In the fashion capital of the world, a real beauty was on show at the EICMA motorcycle expo. This Vespa GS was created out of carbon fibre and is really breathtaking.

According to sources, this carbon fibre Vespa will be limited to only 10 units! Somehow i don’t think i will be to afford it.

This carbon fibre Vespa was not the only carbon fibre bike on show as the Bimota DB7 Nerocarbonio was also unveiled at a price of $52,000!

Ok so your probably don’t expect a post on handheld vacuums at modvespa.com but bear with me. My Vespa will generally get a good clean every week but i find it really hard to clean the inside chamber and inside the seat. It got me thinking that maybe i could use the same handheld vacuum i use in the car on my vespa!

Amazingly when i used my handheld vacuum on my vespa, it cleaned it in half the time it normally took.

Ok, so this is not something that will change your life but it still saves me ten minutes when you could be out scootering!

I checked out a hand-held vacuum comparison site to find the best vacuum cleaner for my scooter.

At hand-held vacuum cleaners.com they believe that the Eureka 71B, Dyson DC16 are the top handheld vacuums on the market today. I went for the Dyson DC16 because we already had a dyson and it looked cool he he

Question: What sounds better than a music tour around the California coastline?
Answer: Use Vespa’s to do all tour traveling!

That is exactly what Jason Reeves will be starting today. As part of the Vespa experiment, they will be on tour around the California area until the 8th May.

Vespa scooters where chosen because of their smaller impact on the environment. As we blogged about before, a 10% switch to scooter in the United States, would save 15 million gallons per day!

If you are around the California are then you check if you can make any of the following dates:
* 4/30 Carlsbad, CA, The Museum of Making Music**
* 5/1 Costa Mesa, CA, Sutra Lounge
* 5/2 Hermosa Beach, CA, Saint Rocke
* 5/3 Los Angeles, CA, Roxy
* 5/5 Ventura, CA, The Lodge at Zoey’s
* 5/7 San Luis Obispo, CA, Downtown Brew
* 5/10 Monterey, CA, Monterey Live
* 5/12 San Francisco, CA, Café Du Nord

Let’s hope we see more musicians choosing to tour with Vespa’s

While the rest of the worlds auto companies are looking at impeding bankruptcy, Vespa bucks the trend. The global scooter manufacturer amassed a 60% increase in growth during 2008.

The Piaggio group which also includes such brands as Vespa, Moto Guzzi and Aprilia managed to shift over 20,000 scooter and other motorbikes in the United States alone.

Whilst the amount of  cars being sold is dropping each day, the cheaper scooter is managing to become a better alternative to consumers. Some of the reasons for the increase in  popularity of the Vespa scooter is:

• Parking prices has increased year on year
• Gas price is still expensive for most families
• Traffic jams in cities mean that using the car can sometimes take twice as long.

The United States scooter market still has a lot of catching up to do with Europe. Currently over 600,000 scooters are sold in Europe compared to the total figure sold in the U.S being 220,000.  When we compare the US market in 2000 where 20,000 scooter where sold this has meant an increase of 200,000!

Since arriving in the US in 2000, the amount of vespa dealerships has gone from 0 to 325 today.

Currently the main scooter on offer from the Vespa brand are priced from $3,299 to $6,199 with some of the piaggio branded bikes going up to just under $9,000. The price difference when compared to most cars means that the amount of Vespa’s sold is set to continue in the coming months.

It’s not just your wallet that will be saved from switching to two wheels. As the latest “vespanomics” advertising campaign pointed out,  if 10% of Americans moved to 2 wheels 14 million gallons of fuel would be saved per day!

I have had a Vespa through the good years of the economy but now that its taken a dive for the worse the decision to switch should be a no-brainer.

Check out some cheap Vespa’s on ebay.

Vespa scooters are great fun to ride but sometimes these two wheeled vehicles can be a little hard to handle. We have trawled the web to find 9 of the biggest Vespa epic failures.

1. News Reporter Tracy Butler Crashes a Vespa

2. Clowning around with your Vespa can sometimes hurt

Before:

after:

3. Don’t push your Vespa too high

4. Be careful what you say to the local rocker gangs

5. When riding, please look at the traffic lights!

6. These Poor Vespa’s didn’t even make it to the showroom

7. Donuts might be nice to eat but be careful when pulling some on your Vespa

8. Skateboard ramps are not for your Vespa

Before:

After:

9. Be careful pulling wheelies with your brand new Vespa

vespa wheelie stupid crash

More information:

http://www.retrothing.com/2006/04/introducing_two.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkcs/876517788/

http://www.slashgear.com/vespa-et4-modded-for-speakers-0211850.php

The ET4 is regarded as one the great Vespa Workhorses! Whilst vintage Vespa’s are great, I am still very proud of my Vespa ET4.

The main benefits of the Vespa ET4 is reliability and price. The Vespa ET4 is perfect for new scooter owners with little mechanical experience. For the city commuter who wants a scooter that they don’t mind getting the odd scratch the ET4 fits the bill. I often find that I can buy a 4-5 year old Vespa ET4 on ebay for around £500-£700 or ($900 -$1300.) Before you head out with your new Vespa ET4, contact insurance companies like norwich union for your insurance related concerns and questions.

Please use the tool below to find yourself a Vespa ET4 Bargain!

Thanks to:www.pimpmyscoota.com

Just saw this and I want one. I wonder if they do one in green?

Find out more: http://www.lamponislamps.com

It’s summer time and many people are looking for the latest and greatest commuter scooters. These are my personal top 4:

Gilera Runner ST

125cc, £2,699

“This is at the heart of cutting-edge-of-the-art engine, modern dashboarch graphics and an anti theft immobiliser. Its sleek rear-view mirrors and streamlined-profile headlamp show it’s no design slouch either.”

Vespa S 125cc, £2,749

“The classic lines of the Vespa are as alluring as ever, and this Seventies-inspired model is perhaps its most desirable yet. It boasts market-leading perfomance, while offering a stable and robust ride. The seat is available in two versions: the more dynamic ‘Sport’ and the ‘ Touring’, with increased comfort for longer journeys.”

Piaggio X7 125cc, £2,599

“This distinctively designed scooter comines lightweight design and agility with a liquid-cooled four-stroke engine with advanced four-valve cliner heads, giving it unprecedented perfomance while comforming to all European emission standards. The fact that it’s also an elegant and smooth ride makes it particulary desirable.”

Peugeot Sum Up

125cc, £1,569

“This is big on comfort and practicality as well as looks, with the broad two-person seat comfortable for both rider and passenger. It balances stability and maneuverability, the 220mm front-disc brake offering reliable stopping power. At only 115kg it’s also one of the lightest scooers in its class, meaning it won’t suck up too much fuel.