Modern Vespa

I spent last week towing my 1979 P200E to Pennsylvania from the bottom end of Florida in search of a restoration by someone who knows what he's talking about.

It was a two day drive but I arrived at the shop more or less as planned in phone calls I had made with Gene who is said to be the resident genius (according to the scuttlebutt on this very page).

It was the work of a moment to unload the Vespa with gene and his buddy who happened to be hanging round the shop. Gene listened as I outlined what I was looking for- a daily rider, factory spec, rebuilt to last.

I had had two days of driving through rain and clouds and a little sun with my Labrador and Sirius for company so I had had lots of time to think about what a crazy plan this was, all that could go wrong etc... etc...
But when I saw the extent of the shop and gene's breezy confidence things started to look up.

Gene's shop is a family affair, full of scooters and bits...

...cats...

...and all the gubbins needed to keep a family business afloat.

Gene is breezily confident I will get my wish in a few months, a well sorted daily rider to factory specs, not a museum piece but a ride I can use. I look forward to it very much, and thanks for introducing his name to my consciousness. It was a hell of a drive.

Cool. Scooters O mini-documentary.

Great story! I've bought small bits from Gene an company. Nice chap!
So, you driving back in a few months to pick her up? I should think a hauler would be easier, unless, you just like the 17 hr drive.
Happy Motoring.....

Scooters O are good people. I stop in the shop to pick up parts occasionally. Always willing to help out a newbie like me.

When you go pick it up, head out to the Poconos for some riding!!!

Nice story...
Scooter O are great people for sure...
I was curious what the shop looked like... 8)

This looks like a great idea.

If you ride the scooter back and stay off the super slabs, you might spend four or five days of fine riding all the way back.

Don't forget to post about how it all works out.

Are they going to make a photo journal of the restoration process as you did the drop off process?
HOW great would that be.......

Nice... story but why didn't you just bring it to Dick and Jeff at Riva vespa in Fort Lauderdale. They do great work and are a lot closer to ya.

Just wondering.

http://www.vespariva.com/

Glad you liked the story. I am quite fond of road trips so the driving was okay. It was cheaper and faster than using a haulage company and taking a week off at a time is easy for me. I used four hours of leave to be away from work for that week.
As for the ft Lauderdale shop... Never heard of them. I would be delighted were there a vintage shop in the vast desert of sport bikes and cruisers called southeast Florida. My question: why are they not listed in the shops at the top of this forum page? I shall certainly check out the link! Thanks!

There are two reasons to take your business to Scooters Originali: Gene and Andrea.

The next time I am reading Scootering Magazine and see a technical article with "Dick and Jeff" as a source cited, I'll reconsider my position.

I could also use the "Dick and Jeff" website as another reason.

Let me say this: I am entirely confident that Gene can do the job, that he understands my needs and will do what needs to be done. I have no timelines, this is a long term project for me. I chose the shop because it was the closest highly recommended shop I found that does vintage work. I am not afraid to drive, though I do prefer riding. I drive when I have to, the rest of the time I ride. That's one reason I live in the Keys.

My avatar shows me in california in 1981 - helmets were optional - riding a P200 I bought in Brooklyn. I found then that the P series made an excellent reliable easy to live with touring ride. I believe that success can be recreated. My brief to gene was build a factory spec, factory reliable P200 I can commute with to replace my Bonneville as my daily rider. I want simplicity, ease of use and low maintenance costs, long term.

I have been seeking, via Stella and a GTS to find a way back to a comfortable relationship with a simpler past. They failed me, for reasons of reliability. I believe the P200 is my last chance.

I have opinions about other shops, scooters, or personalities.

Yeah... that "D&J" website sucked... other than one of them did a Coast to Coast ride on a Vespa Ciao.

Oops. I have No Opinions etc... Well I do but they are private. I just wanted to share my enthusiasm for this shop. Fingers crossed and I look forward to a test ride this Fall in the Poconos. Or Pennsylvania. Somewhere.

Calm down everybody.

Gene & Andrea are great.

You will love it. Beautiful.

Not too far from ScootersO either.

Thanks for the tip.

Everyone needs to calm the fuck down.

acid

Thanks for the shots of the new Scooters O digs. I'm sure you'll be happy with the end result. Gene and Andrea are good peeps, for sure.

I told gene there is no hurry but I confess I can hardly wait to ride the finished product...

I would be curious to know how long you have to wait.

I had the pleasure of meeting Gene and Andrea at the East Coast Classic. They are classy people, and I hope to have a project for them some day.

How'd we get so lucky to have them relocate to Pennsylvania?

Only ever ordered parts from them, but my experience has been first class. In fact new dampers and springs for the Jet just arrived today. Cheers!

I will check back in when the work is done. I hope I will have the weather and the time to take the refurbished Vespa for a test run up there when I collect it. Around here I have a 27 mile commute on a long mostly straight highway so I enjoy any variation I can work into my riding life.

Thought I recognized that cause way....

That bridge and the ones before it have seen many a seriuos storm surges.

Didn't you buy this scooter restored already?

The wiring is original and pinched apparently as the lights go out on right turns.... so a new harness is on order. Performance was not right so rather than dick around trying to figure all the pieces out I decided to have a pro go over the machine from top to bottom.

I don't actually commute over the seven mile bridge but most of my ride is at sea level and most winter visitors go under the speed limit which varies between 45 and 55 so the ride tends to be slow but not stop and go. On my Bonneville I tend to do a lot of passing and I'm hoping using the Vespa will keep me under the radar, as it were. Using my wife's ET4 does that...

hmm.
i never thought there was another p200 in key west.

much less another p200 in key west that was done by scooters originali.
small small world.

right before we left for key west from the pittsburgh area last august, i holed a piston. I sent the motor in a big ugly box to Gene for rebuild back to stock specs.
it came back purring and completely rebuilt. he had back to me in no time. i got it back together just in time to pack it in a truck and bring it here to KW.

keep an eye out for me... i will be looking for ya...

its white like yours with a big ugly gray tour pack on it.

I passed you last winter at Caroline and Grinnell. I thought, oh must be a snowbird. I grumbled to my wife about it. Some poseur in town on vacation with a proper vintage Vespa instead of a TGO. Grumble grumble. Very funny. I don't expect to get it back before October.
Jiri on Stock Island wanted nothing to do with it. He grew up in Czechoslovakia and has bad memories of two stroke Jawas and Trabants, so I had to go further afield...

it was last july that i cooked it. i lived just north of pittsburgh and it was 100 deg. one day and i pushed it a bit too much i think and something must have been out of order.
it had a slight build from the PO (jackass ill call him) so it went close to 70 then. i wanted a stock build so i had him put it back the way it was.

he expedited mine since we were moving. had it done in a week...
the motor was out so it was simpler. i holed the piston so i had him split it and he pretty much rebuilt it completely. clutch was in wrong by PO, too much deck on the head, some other stuff wrong i guess.

i use this forum and wrench on my own, the scooter guys around here know chinese but not italian.

if you need help with something, im here. im a noob but i always figure things out. (local area code) 814-2789
i used to build trumpets and buells/HD's. a vespa is not much harder than a lawnmower...

Thanks. I will bear that in mind. my phone is 305 587 1904.
My hope is that after a rebuild and a new wiring harness I should be able to get some commuting without hassles. I live on Ramrod Key so my ride to work is 27 miles each way which I usually do on my Bonneville. As aresult my 2007 Triumph has 73,000 on the clock. I'm hoping the P200 will be reliable enough as a dialy rider...