Vespa S150.

[kcphoto2008]

Well I see there are no posts here yet so I am going to tell a little about my daily commuter. It is a 2008 Vespa S150. In 2010 this model received fuel injection but my S is the carburated model and it was also a new model that year. The leader 150 had been around a while so I was not worried about issues with the motor.

On the plus side fuel economy. I do a lot of rural riding and some city riding and average 85+ mpg. Speed varies from 25 to 50 most days on rural and city streets. Reliability, I have had no serious problems with the S150. I have almost 34,000 miles on the odometer at this time. It is esentially an LX150 with some cosmetic changes. All the components are tried and true. The ride it is sporty and nimble in the city although it can bounce you around some on rough pavement or rail road tracks (so it's best to throttle back when you see the rough stuff coming).

Downside, the seat. I bought one with the sport seat and it beats your buns on long rides. To help with the lack of padding in the seat I have put an Airhawk on the thing. It helps a lot. The evap system, just disconnect it and problem solved. Small tires, 11" in the front and 10" in the rear. To solve that problem I switched over to Heidenau tires. My latest set held up for 5,500 miles on the rear and 7,800 on the front. The rear would have probably been good until 6,000 miles had it not been for a nail.

Due to my high miles, I have become kind of the test dummy at my dealership for finding out how much this little scooter can take.  

[msgtphil]

Nice review, quite impressive mileage accumulation with no problems.

[johnp]

A nice read, i do have a soft spot for the Vespa's and would love to own the new 300cc version.

[Maggie]

Very nice, thanks for posting your review!

[kcphoto2008]

There is one more thing I forgot to make note of. The spark plug wire can get loose if you hit a big bump. I did that one time and the engine began to idle poorly and then quit. It would restart and then do the same thing again. Plus there was a little backfire. I happened to be close to the dealer that day, stopped in and told them what happened, and the service guy went right to the spark plug wire. He told me it was a known issue with some Vespas but especially the 150s due to a spark plug wire that is short and prone to pull loose. No recall is planned because it is said it does not constitute a safety problem. 

[kcphoto2008]

I think it's time for a little update since I have put on a few thousand more miles.

First back to the evap system. I decided it should be reconnected but rigged so that if fuel does get in the system I can easily disconnect it for a short time to dry out the canister.

Second, I discovered that the beauty ring around the headlight was rattling loose once in a while. I didn't want it to fall off so I removed it until I could decided how to fix this little problem. Solution: I drilled two small holes in the sides of the ring and into the plastic behind the ring and secured it with two small stainless steel sheet metal screws. It feels tight again so I will see how my fix holds up over the long haul.

Mileage is now 36,500+ and all else is going well.

[msgtphil]

Thanks for the update. I like the scooter and that is a pretty good mileage accumulation compared to what many 150cc in the U.S get used. I've seen many 50 year old Vespa's with less mileage.

[kcphoto2008]

I think it is time for some closing remarks about my experience with my S150. First off it is parked in my garage for the night with 46,453 miles showing on the odometer. Those have been some of the most fun and trouble free miles I have had the pleasure to enjoy. Aside from a neck bearing that notched at about 36,000 miles, there have been no issues with this ride. No "park it at the side of the road" failures. I did have an issue with the evap but that is common on Vespas and easily remedied as was the time the spark plug wire pulled loose. A potential buyer is coming tomorrow to look at my 150 and I am buying a BV250. So this is my final review of my first scooter. A great one it has been and I highly recommend the Vespa S150 as a first scooter, commuter, or all around fun ride.