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.

Sorry for the delay in this week’s podcast. I haven’t been able to get back on track since the holidays, but since my liquor and drug intake has been negligible for years, I don’t have that to fall back on. Let’s just say, don’t worry, I’m all better now and have a dynamite show planned for this weekend, covering the demise of a 1990s scooter shop and how I got a hold of my restored 1967 Vespa 180ss.

In the mean time, enjoy the newly posted Youtube video which is exactly what gets me salivating about going back to Italy and visiting the Piaggio Museum (as I talked about in Episode 42)

SHOWNOTES: Call the voice mail line at 206-888-6174 and tell me what you think of the show or let me know what kind of scooting activities are going on in your area. I have been looking to try to find out how Canadian Hayden Neale from Jacksoul is doing, but there hasn’t been much in the news about him and his website has not been updated. Anybody out there heard anything? Give me a call.
It has seemed that many of the scooter bloggers are slowing down a bit on posting. For me it means searching for more supplemental material and wondering each week what I will be talking about. So this morning, as a jump-start, I took off on my P200/sidecar rig for a ride into the country and some good old fashion open throttle riding. What that really means is pounding out 50 mph on a long downhill stretch. I realized that I haven’t said much lately about what is going on here at home, so in addition to this weeks news and blog reviews, we’ll do a little catching up.
Other scooter blog post that are up have very personal touches, like Honky Tonk Dragon and Ben’s plans to move from Oregon to Connecticut, with no job. How “in the moment” is that! Look at the following posts from and his starting over with his family or Little Billy’s Scooter Tales where Bill talks about his new responsibilities for helping guide their employee run business. An then there is the ever evolving and surprisingly transparent Combat Commuter, who bravely has opened up about his family and talking about what is important to him. These are people living and experiencing life as it is today and what pushes people to be better than we are or better that we were.
Marcel, my wife has been out west in Montana that past few days. Some of you may remember that she has been working in the land of ScooterDave in Cincinnati for the past few years and commuting back and forth on the weekend from here in Richmond Virginia. I think this trip has been a soul search for both of us, trying to regroup and get back to creating more of a life together. I must say that over the time we have been together, which is many years, she also has been much more the risk taker when it comes to employment, than I have ever been. But she has also helped me understand that with risk taking come the potential for great rewards and that is what I am talking about. So best of luck to Ben and Bill and the Combat Commuter and oh, yeah I guess I should say good luck to Marcel and me as it looks like she is coming home and we are embarking on a new adventure with each other and with her work.

Other scooter news and blog posts:
Piaggio continues to move forward in Vietnam
Honda announces lineup for 2008
Piaggio keeps pushing it’s MP3 “it’s fun and stable”
Crystal Waters review of “The Compete Idiot’s Guide to Scooters”

MUSIC
Podsafe Music Network
Steve Paroe from Switzerland with Mary, Mary
Girl stuff from Switzerland with a little hip hop called MI CHIEDO SE (I ask myself)
Italians from Italy of course! with Strong Enuff

 

 Episode 27: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

SHOWNOTES: There have been some website hiccups this week, this time not my fault. Libsyn hosting went down for several days last week and took with them all the mp3 files. Looks like all is OK today. Crystal Water’s ride to Vermont. Was cut short last week about 150 mile past Scranton. The story is in the Times Argus newspaper from Montpelier, Vermont. Her boyfriend Dwayne McCullough drove from Maryland the other to pick her and her Vespa scooter up and get her to Randolph for the ride yesterday.

I gave up on the website I ordered the POR-15 products for reconditioning my 180ss tank and went to the POR-15 website and reordered this past week. Every time I walk out to the garage I am reminded of the last tank I did, spilled a little coating on the floor and it’s never coming off.

Here are the links for other news stories mentioned on this show. Anumber of them are from The ScooterScoop:

1. Crystal Waters Vermont Ride. She is from Girlbike.com
2. Scooter are the answer to NYC traffic
3. Connecticut purchases scooters for training riders
4. Honda to Make scooters in Vietnam
5. Piaggio readies hybrid scooters for the market
6. Most powerful scooter in the world
7. Vespa S Preview video
8. Third Coast Rally 3 in Texas

MUSIC Podsafe Music Network, Blake Morgan – Maybe I’m Amazed, Stingray – Blackbird and Country Blue – Fast Cars

 

 Episode 25: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download