Modern Vespa

Lived in NorCal for 10 years near Davis. Wife is from there. Now, I've lived for the past 12 years in the DC Metro area. It's time to move back to the Left Coast.

We're pretty open to where, but I'd like to pick an area that had a lot of high tech jobs and is good for year-round riding. Also, it would be great if it was scooter friendly.

Any help on finding a scooter friendly year-round city would be much appreciated.

Well, if you really want year round riding - you are pretty much talking about SoCal. Parts of Central Cali and the Bay area are marginal for year round riding if you don't mind periodically suiting up in warm gear and dealing with some rain. Further North than that you get more rain and more cold so winter riding can be hit and miss. Having said that, I think Portland is a great scooter town and I ride every month of the year (though sometimes the scoot spends 2 or 3 weeks in the garage when it turns nasty). And the Portland metro area certainly has a hi tech scene.

im in san diego...it rarely rains... pretty much always sunny... gets a lil chilly in the winter but i still ride year round!!

I'm confused. What exactly is a "scooter friendly" city? I really don't know.

Denver is considered 'scooter friendly' in that scoots with 50cc engines or smaller can park anywhere bicycles park, but require a small vehicle registration fee, and driver's licenses.

There are multiple full service Vespa shops, one of which deals with vintage scoots.

(Edited to properly describe Colorado regulation)

I guess it would be good to define, yes.

A shop that sells and/or does maintenance on Vespas. A good number of riders, so the car drivers know to look out for them. Parking and traffic patterns that benefit scooters. Stuff like that, I suppose.

Bay Area, for sure. It has all of the things you seek, assuming you are willing to tolerate some cold mornings in Jan and Feb, with the occassional rainfall.

Here are my supporting reasons why:

1) Hi-Tech jobs abound. Period. That can't be denied.
2) San Jose Vespa, California Motosport (in Mountain View), Vespa SF (though I can't recommend them), several independant shops, Rockridge Two-Wheels (Oakland), Livermore Speed Sports - lots of Vespa dealers and service places.
3) If you live on the peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose (somewhere mid-pen, say, from Mountain View up to San Carlos), you've got multiple North/South options for commuting: 101, 280, El Camino Real (surface street, but 3 lanes each way in most parts), and other smaller surface routes. These can get you around virtually any traffic snafu, at whatever speed you prefer, through every town along the way.
4) Parking - most places, motos park free. Downtown San Jose has *designated* FREE motorcycle-only parking. SF has the same, only it's not free, but rather metered. Most cities, however, seem to follow San Jose's model.
5) Many, many, many motorcycles, scooters, and yes, bicycles on the roads in the Bay Area. While motorists may not love us all, all the time, they certainly can't claim ignorance of our existence.
6) Lane splitting is legal, though that's true statewide. That means surface street trips take less time, as you go straight to the front of the line sans someone trying to kill you, and interstate logjams become a thing of the past. Motorcycles are allowed in the HOV (carpool) lane on the freeway during peak commute hours.

Downside: Cost of Living, but you know that coming in to it, and it's not like MD is dirt-cheap, either.

Any way you slice it, I think you'll find some place in CA that fits your needs. I just wouldn't be surprised if that happens to be in my neck of the woods.

Best of luck.

I was just in San Diego less then a week ago. It was my first time there. I drove from San Diego to San Francisco. I didn't see many scooters in SD. I was hoping to see lots more because of the great weather.

Anywhere in California is scooter-friendly because when you get to a red light, you scoot up to the front of the line and leave everyone behind you. And given what your looking for, the Bay Area seems like a good choice.

Actually, half of that is false.

50cc or smaller scoots do need registration, though it's only about $7 or so for three years. And you must have a valid drivers' license to operate them. Just not a motorcycle license.

But I agree in that the area is pretty dang scooter friendly. They're all over the place!

I'm with Masala, go to the Bay Area. Too many of those Gol-Durn, Dang-fangled crazy contraptions down here any-who! Happy searching

Ooops. Thanks for the corrections.

He's not kidding about that. When I've been in downtown Denver the number of small scoots is absolutely amazing. I see far fewer out in Littleton where my mother in law lives but there's a fair number in Breckenridge, mostly of the small scoot variety but there are a bunch of ET & LX plus a few GTS. Drawback is nearest dealership is Denver but there are several in the metro area but there is a good motorcycle who will work on them in Dillion.

Interesting! So I guess by definition my city, Las Vegas, would be "scooter friendly" too. Here, 50cc or less requires no registration, nor do the riders have to have a drivers license. We have a Vespa dealer. Parking is free almost everywhere. And the drivers here don't pay attention to anyone regardless of what they are driving or riding. Equal mistreatment for all.

(Sorry if this is a bit off topic, not trying to hijack the thread.)

Sorry George, anyone who has lived there knows better. Sun City a Summerlin, maybe, near the cart roads...

Melbourne


they let you park on foot paths!

That's extreme Left Coast!

I would totally live in a number of places outside of the US, but I have to keep the wife happy.

Thank you all for the information and suggestions!

They all sound great! I'll let you know what we pick.

Santa Barbara (otherwise known as Silicon Beach - lots of high tech startups here) is great. TONS of scooters with the four colleges, scoots/bikes park free in the garages around town, and most drivers are pretty aware and cognizant of we PTW crowd.

Some great twisty roads around as well...

Yep! We have 4 of the same scooter shop, and a few non-affiliated powersports shops that support the scoot community very heavily (like Erico).

I sense as more people flock to the city that we'll have even more scoots.

We have the most friendly state for scooters. Beautiful year round weather. Relaxed laws for scoots. 50cc need only a one time bicycle/moped sticker and you can park free most places. Even on sidewalks in some places. I would have to say Oahu would be the most friendly island but then again we have the most people. City would be the Waikiki area but just because it has the most people. I saw 7 scoots in one mile yesterday on my way to the market and i live in the country. 8) Not too shabby for the country.

Vulcanologists live and work there. Not me!

TOM only on the Big Island. It's a very beautiful place to live albeit expensive but nice. 8) Have you ever been here?

Okay, I'll try to back-up what I said. Portland is a modest-sized city with beaches and mountains close at hand. Great rides everywhere you look. It has three Vespa dealers and a great shop that specializes in rebuilds and repairs of vintage Vespas. There is designated motorcycle/scooter parking all over town. People are used to seeing bicycles and scooters on the road - they generally watch for you and cut you some slack. Some good local clubs and many nice folks around. And our beer and our coffee beats the heck out of anything you'll find in SoCal! What's not to like? (okay, there is that rain )

+1. Portland also has less elevation in most parts of the city, so that's a plus for the 50 cc scooters. Seattle is, of course an even greater scooter town if we're including hand crafted beer and coffee as criteria

Ahem...careful - California plays the food/wine/beer/coffee game, too...REALLY well!

Honestly, the whole West Coast from the Cal-Mex taquerias in San Diego to the coffeeshops of Seattle - and all points between - is where it's at if food & drink are your thing!