always hear from people that they'd love to buy a Vespa but are afraid they can't find parts. Not true at all for the P200E. The headlamp is a standard auto size, available at most drug and hardware stores, among other places. The battery, tires and tubes are stocked at any motorcycle or snowmobile dealer. The sparkplug is commonly found at auto parts dealers. You can even use cables from bicycle shops, with some small modifications. And less commonly replaced parts are readily available mailorder. Plus, the sky is the limit on accessories as well, again, many motorcycle ones work fine.
+ Easy To Repair Yourself – Though I was never mechanical, I found doing the most common repairs on the P200E pretty simple. Replacing the tires is easy, as they are mounted from one side only, like a car tire. No chains to mess with. And the rims split in half, so no prying like you do with bicycle tires to fit new ones to the rim. Repair manuals are available at any decent bookstore and even dropping the engine was pretty easy, though splitting it is a bit tricky. I've seen many amateur mechanics start off on P200Es and do fine.
What I feel is bad about the P200E:
+ Dodgy Styling - Okay, when you're new to scooters, the Vespa P200E seems the coolest thing around. But then you start hanging out with other scooter people and it starts looking rather ordinary compared to many other scooters, even other Vespas. I've found I prefer the older '60s era Vespa styling, because it's timeless and turns heads every time. The P200E does sometimes, sometimes not. Plus, let's not even talk about Lambretta styling by comparison. Just a warning ... they jokingly refer to it as the "P too common" in scootering circles.
+ Still An Older Scooter – Some people prefer newer stuff and the P200E is definitely not that new. In fact, it's old enough that you can expect stuff to break regularly. There are two ways to handle this. Either you or someone you pay can completely replace everything up front and get most of the hassle done or you can plan to replace stuff right along. I'd highly recommend getting it done upfront, preferably from a qualified repair shop (there are plenty around). I was lucky that mine was "new" (it wasn't really, but no one owned it before me, so close enough), so not much broke for quite some time that was serious. But if you're on a long trip or even just counting on it for commuting, it will suck hard if something critical goes wrong.
+ Lack Of Fuel Gauge – While many people find the reserve fuel system works fine and of course, you can always just peek in the tank to check, more than once the lack of fuel gauge left me stranded. This especially hurts on long trips, because you need to calculate your fuel use and one time I goofed in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania on a nasty, hot and humid day. You should also realize you have to kickstart it, which if you're in need of a tuneup might be a real chore (but it can be bump started too). And you have to shift gears of course, because this scooter is strictly manual transmission. These last two don't bother me, but they seem to spook plenty of others.
In summary, I have loved my Vespa P200E. I highly recommend it to people who want a classic scooter with less hassle, especially beginners. If you still find it lacking, try either the brand new Vespa ET4 (automatic everything) or an older model like the Vespa GL (classic styling, but cruder mechanicals).
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dannyFMSC
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Reviews written: 1
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