After riding the Vespa around town and getting to know her, I realized that I could and would eventually take her on long rides. Therefore, I needed to have the ability to use my TomTom GPS.

I decided that I would go down to the local Honda dealer and have a power outlet installed on the front left kneepad of the Vespa. I asked if they could install the plug on the knee pad by drilling a hole (one hole). They said yes. I wanted to develop a relationship with the Honda dealer since he was close and served me well during the sales process. While I was there, I noticed a nice trickle charger and they offered to install the plug for the trickle charger at the same time. That would allow me to plug in the trickle charger when I needed it without having to unscrew the battery cover and tap into the battery each time.

They said it would not take long but after 2-hours of waiting, I was getting anxious. They finally delivered the Vespa and charged me $ 171.00 to install a $ 10.00 power plug and a $ 40.00 trickle charger. I was taken by surprise on the cost of servicing a bike.

The Vespa dealer is one hour and 45 minutes away. That is why I wanted to become a client of the local Honda dealer where I could literally push the Vespa from my house to the garage in ten minutes.

Unfortunately, I do not think this will be the case.

When I got home, I unscrewed the battery cover the see how they installed the trickle charger wire. I found a wire that was exposed and loose. So I returned to the Honda dealer and they said it came off the crimp. They fixed it by crimping these wires again with a larger crimp connector. I do not like this connection and I will research a better solution.

When I returned home for a second time, I then noticed that the complete front plastic glove box (which is the complete front part of the Vespa inside) was bent and seemed to be installed incorrectly. I returned a third time to the dealer and they re-assembled the bike properly. However, because of the bent plastic, it still has a slight bend that is not flush with the chrome edge.

Finally, the power outlet was not simply one hole but rather the hole plus two Phillips screws. It just did not look nice. Perhaps this is acceptable for a Honda, but it is certainly not deserving of a beautiful Italian design.

Therefore, I ordered specific brown power covers from Scooter West in San Diego that match my brown leather seat, which is what I should have done in the first place. Well, this is the second time I wasted money (The Cover was the first) and I am certain that it will not be the last time either.

After this experience, I decided that I would only go to a Vespa Dealer for service, but that I would begin to learn and take an interest in performing the servicing myself. So I ordered the service manual for the Vespa.