Modern Vespa

This sunday morning, my friends and i with vintage Moto Guzzi, Lambretta and Vespa bikes went to the beach ... I was the youngest.

I got my first scooter, a Vespa 90 when I was about 18. 31 bikes later (mostly motorcycles, but with some scooters scattered in) I'm about to turn 60 and ride a GTS.

I've rarely ventured into large bikes, I just don't see the need for all that extra weight. If the whole world adopted lighter weight bikes and scooters for their main transport when the weather allows we'd all be happier and better off.

And I have more friends to race with!

Late to the show here...but just flipped over to 66 last month. Riding for only around 8 years now. Should have started sooner, but I was too young, lol.

Still feel like I could ride anything i wanted, but I really only want my scooters. I'm having too much satisfaction with them...occasionally get curious about the odd motorcycle, but it's a passing "what if?" moment.

I semi-dropped my BV in the driveway last week (its on a slope and I was doing a low-speed turn). Stopped fall and righted the scooter without a struggle. Knowing you can pick up your bike isn't a top of list perc, but it's sure a nice feeling.

I'm 70. Bought my first Vespa in 1968 when I was 17, the height of the Mod movement.

That was it. Immediately fell in love with Vespas and have had them for most of the past 53 years. Never owned any other brand of scooter or motorcycle.

The best two have been my 300GTS and my 1968 180SS.

Agreed there are always pockets of pretty much any type of culture anywhere but when you can ride for weeks on end without ever encountering another scooter you can bet they aren't the most popular form of transportation in your area.

Now I see them all the time but mostly 50cc Chinese "liquorcycles". I can still scoot for days without encountering anything other than those.

After wanting one since college, I bought my first Vespa at 37. And even then, I was afraid I was going to look foolish because I was too old for it. Personally, my perception is that the Vespa is a young person's vehicle. Obviously, people of all ages can (and should!) ride them. But my gut reaction is the opposite of what you described.

Been riding scooters since I was roughly 10 years old.

Purchased my first Vespa at 55. I'm a few months shy of 60 now.

Like many of you, I started with motorcycles when I was younger. Even though I missed the thrill of riding, I was off bikes for many years.

Then, the kids were grown and gone, the insane long hours at work were behind me. Time to do something again just for the pure thrill of it. I always admired scooters in Europe. In 2004, at age 56, I bought my first scooter. It has been
a hoot ever since.

Bob Copeland

After 20 years of riding scooters I got my first motorcycle. I will always be a scooter rider though

I too rode when I was a teenager, but stopped once I went to college. Then when my sons started driving to high school, instead of buying a used car for them, I let them drive my car and I bought a Vespa, so I would commute on it. That was 2008, and I was 49.

Have been riding ever since.

I passed my bike test in 2007 aged 38. I bought a couple of big bikes, a Ninja and a CBR then had a break due to having a young family. A couple of years ago my Son got a scooter to commute to work and I borrowed it to go to town a few times and really liked it. Decided I wanted a Vespa and bought my GTS 300 a couple of years ago aged 49. No going back now and I've decided I need another one! Fancy an older 2 stroke manual shifter as well now. They are addictive!

My first motorcycle was very scooter like. It was a mid 1980's Suzuki FB100, bought in Bermuda in my first week there in 1990. I was 34 years old.

I rode it for the three years living there and missed having a scooter after returning to Florida in 1994

I visited friends there in 2002 and borrowed a scooter from them to ride around the island.

After looking for one for the remainder of the year, Christmas arrived. After opening presents we had a knock on the front door. It was our neighbors, and they had a Malaguti Ciak 50 standing on the sidewalk. My wife had bought it for me and kept it in their garage until Christmas morning.

I rode it around the neighborhood in bathrobe and slippers, tag hanging from the helmet. Happiest person in the world that day.

After riding it for almost three years, looking for longer and longer rides, I realized that I needed something faster. My brother had a Vespa GT, so I drove out to the Vespa dealer and bought one. It was the day before my 50th birthday.

I still have that one, Rocket, and two more GTs. Plus two Yamahas, a Zuma and an Xmax.

I must say that entering the scooter world opened up a whole new life for me. Almost all of my best times are spent in scooting. Almost all of my current friends were made through scooting. I still can't get enough of it.

At age 65.

Bill

Hello, I suppose this may as well be my first post. I bought my first Vespa in 2018, at 40. I'd wanted one for many years, since I stayed in Gran Canaria with a friend for a couple of weeks. We were off to meet some people and he pulled out an old Vespa, I jumped on the back and was immediately into the idea of getting one, but for various reasons I didn't at that time.
I loved how simple it was, how easily we could just jump on and go. I've been driving cars since I was 17, but the Vespa I bought here in Japan, in 2018 is my first two wheeled vehicle and I love it. I've never felt that Vespas were for old people, but rather I've always had the image of cool Italians cruising around on them dressed in sharp suits/dresses & sunglasses. They're cool for any age in my view. And here in Japan, I certainly get some attention on my bright red primavera. I've often seen and heard people point at me and say to whoever they're with- 'hey it's a Vespa'. I probably stand out a lot because the majority of small motorcycles here are tiny, ugly little things ridden by students, and there are a lot of them. So my Vespa probably looks quite pretty compared to most other small motorcycles (scooters, mopeds, whatever, I don't know the difference)
I've seen quite a few other people riding Vespas, here, young and older, but not very old people. The Vespas I see are mostly old models, haven't seen many newer models like mine. The very old people here usually have an old Honda Cub or something similar.

