I pose a question.

[NeoGenesisMax]

If you could have paid just 300 to 500 dollars more than what you bought your People for, would you have bought a BV350 instead? I've sat on both and the BV is much more comfortable. The BV also has better under seat space. But living with a scooter brings great insight. Has it been easy living with your People? The BV is supposed to go about four thousand mile between servicing. My Kymco Like has had constant small problems with it that really bother me. Is the People better built? The build quality of the BV seemed better to me but that doesnt mean the People isnt as good I would like to hear from yall.

[Trucker jay]

If I found the BV more comfortable yes I would pay that much more.  I sat on both and found that I really liked having the flat floor.  The only thing that I don't like abt the gti is fuel tank under the seat

[boo]

out of all the choices out there, it came down to the BV350 and the GTI300.
The only Piaggio dealer within reasonable distance from me closed.
I have a Kymco dealer 20 miles from me. I tried out the GT, bought it, and have been pleased with my purchase.

Piaggio is cutting its own throat. Closing dealerships all around the country.
Don't get me wrong, I like Piaggio scooters, especially the BV350 and the 500 Scarabeo. My wife has a Scarabeo 200. It has been a good machine.

I would have liked to have tried out the BV and GT side by side but, I did not have that choice.
So, to answer your question, I don't know if I would be willing to pay more because I did not have the opportunity thanks to Piaggio.

[alphaBETAdog]

Although I love my GTi, I would definitely buy a BV if it was only $500 more. Since the GTi needs a windscreen we're now talking less than $400!  Dont like that it doesn't have a flat floor and a 16" rear wheel, but it is reported it has a more comfortable ride, plus that Italian style and panache. 

[Scootaloot]

I have almost 37k miles on my GT. My 2007 BV was hurting at 32k. Exhaust stud broke at about 12k which involved pulling the head to extract stud. Had issues with overheating at times. Fork seals were leaking. I felt the BV was a nicer looking scoot but get positive comments about the GT. The GT has had only the wet condition belt issue. No other problems except lost little exhaust shield. I paid several hundred less than the BV in '12 and have no regrets.

[NeoGenesisMax]

Well that isnt exactly falling apart. It made it over 30 grand, thats great. I almost never see scoots over twenty thousand miles.  Also thats the old style bv, 2010 or 2011 brought the BV model I am talking about, the BV 350. I've had more go wrong with my Kymco Like 200i than what you've stated and in less than 3 thousand miles. Now the BV's rear wheel is 14" but the rear tire is taller than the front. I believe this was to give more cushion to the ride.  The BV is only 500 more on the MSRP and has about 32 more cc and has 4 or 5 more hp for that 30ish cc.

[Scootaloot]

'13 GT on EBay out the door less than 4K. The BV with the fork seals repaired would be rideable yes. The 3 months of waiting to get the fork seals not a good thing or if I hadn't pulled the head myself the several hours of labor all contributed to a much higher cost of ownership than my GT. Kymco parts can be gotten in a week more or less. The trip from Italy takes longer. I wanted a BV350 and might have bought one had the dealer ever called me back. I am glad he didn't. Buy the one you like but having owned both brands I am happy with what I am riding.

[alphaBETAdog]

Kymco dealers tend not to charge all the junk fees that Piaggio and other better known brands do. So although there is only a $500 MSRP difference, the real OTD delta will likely be much greater.

[zombie]

IMHO (LOL) The Piaggio will out last the Kymco between major repairs but the parts are 2-3 times as much.
I ordered a instrument cluster that cost 747.00 USD for an Aprilla 50.

The re-sale is higher for the Pig so you have to determine what shape you will keep the bike in, and if you have the coin to spend for major parts.

Sort of like a Bic Lighter compared to a Tiffany. or a Lambo compared to a chevy.

[leomagnus]

Zombie, I lived in Rome for 8 years and a mechanic I used to go to at the Porta Portese said that the best bikes that he worked on were the Hondas/Kymcos. The worst ones were the Piaggio/Aprilia models. So opinion may be one thing, experience tells another. The Kymcos have proven longevity whereas Piaggios do not. My Honda SH150 and my friend's People 200 were bulletproof, even after wiping on them. I had one piaggio(a 150) and the damn thing was in the shop every 2-3 months. I got rid of it for the Honda which gave me no trouble whatsoever. Although the Italian model scootersare beautiful and comfortable, I still would question their durability. IMHO

[zombie]

I understand your point. Here is the other side of that coin. Kymco is NOT a Honda. Nothing like a Honda. Not even Close to a Honda.

I work on boats every day. I;ve worked on boats for 42 years now, and I will NEVER own a boat. The last thing I want to see at the end of my day is a boat.

The guy that works on Pig's in Italy I AM CERTAIN NEVER would own one. It's just the way it is. The shoe maker has no shoes.

It takes a rare type of inbred idiot to work in a Timex factory, and go home to work on his own Timex.
Yeah he has to like watches, and most likely knows more about watches than the next 200 people in line, and would most likely have a better watch for you to buy... I work on anything, and everything (a bit of Sarah Palin in me) I have broken/killed/buried more scooters than I can remember. I've only broken one Piaggio. I rode it into a school building at about 45mph. The brick wall... Not the front door.

Just sayin, for MY $$$'s I'd buy a Pig.

[NeoGenesisMax]

I do appreciate the insight. It is interesting that I seem to be one of the few people that finds faults in Kymcos. Kymco has a long track record. So does Piaggio. Waiting for parts sucks and my Kymco parts take weeks to get here. I'm closing in on the third week waiting for passanger foot pegs. One of you said your "pig" was in the shop every 2 to 3 months and thats on par with my Like so I guess they are equals. They seem to have the same warranty. So it seems to be do I want lots of small sh** busting or a few expensive things busting.

[zombie]

That's pretty much my take on it as well. I get real tired of fixing the petty crap on a weekly basis. CDI's/Stators/Rectifiers/Cleaning/adjusting carbs.

It gets old quickly.

[leomagnus]

One of the problems here in RI is that all the piaggio dealers have now closed, so getting repair parts becomes even more difficult for piaggio scooters. I have not had much of a problem getting kymco parts at all, but then again it depends where you live. If you are thinking of piaggio, make sure that you can get parts for it. I hope that scooters will become more popular in the US so that vendors can keep more parts on hand.

[alphaBETAdog]

Don't know why some many get so hung up on having dealers close by. These days even the local Hondyamasuzikawa dealers don't carry much in parts and they seem to always have to order it anyway. I've ridden Italian bikes such as Moto Guzzi, Aprillia, and Beta for years, and getting parts was never an issue. You just need to find the enthusiastic stocking dealers or specialist and they can get anything and quickly, and send it to you. Moto International up in WA for Moto Guzzi, AF1 in TX for Aprillia, and Threat Racing in CA for Beta, are the ones I use occasionally. I'm sure there are others, and some for Piaggio and Kymco.  When I bought my Beta, there wasn't even a dealer in my state. Don't know if there is even one today, but getting parts is as easy as picking up the phone, or going online. Never been an issue for me.  I'd rather buy from one of these helpful and enthusiastic stocking dealers, than "support" the local dealer that doesn't really offer much. Shipping cost are about what you save in sales tax when buying out of state.