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Heres another Vespa related post -The Sin City actor Mickey Rourke seems to be a fan of blue Vespa’s and apparently the odd shot of whiskey. Mickey was caught at 4.20am on his blue vespa in Miami – Oh come on Mickey, why would you think riding your blue Vespa at 4 in the morning would not attract attention. To be honest, Vespa’s get attention even in the day -never mind underneath a pissed movie star.

He was picked up after he tried an illegal U turn – and police said that when they pulled him over he said “What the f**ck did I do?” It does seem that  Mickey keeps to the Hollywood stereotype.

I tried looking to find a picture of Mickeys Vespa and apparantly this is it:

Very nice indeed – and who said money doesn’t buy you class!

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Whilst its likely that I might be popping into GAP to pick up a few Christmas gifts this Christmas – I did not expect this!

You can nowpick up an limited-edition LX50 Vespa next time you pop in to Gap. The LX50 paint is based on a Gap design which will also be available in scarves, jumpers, gloves, leg warmers plus a load of baby clothes. So this Christmas you could be fully kitted in Gap whilst riding a Gap Vespa.

The Brand New Gap Vespa costs just under $6,000 with the RRP = $5,999

In comparison this is far more expensive than the standard LX50 which only costs $3,199 – but I imagine this “Crazy Stripe” LX50 will be limited edition and have a number of other features.
I am sure that LX50 aficionados will love this, but I personally like my Vespa’s in green. Be sure to keep an eye out for these stripey Vespa’s this christmas and send me a pic if you see one in the wild.

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Are you new to the world of scooters, or just bought a scooter and a little scared? Well just follow these rules and you will be a little safer!

1. Be aware of what is going on around you at all times! Is that bus just about to turn left?
2. Drive defensively and regard every car and road junction as a possible threat.
3. Don’t assume that other drivers will do the obvious and always be prepared for the unexpected.

   Do not get yourself into difficult situations and always give yourself sufficient space on the road to get yourself out of and difficulty.

4. Do not ride too close to the kerb so that you have room to move over if there is a problem or someone tries to cut you up.

   Try and ride in a confident manner and make sure you let other drivers know what you are doing.

5. Give clear and positive signals but above all remember you are on two wheels and that you are vulnerable.

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Ever wished you could escape the congested trains and buses and queues of traffic? Take flight away from it all with the stylish Piaggio Fly or Piaggio Zip and experience the fun and freedom of two-wheel travel.Piaggio Fly

Priced at just £1,811 with two years warranty, one-year roadside assistance and a FREE top box, the Piaggio Fly 125cc is a perfect alternative method of transport. Piaggio has made it even easier for you to get onto 2 wheels this summer, with an insurance offer of TPFT maximum rate of only £249* until 31st October 2007 on the stylish Piaggio Fly 125cc for over 25 year olds!

The Fly is available from Piaggio dealerships nationwide NOW and comes in three colour variations to suit all tastes – Royal Blue, Excalibur Silver and Black.

For more information click here

Piaggio Zip

Turn heads with the smartest way to travel around town – the Piaggio Zip 50cc. At only £1,111 on the road, it costs approximately £5 to fill the tank with petrol and with the advantage of free parking nationwide; the Piaggio Zip is a set of wheels you can afford.

This scooter comes in a choice of three bold colours (Royal Blue, Dragon Red, and Black) to ensure you stand out from the crowd and with an adjustable seat to offer 3 different heights, the Piaggio Zip also offers an extremely comfortable ride. Ample underseat storage can accommodate a helmet while smaller items, such as a mobile phone, can be stored in a lockable glove compartment and the handy bag-hook behind the steering column can take your heavy bag and also fit on a shopping bag or two.

Additional accessories for both models include a shock-resistant windscreen with hand covers to provide additional protection from the weather, Piaggio Copter helmets complete with a Soft Touch finish (available in three matt colours) and a range of stylish and lightweight Technocomfort jackets for both men and women.

