2023 Vespa GTS 300 Scooter Review Live From Rome, Italy

Motorcyclist

Vespa’s new-for-2023 GTS 300 is an overhauled version of the company’s classic long-serving four-stroke gasoline-powered scooter. We were lucky enough to get a Piaggio Group invitation to ride this fundamental scooter around Rome, one of the founding cities of Western civilization.  ---  Four Vespas make up the US model line: the GTS, Super, Super Sport, and Super Tech. We test rode the $8,099 Super Sport. Above this model is the Super Tech, which rings at just under $9,000. It comes with a 4.3-inch color TFT screen as opposed to a mixed analog and digital dash. It also comes with a carpeted storage bunk with an LED light inside. We would definitely like the carpeted storage bunk with the LED light. That would keep our goodies from getting scratched. The color TFT, on the other hand, we could live without.   We value the look of this Vespa GTS, especially in this Hot Wheels orange colorway—it’s a real looker. The quality of the paint is fairly good, but there is quite a bit of orange peel on the surface of the body, and it’s really apparent in this bright orange paint. Nowadays many two- and four-wheeled vehicles have an orange peel effect in the paint. So we’re not going to knock Vespa, but still, considering its cost we desire a finer paint job. Even still, it remains a head-turner. It’s worth nothing that Vespa began manufacturing scooters in 1945 out of scrap parts from an aircraft. That’s why Vespa has this old-school aerospace-type look...  Full story here: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/vespa-gts-300-scooter-review-2023/  Photography: The Piaggio Group Video:  @AdamWaheed    Motorcycle Gear Worn Helmet: Arai Signet-X Jacket: REV'IT! Blackwater Gloves: REV'IT!  Kinetic Pant: REV'IT! Maple 2 Ladies SK Boots: TCX Dartwood WP   Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine   See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/

Transcript

00:00 Hey folks, good morning and welcome to the official North American press

00:07 introduction for Vespa's new GTS scooter. We are here in Rome, Italy, one of the

00:17 ancient cities of Earth, to test ride this new and improved GTS scooter from

00:28 Vespa. So let's throw the helmet on and go for a ride. All right folks, here it is

00:36 Vespa's GTS scooter. This is an all-new 300 CC class, 287 CC to be exact, scooter

00:47 out of Vespa. Vespa is owned by the Piaggio Group out of northern Italy. Now

00:54 for the 2023 model year, Vespa has done a host of modifications to this vehicle.

01:01 Look at its bow. This bow fairing is now flatter and less rounded on the edges as

01:10 is the front fender. Now Vespa is doing that because they want to have, they call

01:16 it a more dynamic look, but really if you look at the rest of Piaggio Group's

01:21 products including Aprilia, the modern trend on the body design of these

01:26 vehicles is for bigger flatter surfaces. So that's what they've done with this

01:32 vehicle here. This particular Vespa is the Super Vespa. So there's four Vespas

01:41 in the U.S. model lineup. You have the GTS, you have the Super, Super Sport, and

01:48 the Super Tech. Four Vespa scooters. Look at this fake carbon fiber bow tie. This

01:54 is a signature styling element of Vespa scooters. We have LED headlights, LED turn

02:03 signals, and a neat LED taillight. This thing looks like a 1950s car. I really

02:11 like the shape of this. Now to match that forward body panel, the back body panels

02:18 are also a little bit more flat and a little bit longer here in the rear

02:26 section. Now all of these Vespa scooters for 2023 are keyless entry. So keyless

02:34 fob style start. I'm not a big keyless fob style start power sport user, but

02:40 still for a scooter application I think that will be okay. Other neat

02:47 modifications are this handlebar is about 0.8 inch longer, I'm sorry wider on

02:54 either side, and the front suspension has been overhauled as has the rear

03:00 suspension. So those are some of the improvements that this vehicle has done

03:06 for 2023. But enough talking about it, let's swing a leg inside the cockpit and

