 Vespa's
60th Anniversary Limited Edition Scooters
Yup, 1946 - 2006, 60 years. In celebration, Vespa has put out a
"limited collection" of three scooters. The Vespa GT60 is a run of 999
scooters world-wide, 250 of which will be coming to the US market. The
Vespa LXV150 is described as a "tribute to the 1960s Vespas" but doesn't
appear to be limited in production. The Vespa GTV250 looks for all the
world like the a "non-limited edition" version of the GT60.
All three models feature a "naked" handlebar, and both the GT60 and the
GTV250 have the headlight mounted on the front fender.
Jonathan Wheelock, the sales manager at
MotoPrimo here in
Minneapolis Minnesota, let me know as soon as their sole Vespa GT60
arrived and I went over to have a look. My first impression was "wow, what
a fabulous paint job" which is pretty much what happens with most new
Vespas that I see, but the GT60 is a notch above Vespa's usual excellent
finish work. I took a couple of pictures with the GT60 next to a GTS (it's
mechanical cousin) but the photos just don't do justice to the look of
the GT60. The Vespa GT60 is powered by the same 244cc, liquid-cooled,
four-stroke, four-vale, fuel injected marvel of internal combustion
propultion (whew, say that four times fast) that is found in the
Vespa GTS. Vespa claims the top speed is 76 mph, but BJ Strass of
ScooterRider Magazine recently reviewed a GTS and said the top end was
higher than that. Believe me, I will pester the crap out of Jonathan at
MotoPrimo this Spring until he lets me put a few miles on a GTS and will
report my findings.
The Vespa GT60 is an automatic CVT scooter with disk brakes front and
rear, a tubeless 12" tire in the front and the same in the
rear. The body is steel which contributes to the 322 pound weight of the
GT60, but plastic (in my opinion) never looks as good as metal so
far as scooter bodies are concerned. The seat height is listed at 31
inches, but I was able to plant my feet even with my 29 inch inseam.
Speaking of weight, my 200+ pounds may have something to do with that...
More or less in order of the above pictures, we see the Vespa GT60
which includes a nice (small) windscreen and rear luggage rack.
Next the Vespa GT60 is sitting next to its cousin, the Vespa GTS. If you
notice a lot of similarities that's because there are, especially
mechanically. The second row of pictures starts with the (in my opinion)
very nice looking dash. I think it's a good combination of analog and
digital displays. That's a fuel gauge there above the speedometer, only
use will tell if it's at all accurate. The seat on the Vespa GT60 is
leather and is split between rider and passenger though both are mounted
to a single base. I found the GT60 seat to be very comfortable BUT more
limiting in rider position than the one-piece seat of the Vespa GTS. The
GT60 should be great for rider between 5'6" and 5'11". Shorter riders will
find the reach to the ground a touch long and taller riders will likely
run out of leg-room rather too quickly.
Next we have some shots of the storage capacity of the Vespa GT60. The
glove-box opens with the ignition switch, and the release for the seat is
inside the glove-box. I would say that the available space is average for
a scooter, not bad, not exactly cavernous. The fuel filler is also located
under the seat to the rear of the storage area.
The next two pictures are my attempts to show the fabulous finish of
the Vespa GT60. Yeah, I know, I suck as a photographer. According to the
literature from Vespa, the colour on the GT60 is "Gray 725" the same as
the first Vespa prototype.
The last image shows the special 60th Anniversary leather case that
comes with the Vespa GT60. It includes a leather document wallet, a
leather key fob, a metal plate identifying the number in a limited series
of 999 (as well as the owner's initials after purchase) AND a very
cool hardcover book about Vespa. There is also a satin scooter cover
provided ONLY with the GT60.
So what price Vespa exclusivity? $7,299.00. Hmmmm, a Kymco People 250S
can be had for about $4,400 and a Honda Reflex 250 runs about $5,600 but
of course neither of those has a steel body and neither is Italian.
I'm pretty sure there is no way I'll get to ride the GT60.... but I
will do my best to get a report on the Vespa GTS out this coming Spring.
A big "Thank You" to MotoPrimo of Minneapolis. They are located at 2610
East 32nd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55406. The telephone number is:
612-729-7200. Jonathan Wheelock is the Sales Manager, but if you call be
sure and ask for Avery Harrington. Yes, he's my nephew and is one of those
20-something-Ducati-riding types who really can't be bothered with lowly
scooters.... so I like to be sure and suggest that people give him a hard
time whenever possible.
David Harrington
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