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Vespa Scooters
By Mitch Johnson, Sat Dec 10th
Vespa is one of the oldest known names in scooters, partlybecause of their long run in the industry. For nearly 60 yearsVespa have been manufactured and used as a primary orsecondary from of transportation. Originally an Italian company,Vespa were designed to replace bicycles for a bettermeans of transportation. The name Vespa is translated into"wasp" in English, which was what the original body styleresembled. Several Vespa scooter models still made havesimilarities to the original body design, but still many otherdesigns have been made through the company. The smallest and least powerful Vespa have 50 ccengines while the largest and most powerful engines from Vespaare 200 cc. Vespa scooter engines of all sizes in between arealso made to accommodate every type of driver. Since thebeginning of Vespa their popularity has spread acrossthe world. Other companies have bought licenses to manufacturerand distribute Vespa in nearly every country. Theirpopularity grew in part because of the convenient transportationalternative Vespa originally created in cities andcountries that greatly needed them to continue growth. Though new models of Vespa are still being designed andsold, the older, original models have become a valuedpossession, now considered vintage. Vintage Vespas are yypicallythose that have the first designed body style. Long-time supporters of Vespa look to purchase olderVespa models so they can refurbish them and show off their newlooking vintage Vespa. Vintage Vespas are not only valuablebecause of likeness; they are valuable monetarily as well, whichis the main appeal to some collectors. The parent company
of Vespa is Paggio who, in 2000,certified several Vespa Vintage Restoration Shops. Theserestoration locations where certified because Paggio saw thateach shop had a keen and familiar understanding of mechanicallyworking with old or vintage Vespa as well as with thenewer models. There are unique servicing methods andrequirements for Vespa scooters, along with old designs of partsthat need special attention. The certified Vespa Vintage shopsare where the company recommends you take your vintage scooterto ensure quality service. Through the Vespa scooter catalog youcan order Vespa Vintage parts for remodeling old Vespas. Theparts are certified original because they are made from theoriginal drawings used to design the first Vespa scooters. Partsfor other Vespa can be purchased through the Vespacatalog or from scooter parts retailers online. For extremeadvocates of Vespa scooters, new or vintage, there are Vespaclubs in some cities that help bring together those with commoninterests.
Online Vespa scooter sites provide a medium to contribute yourthoughts or
questions about Vespa scooters. These sites offerall varieties of information
about Vespa, such as eventsinvolving the Vespa brand of scooters, releases
of the newestmodels and books or other publications with Vespa scooterinformation.
Beginner and experienced information can be foundat the numerous Vespa scooter
sites to help Vespa owners keep upwith the latest. |