03:13 go for a ride. All right folks, now the great thing about scooters is the

03:19 ability to bring your goodies with you in a very easy way. Now this particular

03:26 Vespa GTS has this trunk open button. You press that button, it's electronically

03:33 actuated, and there is the trunk. In here I have my trusty Ogeo 450 fanny pack, I

03:41 never leave home without it, and I have my camera to take nice photos for all of

03:48 the fans out there. Here is where we put the fuel. This vehicle runs on unleaded

03:55 fuel. The fuel capacity is two and a quarter gallon. This thing has

04:02 electronic fuel injection, so no having to mess with anything. You just press the

04:07 starter button and away you go. In addition to the under seat storage

04:14 compartment, we have another secret storage compartment. This thing's a neat

04:18 storage compartment because it blends in seamlessly to the forward fairing of

04:23 this Vespa GTS vehicle. To access it, you simply hit the on button, wait till this

04:30 thing spools up, and then push it in. There, that opens up. Then we have a

04:35 nice storage compartment. It would be nice if this was padded. As you can see,

04:40 this is paint, so all your stuff will just get scratched up. Vespa should have

04:44 padded this interior compartment realistically, but it is neat that we

04:48 have a USB power port right here so we can charge our USB devices right now. I

04:57 do like that, but this interior area should be padded. Still neat that we have

05:03 copious amounts of storage on this Vespa GTS. Alright folks, good morning. Here we

05:11 are at the official press introduction for Vespa's GTS gasoline-powered scooter.

05:20 Now for the 2023 model year, Vespa has done a number of nice improvements to

05:27 this model, and we get to experience it near Vespa's hometown in Rome, Italy. Yes,

05:37 that's right. We are in the ancient city of Rome with a population of 2.7 million

05:45 people. What a place to ride a scooter. If there was any place in the world I would

05:51 want to be operating a scooter at, it would be in a dense city like Rome, Italy.

06:02 So here we are on the Vespa GTS. The Vespa GTS is powered by a 287 cc

06:11 single-cylinder water-cooled fuel-injected four-stroke gasoline engine.

06:19 This bike, I'm sorry, this scooter benefits from the twist-and-go

06:27 simplicity of a CVT automatic transmission. A CVT automatic

06:35 transmission takes the guesswork out of riding. All you have to do is twist the

06:41 throttle, which is here on the right tube here, and that is what allows this

06:47 vehicle to accelerate. It puts power back to a 12-inch back wheel. Now the thing I

06:58 like about these scooters is just so how easy they are to ride. You don't have to

07:04 be someone with a lot of motorcycle or power sport experience to operate this

07:10 vehicle. Now instead of a traditional clutch lever, this vehicle has a

07:19 brake lever where the clutch would be. So this brake lever here operates the rear

07:26 brake hydraulically. So this particular GTS has hydraulic disc brakes front and

07:34 rear. And for 2023 Vespa actually overhauled the calipers and the master

07:42 cylinder of both brake for better brake response when you are pressing on either

07:51 lever. And the stopping distance on this vehicle is a few feet shorter when you

07:58 are traveling at speed. As usual, this vehicle has always on full-time ABS. Look

08:10 guys, that building in front of us right there, that is the Vatican. That is one of

08:18 the most significant pieces of architecture here in Rome. That's right

08:24 folks, we're not a religious channel by any means, but one of the claim to fames

08:30 of Rome is that it is the birthplace of Christian Christianity. And there is the

08:38 centerpiece for the Christian faith and religion. How cool is that?

08:44 Alright, back to the Vespa GTS. So the brake components were overhauled. The

08:54 suspension was also tweaked. The front and the rear suspension were tweaked to

09:00 complement the braking improvements to allow this vehicle to stop more quickly.

