MP3 action!!!

Holy Shmokes! They're stuntin' them already?!
It seems the French blog, Moto Cardisiac, found a test report given by leather clad racers wanting to push the 250cc three-wheeler to its limits.

The objective?

Knock it over.

The outcome? Not so much. Knee-dragging, GP style and 11 O'clock stoppies weren't enough to send the new favorite toy of Europes bravest to the junkyard. From the pics, it looks as if they seriously brutalized the machine in an effort to see what it could do; and they came away impressed. Check out the link for more pics and the story, translated via Google.

Thanks to 2strokebuzz where I lifted this info from.

Vespas to the rescue

Its the season to give, and in Canada, one man is giving the residents of the war-torn Sierra Leone a bit of holiday cheer. Donating two Vespas to the African region, he's hoping they can help the farmers speed up their tasks and make life a little better. Click here for the story.

Paris on a Vespa, no, not THAT Paris..

Tipped off from a thread on Modernvespa.com, here's a vid of Paris Hilton (Oh, that Paris) hitching a ride on a Vespa and butchering the Italian language. Its is supposed to get one to switch cell phone plans, but it makes me think I should buy someone famous a hamburger. Nonetheless, its a quick clip and its amusing. Check it out!




If you don't know who Ms. Hilton is by the way, I'm not going to get into here, since we're more about scooters, and less about celebritydom.

Customer Highlight: Joe and Ernie T

This is the first post like this here for our our blog, so I apologize for the awkwardness of it, but when Joe and Ernie Tilford decided to share a few pics of their rides with us, we decided a little akwardness would be worth it. For those who don't know, Joe and Ernie are the Son and Father tag-team steel-cage deathmatch champions from Kansas City who, by happenchance, are also really nice guys. You can see them at the shop on occassion, bothering our mechanic, Jason, or our Aftermarket MGR, Christopher for goods and services.




I had asked Joe to share a bit on how he and his pop found themselves fans of the Italian scooter.

"Short story about how I got into scoots is that Grandma got a little electric scoot for the grandkids; well me and Paw got to put it together, and of course we had to take it for a sping to make sure nothin' fell off. So I tok it for a spin and decided the little scoot wasn't ad at all, so I priced vintage Vespas-because to me, Vespa was the only scooter I would buy(now it's Vespa and Lambretta-and took a new PX for a test ride. That was all she wrote; I was hooked."




Ernie aquired his now black P200E via craigslist.com. Personally I remember the ad for it: P200E all in parts, not time for restoration. As the first shows, it seriously was all in parts which I belive were all in boxes, the body primered for paint and accompanied with a vintage side-car! "One man's trash..." Mr. Tilford spent the last month and a half and the pictures above are the product of that time spent. That's dedication!

Joseph's GL was actually purchased from our very own Christopher! When asking Chris as to why he sold it, a wrinkle appears on his forehead, and his eyes say he misses it a little. I believe the story was that Chris was going to put a newer 200cc powerplant in place of the antiquated 150cc that it came with in the '60s. Apparently the scooter gods were going to send Chris elsewhere, so it ended up finding a nice home with Joseph & Co.

Joseph has been working on the GL for a month to a month and a half, primarily getting the engine in tip-top condition. Its ready to run now, but seeing that its not the warmest of weather, it hasn't seen much tarmac time. When pressed about what he likes best about his scoot, he writes: "I can wear me kilt whilst riding and I feel comfortable turning a U-turn."

I asked Joe about future plans for the scoots.

"I want to kit my scoot a bit; when I have the money, I want to put a 200 motor in it. I think dad is going to leave his stock :)

"We (me and paw) give credit to Jason and Chris for helping when we had a question concerning scoots that we could not figure out, ie; why won't it start, why is my scoot making that weird noise?"

Thanks to Joe and Ernie for sharing their scoots with us! If you'd like to share, send us an email and some cookies (Vegan-friendly) and we'll see what we can do!

Wha? More?!

Oh yeah, there's always more!

Low and behold more stuff I missed when compiling info on the whateveritsnameis. What you see before you is the EICMA revealed beast that is the MP3 400. Apparently the 125 and 250cc engines weren't enough for the Europe market where the bike is old-hat already. The 400cc engine is the same MASTER engine in the new Beverly 400, is fuel-injected and will see the bike off at speeds north of 98 MPH. Oooh, law-breakin' speed! The bike has a longer wheelbase thanks to the new powerplant and a larger 14" rear wheel.

The crazy windshield on the blue machine may be on the accessories list for ya by the time we get our U.S. bound bikes next year. Although fricken huge, it does look like it would offer amazing wind and weather protection, especially if the only way to get back to the future is to cruise at 88 miles per hour or more.

Rumor mill says we won't see that engine anytime soon on any of our bikes since the EU folks didn't seem to like it in the Beverly 400 so much. Apparently, when you already have a 500cc engine, having a slightly smaller 400cc isn't going get the juices flowing. However, if that engines makes it into a US spec MP3.. Man, I'm drooling on my shirt just thinking about it. No guess when this bike will be built, but I'm pretty positive it will be more than just a concept since pictures abound of the bike using the 125's and 250's tinted accessory windshield.

The vid ripped from youtube.
Pic ripped from Topmoto.it .

More three-wheeled info

It seems todays vid wasn't the only thing I somehow missed previously in regards to the whateveritsnameiswhenreleasedinthestates, Looks like the TRA has been working on a MP3 for research.

"The Piaggio MP3 is a highly innovative scooter-like vehicle with two front wheels that promoters say features “power, performance and ease of use”. The unusual front assembly, with two independent tilting wheels, is reputed to be far more stable than any scooter, providing top performance in total safety.
"The MP3, which is already in production, will now serve as the starting point for the EU-funded SIM project (Safety in motion). The aim of the project, says Piaggio's Marco Pieve, is to equip the MP3 with both active and passive safety devices, including an assisted braking system, electronic suspension, air bags and an intelligent navigation system and management tool that will relay system information to the driver.
"The SIM project is set for launch in autumn 2006 and will focus on new safety configurations previously untested on motorcycle-type vehicles."

Wowee wow. ABS, nav-sat and electronic suspsension? Upon further research, there's no word on when we can see this hot-rod, whether in production form or as a concept, but rest assured, when it does arrive, you'll hear about it here. Eventually.

Can I have one for Christmas?

It seems the Brits up at Fifth Gear took a Piaggio MP3 to London to battle traffic and set lap times. A very interesting clip that makes the MP3 look mad fun.. BUT, I have to say:

In no way, shape, or form do we condone lane-splitting (the act of driving through stopped or slowly moving traffic) for it is not only dangerous, but not legal in Kansas, Missouri, or this country of which you live. (Exception being California) The specs and options seen on the machine may not reflect what we will recieve as standard or optioned equipment once the bike arrives in our showroom next year. Pricing given is in British Pounds, and MPG estimates have not been given for the U.S. spec bike yet.

I think that covers everything :)

Oh, almost forgot! For those folks looking for a little more insight as to what you may be getting next year (you know who you are!)... Size wise, the "as of yet un-named three-wheeled scooter for the US market" is narrower than a Piaggio X-9 by 5 inches, shorter in length by almost half an inch, lighter, but has the same seat height. Even though the engine output in CCs is half of what the X-9 is, the performance is nearly the same (??). I can't wait till we get our first batch!!! If you want one for yourself, you probably want to call and put a deposit on one, just to be safe. Its going to be first come first served unless you're partially paid for one, so there! :)

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.