[govigov]

congrats, @hemanth.anand!!! the matt black and chrome combo is really good and it is not over done. Can you share a picture of the instrument cluster? You had mentioned that it is different.

[The Great]

Congratulations on your new ride sir. It sure looks like a retro beauty.

Although I had gone for a test ride, after a long research to buy a scooter, but it didn't suit me. Mostly because I am used to gears, am 6.2 and am more inclined to bigger wheels of a bike. Even the Activa for that matter.

But it sure is fun to drive in the city for small distances and it does the job attracting a lot of envious and jealous eyes. I totally agree to your comment about the premium pricing here.

Happy Riding - Ride Safe.
Cheers !

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

The Need:


So the final costing on the road Bangalore with accessories is 96774/-. Below is the breakup of the vehicle price...
Attachment 1250443

[/b]

Congratulations on your purshase!
The vespa sure turns heads in the crowd, due to it's timeless styling.

Pricey it is though! 96K ...!!

But hey, it is not merely a 2 wheeler. According to Mr Clarkson - these italian things are things of art. I guess that is price you need to pay for being a connoisseur.

After Long time, when these art pieces die/stop working, you could move them into your living room (First, polish it). They are so beautiful they could light up own living room as well.

cheers!

[bruiser]

Congrats on your purchase, the looks are great and so is the colour.
This thread got me thinking of Goa and beaches and this nice ride to take me around.

Wishing you many a miles of troublefree ownership experience.

[gsurya]

Congrats, great purchase! I am planning to buy this in a couple of months, this same colour so wonderful to see a review on this to firm up my decision further.

The only thing I hate is how to put the number plate in the front, damages the look. Did you find any good solution?

[desdemona]

Originally Posted by gsurya

The only thing I hate is how to put the number plate in the front, damages the look. Did you find any good solution?

I have a VX. What I got done, contrary to the standard here in Delhi NCR, is to have the high security number plate holes punched into the metal below the faux-air vent, between the turn indicator lights. I gather that most people are against punching holes in the metal, they'd rather that be done on the small plastic apron.

Now, with the S, the plastic apron extends much further down, so maybe punching the plastic apron is unavoidable.

Unless one gets a slim, wide plate that can be punched into the little metal space below the apron+faux-vent? That should work, speak to the dealer, insist on it, in fact, if possible, because the design purity MUST be retained, no?

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by govigov

congrats, @hemanth.anand!!! the matt black and chrome combo is really good and it is not over done. Can you share a picture of the instrument cluster? You had mentioned that it is different.

Thanks govigov,
The first two are from my vehicle and the next two from another vespa VX in my apartment complex

Originally Posted by bruiser

Congrats on your purchase, the looks are great and so is the colour.
This thread got me thinking of Goa and beaches and this nice ride to take me around.

Wishing you many a miles of troublefree ownership experience.

Thanks bruiser,
Now your post got me into thinking of taking my vehicle to Goa for a photoshoot

Originally Posted by gsurya

Congrats, great purchase! I am planning to buy this in a couple of months, this same colour so wonderful to see a review on this to firm up my decision further.

The only thing I hate is how to put the number plate in the front, damages the look. Did you find any good solution?

When I went for the delivery of the vehicle, They had put a white sticker as a background on the right side. I immediately asked him to remove and told him that I'll find some better solution. Apart from the number plate I must also find a place to stick the vehicle identification sticker of my apartment.

Originally Posted by desdemona

Now, with the S, the plastic apron extends much further down, so maybe punching the plastic apron is unavoidable.

Unless one gets a slim, wide plate that can be punched into the little metal space below the apron+faux-vent? That should work, speak to the dealer, insist on it, in fact, if possible, because the design purity MUST be retained, no?

These are exactly the two solutions I'm thinking of. A slim wide sticker with the entire number in one line and if possible will make a bracket and fix it to the body using screws and fix an IND plate. I'm planning to take it to JC road. This needs some Jugaad expertise

[kaushik51094]

Wow. Cool scooter there. Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the vespa family! I have a red lx that i got 1.5 years back. Problem is, i'm still lazy to write an ownership report. Being my summer vacation, i'll try to compile one such report of my scooter soon. Look out for it.

Coming to the scooter, vespa s is indeed much sportier than the lx/vx twins and IMO good choice there. Just one question though, how do you manage to keep the matte finish neat? I mean, gloss can be washed and polished, but can matte be given the same treatment? Will polish work on matte?

and regarding the front number plate. Is it a norm to have 2 number plates on all vehicles? On asking this question, my dealer told me that only one number plate is mandatory and so, for all this time i've been using only one number plate - ie, the one on the rear. Have been stopped by traffic police many times for checking the papers but none have till now asked me about the front number plate. So, i've just let it be and will probably add a plate on the front if i get caught for it.

[Motard_Blr]

Congratulations on the new Vespa! It looks very retro-cool!

I only have one comment: matt black reflects very little light and makes the scooter poorly visible for other road users in the dark. In addition you mentioned that you bought a matt black helmet. My advice would be to have some white reflective tape on strategic places to make the scooter more visible in the dark. Maybe a cool Vespa logo?

[hillram]

Hearty Congratulations Hemanth. Owning Vespa is like an ode to joy. Hope you got a matching helmet , as safe riding is a must. Happy Motoring.

[Amarendranath]

Congrats buddy!