09:06 And wow, this Vespa 300 GTS sure does ride nicely. Right now we're riding on

09:14 some pretty smooth paved asphalt streets, but here in a little bit we'll be riding

09:19 over bumps and on old cobblestone roads from the, I don't even know from when,

09:26 from the 1200s, maybe even older than that. You got to remember, Rome was

09:33 originally established some 3,000 years ago. 3,000 years ago. Old folklore has it

09:44 that two brothers, Romulus and Remus, they were left to die by whoever,

09:51 and a she-wolf, a wolf, a female wolf, somehow found these babies and took them

09:59 under her hind legs somehow. Legend also has it that Romulus eventually

10:09 killed his brother Remus, and that is how Rome was started. Pretty crazy. That was

10:15 some 3,000 years ago. Other neat modifications Vespa has done for the 2023

10:28 model year include the handlebar. It is now 0.8 inches wider on either side, so

10:35 right around 1.6 inches wider in total. The switch gear is also new. It's a

10:44 little bit plasticky for my taste. It still has decent tactile feel, but for a

10:51 scooter that costs $88,100, that's right guys, $8,100 for this 287cc

11:00 scooter. It's a lot of money. Fit and finish should be a little bit better for

11:06 that MSRP. We are riding the GTS Super Sport, which is now in the GTS line.

11:17 There's actually three models. You have the classic GTS, the Super, the Super

11:22 Sport, and the Super Tech. So we are on the third of four versions. Above this

11:29 would be the Super Tech, which rings at just under $9,000, and that comes with a

11:36 4.3 inch color TFT screen as opposed to this mixed analog and digital dash. It

11:46 also comes equipped with a carpeted storage bunk with an LED light inside. I

11:55 would definitely like that carpeted storage bunk with the LED light. That

12:00 would keep your goodies from getting scratched and marred up. So that is a

12:06 feature I would like. The color TFT I could probably live without. This analog

12:12 and digital dash seems pretty easy to read. I can see the fuel gauge very well,

12:20 engine coolant temperature, ASF. That is Vespa's form of traction control. It's a

12:28 wheel speed traction control system. It's always on, but you can turn it off. I

12:34 don't know why you'd want to turn it off. Maybe if you want to do skids or slides.

12:37 Maybe.

12:41 This multi-wheel control function here manipulates the various settings. We have

12:50 average fuel consumption, dual trip meters, range, everything's in kilometers. I

12:56 tried to switch it into US Imperial data set, but I was unable to do it. So we have

13:03 to live with the metric system today on this ride.

13:10 The gentleman keeps... yep, I understand. The gentleman keeps turning off my high

13:19 beams, but I like my high beams on because high beams allow people to see

13:23 me more easily. So we're gonna turn them back on. Yes, because I like them.

13:33 I will turn them off. Whoa, I don't want to blind the guy in his mirrors. Speaking

13:40 of mirrors, these rear-view mirrors on this GTS, they work pretty well. They have

13:47 a good view of what's going on behind me. They shake a little bit, but not too bad.

13:55 Now this 287 cc single is good for right around 24 horsepower, says Vespa. And it's

14:05 got decent get up and go for getting around town and for getting the jump on

14:13 automobiles at a stoplight. The engine has more than enough pep to do that. Now

14:22 at idle, I definitely can feel some engine vibration here through the

14:27 controls. It's not off-putting, but you definitely feel the vibration

14:33 through the controls and the seat. When we start get going here, though, a little

14:39 bit, the vibration just kind of goes away. It's replaced by real smooth ride

14:49 quality. Because this is an official press introduction, we have to follow our

14:55 lead rider in front of us. We can't do our usual high level of testing that we

15:02 put all of our vehicles through. So we won't be able to ride this vehicle after

15:08 dark. So we can't comment on the function of its LED headlight. But I do like that

15:14 Vespa has added full LED lighting. Realistically, though, for its $8,100

15:22 price tag, it absolutely should have that feature. There is another view of the

15:27 Vatican. Lots of people here. This is during the week, so a little bit less

15:35 people than a weekend.