For more information click here
Why two wheels?

As well as reducing journey times by up to 40% when compared to other forms of urban transport**, free parking is available for scooters across the UK, they are exempt from London’s Congestion Charge, and only cost £15 (up to 150cc) for a year’s road tax.

Not only is it a super stylish way to travel but research by Piaggio, the leading scooter manufacturer, shows that travelling by scooter cuts journey time by half, saving an average of an hour a day** while also saving you approximately £20 a week in travel costs. This gives you more money in your pocket and extra zzz’s in bed in the morning before hopping on your Piaggio to get to work – two things that make life even more enjoyable!

Getting onto two wheels couldn’t be easier as all you need is a valid driving licence (provisional or full) and to complete just one day’s Compulsory Basic Training if you passed your driving test before February 2001.

For more information about any of the Piaggio models or how to find your nearest Piaggio dealer, call FREEPHONE 00800 818 29800 or visit www.uk.piaggio.com.

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The Vespa S is the brand new Piaggio Vespa to hit the market. My first emotion is Wow – and the next feelings I feel border on the erotic. The one thing that is noticeable to even the lay man is how small this scooter is. Compared to previous Scooters – the Vespa S is styled to look like the 50 special – which is a very good thing. In comparison with a lot of the latest Vespa incarnations the most obvious difference is the shape of the Headlight. I really like the headlight – it seems more masculine?

The Speedo this machine is very chromey – again a great thing (you can never have to much chrome!)

Ok so we know its sexy! but what about the boring stuff like price?

How about £2,650! That ain’t half bad, for such a pretty machine – I think this baby is going to be on my Christmas list.

What do you guys think? Are you going to be selling your current Vespa to get one of these?

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Up until today the people of Vietnam where unable to buy domestic made Vespa scooters. Piaggio said that today they are going to build a scooter factory in the Vietnamese city of Vinh Phuc which is near the capital Hanoi. The factory is expected to produce around 50,000 scooters per year with the first scooter to come off the production line in 2009. In comparison with many western nations, Vietnam has already taken to scooters like a duck to water. Motorcycles are actually the most popular form of transport with over 21 million registered bikes on the road today. The Vietnamese market is also growing by 2 million bikes a year!

Piaggio has said they are planning to invest $30 million into the new factory over the next 2 years. Vietnam already has strong competitors in the motorcycle industry with Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki all have a base in the country.

I think this is great news for the people of Vietnam and I will look forward to riding a brand new Vespa when I make my visit in the next 3 years.

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A great discussion going on at Modern Vespa that I thought I should share:

Movran asked: If you were going to pick up a vintage Vespa, what would you get and why?

There was some great answers, below I have highlighted some of the best.

•   Vespa – I think most would say “GS150″ “GS160″ or “SS180″
• Lambretta – SX200 or TV200… even though the TV200 is rarer, i’d rather have the SX because i LOVE the looks of the stock oxblood seat cover against the white paint.
• If reliability as a daily driver and finding new parts is important, I would say get a P series
• A Rally 200 is a great bike spanning vintage and modern styles. It isn’t quite as sexy as a GS but it has a lot more charm than a P series.
• I think the P200 would be a good start for most MV types to get. The engine components are easy to get to; spark, carb (jets), cables. It’s like the VW bug of scooters because you can get parts for them almost anywhere. Being an owner of a smallframe, I have to deal with the constant double checking to make sure I haven’t accidentally picked up a part for a P instead.
•  px series parts are inexpensive and widely availible. there are several service manuals and pretty much any vintage scooterist knows how to work on them. they are one of the easiest bikes to work on, dependable and have the best suspension and brakes.
• Expect to pay $2500-3000 for a really good condition orignal P200. If it’s a US 79-81 model, they made it in Silver, Maroon, White, and Italian Racing Blue and possibly another color or two i’m not aware of….so you should be able to recognize those colors immdiately as the stock job.

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