Definitely Habit Forming!!

I live in Manhattan and have been a motorcyclist for many years. Presently I ride a Harley on my long trips, but not around town. Especially since I bought my shiny 2004 ET4. It goes everywhere. Can be parked anywhere. Gets through traffic like a summer breeze. I'm in love. It starts at the touch of the electric start button and the engine emits that wonderful sound, and I'm off. Everyone looks at it and admires it. Whenever I stop people want to talk about it and show a lustful longing in their eyes. It's like a pretty woman and both men AND women can't help but admire her.

For those not already familiar with this model, technical info would include that it's a 4 stroke, 150cc (stock) with a "twist and go" auto transmission.It uses high test gas, but with a 2 gallon tank it's still less than a dessert to fill her up; you can expect about 100 miles on that!! The 10" wheels provide incredible agility, which you need to quickly avoid killer pot-holes. At full speed (close to 70) it still feels stable. But be sure your road is in good condition before racing in that zone. The 31" seat height might be a problem for some, so sit on one before purchase and be sure your feet comfortably reach the ground with the bike off the centerstand (which is a snap to use). The front brake is a disk (right lever) and the rear is a drum (left lever). Learn to coordinate them for maximum safety and stopping power. They work great and offer a lot of control. Acceleration from a stop can be VERY brisk. The stock 150 has a lot of guts (the ET4 weighs in at about 239 lbs.), so go easy until you're familiar with it, a process which shouldn't take more than one decent ride. And that's about it.

After about 600 miles I succumbed to tricking it up a bit and beside some accessory changes (chrome, lights, rack) I also changed the head to 190cc and replaced the muffler with a performance Titanium. It now sounds like a Ducati and absolutely races up hills, but it's still the same wonderful, maneuverable scoot. It was totally unnecessary. Really. But it's what I like to do and I appreciate what I did. It's like that. You can do whatever you like and keep the magic alive. I can honestly say, it was a life changing decision to buy the Vespa, and a good one. I feel good everytime I look at it and never stop loving to ride it. It's the berries.