Anyway. They're cool for everyone. Enjoy.

And since it's my first post in this forum, I may as well throw in a picture of my ride.[img][/img]

Now that I think about it a little bit harder I seem to remember that when I was 15 my cousin and I just to go to the shopping mall in the summer on a little scooter in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We always took the side roads to go to the shopping mall. It was really thrilling. And at that time I can still remember that I wanted to have a moped so badly... I just couldn't afford one.

Alsan,

Welcome to ModenVespa from Frost Bite Falls Minnesota.

1. Great looking Dragon Red Vespa. Thanks for the photo - we love photos here.
2. You are now our window into the world of Japan - Please, more shots of the
Scooter and some Japanese background. Obviously, if and when convenient.

Bob Copeland

Thanks. I'll do my best to get some interesting Japanese background in my photos for you. It's going to be extremely hot here soon, so I'll park in some nice spots for some more pictures. I've just had a full service so the Vespa feels great and I'm feeling adventurous...

Welcome to MV from Latina, central Italy.
I'm bucking the trend, I like Japanese scooters and I've been a Yamaha customer since 1983 even if between one scooter and another I put a Leonardo (Aprilia), a BV, a Scarabeo.
The funny thing is that here in Italy if they see you with a Yamaha three-wheeler they crowd curiously but the same does not happen with an MP3 or a Vespa ... they are too common and nobody pays attention to them.

Thanks. There are definitely some lovely Japanese scooters, but the majority of the ones I see in Kyoto, are really tiny and look awful to me. I suppose many of them are quite old, and are quite cheap, which is why they're so prevalent with all the students. There's one particular scooter that I love the look of, it's called the Honda Joker. I don't think they make them anymore, but I'm always pleased when I see one.

And I have seen (on Instagram) that in Japan they really like old Italian cars (Fiat 500).
I suppose that is also a way to feel young ... quite expensive, I saw the Crank Tokio website ( https://crank-tokyo.jp/en/ )

Alsan, welcome to MV. Just wanted to say your red Vespa with the bag on the back is so beautiful. Is it your main form of transportation? Is your area scooter friendly? Can't wait to see more pictures.

I got my first scooter 3 years ago, age 56. For at least 5 years prior I was always telling my husband I wanted a Vespa every time a scooter was within site. But I think I fell in love with scooters around 2005. They are a thing of beauty, and a joy to ride.

Thank you. It has been my only transport for the last few weeks since I sold my car. I would definitely say that Kyoto is scooter friendly, they're everywhere. It seems everyone has one in addition to their cars.

I bought my first scooter, an '05 Honda Met, at 46, really for my oldest son who'd just turned 16. The Buddy 150 three years later was a 49th birthday present to myself, can you spell Mid-life crisis? I still have the Buddy, 12 years now, and ride it daily. About a year ago shortly after my 60th birthday my ex-wife looked at me after riding 50ish miles to see one of my youngest son's baseball games, he plays Minor League, and says "when are going to give up that foolishness?" I said I hope to have at least 20 more years, she says "no, I meant the scooter riding." Some people just don't get it.

I visited Kyoto Jan 2019, right before COVID closed everything down. Really beautiful part of the country. I hope to go back.

Well, you're never too old, old, old
To rock n' roll, roll, roll
If you're too young to die

- Jethro Tull

I started riding (on the dirt, with bikes of various displacement) in my very late teens through early 20s. Planned on getting my license at 21, and even put money down on a new Yamaha XT500 at the time...but life kicked in quickly, and very hard, starting with my Dad's sudden death.

Some fast-forwarding to late 2015, some months before my 60th Birthday, and some more radical changes: moving from NYC to the wilds of New Jersey with my beloved (and, eventually, wife), and, seeing the need for something other than my bicycles for personal transport, renew the quest for a license, and buy my very first road-going machine ever, a 2015 Vespa GTS 300 Super.

It's been a love-fest ever since.

Whoa - you started driving at 60, and your first street-legal vehicle was a Vespa?!

I don't have any conception of how many New Yorkers never drive a car.

Is not he...
Maybe sitting on the Vespa I would recognize him but so ... nah ...
The Vespa "characterizes" those who ride it.

I'm late to the scooter game at 56, but have been on two wheels pretty much my entire life. I sat on my Mom's lap in a sidecar as a very young child. My first bike was a Honda QA50 mini bike at about age 7. I've owned and ridden pretty much every brand and style of bike since then. Besides a GTS300, I currently ride a BMW R1250RT, KTM 690 enduro, and a Honda Monkey 125.

Bob Copeland.....it's always great to see a Scarabeo 150.

I've got two silver ones just like that. Love those things!!

I'm also quite late to the party, I've just bought my first scooter an S125 and i'm 58 can't ride it yet as there's a backlog waiting list for CBT in my area, got to wait till the end of July but to paraphrase Jasper Carrot " when I get my scooter out on the road I'm gonna ride, ride, ride"