Modern Vespa

Fad?
Harleys have always been cool.
Scooter friendly communities, not
really what would use to sell coolness.

I think Harleys are about as cool as a blast furnace in hell.

Scooters cool within certain subcultures.

Nothing wrong with being cool. I think our Vespas are quite stylish.

But I'd like scooters to become more popular so that it helps the environment; makes people think about living closer to each other, respect each other (and the planet) more. Those don't have to be the main point of the marketing campaign (as you said, they don't sell here in America), but I want them to be the outcomes.

I don't want scooter popularity to be a fad. I want scooters ingrained in society.

Scooter risk taking in the U.S. is heavily regulated by restrictive laws. It probably springs from the forces of freewheeling litigation mixed with some 'Big Brother Saves You From Yourself'. Add a dash of"Car Drivers (SUV's and pickups included) Resent You' and a spoonfull of 'My Ego Can't Support Me On a Scooter'. Pour in a half pint of 'I'm Too Soft To Stand the Elements of Nature', a quart of 'Scooter Riders Are Weird', two slices of 'No Twelve Speaker Stereo', one dash of 'No A.C.', and a cup of 'I Can't Fit Seven of My Friends On This'. Sprinkle a dash of 'It Won't Go a Hundred and Forty Miles An Hour'. Microwave for two seconds. You'll notice that the U.S. already has a belly full of this dish. Feed it to the rest of the world and, 'Presto!', hardly any scooters left.......if they eat it.

Scooteriffic,
I agree with you but overall thinking
at least in the US they are cool.
Scooter guys on the forum you could sell as
cool, Lucky, Greasy, Spock.
Never talk about saving gas or helping the worlds
problems.
You could sell the cool factor with them and Vespa
sales would go up.

Didn't Hardley Davidson nearly go bust because they weren't cool, and they were crap?

Isn't Hardly Davidson "cool" becuase it is sold to boomers who want the be rebels?

Aren't they "cool" becuase HArdley have made people think they are "cool"?

(not to mention price hikes, limited availability so they appear "elite"?)

Its about marketing. Selling ice to an eskimo - sand to an arab?

If you look at the circumstances scooters came from and how they were used, we just need to get the SUV drivers to keep burning up all the fossil fuels and scooters might end up being the only option. It will be just like post war times...except instead of melting the SUVs down to build warships, they'll be abandoned at the sides of raods everywhere, like giant, metal dinosaurs.

I just laugh my arse off every Saturday when I see people bursting fufu valves trying to find a place to park the family truckster to do their shopping. I wave at the parking attendant, park in my secret spot that no one else can fit in, and romp in to buy my stuff. My trip to the markets in the city is equally convenient and simple.

I'm not particularly an environmentalist. Scooters just make sense.

...but only to people who think guys like Lucky, Greay and Spock are cool. Which I do, but people who like wearing beige and can't wait for the next Fleetwood Mac tour might never understand. And would you want them to?

And they have added more parks in Gouger Street!

Very much agree with your last line, Scoots, for Adelaide they do "Just make sense".

Twin01,
All you say is correct.
AMF almost ruined Harley.
Yes they marketed well, the coolness factor.
But Brando and James Dean were cool long
before then.

I was parked next to a purple Harley this morning in Gouger St. Parked nose in, so I guessed from the whole set up it belonged to a lesbian who bought it yesterday.

Yep thats true!

Twin01 and I are about to start our own MV team and call ourselves the Pulteney St Pugilists.

Buying comfortable shoes, no doubt!

From Lana Lang!

Seeing as though the creek is about gone, I'll save you the trouble and bring the Wine

This is a really fun thread to read. As to the lead picture. That is a small family on a scooter. I have spent a bunch of time in Taiwan and was blown away at how many people they put on a scooter at one time. I think the record I saw was a family of 5 people and their dog. Amazing, an of course, no helmets.......it was awesome. I think scooters out number cars in Taipei.

And the irony...how many people do you usually see in an SUV? (Not counting the person they are always talking to on their mobile.)

My wife is Vietnamese. She grew up riding to school with her Dad on his Honda Club. To her, scooters remind her of her childhood. America grew up with cars, Europe and Asia with Vespas and Honda step-throughs.

Regards
from Ottawa
Harvey

im not a fan of bikes that have more chrome than paint.

and where can i put my shopping? 8)

I am a full-time rider in a major North American city, who had the chance to also ride in Barcelona.