I literally have no words to praise that MATT BLACK color! Did you check your headlight? Does it through light or BAT signals? I was in total love with the alloys of your punto and now this. Please share some more pictures of the MATT mobil.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by kaushik51094

and regarding the front number plate. Is it a norm to have 2 number plates on all vehicles? On asking this question, my dealer told me that only one number plate is mandatory and so, for all this time i've been using only one number plate - ie, the one on the rear. Have been stopped by traffic police many times for checking the papers but none have till now asked me about the front number plate. So, i've just let it be and will probably add a plate on the front if i get caught for it.

Thanks kaushik51094

It is mandatory to have two number plates as per the Motor vehicle act.
Yellow board vehicles should have an additional board on the sides too
Refer this link from the ministry of road transport and highways website
http://www.morth.nic.in/writereaddat...1235607625.pdf

Maybe the traffic police who stopped you were also busy appreciating the beauty of the vehicle that they failed to see the number plate missing

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Congratulations on the new Vespa! It looks very retro-cool!
I only have one comment: matt black reflects very little light and makes the scooter poorly visible for other road users in the dark. In addition you mentioned that you bought a matt black helmet. My advice would be to have some white reflective tape on strategic places to make the scooter more visible in the dark. Maybe a cool Vespa logo?

Thanks Motard_Blr

Good point about the colour. More that the dark, it is in places of dark background (like road with a lot of trees around) where dark vehicles are less visible-Even during day time. When it is dark, all vehicles are same and are visible because of the lamps.
Vespa is slightly better here compared to other scooters as it comes with factory fitted reflectors on its sides.

On the same topic, many years ago, when Maruti came up with green colour 800 and Omni, I had read somewhere that Dark green was the least visible colour. On Googling, I found something similar...see below

"Tests at the University of California concluded that either blue or yellow is the best color for car safety. Blue shows up best during daylight and fog; yellow is best at night. The worst color from the visibility standpoint is gray. In another study by Mercedes-Benz in Germany, white ranked the highest in all-around visibility, except in situations of completely snow-covered roads or white sand. In such extremes, bright yellow and bright orange ranked second and third respectively in visibility. The least visible car color in the Mercedes-Benz test was dark green"

Credit: http://www.answers.com/topic/which-c...#ixzz34xaJMOH4

Originally Posted by hillram

Hearty Congratulations Hemanth. Owning Vespa is like an ode to joy. Hope you got a matching helmet , as safe riding is a must. Happy Motoring.

Thanks hillram,
Your thread helped me a lot and gave me good information before booking mine. There were only two ownership threads on a Vespa before mine I guess

Originally Posted by Amarendranath

Congrats buddy!

I literally have no words to praise that MATT BLACK color! Did you check your headlight? Does it through light or BAT signals? I was in total love with the alloys of your punto and now this. Please share some more pictures of the MATT mobil.

Thanks Amarendranath

I haven't driven it in dark upto now, will keep an eye and post my observations. By the way, is there any known solutions already if my vespa gives out bat-signals?

And a special thanks for naming my vehicle- MATT mobile -Really nice. Will call it that from now
Coming weekend, I've planned to take some pictures of my "Matt-mobile" individually and along with my "Abarth". Lets see how things pan out.

[kaushik51094]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Thanks kaushik51094

It is mandatory to have two number plates as per the Motor vehicle act.
Refer this link from the ministry of road transport and highways website
http://www.morth.nic.in/writereaddat...1235607625.pdf

Thanks for this info. I think i'll try to get some sort of clip type mechanism and fit the plates up front at the nostrils (you know, the round grille that's there for the horn). By this, i don't have to worry about drilling or having sticky residue left on my scooter by fixing number plate stickers.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Maybe the traffic police who stopped you were also busy appreciating the beauty of the vehicle that they failed to see the number plate missing

That's happened twice! After checking all the papers some policemen do ask about the price and mileage and stuff like that. feels so much like a celebrity!

[deoelect]

Retro is in and how! She's a stunner! Congratulations on the new ride. I've been thinking of buying a Vespa for my wife for quite some time now. This thread will definitely help me in taking the right decisions.
Totally agree on the exclusivity factor. Worth paying a premium for. Considering the umpteen Activas on the roads, the Vespa is a sure shot head turner. Wishing you many happy miles with the Vespa

[jaaz]

First of all, Congrats !!!!!!! Mr. Hemanth !

Pricey - I don't think so. Only the 'S' Model looks pricey, and that too If you compare with Vx Model. If you compare Vx with Activa 125 Dx - the price difference is just about 5K more, which is justified for the Monocoque frame itself. And, I was told by the Sales Person that the Paint is of 4 coats or Layers, which is a Bonus for you. Another Bonus is you don't have to bare with the Callous attitude of Honda Personnel - Before as well as After Sales.

This Forum consists mostly Car Owners with 2 Wheelers too. So, a first time buyer without a 4 Wheeler, may not go in for this Scoot. And your iphone justification is right, where you spend 50K for an item, which will become technologically obsolete in 2 years.

I thought the Matt Color is likened only by Men, but to my surprise, even my Family members were impressed. I guess, it's the result of quality paints used.

The handle of Vespa is very light. So, it's a breeze in City Traffic. But for people used with Honda's heavy feel, may think its Wavy on Highways, which is not true. With a Monocoque Chassis, handling should be better than the rest of the Scoots. But yes, If you're switching from a Activa, then all you need is getting used for a couple of days.

Your Wife's observation is correct - Even though on Paper the Seat height is equal to other Scoots, 5 footers can easily rest their legs on the ground. And secondly, even though on Paper the Weight is equal to other Scoots, you feel the Vespa as light as a Scooty Pep.