15:38 And here we go, folks, navigating our way through Rome on the Vespa GTS. This scooter

15:59 rolls on 12-inch wheels. It weighs right around 347 pounds, which is kind of a lot.

16:08 But when you're riding this vehicle, it certainly feels much lighter.

16:15 For 2023, Vespa has altered the ergonomics, the shape of the seat, the

16:22 shape of this running board area, and it's a very accommodating motorcycle to

16:28 ride around town. I'm 6 foot tall. I weigh right around 198 pounds. I'm very

16:37 heavy. I've been eating way too much ravioli and pasta at home in California.

16:43 Getting ready to become Italian for a few days. But I fit on this scooter quite

16:50 nicely. I like the seat. It's reasonably broad for a scooter. Pretty flat, and it

16:59 has a nice amount of grip against my Revit jeans, which is nice so I don't

17:07 slip or slide forward when I give this bike the berries or actuate the brake

17:15 levers. God, this thing's got nice get up and go. It's a good amount of torque, and

17:20 the CVT, the action of the CVT automatic transmission is real nice. Sometimes CVT

17:27 automatic transmissions have a bit of a lag. This Vespa GTS feels very responsive

17:35 when you twist the throttle, and I like that. I also like that the CVT isn't

17:41 crazy loud. CVT transmissions have a reputation for being real loud and

17:50 real droney and annoying. This thing isn't overly loud or bothersome, which is

17:56 nice.

17:58 Now Vespa is trying to elevate its technology game, so in the future you're

18:11 going to be able to pair your phone to this device via Bluetooth. But

18:18 realistically, if you pair your phone via Bluetooth to read text messages and to

18:24 see what music you're playing, this display is so small and you have to look

18:28 down so low where you're not in field of view, that having

18:33 Bluetooth functionality with your phone is kind of a moot point. I don't even

18:38 know why you would ever use it. Still, it's nice that Vespa is trying to catch

18:43 up with this competition and offer some type of Bluetooth connectivity. Vespa

18:50 will also be offering an app so you can monitor your maintenance intervals and

18:58 monitor the duration of your rides and just give the owner more function

19:09 usability when they're away from their bike but on their smartphone. A lot of

19:15 motorcycle manufacturers are now including that type of technology, so

19:22 it's nice that Vespa is doing its part and trying to elevate the technology

19:29 game with its single-cylinder gasoline-powered scooters. Now the neat

19:39 thing about riding a scooter in a densely populated urban environment like

19:45 Rome, Italy, is that these things are just so maneuverable. They're really easy to

19:52 get in and out of traffic. The footprint of these vehicles is very small. They're

19:56 easy to park. This particular Vespa GTS benefits from a kickstand and a center

20:03 stand. So you can use a kickstand like you would a normal motorcycle or you can

20:08 elevate the rear wheel with a center stand. Now it's worth noting that, oddly

20:14 enough, this Vespa GTS doesn't come equipped with any parking brake. There's

20:21 no manual parking brake. You are always rolling. So if you want to prevent this

20:26 vehicle from rolling forward or backward, you want to put it on its

20:30 center stand. Center stand, despite this vehicle weighing 340-some pounds, it is

20:38 very easy to put on a center stand even if you are not an exceptionally strong

20:44 human. I like the response of these brakes. They have nice feel, real accurate

20:51 response, and having ABS front and rear just fully mitigates instability during

20:58 braking. So you can use the brakes as hard as you want. You never have to worry

21:02 about either tire skidding. Very nice. Now this Vespa GTS has a top speed of right

21:11 around 77 miles per hour. We won't be getting up to that top speed today, but

21:19 it's nice to know that this vehicle is freeway capable in the United States.

