Modern Vespa

Ever hear of a boat? Topsiders are pretty hip around Annapolis (or isn't anyplace outside of California hip enough for you?).

Ironic pretension? Remove the mote from thine own eye.

BTW, what's an "ear whole"?

SDG

I wore out more than my share of Sperrys in Seattle over the years. Very comfy and grippy. Good old days. Yukon Jack and animal beer (Schmidt).
We called it fishing......

Ear hole?

I know! Those hipsters are almost as bad as the so-called self-professed "mods."

Just kidding! Don't shoot!

But seriously. Glass houses. Stones.

Still kidding!

Mostly.

From the original Piaggio bash when this thread started is has taken a mean spirited turn towards groups of people's lives in a free country.

Did it need to get back on track of just talking about Piaggio sales plummeting or is it pretty much a free for all for the "cooler"? people now? I know a hipster that bought a new Vespa from us a few years ago, owns a bitchin local company and rides with the L.A. gang, we dissin her too?

I mean, c'mon guys!! Others would probably have a free for all taking our inventory also however this should be about riding scooters, again.

Best,
SDG

Ok, my hipster comment was in relation to these posted videos.

And you know I did forget that there are people that actually wear topsiders for their original intent (boating, etc) or wear them because, well they like them. It's just that the shoes remind of stuck up people I knew in the early 80's (shouldn't say knew, but knew of; since I was not in that clique. Not that I wasn't in a clique [that could be the target of stones], just not that clique). But I ramble.

Matt seriously? I don't get it. It just feels like more people in this thread than not would just be happy to see Piaggio USA leave. They try a little something new and BAM its nots good enough. There are a lot of "experts" chiming in on this thread talking big smack but its all unimportant. Its the little niche markets that Piaggio is seeking out that will make the company sell more scooters as a whole. Its not a bad demographic, whether it works or not is a whole other story. They do have other stuff going on but probably have very limited funds in this economy to be on T.V. or whatever most expect them to do. I am concerned but remain optimistic.

We should not even hint at bashing a group of people as a generalization, its seem like the thing so many people in this country that are "different" have to fight for themselves already.

I'm not mad at anybody here, just asking to maybe review the direction of the thread and move forward. Its all good my man.

Best,
SDG

Seriously, Ive approached this entire thread as a hobbyist, discussing the future of the manufacturer of our scooters, with a group of others, mostly other hobbyists. The bashing you describe was as I interpreted a branch of a discussion regarding their advertising style or target market, thats it.

Somehow since not everyone here wants to stand on the pro-Piaggio soapbox, or views them through different eyes, we call "foul"?

Whats the issue? You brought up some hipster you sold a Vespa to, who now runs a succesful business....nobody else did. Unless there's a backstory I am unaware of (thats entirely possible) i didn't see/feel/intend any bashing of any groups. I have worn Topsiders, and NEVER been accused of being "cool". No, really.

Oh, and what's a hipster?

See you on a different thread with a lighter exchange.

Good night,
SDG

Well, hopefully we can now get back to the topic at hand.

What is the topic at hand here now? How we feel a business we don't own should be run? If we the consumer in this multi- billion dollar PTW industry were able to purchase more bikes, be they Vespa, Kawasaki, Honda, BMW or Kymco, we would not se all these shops closing. But they are closing. The poorly run businesses are gone, the dealership groups with large flooring plans (inventory financing) either sold bikes or lost their note and their chain.

Yamaha and Suzuki, IIRC, will not have any true 2011 models. The differences are paint and stickers. The Yamaha Majesty may have faded into history books. It has been brutal for lots of companies. Harley Davdison needed over 15 million dollars in tax relief from Wisconsin to keep two factory's jobs there. The same happen in PA last year. This is tax relief from TWO states for one company. How does the amount of relief given to HD compare to the total sales of all of PiaggioNA's product lines combined in all of North America?

America is healing. Jobs are coming. Dealers are buying twenty and thirty Vespas for local inventory. I expect we will see an improvement in most sectors and come next spring, more dealers will have more bikes rolling out the door.

I get what Cipote was saying, I was around during the preppy BS in the 80s, they were snooty moes. But some of you wont understand, some were too old, or some were too young and some were oblivious to the subculture.


