Modern Vespa

Hello there from the Bay Area! I've been lurking around for a few years (originally joining to get better access to the search when trying to decide what to do when I was starting to give up on my Kymco), but wanted to say "hi" before I started actually commenting.

I started thinking about scooters in 2015 or 2016 on vacation in Japan at the prompting of my spouse, who grew up on 50cc scooters. I had been having more and more close calls on my pedal-powered bike--my main commuter since forever--and decided that I might be safer armored up and moving with traffic. After puttering around the family's neighborhood and having some rentals, I ended up with a Kymco Like 150i ABS, not being able to justify the price on a Primavera (silly rabbit).

After some good times on that, it got stolen--dragged out of the apartment garage in broad daylight and put into the back of a truck in front of witnesses--and replaced it with another Like. After much consideration and some frustration, that got sold on for a GTS HPE, which I got just as COVID settled in. My spouse expressed a possible interest in sharing this hobby with me, so that led to a roughly used Sprint that I then had lowered on the theory that something low and droppable might make her less nervous. Alas, it didn't really work out. After my GTS got vandalized and parts taken off of it a couple of times, it got moved to a garage and I started commuting on the Sprint. With the GTS farther away and less easy to access, I started thinking that it might be good to have a large beater for myself and ended up getting a used BV 350.

They just seem to multiply on their own...

The Sprint got sold on as my spouse was not into it and I was having trouble justifying insurance and registration for three bikes just for myself. Almost immediately the BV 350 stolen and I had apparently disrupted the balance in the universe. <sigh> "I still need a commuter and I don't want to risk the GTS at this point", so I got a new Liberty 150. And then a couple of months later found a really nice used BV 350 came up on craigslist and...back up to three again.

I'm relatively new to all of this, and apparently a little slow, but I have learned a few things so far:

* always chain things you want to keep
* make sure security is visible when using a cover
* apple airtags are great cheap trackers
* having just one scooter seems hard
* this is a great community that helped tip me into the Vespa / Piaggio fold

Cheers!

Welcome!

I'm curious where in the Bay you are. I lived in SF for a dozen years, and never thought too hard about moto theft.

Welcome to MV from Somerset, UK.

somerset

Welcome! I'm also in the Bay Area, and haven't had any trouble with theft at all, even when I lived in Oakland. My motorcycle did get pushed over in front of my house once, though.

Sorry to hear you're having such a rough time of it.

Welcome to MV from New England, you have a nice stable of scooters.

Well, not quite as simple as rabbits, but yeah, I know the feeling.

Sorry about all your security issues. Glad that part hasn't stopped you from enjoying the rides!

Sounds like you have been infected with SAS - Scooter Acquisition Syndrome.

It is a disease for which is often incurable. Though there are things that limit it such as lack of space, money, spouse, and even time.

Welcome to the forum.

besupa,

Welcome to posting on the forum and the photos were much appreciated.

Sorry about your theft situation. It would drive me crazy. Regrettably, the housing situation and where you live can impact theft of personal property.

When I lived in Southern Italy for four years (Naples), you could not leave
your motorcycle out of your physical sight, when stopped while riding, or it would be stolen. I sold my Ducati to another when I was moving back to the USA. It was stolen within one week from the new owner.

When I lived in Naples 50 years ago, the economy in Southern Italy was
was rough. You could walk around unmolested, Crime of person was
almost nonexistent. Crime of property was high. If you left property
unprotected - it was gone. My Italian Landlord taught me to wear my
wallet in my front pocked. There was almost a street ethic - if you left
it unprotected, you deserved to have it stolen.

Good luck to you.

Bob Copeland

I'm near the Berkeley/Oakland border, oh-so-technically on the Oakland side. There are actually a fair number of nicer and more expensive bikes on the street around here, but I seem to get "lucky" more than I'd like. Doing some research after the second theft, Oakland is apparently something like number two in the country for auto thefts, so I think I'm probably a bit of a special case...

No worries, it hasn't put me off as much as I thought it would. After the first time anyways, when I was pretty wound up. I now have theft and vandalism built into my ownership model.
The Sprint seemed to get knocked over a fair amount, which is kinda why I bought the beat-up little dear in the first place, but constantly replacing mirrors and passenger foot rests was frustrating. I think how low it was and the color did not help...

I can't believe I'm living a life where I have scooters in different zip codes

Welcome! That was a great introduction.

I could never live in a place where that kind of thievery occurs so frequently. I'd probably be in jail for having shot somebody. Don't get me wrong, things aren't all rosy in South Jersey. Burglary is a big problem. Our cities are ghetto-like, but "it's so peaceful in the country". Thank God.

