Modern Vespa

I was in the Annapolis area last week and decided to stop by Chesapeake Cycles on the way home to see the new models. They use to keep most of the Vespas on the 2nd floor, but 1 or 2 on the main sales floor. I asked about the new models and was told they are no longer a Vespa dealer, and would only provide very limited service since they no longer stock parts for Vespa. I had heard rumors of this happening about a year ago, but early in the year they had several of the new Officina models in stock..

Got home went online and learned that La Moto of Arlington VA closed their doors too. I used them once and was happy with their service and they were more a true Vespa dealer. Not convenient for me but worth the trip.

Guess it's time to try and find a good independent that can do major services. Anyone have any recommendations in the Maryland area. I live in the Montgomery County Columbia area, but i dont ride on highways (i95 495). thanks...

Might be relegated to moto richnond at this point.

Or just get a motorcycle jack and watch some YT vids.

Belt and rollers and valve clearance are pretty easy. Haven't messed with clutch itself yet but i suspect it's also not that bad.

Surprised dealers can lose Piaggio/Vespa status even in the first place, figured that's usually a cash cow. Razor-thin margins?

Centrifugal clutches are dead simple. I think mechanically they're simpler and more intuitive than a variator.

Agreed. And it will probably outlast most owner's possession of the scoot.

On the good side of things, Glen Burnie Motorsports is now a Vespa dealer. Glen Burnie Motorsports, <https://www.glenburniemotorsports.com/>. They are next to the old Glen Burnie mall. The address and phone number is:

20 Holsum Way
Glen Burnie, MD 21060
443-763-5655 There's a couple of old thread which discuss dealers and mechanics in the Maryland area. See, for example, <Hello from Maryland> and <Maryland based Vespa mechanics>. (Search for "Maryland" in the "General Discussion" forum).

Used to be able to walk to my local dealer. Closed a couple years ago. Miss them.

My small town Vespa dealer was boarding up his widows after a small tornado....as I signed the check for my new 2018 Liberty, July 2017.
They went out of business 2 weeks later.
Fortunately, the Liberty is very DIY-able!
Never visited a Vespa dealer in these 9yrs.
O.S.

[quote="noloader"]
On the good side of things, Glen Burnie Motorsports is now a Vespa dealer. Glen Burnie Motorsports, <https://www.glenburniemotorsports.com/>. They are next to the old Glen Burnie mall. The address and phone number is:

20 Holsum Way
Glen Burnie, MD 21060
443-763-5655


Thanks for the info, Glen Burnie is not too far away....

I use to do all that good stuff years ago, I actually rebuilt my 3 1/2 HP mini bike (crack con rod) when I was 12 years, couldn't get to start until someone told me how important pistons rings were LOL! That had a centrifugal clutch too. the Vespa seems pretty straight forward, I have removed all of the front end plastic, replaced the ABS sensor ring, changed the oil, etc. The problem I have is there are a lot of small screws and tight places that I just cant get my hands and arms close, so its a real pain sometimes just to do a few simple things that should take a few minutes, takes me 45 minutes. So for those types of things it's much easier to pay for service....

Totally understand that caveat.

Any neighborhood kids that like snacks?

I did a little digging and it seems sales were lagging, mostly due to Piaggio's extremely Italian mentality of "you receive the stock we send you, we don't fulfill requests, and if you don't sell what you get then you don't get more."

That, coupled with the extremely ridiculous sales tactic of "order it on the website and we'll send it to your nearest dealer.....eventually" but not providing any sort of timeline led to them just saying "okay we'll just use the floor space for the brands that actually know how it works over here."

Frankly I can't say I blame them.

^^^^ This! Piaggio are truly their own worst enemy.

Yeah, but many motor companies operated somewhat the same when it comes to shoving stock at the dealers. Harley was good for this 50 years back even when they were so desperate for dealerships to sell their scoots. The reps would come out, assess the space, and tell you what you were going to get. No discussion. Special orders were unheard off, that came later under the influence of Willie G. Until the of the advent of the big sales years and the oversize, ridiculous, boutique dealerships, many owners were barely surviving on service work. And it's sliding back to that since 2006, although 2014 was a quick temporary respite.

Yeah, but then you gotta go to Glen Burnie…
My mom lives there. It's… definitely something down there

...

It is a real shame about Chesapeake Cycles and La Moto closing up, as they were the anchors for the DMV scooter community.