SCOOTERCAST Episode 72: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

SHOW NOTES: There have been a ton of books written about Italian scooters maybe because they are, at the same time, both practical and nostalgic. The Piaggio company was founded in 1884 by Rinaldo Piaggio just outside of Genoa, Italy. The company started as a woodworking shop, making interiors for ships, but branched out by the turn of the century in to building rail carriage cars and engines. They entered the airplane business shortly before WWI and by 1923, were making some of the best planes built in Europe. As you might expect, WWII was devastating to Italy as well as the Piaggio company. As a weapons maker, the factories were prime targets for the allies and were bombed heavily towards the end of the war. In addition, as the Germans retreated from areas they occupied in Italy, like Pontedera, they either blew-up or heavily mind the Piaggio factories.

Enrico Piaggio challenged an engineer named Corradino D’Ascanio to come up with a vehicle that would be comfortable, easy to ride and with an engine that could not be seen from the outside. He was not a motorcycle fan and was motivated to come up with something different. Solutions came from the companies extensive background in aeronautics and borrowed both from the designs and the technical aspects of airplanes. As a result, the scooter’s front suspension was a single fork design, similar to what was used in landing gear. They used a load-bearing sheet metal design instead of a frame and a horizontal single cylinder engine that would pivot on the frame, eliminating the need for a swing arm. The same basic design factors, although modified, continues to exist today in the modern Vespas produced today.

If I was disappointed, and I should say I wasn’t disappointed in much, I know that the museum is showing just a fraction of it’s collection. Also, since the collection focuses on the Italian market, it means that many of the variations we have come to know and love are no where to be seen. I am not even sure how much time we spent at the museum,(it was hours) but it proved to be both a pleasure and an education for me and surprisingly for Marcel, who endured the whole time without a cappuccino break. For more information on how to contact the Piaggio Museum or how to get there check here for directions.

Other Piaggio and Vespa References

• Vespa: 1946-2006: 60 Years of the Vespa by Giorgio Sarti and Roberto Colaninno
• Vespa by Davide Mazzanti
• Scooters: Red Eyes, Whitewalls and Blue Smoke by Colin Shattuck
• Classic Scooters: 1945-1970 by Mick Walker
• Vespa by Valerio Boni
• Vespa: An Illustrated History by Eric Brockway
• Vespa : From Italy with Love by Giorgio Sarti

Music for this show is from the Podsafe music network featuring Girl Stuff from Italy and The Plastic Soul Band.

 

 Scootercast Episode 71: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show Notes: This episode was done after arriving in Florence Italy, having just come from Ragusa which is in the southern part of the island of Sicily. While there it was a week of family dinners, celebration and of course lots and lots of conversation. Since I am at best, conversational in Italian, it means listening a lot and asking for things to slowly be repeated. But everyone is very patient and truly seem to be happy to see us.
I have been posting on twitter from my iphone since we arrived in Italy. I find it interesting to be in a place where somethings are very modern, yet many other things are ancient. This is especially true the farther your get from the big city. A great example of this is how the iphone seems to work everywhere we go using the cell system, but to find free wi-fi is almost impossible.

For those of you who might be lucky enough to travel to Italy, getting around by train is very easy. It used to be harder because you had to buy tickets at the ticket window. It was common to have the agent throw a ticket at you in frustration and signal you to move away from the window. These days, everything is done at ticket kiosk where you can purchasing tickets in six different languages. The trains are clean, comfortable and even the local trains are surprisingly efficient. The local trains slower, but that is part of the charm of coming here, you are forced to slow down, take in the scenery and enjoy the ride. My observation is that most people fall asleep.

Italians ride modern scooters. But that doesn’t mean you don’t a few 2 strokes or other old vehicles poking along. It is common to come across people broke-down on the side of the road and it is always an adventure to stop and talk with them. If it is a scooter, curse their bikes and love them at the same time, but eventually every conversation turns to “who is your family”, “do you know this person or that person”. It seems to always be about looking for a connection. It has me thinking about how our scooter conversations are similar, what scooter are you riding, who do you know and what rallies have you been too. Did I mention that dinner here usually starts about eight and goes until midnight with lots of drinking? Sounds familiar doesn’t it, kind of like our scooter get-togethers.

Music for this show is from the Podsafe Music Network and included the Silent Treatment and also Sean Costello.

Wireless is hard to come by in the little towns of Sicily. So here is a great experiment, can I blog from my iPhone? Italy is hot in the summer but a good time to visit because everyone goes to the mountains or sea. Rome was empty and we walked up to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and other sites without having to fight any crowds.
Unlike most people think scooters in Italy are utilitarian. But they have caught on that the rest of us have a love for them and there is Vespa crap all over the place. Most scooters are big wheeled Aprilia or the like and it is not uncommon to see bikes from Taiwan. Old scoots are rare as the government started paying to get them off the streets years ago.
But life is as I remember it, people and food first everything else second.
Be sure to check twitted for daily updates ok our travels. Pictures to follow as soon as I get an Internet connection.

SHOW NOTES: One of our friends, a native Sicilian is getting some kind of “Italian made good in the US of A” awards and since most of her family can’t make it back to the old country, Marcel and I “said sure why not, we’ll go.” As you might imagine, this is going to be a festival and italian festivals mean three things, food, drink and music. The town is called Ragusa and in about two weeks we will be hobnobbing with Adriana’s old country folk and making our way around to the sights on the island.

Any of you who have been following the show or watching the web know that Alix Bryan has been traveling around the US this summer talking with people about Peace and answering all kinds of questions about her Buddy 125. I am lucky in that I live here in Richmond, where she started and ended her ride, and it ended in style, with a big scooter party at ScootRichmond. Thanks to Chelsea! Over the course of the evening there were probably 50 or so scooterist, many well-wishers and lots of good food and at the end of it all, Alix sat down with me and reflected on the ride. You’ll need to listen to the podcast to get all the details and make sure you revisit Alix’s website and help her out. She is truly one authentic human being, hopefully something that we all aspire to be, even in the scooter world.

Jeff Culter first emailed me back around the first of the year, talking about getting a scooter, complimenting me on the show and generally kissing up to the host. I guess it didn’t hurt that I was giving away an ipod.  But it became evident, after he didn’t go away, that Jeff really did have a budding interest in scooters. What was even more interesting to me was that he had a podcast called Bowl of Cheese with a website to match. Being the usual dolt that I am, I couldn’t imagine how someone could write or talk about cheese all the time, but then again I guess you say that about scooters. It wasn’t until several weeks later, after subscribing to his podcast that I realized that Jeff, unlike me, was a real writer and his show was not about cheese, but about life’s many absurdities. This is my endorsement, suggesting that you visit Jeff’s websites. You’ll find the kind of writing that many of us aspire to and besides, he’s a big fan-boy of one of my favorite tech guys, John C Dvorak.

Music for this show is from the Podsafe music network. Billy Jones is blues and may be one of the most famous ‘unknown’ musicians you will ever hear.

 

 SCOOTERCAST Episode 69 [30:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download