Modern Vespa

I've been struck by the number of motorcycles and scooter I've seen parked on the sidewalks and streets in NYC without license plates. They have obviously been removed to prevent the meter maids (or whatever they call themselves now) from writing tickets. I was curious if they ever got towed and I asked a Vespa owner who I saw putting his plates back on with velcro what the deal was. He said that he had been parking on the sidewalk for years and had only gotten a ticket twice...in both instances it was the NYPD and the officer had taken the VIN# from the registration on the fork. He said he had also been stopped once and given a ticket for improperly attached plates when the cop noticed that there were not mounting bolts attaching the plates to the scooter...he recommended putting reflector bolts on plate when using velcro.
I'm thinking of using the same strategy down here in Miami but am concerned about towing...does anyone have any experience with this in Florida or any other city?

We do it all the time, and almost every single scoot you see here when parked, will be showing only some EZ-pass velcro.. That does not guarantee you will not be towed. We tell everyone the same thing: do this at your own risk. Really.
Technically, the NYPD could tow every time they saw this as on the books in NYC, an un-tagged vehicle can be considered abandoned.
To prevent plate theft, that is why I do it...

Joel, have you heard of anyone actually being towed? How exactly would they tow a scooter...does chaining it to something make a difference?

better than removing the plate is getting an unused one from an obscure place online and putting it on instead.
I used this for years to avoid getting tickets on a delivery car I used to drive, this way they probably won't take down the VIN and cross check it.

Saw a good deal of the velcro plates and side walk parking up in Denver and Boulder a couple of years ago. I wonder if that trend is growing? R

I second what Joel said. It 'aint legal, but we all do it...
Ticket, tow, it's all possible. Just a way of livin' here in the Big Ap.

Also, as a point of reference, here in NYC there is currently no way to track a ticket using the VIN. I've known many people who have gotten tickets written to their VIN, but it never shows up on the license/registration.

That might just be an NYC thing though....

Just the idea that people feel the need to go to such trouble just to simply park a vehicle, is both amusing and repulsive at the same time.

Maybe I should be more paranoid and worry more than I do, but it has honestly never entered my mind that I'd need to do that. For fuck's sake, I don't carry a chain, and sometimes I don't even lock the handlebars.

That is a frigging amazing idea.

Of course, i don't know if i could ever do this.

I know as a fact that when they tow you here, they throw your bike up on a flatbed and chain it down, and when you get it back it looks like it's gone through hell ...bent, scratched, and otherwise messed up cosmetically.

I'd rather stay legal and not run the chance of someone doing this to my bike.

Removing the plates or using unregistered plates is illegal in CA.
Just Illegal.

I don't understand why anyone would want to park illegally just to save a few steps. If one's legs are broken, they probably shouldn't be riding a scooter.

Just my 2¢

Here in So Florida the scooter community seems to enjoy a certain degree of invisibility to law enforcement...50cc and under scoots don't require a motorcycle license and most cops don't have a clue...the problem starts when you are parked...most communities outsource towing to private companies and I have a feeling that they have no particular concerns about being gentle with a scoot. I'm therefore disinclined to find out the hard way how they would feel about missing license plates. NYC is a different case, however. Notwithstanding the bravado of "we all know it's illegal, etc." does anyone have first hand information about being towed, or not towed, as the case might be. I'l be moving back to NYC in a couple of months so my interest is a matter of self preservation rather then idle curiousity.

Check here:

www.nyscooterclub.com/forum

There are a great many threads on the subject of sidewalk parking there. The bottom line is: it depends. Yes you can get towed and people have been towed. Nevertheless, many people continue to sidewalk park and pull their plates, without repercussions.

Brendan

Yeah, I thought the same, but it was borne out of necessity. My employer required me to drop off heavy equipment but wouldn't pay for any parking tickets I incurred, and at 18k a year I couldn't afford to pay any tickets. So I had this plate from North Dakota and another from Idaho that I used with velcro, at that time my province didn't have access to the vehicle registry information, nor a reciprocal infraction arrangement with ND and ID. :>) Though there was the risk that the car would get impounded.

What if you just never install them in the first place?

Gotta keep the bike nice and shiny so it looks brand new. (Still waiting for my personalized plate, but have had the orig for about a month now.)

That's good to know. What part of Charlotte did you say you park in?

It is not about "saving a few steps" that is ridiculous...

Seriously.
If there was a safe, lockable, guaranteed not to get run over by a trash truck/SUV/car spot 10 blocks from my apartment I would park there every single day. This is about being able to park ANYWHERE without your scoot getting destroyed, not just about pulling up to the door of the supermarket, chaining the scoot to the front door, pulling the plate, and walking inside like nothing happened.
I promise you that 99% of the people I know with scooters in NYC would do the same.

