Renting scooters in Siena.

I have only anecdotes from time spent in Key West....be careful. Totally useless reply...apologies.

Just an observation. My former neighbor, a dentist who was not an experienced rider, rented a scooter on vacation. After all, how hard could it be to ride a scooter. When slowing down to turn he misjudged his speed and bumped into a utility pole, going around less than 10 mph, hitting his shoulder. Permanent nerve damage made him a one-armed dentist who had no other choice and closed his practice. His career was ruined and his life was never the same. His family never recovered.

Tuscany is full of very crooked roads--mostly well paved, however. But there are also a number of 2 and 4 lane highways leading to/from Siena.
Siena is a very congested city with poor parking.
You'd do better renting a car to visit all the surrounding hilltowns like San Gimignano, Certaldo, Poggibonsi and my favorite, Volterra.

I started riding scooters (Vespa) and motorcycles when I was a teenager. I lived in Florence so I roamed all over Tuscany.

It is not difficult and after a while it becomes natural. The Vespa or the motorcycle became part of my body. I was sitting and riding on one way longer than I was on my feet, on any given day.

HAVING SAID THAT, one cannot master it in a day and it took my dad several teaching lessons on his Vespa before I could master it and only after that, he bought me one. They are not like riding a bycicle. They reach considerable speeds and they can be dangerous. More than one of my childhood friends were badly injured in them, three of my best friends died on them.

I never had serious injuries, nevertheless I managed to fly and land on top of a car twice. I scraped the pavement of the streets of Florence with my knees countless times, flipped on my back a couple of times, and on the way to Greve in Chianti, ended up in a ditch after having miscalculated a curve.

My suggestion to you, if you want to try, is to test your skills at home first. I'm sure there is a place near you where you can rent one or maybe you know somebody who has one. I don't know where you live but Tuscany is mountainous and roads are curvy, so you need to find similar environments to learn. Siena is a city with congested traffic at times and it's on a hill, so you need to learn how to handle uphills and downhills too. Scooters are not allowed on the freeways, so don't try to get on one.

It is just as hard to ride a scooter as a motorcycle. It is still two wheels. The big difference is the sitting position but the handling is nearly the same. But the bigger issue is riding in traffic. You need to know how to handle traffic, positioning yourself on the roadway, etc., etc. If you don't know how to ride, Italy is not the place to learn. I have spent most of my life on bicycles so I am very use to being the slowest thing on the road. It was a great learn experience for a low power scooter. I now have a 49cc Vespa and while I can get to 40 with a tail wind, I am still one of the slower things on the road. The roads around Siena are narrow and hilly so you will be in traffic and there is lots of traffic. Without a motorcycle endorsement on your license you will be restricted to the small engines which means going more slowly up hill.

At the moment I would not recommend you try it.

my former boss rented a scooter on vacation in the Carribean -- how hard could it be? He broke both arms -- loved having to have his wife wipe his ass for 6 weeks. If you want to do this, practice at home so you are experienced with scooter use.

I've owned a Vespa for 13 years now. I ride in Denver...but never on roads where the speed limit is above 40, and not during rush hour or twilight. Riding a scooter is not like riding a motorcycle, it's smaller, and harder to be seen by cars.

I have a motorcycle license so I can drive my 150cc scooter on the roads around Denver. I don't think I'd care to drive in Italy, even with my experience. I don't see scooters outside of city limits in Italy, and I'd not consider driving in any of the towns...unless you are used to the way others drive, the way traffic moves around you, you can't just adjust and know what to do in traffic

Others have advised you to NOT do this, and I'd do the same. Sounds like fun, but having no experience, I'd also recommend you skip this adventure.

Personally, I think surviving the hills in Siena itself would be your first reality check.

If Roberto and other accomplished riders say don't rent one, I would follow this advice.

This seems to be the best advice:

"If you don't know how to ride, Italy is not the place to learn."

While not averse to a certain amount of risk myself, this is not an activity I'd chance messing up an expensive trip a long way from home for.

mking - well, that question didn't go so well, did it? I don't think that is what you were expecting. However, for a very fun read about scooters - mostly in Rome - but still applicable see ---
http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/riding-a-scooter-in-rome