Modern Vespa

My Vespa arrived from the West Coast today. There's a bike rack near my building where I can park it.

In San Francisco, I was taught "if someone tries to steal it, let them. You don't want it back after it's been abused like that." I honestly don't know if I even want it in the first place. There are a lot of potential infractions here (lane splitting, missing DOT sticker, riding with sunglasses that aren't stamped Z87+, etc) that I don't want to deal with, let alone the hot hots and wet colds. If I had to buy it all over again, it certainly wouldn't be the first thing I buy new to NY. But I have it now, so I have to figure out how much effort to put into making it ridable and keeping it safe.

The guy who parks next to me is rocking a chain (Kryptonite?) through one wheel. The manager of my building also rides; he recommended a lock through each wheel. It'll be between two hoops in one of those waist-height circular bike racks. I could probably lock one wheel to each hoop if I wanted to go that hard.

What do you guys recommend? Should I buy an external lock? Two? Three (for the cover)? YOLO it and see if it vanishes?

I have a $100 deductible on my comprehensive insurance.

Any bike worth anything and not locked to an immovable object, will be stolen in nyc.

Get a massive wheel lock that can wrap onto an immovable object. Or, pay for secure parking

When I lived in Boston, I heard so many horror stories from others that I rented a space in a private garage. That seemed to work.

Where in NYC are you parking it?
How does your bike stack up to the ones around it?

I parked my Scarabeo 500 or, sometimes, S150 on the street during the day in Battery Park City for several years, 2020-2022. (I still do it sometimes now, but the ride from the northern suburbs is much slower and more stressful due to increased traffic and excessive weed smoke emanating from passing cars.)

The only time anyone touched it was to thoughtfully pull the keys I'd left dangling from the top case lock, give them to the nearest doorman, and leave an anonymous note on my seat. Never got a parking ticket. Never got bumped. Never got moved. Never got the kill switch turned on. Never got the mirrors out of adjustment.

This is simultaneously very New York and not very New York, I realize. But I don't own late-model scooters, I never left it on the street overnight, and anybody who knows anything about fencing scooter parts knows that nobody will touch a 2008 Scarabeo.

I don't know about Vespas, but my Piaggio has a stout loop of steel that is welded to the framework that is intended as a place to loop a chain to secure the bike. I imagine that cities in Italy have the same street culture as New York, so Piaggio (who makes Vespas now) probably knows what it's doing. The chain loop is below the floor on the right side.

I park in downtown Oakland, California, not exactly New York City, but maybe worse. I lock the front forks and put a disk lock on the front wheel. With this arrangement, so far, even the homeless people living in the bushes across the street haven't touched it. The closer you park to another bike the harder it is to steal yours, so bear that in mind.

Here is what I went with https://modernvespa.com/forum/topic190145

I'm parked at a bike rack, inspired by the modern Vespa 150 that parks next to me (also covered).

I've never used a lock as such on the Vespa around here, I do have a C.L.M. Blindado handlebar lock though, it comes in handy as well to lock the helmet to the ride, for short stops.

I've seen people using angle grinders and bolt cutters on bicycles in broad daylight. Meaning there are definitely risks, but it depends a lot where you park, how and when. I definitely recommend a cover.

New York City is a great place to ride! All day, every day.

NYC is weird like that.

I'm tucked in a bike rack that's not obvious from the street in a nice neighborhood, but you don't have to walk far for the street scene to change dramatically.

I wonder which thefts a chain would stop that the steering lock wouldn't. I've seen my share of South American security footage where someone kicks the steering lock off, and I'm sure there are people with those skills in NYC. I also wonder if some expensive chains are going to be enough to stop someone who's willing to break the steering lock.

It might not be worth the hassle and the expense to buy fancy locks if thieves are gonna thieve either way. If you know how to break a steering lock and have a thieving van to waddle a Vespa into, you can also probably get your hands on a portable angle grinder.

However a hefty chain makes your bike less attractive than the one next door with no chain...

Put in a fresh tank of gas, topped off the tires with a bike pump, and took it for its first ride in over a year today! (Cut short due to rain.)

It's my first time using a cover - SF was too windy for one.

I was reluctant to pull it down all the way after even a short ride, because I expected there was a risk the heat shield would melt the cover. Was that a valid concern? What's the advice for using a cover after a ride?

My regular cover these days, a thin Nelson-Rigg, melted in that area so that it's no longer a problem. Just took once. That said, it never melted into in such a way that it stuck to anything—it just contracted into itself while making holes.

I've also had covers that were heat resistant in that area, preventing that problem. (But they were expensive and got stolen.)

Finally, back when I cared more about the current cover, I kept a magnet and silicone baking mat in the pet carrier and just covered the pipe. Worked like a charm.

Just grab a Litelok for the front fork and suspension and any chain that fits through rear to anchor to a post, and hopefully they will move on to something easier, see thread below.

https://us.litelok.com/pages/litelok-x-range

Review: LITELOK X3 MOTO (motorcycle u-lock)

NY is indeed an oddity - I do think you need the show of an excessively large and intimidating lock to make thieves move on to the next target. In midtown yesterday I saw a scooter locked up that had the engine stolen - suppose that's impossible to stop.

Did you take a pic?

Having a hard time getting the engine to turn over

I spend one week per month in NY - and have been for many years......sometimes more......I have never locked it......parked in the same place the entire time with zero issues. There are others on my block too.....I think we are just lucky.