Also, the issue is not theft or paranoia, AGAIN: it is being able to park ANYWHERE at all that is the issue. This is about necessity only.
We clearly have very different day to day realities, which are very much location based and therefore we have very different needs. Much respect for picking somewhere to live that has enough space for everyone. I dont have that.

Like Hendon said, check out the New York Scooter Club Forum, it'll help a lot.

Not to scare you or anything but...


Ticket and tow is a possibility. Is it a guarantee? No, but it is a possibility.

Just a note, it is illegal to have: no reg plate, the wrong plate, not properly attached plate, correct plate with expired reg tag, plate lower than 12 inches or plate covered in any way by anything (all separate violations). Scoot also must have valid NYS Inspection posted "conspicuously" on front of scooter. Also, note what great care was used by the tow operator when relocating the scooters to the impound yard and visualize the same degree of care being used to park them in the broken concrete, blacktop, sand and gravel surface of the impound lot. You will be surprized how easily you'll be reimbursed for any/all damage which may occur as a result of their careful/loving transport. And how responsive the judge will be to your plea during adjudication of any/all of your multiple citations/parking tickets. Don't ask how I know of the fun/adventure you'll have....as stated above, It is a gambol...are you the betting type...

Yeah it's a jungle and being unable to easily lock up / keep your scoot out of harms way is a crime on the behalf of the authorities. They force us to put our property at risk and our insurance/maintenance costs go up when the risk comes to call. Even a 200 cc vespa is easily chucked in the back of a pickup truck.

I don't believe it is malice on behalf of the authorities, but rather a combination of being VERY slow to adjust to increased use of this type of vehicle combined with an interest in earning money from their system.

Still a terrible oversight of part of their transportation constituency's needs.

Yes.

I've said it before and I'll say it again (and I think Joel might agree), NYC will not be a trendsetting city on this issue. I have a feeling NYC will be one of the last, if not the last, major metropolitan area to embrace PTWs.

I think it stinks, but unfortunately I don't see the NYC bureaucracy changing anytime soon.

Same for Boston. There was supposed to be a hearing this week where the transportation department is trying to force all PTWs including 50cc scoots onto street parking. The reason? Honestly? They want more money and perhaps an easier time with ticketing. The problem? The larger scoots already are at the mercy of this situation - having no anchors, parking in spots large SUVs want, and so on. And now they want scooters which top out at 160 lbs in that mix as well. I've already had one 50cc stolen because I had to park it on the street due to an ignorant neighborhood cop, I fear for my P200 which only the size of my ET2, and what would become of my ET2? Another casualty?

It's not the sidewalk parking per se I'm stuck on having. But they should do the responsible thing and provide SECURE street parking measures for the PTWs if that is the path they insist on taking.

Thanks...the NY Scooter Forum is a great resource. The photo of the NYPD tow truck with a scoot that looks suspiciously like mine was unsettling.

I park in every part of town, from the best to the worst. If you need more clues, it's the only black gts in charlotte with a Deal's Gap dragon sticker on the back fender.


And sallad, my point was how sad it is to live in a place where people show such little respect for someone else's property that simply parking a vehicle puts it in danger of some worthless piece of shit messing with it. Which is exactly why I'd never live there.

I've been to the NYC area more times than I care to remember. Not on a scooter, but with a semi. While I've met a few friendly people there, most are so distrustful of other human beings they seem to not have a shred of decency in them. And of the former new yorkers I know in charlotte, that whole "I need to get mine" attitude gets tiresome really fast.

I fully agree!
I went over to help Dani (gdog477) start his scooter this morning (it was parked by a hydrant in front of his office). He couldn't start it because his air filter was full of fuel because his scoot was knocked over by a car....
At school I park on the sidewalk with my plates. I don't want to risk that happening to me.

I don't feel the least bit sad about living in New York, nor do most of the people I know fit into that stereotype you are advancing. Unfortunately, there is very limited parking in this city, so parking on the sidewalk has nothing to do with being distrustful of fellow New Yorkers or concerned that someone will "mess with" a scooter, but simply that in many neighborhoods, the only place to park is on the sidewalk. Very few people here have the luxury of a drivfeway or a garage. However, that minor inconvenience does not outweigh the many great things about living here.

Brendan

Glad we could help out

And shamelessheathan, you said: It's not just scooters. NYC is a "park by feel" city. Most every bumper in the city has one of those Bumper Badgers or a ton of nicks. It's just the way it is. Parking by feel hurts a scooter a lot more than a car. No one was asking you to. You haven't spent enough time here then, most are just the opposite. But there's no use in arguing...

is right.

