Custom Vespa GTS 300 Officina 8 Journey
Tl;dr : Customised my GTS 300 Vespa to a one-off Officina 8 GTS Tribute
Removed my registration number details in photos
Photo 1 : Current form, post ceramic coating
Photo 2 : Original form, with mods from original owner
Photo 3 : Halfway to Penang tour, removed all the weird decals, stickers & blue wheels
Photo 4: Dented front shield
Photo 5 - 11 : Current form
Preamble
Sharing my journey, for fun read and should anyone would like to use as reference. I am almost done with the transformation of my Vespa GTS Supersport 300 into one of it’s kind, homage to the Officina 8 edition.
Writing this down on my own, refusing to use Chatgpt, as I feel it less personal. So please excuse my language error and potentially non-cohesive storytelling.
New Bike
I previously owned a Vespa Sprint 150 for 8 years, since 2017, and it has been my daily commuter, with a total milage of around 50,000 km. I’ve experienced some engine issue resulting from the engine fan blowout around year 6, and even after all my efforts to try fix the engine oil loss issue (replaced piston, rebore, new gasket lining etc.), I decided to start start a new chapter.
Now here’s the thing about Vespa in Malaysia, it’s a premium product (price wise, compared with similar engine displacement alternatives), more so for the 300cc variant. Since I already owned the 150, it makes sense to upgrade to the 300, plus I do dream of tour to Thailand and beyond.
I usually prefer to own a brand new bike, less headache with warranty coverage, plus I can be certain if the bike has been taken care properly. That being said, I recalled my mechanic’s remark about the pattern he noticed on the owner of Vespa in Malaysia. Whilst the 150 and below owner will usually use it as daily ride, the 300 variants will usually owned by the wealthier segment that treats it as a collectible, a sort of round-the-park ride every other week. They will own a few other motorcycles, and use them sparingly when they have time. With that in mind, I quickly peruse the used motorcycle section of the web to find my destiny.
Lo and behold, I found myself with quite a number of options. After careful comparison, I was presented with 2 options, one with a lower milage, 4,000km but 2 years ownership without warranty. The other option, which I ultimately went with, came with higher milage at 6,000km, but a shorter ownership at 1 1/2 year, leaving me with 6 months original warranty, a peace in mind that I need should I ever pick a used vehicle. In the end, I got my Vespa GTS 300 Supersport at RM23,000 (~USD5.6k), around RM11k (~USD3k) saving from the original price of RM33,900 (~USD8.3k). With my own Sprint sold at RM6.5k, I only need to fork out around RM17k, cheaper than a new Primavera, which I am very much pleased with (please excuse my mental gymnastics to arrive to that conclusion lol)
The Color Choice Conundrum
My new GTS, being a used bike, doesn’t allow me the option of color. The original bike came in the color of Orange Tramonto, which is not my first choice. I much prefer the gold Verde Ambiozzo, but with the savings I made, it’s a compromise that I can live with (or perhaps a simple color swap, some wrap or other cheap solution)
The Incident
A few accessories upgrades later, I was content with my choice. Went for a long trip to Kuantan, then later Penang, until that fateful day came. I was riding back from office on the highway at night, when a blunt object hit my front shield, resulting in a big dented mark. I could,
a) Go for a repair, which involves hammering the metal surface back, and repainting the panel, or;
b) Take this opportunity to justify for a full color swap.
One month earlier, I saw the announcement on Officina 8 edition. My god that color was lovely, even more so when I get to see it in person. However, they only have a GTV edition for the 300 variant in Malaysia (mind you ours is still stuck at 150 & 300, while the rest of the world moves on to 180
& 310). My issue with GTV is the fully digital screen, which doesn’t sit well for me for a Vespa.
But I have a GTS that I’m happy about, some extra money from the earlier savings, and a big dented mark that need fixing… perhaps I do have a solution?
The Work
I then start digging for more info. I went to the official vespa distributor, as they will have the official color code for after sales service. The final quotation that I got?
RM 1,700 - Full body paint, including the inner part/glovebox areas.
RM 600 - Accessories painting (Metal Grey for side liners, head & tail light liner) (Gold accent for other relevant parts, rims) (matte black for some parts)
RM 600 - Labour cost to fully dismantle the vespa for painting.
The workshop owner gave me the assurance that he will follow closely the Officina 8 GTV as reference, but some areas do require creative improv due to the design differences).
Thus begin my long wait, in total around 2 1/2 months. That’s the only painful part of this journey, that might deter me if I ever feel like doing something similar in the future.
The whole Vespa was basically done in 1 1/2 months, but the workshop owner didn’t take into account the metal accent at the wheel rim, and as there’s a limited machinist that can complete the job, that end up costing me another RM350 & a whole month of waiting.
Overall, I’m happy with the result. There’s some imperfection here & there, not factory perfect, but the workshop owner gave his word to fix any issues that I encounter, so kudos to him. My issue is the waiting game should I wish to resend my bike to fix the imperfection. For now I’m more than happy to enjoy my Vespa first, and potentially a trip to Thailand soon.
I just finished coating my Vespa with Gyeon Q2 Matte coating, sent to a detailer for RM400. Photos attached are final outcome in its full glory.
Happy with the result. This should be 1/1 edition of Vespa GTS 300 Supersport Officina 8, or at least until someone else commented that they have done the same thing lol