My Fred Perry wearing, scooter riding friend Eric, youve been influenced by the Mod Subculture more than you might want to admit. Ive seen you in more Freds than Animal tshirts.

Oh, I know... I'm quite aware of this. But membership in a subculture is about more than what brand of shirt you wear. And my fashion sense is definitely something I hope to avoid rehashing on the forum. Ever. Again. Before you know it, people will be accusing me of wearing sweater vests again.

That whole discussion is nothing but a giant pile of steaming shit waiting for me to either fall in, jump in or get pushed in. That might be funny for some, but I'd rather avoid it this time around.

+100

Matt are you part of some conspiracy or something.

I still wear sweater vest 8) and I look good in them.

Isn't California kinda like an interplanetary Lake Wobegon?

This thread has become quite entertaining.

I really owe Cipote an apology. I must have read his post with blinders on. Context is everything.

Sorry to have been so snarky. Gotta stop posting when I'm feeling old and grumpy just before bedtime!

So...how about those plummeting Piaggio sales?

Well, I thought we were here to talk about Vespa and we are still talking about TopSiders, Fred Perry and Izod shirts.

I wore TopSiders and Izod with the collar up the first time round, not when they were retro-cool. I never heard of Fred Perry till MV two years ago. I did ride a Vespa in the early 80's and listen to the Clash and ShaNaNaNa ShoninKnife and lots of other Ska and Punk stuff along with going to the Doobie Brothers and Queen concerts; Live and High! The 80's were a great time. I was luck. I didn't fit into a clique but I could travel with many different ones. I could hang out with jocks, the bandies, the drama, the cheerios, the pot-heads, the rockers, shop-geeks, the gear-heads. It was great fun being able to part of so many communities.

TopSiders were fun but I found they were not so good for me a daily wear shoes but when I wore them on the sailboat..wow, these are great. You never slip. Izods went the way if so many other fashions and I am sure I kept up with the Joneses. Both still have their place in my closet. Just like scooters.

Scooter have a place in my life too. Let's just celebrate the joy these (sometimes silly and fun) little pieces of transportation bring to our lives.

\
The sound of me getting off my of my soapbox.
\\

Speaking of the ol' Cobrasnake promotion, I'm sure Vespa was proud as could be that they gave some scoots to the guy who took these photos. (Cobrasnake made his mark as a party/event/scene photo blogger.) These appear in a gallery on the LA Weekly website entitled, "Embarrassing Photos You Don't Want Tagged on Facebook: Part Deux."

http://www.laweekly.com/slideshow/embarrassing-photos-you-dont-want-tagged-on-facebook-part-deux-31571668/





And that, friends, is marketing!

this is going to sell Vespa how

So tomorrow morning I pick up a 2011 LX150ie. Doing my part to help I guess.

And since the topsider/hipster subtext is strong, I'll add to that - I own a sailboat, I'm a licensed coast guard captain and certified sailing instructor, and topsiders are barely functional as deck shoes. They may not slip thanks to good sole siping, but your feet come out of them much too easily for the traction to be of help. About as useful on a moving boat as steel toed tevas held on with velcro would be as scooter shoes.
Practically the only people who wear them regularly on a boat are posers who own a fake captain's hat. Stylewise, even when topsiders were big in the 80's the smarter preppies wore Sebago campsides or ll bean Bluchers which had at least some arch support, which Sperry topsiders don't really have.

That's gonna hurt sales.

I see Cobrasnake's van parked in Santa Monica on Ocean all day long at the same metered spot. With a temp handicap placard in the window so they don't have to feed the meter....

Basically they are abusing the handicapped parking privileges for a free advertising spot.
Not cool.

Nuff to make snow sans scooter attractive.

Scooter enthusiasts play a role in forming the general conception as well. If people only see you riding your scooter on weekends or warm summer days, that reinforces the general attitude that scooters are playthings and not serious transportation. I ride mine year round. The only time I don't ride is when there's ice on the streets.

