[imagesource: Vespa South Africa]

Driving a Vespa sends out a message.

In a nutshell, you’re driving the king of kings and you’re a person of refined taste and class.

The Vespa South Africa online shop says you can own a new Vespa for as little as R115 000 and the latest Vespa GTS 300 is advertised abroad as costing in the region of £6 000 (around R122 000) and upwards when bought new.

If those prices are a little rich for your veins, you may want to consider buying a pre-loved Vespa. There’s currently a 2017 Vespa GTS 300 with a warranty going for R65 000:

• Vespa GTs 300 Super 2017
• Branch: JHB Rivonia Crossing (011 440 7649)
• Mileage: 72 638 km
• Year: 2017

• Warranty: Six Months
• Service History: Full
• Features: ABS, Traction Control (ASR), USB charger.

The bike has been serviced by Vespa Johannesburg and, once more, will come with a six-month warranty when purchased. There’s also a pre-loved Vespa LX150 on sale for R45 000.

Cycle News has reviewed the latest Vespa GTS 300 and is full of praise after taking it for a spin around Rome, Vespa’s spiritual home:

The new GTS engine really packs a punch. Case in point, it seems that everybody in Rome has a scooter and most of them were out blasting through the city at the same time we were, which gave us ample opportunity to test the GTS 300’s power against the masses of locals at every stop light—and I can tell you, we never lost…

The GTS is a performance scooter if there ever was one, so having a decent traction control system is a great feature because when you twist the throttle, this scooter responds with enough power to put a smile on your face every time…

The review goes on to say that the seat is so comfy you can ride for hours and the GTS 300 is ready for world touring right off the showroom floor.

No harm in starting with a pre-loved model under warranty and moving on up from there.

[source:cyclenews]