More GTS 300 Super photos in the 2sb Gallery. (Photos courtesy of Piaggio)
We’d long heard the rumors a 300cc Vespa GTS was on the way. That was big news in itself, 300cc is the biggest displacement ever offered by Vespa since its inception in 1946. At first glance, the body looks “retro-fied” like the recent LX-Special, but on closer inspection, the only differences appear to be a new (and arguably less retro) “horncast” (what was a light on the GTS is now an “air intake”), a slimmer taillight, grey beaded trim on the seat, and GS-style louvers in the left cowl. The louvers and grey trim alone go a long way toward emulating a vintage Vespa and making the bike stand out from the “run of the mill” 250cc version.
Other, more subtle changes include a red spring on the front shock, two-tone alloy wheels, and a black headlight rim. Like the LX-S, two seats will be available, a sportier single seat and a “touring” seat for two. The bike is available in a wide range of colors which we will list here:
- Black,
- White.
The 278cc (is that really 300cc, now?) liquid-cooled, electronically-injected engine promises nearly 11% more torque at 76% the rpm (11.3Nm @ 5000rpm) compared to the GTS 250.
So that’s it, gang: A bigger and better engine and louvers. Not bad, though (Unlike the LX-S) the “Super” name has little historical relevance, the original “Super” model (1966) featured a new, more angular frame with basically the same 125 and 150cc engines as the earlier basic VLB/VBB models. This is more a GS 160 to the GTS250’s GS150, if that makes any sense.
No word on price or U.S. availability, neither of which is a concern for Piaggio or the majority of their customers, ha.
More GTS 300 Super photos in the 2sb Gallery
278 = 300 more than 460 = 500 for the Scarabeo 500.
true, if you’re going by actual difference in displacement, but if you go by percentage, they’re both about the same, (real engine size is 92-93% of advertised size)
27x is the new 300. Honda Sh300i = 279 ccs. SYM Citycom 300 = 272 ccs. Vespa 300 Super = 278 ccs. Clearly, everybody is toeing the line, but what line are they towing? Is this an EU regulatory thing that’s transparent to us in the States, or what? Anybody? Bueller?
Well, from a marketing standpoint, “GTS 300 Super” sounds better than “GTS 278 Super.” And in this case, there’s the matter of making sure potential buyers fixated on 300 cc know you have something they’re likely to be interested in.
But even in the automotive world, the engine in a BMW 330i (3=body series, 30=engine displacement in liters * 10… usually) is something like 2,996 cc. Being below the mark is helpful when an arbitrary limit is set, for whatever regulatory/taxation reason. In Washington, you need a motorcycle endorsement if your bike’s engine is above 50cc, so a 50cc bike is really going to be 49.something, just to be sure.
So many scooters that are 150s in the U.S. are 125s in many European countries because somebody chose 125cc as the cutoff point for a motorcycle license vs. a regular license, or 50 quid registration fee vs. 10.
The Vespa 300 isn’t competition for the Italian designed Honda SH300. The SH300 uses a Honda dirtbike engine that actually provides decent performance. I really wish the manufacturers would make some naked high-performance scooters for enthusiasts.
It’s fat and ugly anyway. Make a performance engine and cutdown body.