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Originally Posted by Perfectlap
Every time I see these I remember the packs of women in dressess and stilleto heels riding these all over Rome.... insane traffic there.
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Hi,
I remember the Vespa from my childhood. I spent my 1st 16 yrs. living in Lausanne, Paris, and Naples and especially in the '50s, these Scooters dominated the scene.
But, make no mistake, these are the real deal. They're Fast, Solid, with great Brakes and a very comfortable ride. There's a huge contingent of Vespa Owners here in the Twin Cities, and I've already been contacted by the local Touring Club.
There is also a LONG list of distinguished owners of Vespas through the years to include: Steve McQueen, John Wayne, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Tiger Woods (owns 2 GT 200s which he keeps on his Yacht), Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, James Gandolfini (who actually delayed the Final season of the Sopranos because of a crash he had on his GT 200), Dennis Hopper, Matthew Broderick and his wife, Sara Jessica Parker, Jay Leno (has 3), Matt Lauer, Bill Murray, Steven Spielburg, Anthony Quinn, Paul Newman (it travels in the Newman-Haas Support Truck between races), Owen Wilson, Jerry Seinfeld, Mickey Rourke, Jacques Nasser (former CEO of FORD Motor Co.), Tony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Brent Favre, and on and on...
Like I said, a Motorcycle just doesn't fit the bill for us. Harleys are nice, but have become such a
cliche' that they're not really special anymore. And, given my size, and Mrs. MNBoxster's, a Harley is really too much Bike for us. And, I got so good a deal on this one (over $1500 off MSRP), that we can actually ride it for a couple of years and still sell it for more than we paid judging on the resale value of the '04s and '05s. Popularity and Demand is on the rise, so prices are actually expected to increase for the next few years. Money Magazine wrote in an article last year:
- "Well, one area to be watching is the Scooter Business. I think that with the urban sprawl/crawl, the little runabouts will spring up like crazy. Yamaha's Vino, the Piaggio, Vespa (produced by Piaggio) and others that have that "Vespa" quaintness, or an Italjet speed, will be the next rage. Hot rodders will tinker to get these little rats to get to 80-90mph, yet still be "cute" enough to fool the local police…"
For ********************s and giggles, I highly recommend checking them out and taking a Test Drive. I bet most of you come away very surprised. And, since the worst thing for a Car is short hops, we'll be saving the Jag and the Boxster for serious hauling and fun, and let the $4k Scooter take the beating...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99