Here in Southern Ontario - I ride with gear - FF helmet, armoured jacket, boots, gloves, long pants (leathers for the highway) ALL the time. Driving is a competitive activity here. No one gives an inch to a scooter, but expects us to always yield to them...IF they even notice us.

In Barcelona (only for a week, unfortunately), I rented a 100cc Honda with a 3/4 helmet. It took me about 20 minutes of riding to see that the scooter world is completely different there and Toreador Pants doesn't have the same importance. Traffic was like big fish and little fish swimming along together in a live-and-let-live attitude. Cars would actually LEAVE SPACE for scooters to get around them in traffic!!! My tourist wanderings were accommodated by cagers. No one tried to kill anyone if mirrors touched. I inadvertently ended up on the ring-road (expressway) where small displacement scooters are banned - motorists made it easy for me to get off at the next exit. Here they'd be more likely to tailgate you with their high-beams on and horn blaring while trying to run you off onto a shoulder full of debris.

There are a lot of reasons why scooters may be more practical in Europe than in North America (distances, weather, traffic volume, road dimensions), but the "me first", competitive, "don't touch my status symbol car" attitude in North America helps to make scootering much more dangerous here.

I grew up in San Francisco, and attended a Jesuit high school from '60-'64. Motorscooters were the "only way to fly" back then. There were Vespas, Lambrettas, NSU's, etc lined up in front of school. My dream, at the time, was to own a Vespa. I don't think there was one motorcycle used to commute back and forth to my school, in the early 60's. There were 3 or 4 Vespa dealers in the City back then, 2 Lambretta and 1 NSU/Rabbit dealer.

When Hondas were introduced, all of a sudden you started to see the demise of the scooter, and all kinds of Japanese (large wheels with small engines) motorcycles come on the scene. All of a sudden the brands Hodaka, Bridgestone, Suzuki, Kawasaki and of course Honda started to take over the scene with 50cc and 80cc "motorcycles" coming into vogue. One by one the Vespa type shops started to shut down, until the demise of the 2 stroke engine completely killed the scooter. Scooter riders now transitioned to small engined motorcycles.

You basically had two groups of riders, the ones that rode Harleys, Triumphs, BSA's, etc. The other group were the former scooter riders who rode Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. So, there's my snapshot of the early 60's, and how scooters were viewed.

My first vehicle was a '59 Vespa 150, which took every bit of money ($175) that I could muster. It was WELL used, but the insurance, PL & PD, only ran $25/year. I rode the Vespa all the way through my Sophomore year, until the engine seized for good. I, then, did what everyone else was doing and bought a Honda 50cc Supersport, which I rode through my Junior and Senior years. When I landed my first real, steady job in June of '64, I bought a used '63 Honda 250cc Scrambler, which I put close to 5,000 miles on over the Summer. And so, after 40 motorcycles/scooters, I'm back to a Vespa, of sorts--MP3. Once again, I'm having the time of my life with a mere 250cc's.

Who cares what anyone thinks? I happen to be heterosexual, but I couldn't care less if someone thinks I'm a fag. People who really care about me have taken the time to figure out what I'm about.

The naysayers don't pay my bills, wipe my chin, or take care of my responsibilities. They aren't going to buy my scooter for me, nor are they going to pay the operating costs. If they don't like the scoot, they can kiss my grits!



C

Unfortunately, a lot of people feel that I don't have the right to own a 12 MPG truck. Yes it has 2 tanks (one 25 gallon, one 30 gallon). Yes it gets 12 Miles per gallon freeway and about 8 in the city. Yes it has an NRA sticker on it, and yes it has rifle racks installed on it.

It seems that is all people need to know about me to either, scratch it, bend the attena, or rip off the emblems.

Do I drive it because I am a "ignorant" redneck? NO
Do I drive it because I love to destroy the environment? NO
Do I drive it because I am trying to overcompensate for a small penis? NO

I drive it because my father bought it when he found out my mother was pregnant with me. This was his main mode of transportation for over 30 years. I refuse to take off that NRA sticker, uninstall those rifle racks, take off the Jesus emblem on the glove box, take the rosary out of the ashtray, or take the Alf doll off of the cowboy hat holder. I made the choice to keep it in my family as it was handed down to me. I make the choice to drive it whenever I want. That does not give ANYONE the right to attempt to destroy it because they don't think I have the right to drive a gas guzzler. This truck is a part of my family and a part of me, I have many great memories of this truck and I am not giving it up!

