Modern Buddy

"So, if lotsof people wast a metal scooter with all the convienences of an automatic, EFI, and CA-CARB certification... why not buy the GTS 250ie and leave the Stella as-is?"


'cause it is not nearly as beautiful. Would it help if we did not call it "stella"- Maybe her less cool sister, "Martha" would be more appropriate?

Not to offend anyone with a modern vespa, but I think they look fat and ugly. The old vintage vespas were round, thin, had actual cowls, and were eye catching. There is no automatic alternative to the px150/stella yet, that's why we all want one so bad rather than a modern scooter made of metal with a vespa logo on it.

1cyl wrote:So, if lotsof people want a metal scooter with all the convienences of an automatic, EFI, and CA-CARB certification... why not buy the GTS 250ie and leave the Stella as-is?

A GTS is $6K. And some people want a classically-styled scoot with all the trimmings.

Me, I'd much rather have a manual Stella. That's kind of the point. But if the fabled 4-stroke auto 200/250 becomes available at the right price and with the right specs, hell yeah I'd consider buying one.

I actually hope that if this does indeed become reality, the new model is renamed. Let it live on its own merits rather than being an "automatic Stella."

ericalm wrote: I actually hope that if this does indeed become reality, the new model is renamed. Let it live on its own merits rather than being an "automatic Stella."

I hereby nominate it the Lester ("Lesta" being not quite an anagram for "Stella")

peabody99 wrote:Sym HD 200 (why are you so ugly though?).

Have you given it a chance? Try walking around it and see if there's an angle you like. I personally am struck by the slightly off of center head on view that I've linked to below. I like that a lot. When you think about it, the Blur and Buddy are not striking from *every* angle either. Give the SYM a chance and see if it grows on you. I say this because I think you may be a perfect candidate for an HD200.

I actually think it is quite alright from all angles but the front.But the front- I hate it
I fit on it very well even.
So I asked my husband which one I looked pretty on.
He said the "red one" or my Buddy.

He is not obsessed like me. So he did not know right away "the red one " was a 250gts. I refuse to spend that much money on something that burns through a rear tire every few 1000 miles. Plus like jfrost said, Vespas are kind of chunky looking. (except the 150 S one-but I would never get rid of the Buddy for a same size bike)

ok the Genunine meeting was last weekend. Here we are at Friday and no rumors, pics, release dates.

They have nuthin'. Maybe not even a rebadged Gmax / Blur

peabody99 wrote:ok the Genunine meeting was last weekend. Here we are at Friday and no rumors, pics, release dates.

They have nuthin'. Maybe not even a rebadged Gmax / Blur

POC Phil seemed in the edge of spilling something last week. I'm visiting my dealer this weekend so will ask.

I got nothing from him before the meeting. If anything we found ourselves in the Sym area looking at fugly big wheels. His lovely wife was dispatched to Genuine and she probably does not have loose lips-I do not think she even comes on this forum

JokerJim wrote:I would/will trade my Avocado Stella for an automatic. Especially if it's a 250cc.
Guess maybe i should just cover up the Stella and keep it at 19 miles until i hear more.

Joker

i'd take that avocado of yours if you needed it off your hands.

A tiny bit of a sidetrack,just read on Modern Vespa,Piaggio is going to make an auto 4 stroke P-series scoot.Not sure as of yet what cc's though.Ok were going to need a auto-4 Stella to compete.....

Tim

BuddyLicious wrote:A tiny bit of a sidetrack,just read on Modern Vespa,Piaggio is going to make an auto 4 stroke P-series scoot.Not sure as of yet what cc's though.Ok were going to need a auto-4 Stella to compete.....

Tim

Yeah, I just saw that and posted a reply there. The reintroduction of some type of P series to the US was predicted by those who believe the last PX150s were brought over as a reaction to the Stella. I don't know if that's actually the case, but it is an interesting coincidence.

Now that rumors about the '09 lineup have settled and we know the forthcoming 200cc will be an all-new scooter, I have to wonder if what we know so far about Stella development is true. What I know and have heard from several sources is that something is in the works and it will be a 50-state scooter.

Think about it.

LML quality+Lots of breakable shit+1 year warranty= POS

I would never buy anything from LML that was more complicated than the simple design that they use now!

Plus, I wouldn't doubt the engine will be chines built.

Don't get me wrong, I love the LML engine and the Stella. I don't think it needs to go any further.

I think the "automatic" retro bike PGO is producing will be much better value than a px150 that was automatic. Vespa is dealing with china now, and Chinese cant be trusted even if quality if controlled. There were recalls on the fly150's and other bikes back then when first built in china. SUre it's a bit cheaper, but if it sacrifices quality, I think it's better to pay more for a bike that is quality made.

PGO makes all their engines in taiwan strictly, their new bike will probably use an existing engine, or a new design but similar to a existing one. I'm hoping the bike has a similar or same frame and body as a stella/px150.

If not, a automatic stella would still be nice to see in the future.

Quite some years back, I raced a 750cc, 3-cylinder 2-stroke Saab. the radiator was in back of the engine, and the engine was small enough that one person could disconnect everything, reach in and lift it out to work on it. Okay, now picture 1/3 of that engine, 250cc, air- or liquid cooled. Add free-wheeling (another 2-stroke Saab feature), and you have one hell of an interesting scooter powerplant. Add fuel injection and an eco-happy ad campaign, and you could probably have a 50-state scooter. Just a thought.

Sl,ut4 wrote:Think about it.

LML quality+Lots of breakable shit+1 year warranty= POS

I would never buy anything from LML that was more complicated than the simple design that they use now!

Plus, I wouldn't doubt the engine will be chines built.

Don't get me wrong, I love the LML engine and the Stella. I don't think it needs to go any further.

This could be why we've been hearing about this scooter for a while but have yet to see it in the U.S.

If it does, as has been rumored, have a 200cc or 250cc PGO engine, that might go a long way towards earning some confidence. (I haven't heard anything solid about where the engine for this thing is coming from, so have no idea.)

jfrost2 wrote:I think the "automatic" retro bike PGO is producing will be much better value than a px150 that was automatic. Vespa is dealing with china now, and Chinese cant be trusted even if quality if controlled. There were recalls on the fly150's and other bikes back then when first built in china. SUre it's a bit cheaper, but if it sacrifices quality, I think it's better to pay more for a bike that is quality made.

PGO makes all their engines in taiwan strictly, their new bike will probably use an existing engine, or a new design but similar to a existing one. I'm hoping the bike has a similar or same frame and body as a stella/px150.

If not, a automatic stella would still be nice to see in the future.

Taiwanese quality wasn't always what it is today and I think one of the reasons it's much better now is partnerships with foreign companies which established better practices and higher standards. Mainland China isn't there yet, but I wouldn't make any sweeping statements along the lines of "they can't be trusted." I'm curious to see how the engines and scooters the Chinese making for Piaggio and various Taiwanese and Japanese companies improve and hold up over time, because I do think they will improve.

50 years from now, I can see hydrogen or hybrid scooters being the main type of bikes. Quality of engines will be much higher no matter where it's made, india, china, vietnam......, italy, taiwan, japan...etc.

But I still think the cheapo Vietnamese restores, and crap job illegal Chinese non running bikes will still be just as common as they are today.

But as for "major name brand" bikes from risky countries today, they will probably be just as good quality as say PGO in 50 years.

peabody99 wrote:'cause it is not nearly as beautiful. Would it help if we did not call it "stella"- Maybe her less cool sister, "Martha" would be more appropriate?

Or maybe her crazy sister, Blanche DuBois? Yeah, that's the ticket, "Blanche."