News, views, gossip, random stuff about my obsession; scooters and scootering! Vespa, Lambretta, Aprilia, Honda, Yamaha, vintage, new, whatever. We cover it. From the Managing Editor of Scoot! Magazine. www.scootquarterly.com

Friday, August 03, 2007

New International Vespa Lifestyle Store


Piaggio has launched an online shopping destination for the Vespa brand. Vespa Shopping is a one-stop shop for Vespa fans, offering the lifestyle items that one sees in boutiques. Clothing, accessories, die-cast models, Vespa Technica books, and crazy-cool stuff such as the clock that looks light a fenderlight and a thermometer that is shaped like a speedo.

Since this is an international site, the prices are in Euros, which puts US buyers at a disadvantage because of the poor exchange rate. Yet, the site gives a good starting point for collectors. I'd suggest looking at it for ideas and then contacting your local Vespa dealer to see if they can get you the item at a better price.

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Monday, July 30, 2007

Scooter Ceramic Tile




This ceramic tile from Chicago-based Circa Ceramics has a real retro feel with its chartreuse, polka-dotted background and P-Series Vespa graphic. At $25 it is a little pricey to use to tile your bathroom, but makes for a nice trivet or a coffee cup coaster for your desk. A cool gift for yourself or for a friend.

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Monday, July 09, 2007

Amerivespa: Seattle Here We Come!

The Scoot! crew is on the move! Josh is now in Taiwan and will be touring the SYM factory this week. Tomorrow I leave for a meandering trip to Seattle with a stop in Portland.On Thursday, Mike leaves with a bunch of Scoot! stuff in tow.

If you're going to be in Seattle for Amerivespa, please stop by our booth and introduce yourself. All 3 of us will be there and we'll have Scoot! swag for sale. But mostly we want to meet scooterists and chat scooters. We're donating a Qlink scooter for the raffle. Maybe you'll win it!

Since we'll be in Seattle this week, the Scoot! office is closed. All phone calls will be returned next week and orders processed once we get back.

Not sure what Amerivespa is? Well, checkout theAmerivespa website.

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Friday, July 06, 2007

New MotoKitty Skirt


For some, the Vespa GS is the epitome of Vespa style and beauty. Now, MotoKitty of Portland, OR has designed a skirt that pays tribute to it. According to MotoKitty owner, Cari Carter, "It's a nice a-line style skirt, with a little bit of swing to it."
The 95% cotton, 5% spandex "GS Skirt" comes in sizes S-XXL (0-16) and sells at her shop for $28. Shipping is $5.
Get it at MotoKitty...

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Monday, June 11, 2007

Scooter Gifts

Looking for some inexpensive gifts for a scooterist friend? Here two items that may fit the bill:


Some would call this a "whimsical" stamp since the scooter is a fanciful doodle of a scooter. It is available through Just Johnna an online rubber stamp company.



This money bank is a cool idea for a teen who is saving for her own scooter. With that red hair, it could have been me in high school! The site offers personalization, so you can get her name put on it. There is also a boy version, so no one needs to be left out. Both banks are from Kidoodles by Kim and sell for $14.95.

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Sunday, June 10, 2007

Remembering 80s scootering scene...

Scoot! is currently working on an 80s issue. We'd like to pay tribute to the 80's (and perhaps EARLY 90s) scooter scene in the US. Things have changed in the past 2 decades, and we'd like to remember the scrubby days of 'zines, photocopied flyers, silkscreen patches, bomber jackets and ironingboard backrests.

If you were a scooterist in the "old days" we'd love to talk to you. We're looking for contributions in the following areas:

1) Photos: Show Us Your Scoots! If you bought a P200 news from the dealer, let's see your proud photos! Were you a mod with an asymmetrical haircut and a scooter with dozen mirrors and a raccoon tail aerial? Were you a scooter boy with a cut-down, a patch-coated jacket and straight-edge tattoo? Send us some of your choicest photos that exemplify the scene. We are looking to run an expanded and 80s-centric Show Us Your Scoots section.

2) Reader's Rides: Do you have a bike currently that is in an 80s style? We want bikes with those rare accessories, funky chrome or definitive 80s mod, scooterboy, skinhead or punk style. They don't have to have perfect paint, but they do have to typify the 80s style. If you've got a good collection of photos of a bike you had in the 80s (even if you don't still own it) we're interested in featuring it. The trick is, e need several photos of the bike at different angles, so you had to pretty type-A about documenting it. If you've got photos like that, we want to talk to you.

3)Rally History: There were some great, infamous rallies in the past. Were you involved in planning them? D you have memorabilia from them such as patches, shirts, flyers etc? Let's create a historical documentation of those old rallies.

4) 80s style: What made the 80s scooter scene? Was it the clothes, the custom bikes, the music, the culture? If you've got some suggestions on what we should cover, we are open to your input. Here's some suggestions to get your mental gears going:
**What accessories, treatments and styles exemplify an 80s scooter? What accessories or treatments were all the rage? Was it checkered tape, chrome, mud flaps, a certain brand of seat, a special aftermarket pipe?
**What were the fashions of the time? Name some key pieces to a scooterist's wardrobe.
**What bands courted the scooter scene? We know how a Bad Manners show could rustle up a parking lot full of scoots, but what other bands has a scooterist following?
**Who were the leading scooterists of the time? Who made the scene what it was? Who was printing 'zines, organized rallies, made parts, ran scooter shops?