Having lived 20 years of my life in the U.S. and 19 in Europe, I find quite the opposite to be true.

Like it or not, suburbanization is happening in many parts of Europe. With city apartment prices through the roof, more and more families are choosing to get "more for their money" and moving to subdivisions outside the major cities.

Scooters just make life in the city much easier.

Very interesting discussion! I knew I could count on you guys to come up with something worth reading.

Oh, and to clarify, I'm not this guy:


I hadn't thought about the convicted DUI angle. Yet another stigma.

If I lived in Italy I'd have bought a scooter decades ago. What I've observed is what Christine described--scooters are just part of the traffic, and nobody gets particularly fussed about them (well, except for the pedestrians when the scooters run up onto the sidewalks). Here in San Francisco, even though there are a lot of scooters, I don't think drivers are used to having them on the road. I think the fear factor is definitely a huge reason why more people don't ride them. It's certainly why I didn't buy one before this.

Argghh... Brando rode a Triumph, McQueen rode a Triumph, even then Harley's were ridden by the following henchmen, usually not by the lead man. Fonda rode a chopper in easy rider.

Don't get me wrong, I love the look of the modern Harley, and REALLY admire the old Brit bikes, especially the Vincent, Excelsior, Brough Superior, and many others. Not even the modern Harley comes close to those classic motorcycles, IMHO.

FYI: the 1950 Vincent Black Shadow was running over 150mph long before Suzuki thought of the GSXR!!! And it was another Brit bike that beat the Vincent... the Norton.

Hey!! What about the English?

In Italy: the don't have to dodge H2s and other boats on the road instead of sMART cars and Peugeot 206s. Their driver's ed classes are far more involved and people can actually, gasp, fail their drivers tests! AFAIK: many european countries also ban cell-phone use while driving as well as seriously deter other distractions on the road like drinking coffee, doing their makeup, reading their crackberry.

This side of the pond: people feel as though driving a car is their right: not a privilege.

It's also a status symbol to have "big" here. Scooters are simply not.

Motorcycle, OTOH, are still seen as a status symbol - but only if they're big enough. Read: Big cruisers, big sportbikes, big touring bikes...
But even still: a sportscar is "bigger" than any motorcycle and, in many people's eyes, that makes them more of a status symbol.

IMHO: two wheeled transport is just plain fun. Those that decry two-wheeled transport in any form can just piss off.

OK, how's this? I say old boy I know of some smashing scooter guys on the forum you could sell as cool, Lucky, Greasy, Spock. Oh yes, quite, quite.

As I was out for a ride this morning: I saw a little 50 riding thru town. He was attempting to ride on the edge of the road as if he were a bicycle.
This is just the wrong way to ride; it gives the cages a reason to cut you off! Best theory to ride in north america: stay in the middle (or proper side) of your lane to block traffic and to be seen. You have far better luck here if you're putting yourself in the way on purpose.

My parents, prior to me getting my M, would never see motorcycles on the road. They'd simply overlook them. After I got my first bike: they see bikes and give them a little extra space.

It's about education for the cages! ... LOOK!
but also for those on two-wheels. If you ride afraid: the cages smell it and they'll hunt you down.

We don't ALL talk like that...don't you lot get "Eastenders"?

Would you like some tea and crumpets?
Some lemon for your Earl Grey?

Picked the wrong time to start this,when I'm the only Brit on here right now...

Eastenders has been cancelled, right?

Kidding! Just like your American good old boy imitation. I know better with friends near Archway and a mum from Liverpool.

No worries,mate.

(Oh God,I've turned Australian,now!! )

merida, mexico

We are spoiled...I believe that is the reason.
The vast majority doesn't care about energy costs, don't care about pollution and don't care about the environment. We go around living our good lives, we like big-gas guzzling vehicles, we overspend and we are too selfish to think about what we may be doing to the world and to future generations.
If we were more affected by energy cuts, or had to make a weekly decision between filling up the SUV with gas or feeding our families, if our purchasing power declined, maybe we would consider other means of transportation and maybe we would change our way of thinking.
But, we are spoiled...