Good morning. I’m based in south Devon and currently ride a RE650 interceptor (which will be leaving soon) and a Honda SuperCub 125 which won’t ever be going until I do. I’ve been looking at scooters again (having had a Burgman 400 back in 1998) and will be getting either a Honda Forza 350 or a Vespa GTs300/310.
I’ll be looking for some advice on here as the best source of information out there.

head says Forza, heart says Vespa. It’ll be used for local stuff and big touring throughout the year. My bikes aren’t garage queens, so finish, reliability and service costs are the keys for me.

Hello mate. Good to see you on here. Don't forget thr Adv350.

Hello Brian.
I have no firsthand experience of any Maxi Scoot, maybe one day that will change if I decide to get rid of the F800GT.
A good mate had the Forza 350 for a couple of years and that impressed me no end, he had the 750 for a few weeks before buying the 350. Neither depreciated much when he sold them.
The ADV looks better though.

Hi Brian, if I had the choice I'd go with the Adv 350. I used to have a GTS and I found that it started to give me back ache after around 50/60 miles of riding

Hello - a well recognised username !

I've had half a dozen scooters and I've found that the ergonomics vary more than on standard motorcycles so I'd try a few if you can, rather than just opt for one of the popular models. I had to sell two because of backache and modify seats on another two to stop my legs being cramped but, if you're looking for an easy choice then a secondhand ADV or Forza would be a good bet although my money would also be on Kymco and Sym who both make great scoots. I've never been attracted to the Vespa style but people do rave about the 300 GTS although the internet suggests that you want one that's been waxoyled, or similar. Maybe that's no longer true (if it ever was!).

But, having said all that, it's my three 125cc scoots which give me the biggest grin. I mainly use them on country roads but have also used M/ways and dual carriageways without fear. I have a couple of 300cc scoots which i suppose get used if I have to be somewhere quick but they're not as much fun on a day to day basis. Oh, and all my Enfields have also gone. Fantastic bikes but time moves on.

Hello Brian,

You know you need a Forza , come join the Faction on that other chat room

The "Big Touring" bit says head over heart IMHO. However, no point buying one you don't really fancy. If you tour a Vespa you'll meet people. Mostly Piaggio parts men, but people

Andy

Behave yourself on here!



And don't trust the Forza's traction control on wet grass!

Thanks for the welcome all of you, I didn’t know I was so notorious

It’s still all in the melting pot at the minute. The reason I’ve not mentioned the ADV is my knees hit the centre of the front fairing (I’ve got 34” inside leg) if I tuck them in. That doesn’t happen on the Vespa or the Forza.

As AndyM said above the Forza would be the right choice. But I do love the look of the Vespas. And that’s the problem (first world prob obviously) I would genuinely be happy with a 125, it would be capable of pretty much everything I want to do. I don’t do motorways at all, I’m retired and comfortable taking two days to do a one day journey.

Finally, there’s Royal Alloy with their 300/350 models. They also appeal to me. I’m sure there’s some experience of them here, maybe…..