21:27 Like all Vespa scooters, this GTS comes with a two-year unlimited mileage

21:34 warranty maintenance intervals. Your first maintenance is designated right

21:40 around the 600 mile mark. After that, this bike goes 10,000 kilometers between

21:48 maintenance and oil changes at 6,200 miles. So every 6,200 miles, this vehicle

21:55 needs service. Vespa is offering extended warranties and extended maintenance

22:03 contracts, so you can get warranty and maintenance service on this scooter for

22:10 up to four years. Pretty neat. Of course, all that comes at an upcharge.

22:16 I really like the looks of this Vespa GTS, especially in this like Hot Wheels

22:26 orange colorway. I know that's not the official name of the color, but this Hot

22:30 Wheels orange colorway is just awesome. This thing is a real looker. The quality

22:36 of the paint is fairly good, but there is quite a bit of orange peel on the

22:42 surface of the body, and it's really apparent in this bright orange paint. Now

22:49 a lot of vehicles these days have orange peel on the paint, so we're not

22:54 necessarily going to knock Vespa for having that, but still, I mean this is an

22:58 $8,100 vehicle. If I paid $8,100, especially for a gasoline single-cylinder

23:05 scooter, I really wouldn't want any orange peel. So maybe next time Vespa

23:11 give this thing a little bit more wet sand when you're in the paint shop, but

23:16 still a very pretty scooter. Definitely a head-turner. It's worth mentioning that

23:25 Vespa, Vespa if you can even believe it, they started making scooters in 1945, so

23:33 just at the end of World War II, they started making scooters. They made

23:38 scooters out of scrap parts from an aircraft. That's why this, the original

23:47 Vespa almost always had some kind of old-school aerospace space type of look.

23:54 Back in the mid-40s, Vespa is credited for really helping kick-start the

24:01 Italian economy. You have to remember, Italy was decimated by World War II. No

24:07 one had any money, no one had any food, all the buildings were blown up, all the

24:11 roads were destroyed, no one had any vehicles, and gasoline-powered Vespa

24:17 scooters allowed people to rebuild, allowed people to transport themselves

24:24 from one place to the next, bring their goods and services where they needed to

24:27 be, and it was able to do it for not a lot of money. I think within the first

24:33 decade of Vespa being in business from 1945 to 1955 or 1956, it manufactured 1

24:42 million scooters in that decade time frame, you know, back 70 years ago. How

24:49 crazy is that? Now, although the scooter market in the United States is fairly

24:57 small, in regions like Indonesia, if you can even believe it, they sell millions of

25:05 scooters per year. Millions. So, the ability to offer a nice riding,

25:17 contemporary-styled scooter is a big deal, especially in those Asian, Southeast

25:24 and East Asian countries where the middle-class living standard is growing

25:29 every day. Back a long time ago, the middle class was so small. Well, these

25:34 countries are developing so rapidly that the middle class is growing, and they

25:39 have the money to buy premium scooters like this GTS 300.

25:49 And Vespa is keen to get in on the action. So, here we are riding on an old

25:56 cobblestone road from whoever knows how many hundreds, if not thousands of years

26:00 ago, and this scooter rides pretty good over this stuff. This stuff is really

26:05 rough, but the twin rear shocks are doing a good job of filtering the broken

26:13 effects of this cobblestone road. I could get used to riding this scooter around

26:22 town. If I lived in a dense urban environment like this place, I would

26:29 definitely want a gasoline-powered scooter. It would just make life so much

26:36 easier. Here's some big potholes. Let's go over those. You definitely feel them, but

26:41 they're not too uncomfortable. You hear a little bit of plastic jarring from these

26:52 body panels when you hit those big bumps.

26:56 I don't know the legal requirements as far as age to operate a scooter in Italy,

27:10 but in the United States, you need, specifically in the state of

27:15 California, you need to have a scooter endorsement to operate this vehicle on

27:22 the roads in California. There in front of us is the Colosseum. The Colosseum was

27:34 a structure built in right around, I want to say 70 AD. 70 AD that that Colosseum

27:46 was constructed. It took right around 10 years to build that thing. Can you

27:50 believe that? It's still standing today some 1900-2000 years later. That Colosseum

28:00 is still standing. That is just amazing. Wow! That is where the Roman games would

28:07 be played. Very violent, brutal games. My god, isn't that crazy how that building

28:13 was built 2,000 years ago and that concrete was so hardcore it's still

28:17 standing. That is superb, ladies and gentlemen.