Many scooterists miss the good old days, so let's put our heads together and create an issue that stirs up memories, calls attention to where we came from, and perhaps inspires a revival.

send your ideas to aprilATscootquarterly.DOTCOM or email us a brief reply to this post and we'll get back to you.

Happy Scooting!
-april

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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Funky Scooter Fonts

I've always had a thing for fonts since I dated a typographer in the waaay back. The inspired use of fonts can make a page come to life. If you are a scooter fanatic, you may enjoy the fonts I've got in this entry.


I found this Lambretta-inspired font pack at Chank an online font foundry. I've been a big fan of their free fonts, but this font pack is quite affordable at $39. While it is probably best for headings or titles, it can jazz up invitations, posters and the like. May be great for patch design or rally fliers.



If you are interested in getting the font that is used on the Vespa Primavera, you can download it from Smallframes.com.

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Sunday, May 13, 2007

Vespa PR Machine Gears Up For Summer

A recent press release by Piaggio USA is once again playing on high gas prices, the relative affordability of scooters, and the concern over automobile's part in global warming to sell scooters. While this may seem like no news to us scooter riders, these press releases aren't geared towards us. As much as we can say that scooter sales have been growing, they still are just a small part of the automotive market. The fact that Hummers still sell means that us Americans just don't get that our over-the-top lifestyle is at the expense of the environment and the world. It is for those people (especially the city-dwellers) that these releases are sent out. Piaggio is the big kid on the block so they take the lead. I wish other scooter manufacturers would get in on the action and make more noise, but for now, we'll be glad that someone is spending the big bucks to get the message out. Now, if only we could convince Piaggio/Vespa US to get their website to reflect these pushes as well...

Read the press release.

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See Europe by Scooter

European automobile rental service Auto Europe has begun renting Vespa LX125s in Rome, Florance, Venice and Milan, and Yamaha Majesty 125s in Paris, Marseilles, Nice and Cannes. I don't know much about French drivers, but from what I've heard about Italian traffic, the company should also sell health and accident insurance policies. :) Although it does sound like a blast to join the Italians on Italian scooters in Italy. Ah, when in Rome...
Check out Auto Europe's scooter specials.

Also in the news, the Fine Living Channel has included the Italy by Vespa tour on their Great Adventure series. They took a tour that explored Siena and stayed in all sorts of posh places. A week tour costs over $3,000 per person but is supposed to be luxurious and well executed. They say participants can even keep the helmets they used during the trip.
Check out Fine Living's page on the show. or go straight to the Italy by Vespa website.

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Monday, April 23, 2007

Classico Moto Italia May 4-6, San Jose

I used to be a member of Vespa Club Los Gatos one of the oldest continuing scooter clubs in the US. But with work, a magazine and other obligations, I figured I had better bow out rather than be a slacker member. Next month, they will host their Classico Moto Italia rally which is an appreciation of vintage Vespas. While many of the members ride newer scooters, the event is a time to bring out the old show bikes and have a good time. It is a traditional rally with the rides and day show as the main events. If you have a sweet restoration or a classy custom this is the place to show it.

Club founder, Rolf Soltau is a US scootering legend. After years of scootering, he was picked by Piaggio USA to be their training mechanic. Scooterists from all over the USA kow him from his touring for Piaggio. Also, you may have seen his numerous appearances in Scoot! sinc ehe was once the owner of the oldest known Vespa in the USA and also probably the oldest person to complete the scooter Canonball Run (2007). He's a real firecracker, and can party with scoterist 1/3 his age. If you're in the area and can make it to the rally, be sure to meet him as you won't find another scooterist like him.

Scoot!
will be at the rally and I'm looking forward to meeting up with old friends. If you're there, stop by to say hello!

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Friday, April 20, 2007

Art Vespa...Cool Idea

I hapened upon this news item. Vespa South Africa had a contest where design professionials were asked to create an artistic treatment for an LX. The winners each won an LX bearing his/her design. I think that is a great idea. It gets the design community involved with customizing the scooters, which is a big draw to scooterists, and provides some interesting news about the company. I'd love it if a manufacturer in the US would do the same.
Check out the
Vespa South Africa site for other winners and a downloadable computer wallpaper of the entries.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Smart Baby Bibs


Modified Clothing's new baby bbs are very cute. Just what the budding scooterist-to-be needs! This would make a great shower gift for the expectant parents. It's 100% cotton and comes in two colors. Since Modified is brand neutral, the bib comes in a Lambretta and a Vespa version. Perfect for those "mixed" households. :)

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Monday, December 11, 2006

Scooter Desktop Wallpaper

I love Pixel Girl Presents, a great place to get icons and desktops for your computer. I have several on my computer which make it more homey, since I spend so many hours a day in front of it. :) This one has lots going on, but you'll see a fenderlight Vespa near the center. Check out the other desktops the site has and visit the corresponding artists for more inspiration.

See it here Link to desktop

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