Vespa Et4

UbahOne

I really want to buy one of these cos they look UBER slick!

What are they like to drive? New or secondhand?

Any advice appreciated...

UbahOne

Anything?

a_ominous

I have a motorbike, not a scooter, but 2 wheels good, 4 bad.
Had a look at the scooter, nice retro look to it.
It's a 4 stroker, so you won't get the high pitched hair dryer whining of 2 stroker. Which is nice. A small engine like this will be more than adequate for city commuting. It'll get over 50mph, but probably won't feel solid on dual carriageways or open roads.


If I was to buy a scooter second hand, I'd buy from a bike shop not privately unless a _very_ good deal. You'll get a warranty in a shop. A mate bought a year old Yamaha Majesty in Bikeworld for a grand less than new. And got discount on gear too.

Have a look at Buy and Sell, either online or hardcopy. That will give an idea of prices.

Buying in a shop, the shop may also be an agent for AON (and hence Hibernian). They should be able to give you an insurance quote. I know Bikeworld do this. Cotters in Kimmage do too.

One very simple piece of advice I'd give is go out to a few shops. Sit on a couple of scooters. See what is comfortable. If the Vespa doesn't feel right, you'll regret buying one. Vespa is a good brand AFAIK. Haven't heard anything bad about them. Most negative things I've heard about scooters is the people who drive them

Would always recommend a few hours lessons. 4 hours (2 sessions) should be enough to give you confidence to ride on the roads. Help you to assert your road position, teach you what hazards to look out for, etc.

UbahOne

Thanks very much man. Thats great advice. Im more than likely getting one. I love them so much. Ill take all advice on board and take a look around for them. At the moment in the buy and sell, theres only 4 et4's for sale...but im sure that will change. It should do anyway...

Any additional advice greatly appreciated.

UbahOne

Also, do you think insurance for a 125cc for a 19 year old with a provisional drivers license would be crazy?

a_ominous

Also, do you think insurance for a 125cc for a 19 year old with a provisional drivers license would be crazy?

Perhaps. Had a look at Hibernian website and guessed your occupation (Education is generally cheap, but probably not applicable for student) And location was Dublin, the most expensive.
Price for Third Party Only (TPO) was 3764! FFS Don't forget that does not cover you for theft. Which you _do_ want in Dublin.
Fully Comp was > 5400 :eek:
This based on a 1 year old bike valued at 2000.

That seems well off. AON should be cheaper, they get a broker discount and pass on the cheaper price to customers.

But at these prices, best to go to a local shop and get a quote from them. See if it's gonna be worthwhile for you to get on two wheels. If you're earning, you'll be mobile, won't have to worry about buses and get the grin factor. If you're a student, wait until next summer and save your pennies.

I remember seeing the insurance group prices on Cotter's site (no longer there) and you could get insurance as a 17/18 on a Hayabusa (currently fastest road bike) for the grand price of approx Euro 26000
No way a scooter

UbahOne

Ok thanks for that again...

I have an address in Wexford i could use for the bike and i get it down to about 1,500 fully comp.

Is this extremely illegal and more than likely make my insurance void?

a_ominous

on the availability of bikes in B&S, there'll be more in a few weeks time as the fair weather people start to get wet and cold.
For bikers, there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.

On a scooter, you'll get away with ordinary rain trousers in rain for short journeys. I've got thicker 'armoured' trousers which keep the rain far enough off my skin so I don't get cold. I've used rain gear over jeans in summer and got a chill because water conducts heat away from the body really quickly. Never bothered me on the bicycle coz I used to sweat a lot on my 10 mile commute to work. Got sense and gave it up and got a bike after a few years of that

A bicycle might be an option? Not much kudos, but _terribly_ practical for short (4-5 mile) journeys in Dublin. I used to cycle to work (10 miles) in little over 30 minutes. Used to be wrecked at weekends though.

a_ominous

I have an address in Wexford i could use for the bike and i get it down to about 1,500 fully comp.
Is this extremely illegal and more than likely make my insurance void?

I've seen some comments on this recently. Cannot recall where. Might be yahoo motorcycle-ireland.

If I understand this, your family home is Wexford. You'll be studying/working in Dublin. Unlikely you'll be commuting on a 125cc scooter. I know people who used to do this with car insurance. Never had a problem, but they hadn't had an accident either.

You could take a risk and use the WX address. Insurance companies didn't investigate this type of thing too much, but attitudes are changing. There has been a campaign to crack down on fraud, and what you are suggesting is fraud, unfortunately.

UbahOne

Its a pity i even went into that way of thinking...its just crazy how expensive insurance is! Your right though. Its not the correct thing to do. It is fraud unfortunately.