28:23 [Sounds of a car driving by]

28:38 Wow! Look at that! The Colosseum from 70 AD. Look at that thing. Unbelievable. That man

28:49 built that. It's crazy because Roman civilization, it really, it really gave us

28:58 so many things that we just consider so normal today.

29:04 Sewer, water transport, water ducting, concrete, amazing roads. Back in the day

29:14 the Romans were building roads. I forget the statistic but I think, god, even before

29:21 literally thousands of years ago they made 50,000 miles of roads

29:26 connecting the vast Roman Empire before all things, all hell went loose and the

29:36 Romans failed whenever that was. I think 500 AD I think it was when the Roman

29:41 Empire eventually failed.

29:45 All right, we're gonna race right now. See what's up.

29:52 A little 287cc scooter race. Yeah, this thing's got some power. Yeah, nice. Nice.

30:07 Wow, this is just beautiful guys. What a neat way to get around town on these

30:16 Vespa scooters. All right folks, here we are just outside of Rome. We are headed

30:23 into the countryside. We have gathered some speed right now. We are going, well we

30:30 have gathered some speed and then that guy in the van in front of the white

30:36 Zuzu looking vehicle is blocking us. Right now we're going 40 miles per hour

30:42 going a little bit faster and this Vespa GTS has a little bit of urban touring

30:51 chops. Really like the way this thing is, just its size, its packaging, how

30:59 responsive the CVT automatic transmission is, the torque of the 287cc

31:07 engine. This thing is a nice little urban scooter. All right folks, there it is.

31:15 Vespas 2023 GTS. Super sport. That was a fun day riding around and inside of the

31:29 ancient city of Rome. What a better way to get around the city than this 287cc

31:38 GTS scooter from Vespa. I really like the styling of this vehicle. It really pays

31:46 homage to where Vespa has been. I like the modern touches with the wider

31:52 front fender and forward fairing. Of course, LED lighting is a must in

31:59 the modern era. That's very nice. I really like the storage on this bike, though the

32:06 under seat storage gets a little hot. All my goodies inside here are hot. My water's hot,

32:13 my camera's hot, my battery pack's hot. You know, the stuff inside this compartment

32:19 shouldn't get as hot as it does, so that would definitely annoy me because after

32:24 all you're gonna put your cooler in here, you're gonna put your

32:27 12-pack of soda, and you're gonna want to have it be cold and it will not stay

32:32 cold in this trunk. But still, I do like the twist and go simplicity of the CVT

32:42 automatic transmission. This engine has a surprising amount of pep. It's very easy

32:48 to ride and all in all it's a very nice vehicle for urban use, which brings us to

32:55 the price. $8,100 US dollars for this particular GTS, and that is just way too

33:05 much money for what this scooter is. Realistically, for $8,100 you can buy a

33:13 full-on street bike for that price, which will have a lot more capability and

33:21 versatility than this GTS. Still, if you're looking for the twist and go

33:29 simplicity of a scooter with the signature Vespa styling, signature Vespa

33:39 character and history that this brand has, you got to remember Vespas are

33:44 making these scooters since 1945, then maybe this $8,100

33:49 scooter will be right for you. But for my money, it's just way too expensive. We'd

33:55 like to see this scooter priced at $6,000. That would be a better price for

34:01 what it is. Alright folks, that wraps up our review of this 2023 Vespa GTS scooter.

34:09 Make sure to log on to MotorcyclistOnline.com. That's where all of

34:15 our written content comes to life. Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it,

34:20 thumbs it down if you didn't, and we'll see you next time. Thanks for scooting

34:24 around Rome with us today.

34:27 [Music]

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