The roads are the same but the ride is different. My wife Kim says the asphalt carpet been rolled out for me. Someone at work asked why I’m smiling. I think it’s the new Vespa GTS250ie in the garage.

After signing my name to the pink slip at Kissell Motorsports I was entitled to sound the brass gong to signify another scooter about to take to the road. I’m buying a new Vespa GTS scooter.

Cody Kissell handed me a sturdy mallet and I applied a firm strike to produce an unexpected GONG that resonated through the entire building. My friend Paul Ruby who made this picture said it sounded like something from a Hollywood movie. A nice touch to signify a new adventure despite shining the grin of a five-year-old on Christmas morning.

Kissell’s has known for a couple days that I would be picking up the scooter so everything was ready to go.

Sparkling clean, everything as it should be, full tank of petrol, and Service Manager Casey Flynn giving me a quick overview of the scooter before I rode off. I can’t say enough good things about the Kissell Motorsports dealership!

Completing this transaction during my lunch break meant not having much time to try out the GTS but I did take a quick spin out of town to get a feel for the throttle, brakes and handling characteristics. It only takes a moment to sense the difference between the LX150 and the GTS. Astride the GTS you’re aware of the increase in mass and size that makes the scooter feel more “present” on the road. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this in coming weeks. The most obvious difference is at the throttle. The response and power are immediate and I found myself at 60 MPH in the time the LX150 would be at 35 MPH. The speed is deceptive and I understand now why people get speeding tickets with these Vespas.

Photographically I think the GTS will have some presence. I haven’t found the sweet spot angles yet but it is a handsome machine.

It looks just as good in the rural landscape as the smaller scooter did. Work beckoned so I had to wait until the end of the day for anymore riding. I didn’t bring my heavy mittens either so the 32° F air bit into my fingers until they were painfully numb.

The temperature gauge on the GTS showed 29° F when I mounted up for the ride home. It rose two degrees when I got out of the shade and into what remained of the sunlit day. Don’t ask me why but what I really wanted to test on the way home was the handling characteristics of the scooter on gravel. Short review: Pretty good. Definitely more stable that the LX150. Maybe the bigger tires or extra weight.

Arrived home as the sun was setting and I looked at the GTS in the driveway before putting it in the garage.

To the casual observer it looks the same as the LX150. It’s a fine machine and I am looking forward to riding again. The weather looks promising for the weekend with temperatures rising into the 30’s even though my morning departure will find things at 15. I can handle that. Worst case is I’ll have to stop at more eating establishments to keep my hands warm.