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Euro Looking Scooters - Page 3

post #31 of 43
4/2/08 at 1:33pm
You're right, that is misleading. I find the true story of Indian production compelling pretty compelling. The scooter industry in India must be absolutely enormous. They know what they're doing over there.
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post #32 of 43
4/6/08 at 7:46am
Please forget about "Euro looking" and go for the real ones, buy a real Vespa.
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post #33 of 43
4/6/08 at 8:48am
my mate Pat is pretty well known for such things...almost all for export, but he is a mate, so he he did mine. Vespas abt 2.5k full restored. Lambrettas like 3.5. You can design it from the ground up then...

No pic of mine on this machine (and it is back at his workshop after the dude at the gas station snapped the pin in the seat), but my Vespa is pretty much rock solid. Looks great in a custom bronze with a flame job.

www.saigonscootercentre.com

edit - actually there is a pic of mine on his site from the Saigon-Hanoi Scooter run pic.

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post #34 of 43
4/6/08 at 8:46pm
Thread Starter 
I've been looking into the scooters more and there is actually a really good scooter shop 5 blocks from me and is pretty much the only one in the area. I have shown them some pics of ones I was thinking about buying and they said they have all been crap so far.

Someone I knew had a really cool looking Vespa but it was made in Vietnam and they refused to work on it because apparently the ones from Vietnam are such crap. I'm seriously considering buying a Stella that someone in SF is selling. It is a 2 stroke and hard to get in CA also. If it is available after I get back from Asia next month, then I may pick it up.
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post #35 of 43
4/6/08 at 9:03pm
ya, that is basically one of the biggest hurdles to Pat's business. He is the only guy in town I would buy from. Issue with it is that a lot of American Vietnamese guys see it as easy money...come here, buy the lowest grade Vespas/Lambrettas they can find (reaally fucked up bikes, twisted chassis', rustholes through the panelwork and so on), give them a quick patch up and a shiny paint job, restore them using all cheap Chinese parts, and then export them at basically the same price as the reputable places would. This in turn leads to the 'Vietnamese Vespas are crap' perception on the world market for the legitimate guys. If you look around, you will basically find that SSC has a pretty flawless reputation among scooter-buffs worldwide. He is very choosy about his base bikes, only buys the best, and only uses Italian components for the innards, meaning the bikes are very reliable and extremely solid. Don't buy a VNese bike from anyone else.
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post #36 of 43
4/6/08 at 11:02pm
Thread Starter 
Apparently the bike my acquaintance has is pretty good from what his scooter buddies told him. I will ask the shop if they will still work on it, though the Stella is looking pretty sweet.
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post #37 of 43
4/9/08 at 9:36am
I can't believe i didn't notice this thread sooner. I have a "modern vespa", a 2006 LX 150 and have owned a vintage vespa as well. The stella (i don't believe paiaggio is bringing the px (basically the same bike) to the states anymore, though you can prob find a used one pretty easily) are a great middle ground. You have the added enjoyment of a manual transmission, but it still runs very well and Genuine has been very good with maintenance and road side assistance. You can also have most shops add a 190 kit to give it some extra kick and a higher top speed. Plus the added bonus of 60+ mpg is always nice.

I own a vespa and a motorcycle, and ride my vespa ~70% of the time i need to go somewhere. Granted i'm in manhattan, but even so, the ease of cutting through traffic, and the ease of parking make living hear much more enjoyable. as for speed i have mine pretty tricked out: hot cam, 190 kit, aftermaket exhaust, and can get it to over 80 on the highway. Though you're taking you life in your hands considering you are on an 11 inch rim...
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post #38 of 43
4/9/08 at 3:11pm
Tiecollector is in CA where you can split lanes. He'd reallly cut through traffic.
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post #39 of 43
4/9/08 at 10:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HomerJ View Post
Tiecollector is in CA where you can split lanes. He'd reallly cut through traffic.

I don't really want to take it on the freeway because I don't want to risk getting hit. I'm not going to wear leather over my suits to ride a scooter. I just realized that to get to work I'd have to take a 15 mile detour to not use the freeway legally. (I only live 14 miles from work, all freeway) Anyways, should make life easier for going to grab lunch or run errands though.

I don't really see people splitting the lanes that much where I live. It is common in the Bay Area though.
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post #40 of 43
4/10/08 at 9:07am
even if you just get one for weekends or the the occasional errands ride, you'll get hooked. I never imagined i would ride mine as much as i do, it's become my main form of transport, both of the ease of riding (my gf much prefers it to the motorcycle) and the fun involved going from A to B.

As for highways - i've taken mine on 95 and 87 here around NY, along with most of the parkways and expressways, and if you stay in the right lane you should be fine. Plus - if the highway that you take to work is congested when you'll be riding, the speeds will be reduced.

As for protection, the cement feels the same whether you fall off a ducati or a stella/vespa/scotter, so make sure to do your research on getting a good helmet. Although i'm not an atgatt guy, i do always wear gloves and shoes at the very least, and pants and long sleeves when possible.
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post #41 of 43
4/10/08 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mylesmyles View Post
even if you just get one for weekends or the the occasional errands ride, you'll get hooked. I never imagined i would ride mine as much as i do, it's become my main form of transport, both of the ease of riding (my gf much prefers it to the motorcycle) and the fun involved going from A to B.

As for highways - i've taken mine on 95 and 87 here around NY, along with most of the parkways and expressways, and if you stay in the right lane you should be fine. Plus - if the highway that you take to work is congested when you'll be riding, the speeds will be reduced.

As for protection, the cement feels the same whether you fall off a ducati or a stella/vespa/scotter, so make sure to do your research on getting a good helmet. Although i'm not an atgatt guy, i do always wear gloves and shoes at the very least, and pants and long sleeves when possible.

You wear gloves and shoes even when you are going around town? I will probably do the same. When you say shoes, do you mean any shoes or special riding shoes? I was riding around Key West in flip flops.

I still don't think I'll take it on the freeway, especially since to get on the freeway basically there are 3 or 4 freeways all merging. Basically everyone from the left side needs to get to the right and vice versa, it is a mess for about a mile.
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post #42 of 43
4/10/08 at 9:57am
Yes - i almost always wear gloves and always wear shoes/ sneakers. i don't wear special riding shoes but i would never ride in flip flops (i even bought a pair of crocs for when i do want to make a quick run to the store when i'm out at the beach, i'm not proud of it, but it was the only alternative i could find that was easy to throw on and protected my toes) . When you do lay your bike down or fall, even at slow speed, the first thing you do is put your hands out, and even the lightest of riding gloves will help protect your hands. Same thing with wearing shoes. you don't want to lose a few toes.
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post #43 of 43
4/10/08 at 1:51pm
Can't believe no one has posted this yet:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_kIUSr7-is
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