I agree with the idea of advertising the scooter as real world transportation. My GTS300 has been my daily commute to work now for a year and half and still the people I know seem amazed that I can travel 25 miles a day round trip on a scooter. They can't believe I rode it into work in the heat, cold, rain, rush hour, dark, etc. They look doubtful when I say yes it can keep up with and indeed pass interstate traffic. They look even more doubtful when they ask, "Aren't you scared in all that rush hour traffic?" and I answer, "You can ride safe if your ride right". I think many would accept it easier if I said I ride a magic carpet to work than a scooter. The idea that a scooter can be real transportation needs to be sold in this country.

And a name change from "scooter" wouldn't hurt either. Go into Toys-r-us and you can purchase a scooter for your 5 year old and you can also buy one in The Scooter Store (for those outside the US, this is a store that sales electric chairs called "Scooters" for folks who have gotten too old, weak, heavy or whatever to walk.) Somehow the word scooter in this country doesn't have the ring of real transportation.

There's no better place to start than here, so maybe we can brainstorm and come up with something. A few off the top of my head ideas:

awesomecycles
kindacycles
motorwheelers
"the motorized vehicles formerly known as scooters"
megascooters
skooterrz
superfuncycles
flyingunicorns
zippycycles
badassmobiles
realscooters
scootersbutnotthoseonesforkidsorinvalids

It is either what the old timers call the youngins that annoy them or someone that lives next to a thighster and the neighbors behind them are buttsters.

I am a thighster myself. Nice to meet you.

Frogglet

Easy peasy pumpkin squeasy.

We do not ride scooters
We do not ride mopeds

We ride Vespas!

Marketing tagline:

"It's not a scooter, it's a Vespa"

I like it, its like the name Jeep.

I usually tell people that I ride a Vespa and most of them understand right away what that means. One exception was the orthopedic specialist I saw the other day. When I told him I broke my collarbone by crashing my scooter he told me I needed to come up with a better story. In his mind, Vespa = moped.

Damn!! I need a good mechanic!! (In Gainesville, Florida.)

Most folks around here refer to their 900lb Harley-Davidson's as scooters, or scoots, as do most of the guys in the MC's. We started refering to our motorcycles as scooters as kids back in the 70's because the full-grown dope smok'in, bike rid'in, (real) club member'in, convicted felon types did so. These guys were not soft. We thought they were cool at the time, but as I stated, we were kids.

"It's not TV, it's HBO!"

I happily ride scooters and consider myself a scooterist. Other people can call them whatever they like. They're going to anyway regardless of what I have to say about it.

If Piaggio/Vespa has to rely on trendy/fashionista/hip/in people for sales, God help. The "Beautiful People" have the attention span of moths. Vespa has to build a loyal customer base of riders who believe that the company will understand and support them. That means that, when something like that GTS/GTV fuel pump goes all to hell, the company takes immediate action. That is what builds customer loyalty, which is better than ads about the latest junk band or stylish clothing.

Hi all - been lurking for awhile but I'm nearly ready to buy. Seeing the discussion of plummeting sales of Piaggios leads me to a question for y'all. Dealers here say the Flys are not selling. Considering I'm a new rider and cash is a concern -- I have it narrowed down to either (a) a new '09 Fly 150 or (b) a new 2011 Honda PCX (125cc) and both are priced within $200 of each other out the door. Any advise on which to choose? Concerns are:
-Parts availability (and price)
-Availability of service
-The general consensus (at MV) that the Fly 150 is much better with a bunch of mods (= time + more money) although I'll probably do some mods to either (lights, horn, etc).
-Carb (Fly) vs. fuel injection (Honda). Which is more durable, cheaper to maintain and replace, etc? How do you keep the carb clean if you don't plan to ride in the brutal Tx summer?

I'd plan on keeping it 5-10 years.

Thanks for the comments!

Is that a Piaggio branded Fly 150 or the a Fly branded 150cc scooter?

The Fly's a great scoot and there are ways of storing it when not in use for months at a time that will protect the carb. I'm not sue the consensus here is that mods are required; it just depends on your needs. Also, there tends to be a bias here towards larger scoots.

That said, from your criteria and concerns, the Honda may be a better selection for you. while the Fly may be as durable, the Honda will probably be cheaper to maintain and may be easier to get parts for. (Not sure; it's a new model.)

I've also heard people say that quality and reliability on the Fly has declined since they started building them in China. I'm not sure if this is true or just part of the Chinese scoot backlash and so on. You may want to start a new thread and solicit opinions from actual Fly owners.