I'm not trying to argue, but I did put the word SEEM in that sentence. I don't believe new yorkers are really like that, it's just the impression an outsider gets.


Like I said, I've met friendly new yorkers. Even an NYPD officer that could've given me a hefty ticket when I ended up on a road there's no way in hell I should've been on. And yeah, every time I cross the george washington bridge after dark I have to admit it's an awesome and beautiful sight.

I freely admit I haven't spent a great deal of time there, maybe twenty times in the past three and a half years. But I've also been to enough other places to know that while NYC may be "the greatest city in the world," it's not all great. No place, city, or state is.

Hey guys, I'm willing to cut shamelessheathen a little slack...it's probably no fun driving a semi in the NY Metro area and easy to get the wrong idea about Nyers if you don't get a chance to know them...I feel that the MV community is one of the friendliest and most helpful that I've come across and the Net and we should all strive to avoid needless off-topic negativity.

Fair enough.

When you are closer to moving to NYC give a shout on the NYC forum. It'll help give you a lot of up to the minute local knowledge (or hell, get on now and have a few laughs before you get here).

And definitely come by the NY Scooter Club's weekly meet when you get to town.

Velcro and all

Funny, I'd thought about this, but never done it. I live in a state that doesn't require any type of plate for a 50cc or lower bike, so it could work. Especially when considering that EVERY cop I've ever encountered calls my scooter a moped.

When I worked for Starbucks cops would come in and chat with us and I used to ask questions testing my theory that they really don't pay attention to how big the bike is if it's a scooter. Most of them really don't. They pay attention if you have plates on it, which is the giveaway. They all knew the rules, but if they don't see plates on it, you can ride on the sidewalk...park on the sidewalk...use bikeracks. Interesting. However, it's usually cheaper to pay for parking than to pay impound fees.

I must be missing something here. If you're doing something illegal you're breaking the law and of course you can be sited or towed and rightfully so.
Best find out what the law actually is and abide by it.
Pretty lame idea eh?
Otherwise be prepared to suffer the consequences whatever they may be.

If I was in NYC, I would be very tempted to paint on the backing plate "don't tread on me" or something so they would see that whenever I took my plate off, but that would probably be a bad idea.

Sadie...I think you're missing the point of this Thread...we all understand that this is not technically legal, just as we know that exceeding the speed limit can result in a ticket. However, if one of us knew about a speed trap, we would likely post that information to fellow MVers and they could then process and utilize that information according to their own moral compass.
Similarly here, we are merely sharing information about enforcement policies in various communities. No one is necessarily advocating breaking the law, but it's never a bad idea to have as much information as possible at one's disposal.

I didnt read all of the replies here so I am sorry if this was said already, but I am a little confused about taking off your plate in florida, I called the police department when I got my vespa and they said I am fine to park on the sidewalk by bicycle racks as long as I dont block pedestrians or bicycles. Is that not the case in other parts of Florida?

[quote="halesq57"]I've been struck by the number of motorcycles and scooter I've seen parked on the sidewalks and streets in NYC without license plates. They have obviously been removed to prevent the meter maids (or whatever they call themselves now) from writing tickets.

So how am I missing the point here?
The OP is talking about removing the plates (illegal) in order to not get a ticket or be towed (because you know you are doing something illegal)
OK? OK.
So you're simply sharing information on how not to get caught for doing something illegal.
Now I get it.

Yeah, you know. It's kinda like all those people who buy radar detectors for their cars just in case they "accidentally" find themselves speeding in a radar zone.

Sadie...please bear in mind that thisis an international forum. What would be considered asocial and/or selfish behavior in one community might be considered a necessary survival tactic in another. Here in So Florida there's plenty of parking and there's no real need to skirt the law. NYC, however, is a totally situation. Parking legally on the street exposes your scooter to a virtual certainty of damage from drivers who use the 'braille" method of parking. Parking on the sidewalk is almost the only way of avoiding having your scoot from being destroyed. There are very few (almost none) motorcycle parking areas. Parking lots generally will not accept 2 wheeled vehicles because of insurance regulations. Sharing information in a forum like this allows fellow scooter owners to discover socially acceptable ways to deal with this situation. I was directed earlier today to the New York Scooter Forum and there are a number of Threads there that deal with the real life issues scooter owners face in trying to find parking. If you're curious you should take a look and I think you'll agree that not all issues are black and white.

Well said.

In Sweden, as I've understood it, a veichle has to have the plates when being driven. When parked not.

Here in Rome it doesn't matter (I should provide you with a photo of the sidewalk outside the office). Occasionally, the parking guards ticket even scooters, but once every two years. It's never happened to me, and I drive around the year.