Special delivery

Apparently, you can't pay people to stay home sometimes. Bernard dropped off a few of his vintage scoots to be worked on today... In the snow! He's a special guy, if you couldn't tell by the Volkswagen pickup that happens to match his ski jacket. The bikes he dropped in our laps are amazing! You should sneak in and take a look at them while they're here!

It runs in the family

Here's a snapshot Viravone's ma & pa sent her from Laos.

In time for the holidays!

I came into the shop this morning to find these gifts hanging off our clothes tree, err, rack. The very Classic Piaggio wing logo blazes across the chest of three colors: purple, red, and sky blue. I'll leave it to Rev-up to post more about these nice beauties. Expect more pics and stuff, or just come by the shop and pick up a few for this gift-taking.. err, giving season!

Weblog optimization

If you haven't visited the blog in a while, you may be surprised by the amount of visible changes. Thanks to Rev-up on getting the blog updated. However, in the fight to make the blog more usable, we made it slower as far as the loading times were concerned. I made a change yesterday that should fix this problem. If you feel its still too slow or have any other concerns, let us know.

Price increases?

Found on ModernVespa.com, it seems an estimated price list on the Vintage Series Vespas is available. Its not anything I have been able to confirm yet, but since we're in the Midwest, I'm sure it'll be a number of days before we here any news. More interesting though is the word that all prices on next years bikes go up a bit, so if you've been on the fence about doing the do, go ahead and do it now.

"The prices in the U.S. are as follows: GT60 $7299 GTV $6799 LXV $5199 Also, if you're considering buying a Vespa soon, there will be a slight price increase in January on the standard models. It won't affect the vintage models listed above. The LX 150 is increased [$100] The GT 200 is increased from [$100]. The GTS 250 is increased from [$200]... Buy before year end and beat the price increase."

Thanks again to Vespa Pomona for this information. Also worth noting is that the prices quoted by Pomona are before freight, setup, and processing charges.

GT60 available in the US?

According to Vespa Pomona, they're already expecting an order of GT60s for arrival next month in their showroom! If the West coast is already receiving the first of their vintage series Vespas, our can't be far behind. I'm not going to disclose as to how many we ordered (because I don't know), but I do know we weren't allowed to order too many (they're limited editions afterall), so if you want one... Or two, give us a ring or stop by and drop your name on the list.

Get it while it's hot!!

Actually, it may be too late for that.

If you've been putting off riding during the month of November because you were afraid you may get caught in some sort of random snow storm on your way home... Well, that may happen this week. In fact, it may happen as soon as tomorrow. Not to say you shouldn't ride, but the always changing mr Weather.com says we can expect rain, lots of cold temps, and possibly an litte sleet tomorrow night. The fickle mr Weather.com also said that same thing for THIS afternoon a few days ago, but he does have a reputation of flaking out to uphold...

Check the weather report for yourself here.

Dress accordingly :)

EICMA goodies

Looks like Piaggio recently launched a site devoted to the new vehicles being shown at this year's EICMA in Milan (Nov 14-19, 2006). The page has information on the Vespa S concept (dubbed LXS), MP3 400, Carnaby, and a slew of other models, concept and not-so concept.

Check it out and start daydreaming.

The new 50 Spesh

A more revealing pick of the up & coming LX Sport. We're uncertain when we'll get this stateside if we'll get it at all; it's not even on the market in Europe yet. Notice the sporty slopeback seat & trimmed fairings. Looks like there may be a performance shock hiding in there also. The headset & tail-light are modeled after the original Vespa 50 Special . Our boy Sooty's drooling over it.

New issue of Scoot just in

Scoot #38 featuring the latest stateside scooter news/reviews, scooter products & rally reports.

& speaking of Viravone getting busy w a Chicco...

Vespas in Taiwan

... or how to waste one's precious daylight saving hours on a lazy Sunday. I can't say what's exactly happening but it looks like more fun than Viravone on a Chicco ;)

Scooter Shop Soul Saturdays Sensation Special!!!

For those who are thinking of walking into the shop today, we're cruizin' to the tunes of Motown, Verve, and if we're lucky, maybe a little Sun. What that means to you is that whilst it may seem we're all busy working on print ads, databases, and our West Coast swing, we are still here to help you. The kicker is, if we are practicing our swing steps, you may become a guinea pig for a song or two. Think of it as exercise, a break from the weekend chores, or simply dues paid to the club that gives you so much fun.

Bring your dancing shoes!

Format changes

Rev-Up and I* decided that the current format of the blog needed a little tweaking. So, in order to make the blog a little easier to read, we took the post cap off and now you can read the ENTIRE WEBLOG IN ITS TYPEFACED GLORY!!!

Just take a look: You can now scroll down and read all the posts from the most current to the not-most current. Good stuff. We are working on some other things as well and, as it seems, are breaking things instead of fixing them, so some of the page may look funny at times, but I promise, we'll get it all worked out for you readers of the good word soon!



*Actually it was Rev-Up's idea. I just wanted to sound important!!

2007 Piaggio Preview

From 2Stroke Buzz:
Recently "in Rome, Piaggio brass presented their new 2007 vehicles to Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and other government dignitaries, in advance of the official unveiling at the Milan Salone della Moto in two weeks. The lineup featured ... the 60th-anniversary Vespa GTV, and two never-seen-before scooters. The press release still sheds no light on the Vespa S, but I’m sticking to my theory that it’s an LX50-based tribute to the Vespa 50 Special (Note the square headlight, front fender, and horncast cover). I guess Europeans are sentimental about the 50 Special (what with the Lunapop song and all)..."

More photos at motorbox

More info at Scooter Scoop

Thanks 2SB

Don'tcha wish your girlfriend...

As mentioned in an earlier post, we have one of the special Vintage Red Vespa GTS bikes in stock and on the showroom. The story behind the VR is that each dealership that recieved a bike, recieved exactly ONE. No more. The color was used on the earlier P200 bikes from the 70s. It's not as firey as the Rossi Red that we've all come to know, but a bit more laid back and matured.

We've had a lot of customers looking at the bike, and the picture doesn' t do it justice; it's a real charmer. Our Vespa Mechanicca, Jason, loves it. If you're interested, I'd come in before Jason gets smart and stops taking pictures on it and buys it for himself.

I just ran 'cross this production pic from Pontedera

Rev ;)

For those of you who don't recognize (SCOTTY!) I've searched out piccies of the original P series red whence "Vintage Red" is derived:

This one's from our friends at University Scooters in Texas.

Rev ;)

Everybody loves the sunshine

Two days of 70 degree weather...

IN NOVEMBER!!

Can't ask for a better excuse to ride than that, eh? Surprisingly, we've been seeing a lot of traffic at the shop. With the new Vespa and Nolan helmets and a limited color GTS in the shop, we've been generating a lot of buzz.

Get it? Vespa? Buzz?

Anyway, stop on in to see the schwag!

Road Runner

The December '06 issue of Road Runner Motorcycle Cruising and Touring (gasp! Also known as just Road Runner) magazine has some preeeety good reading in it. The mag, if you've never snuck a glance or two, deals with great roads, great bikes, and the adventures that are had when you combine the two. Although it has motorcycling in the title, there are plenty of scoots throughout most issues (and why not? They are the original urban tourers, eh?) This December issue even features a decked out Piaggio BV500 burning through the curves of Lexington, Virginia. It should be available at your favorite bookstore right about now.