And springtime is coming!!

I know that border well. I lived at 61st and Telegraph for a decade. A friend of mine lived South of me in Berkeley, near the BART tracks. I think his back fence was the border.

Salutations--I'm happy to be joining such a fine group!

It's odd the things that you get used too. Well, sorta used to. It felt like a great violation the first time, but when the BV wasn't there one morning it had more of a "yeeeeaah, this again" feel to it. Dealing with the fact that it got towed, impounded, and had gotten parking violations on it overnight for where it got ditched took more time than the police report, insurance company, and purchase of the next bike put together.

Also, I try to keep a spare scooter now! Yeeek! Not quite that bad here. Knock on wood. Not that thoughts haven't crossed my mind. Initially, I thought about installing video cameras and trying to get push alerts going, but police response can be slow and I'm not sure I'd want to deal with "excitement" myself considering how aggressive some of the catalytic convert thieves have gotten around here. You never know. In the end, I've been trying obvious redonkulous chains; we'll see how that goes.

That said, the Like that got stolen was recovered a couple of months later and the guy was arrested for it. I believe that is still working it's way through the system (I lost track when COVID turned court procedures upside down).

The BV had two airtags associated with it, one of which seemed to be pinging from inside somebody's house. I tried to get the police interested, but apparently not. <shrug>

Yes--quite close! Rockridge/Temescal/Fairview have been really a lot of fun. We've toyed with the idea of moving to San Jose or Santa Cruz, but the number of bakeries and cafes we can walk to has been hard to argue.

Whelp, you've got me there. I moved to San Jose and I can't walk to La Farine (or anything even remotely similar).

That 'naner GTS is nice. I love the bay area. I, as others, are sorry you have encountered problems. It looks like you are keeping positive so that's great.

Bienvenue!!

It's all good. I used to feel more conflicted about the color, but I seem to get noticed faster on it than on other bikes when on the street and it's definitely worth it for the double takes when passing on the highway. Cheers!

True, but we need to fight down 880 and back to get to real Asian supermarkets and restaurants. And you're already most of the way to Santa Cruz

I think pretty much every part of the Bay Area offers something wonderful and unique—one of the joys of being around here.

+1

And a hearty welcome from your neighbor to the south

Welcome.
Never thought there was much of a theft problem your side of the pond.

It's spotty based on location. Worse in some cities than others, and even then it's a neighborhood-by-neighborhood thing.

Besupa, welcome to the nicest scooter forum on the planet! Scooter resistance is futile. Just accept it and make room for the next one.

I'm a Bay Area native who now lives in Phoenix. When I was a kid we lived by the old lighthouse in Santa Cruz. However, most of my childhood was spent in rural western Sonoma County. I really miss the fog and ocean, but not the cold and damp.

As a matter of fact, my husband is there now, and is very happy I made him take an electric blanket. He had forgotten how chilly it can get at night!

Yes, I've noticed that I still keep doing my scans of craigslist no matter how many I have... I'm a Tucson native who has been around in the Bay Area for a good long time now; mostly SC (off of Swift) and the East Bay Seeing the pics from that area bring back good memories. And thank you for posting about those t-shirts--San Xavier and the Vesparado with No Name tickled me to no end

Cheers! Getting to southern CA at some point two wheels is on my list of projects. I try and take it as affirmation that my stuff is nice Realistically, there are a couple of thoroughfares and locales that I'm close to that probably make it good hunting grounds.

I've been here for more than twenty years and enjoy visiting Tucson. I'm in regular contact with a tight knit group of riders there, and try to get down for a ride with them at least once a year.

If you're interested, check out this vid from one of our rides with Tucson's Sky Island Riders. I also have a Mt. Lemmon vid with them, and at some point I'll get around to finishing the one on our multi-club Tucson rally.

Subscribed! That brings back memories, but it looks like things have probably changed a lot since the last time I really took it all in. Honestly, probably not since cruising in high school. Just seeing the colors brings back the feel and smell of the air. I can get close in southern CA, but it's not the same without an Eegee's nearby.

You are no longer a wall flower. After five posts you go from being a wall flower to our regular member. But I guess you knew that because you're posting. 🤠

Welcome.

Cheers!
At some point I'll venture out from the safe cocoon of my intro thread into the bigger world.
It was actually some recent chatter about the battles with bots and database upgrades that got me to finally decide break cover (to mix metaphors). And there's only so long you can watch the all fun without wanting to join in