(How many classics did we catch on the road? This was as close to classic as it got.)
TheScooterScoop’s “Man about Portugal”, Pedro Pinheiro, took a brief Roman Holiday with this lovely wife recently to gather scooter images to share with you. Well, ok… They went for their 5th Honeymoon, but while he was there Pedro captured these photos and a brief analysis of the scooter situation in the scooter heartlands. Here’s some of his notes:
Hi Steve!Just arrived Sunday from my short trip to Rome, it was wonderful. So, here’s The Scooter Scoop on Rome:
1. Bad news – almost NO classics – I didn’t see ONE really classic Vespa – sad
2. Excellent news – the scooter to car ratio seems to be 1:1 – awesome
3. Good news – the ratio between scooters and motorcycles is about 10:1 – scooters rulezzz
4. Weird news – Piaggio’s are not the most common brand, Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki are the kings – strange
5. Strange but in hindsight predictable news – on the smaller displacement scooters, the most common are the tall wheel ones – lots of cobblestone streets, tall wheels are much more comfortable on uneven roads.I didn’t have to hunt for these sights – they really are everywhere!
Hope you enjoy them!
Pedro
Ok… well there you have it. Lots of Japanese big-wheeled scooters on the roads there and not once did Pedro see an old Lambretta Li or Vespa GS rolling on the cobblestone. I suppose that’s progress… and what they lacked is probably MORE than made up by the Brits. Let’s look at a few of the photos.
(something I’d like to see MORE of here in the USA)
(the 2-wheelers have taken over!)
(it’s like a scooter shoreline. Like you said, I see lot’s of big wheels)
(anyone seen a store front like this in the USA? I want that big Vespa on the left)
(your average commute to work. Nice to see so many helmets on the road)
Oh, here’s the top registrations in Italy (courtesy of Motoblog.it)
Classifica TOP 20 – Gennaio-Giugno 2007
01. HONDA SH 150 – SCOOTER – 13213
02. HONDA SH 300 – SCOOTER – 11873
03. HONDA SH 125 – SCOOTER – 9294
04. YAMAHA T MAX 500 – SCOOTER – 7848
05. YAMAHA X MAX 250 – SCOOTER – 7426
06. HONDA HORNET 600 – NAKED – 6595
07. SUZUKI AN 400 BURGMAN – SCOOTER – 6448
08. YAMAHA FZ6 – NAKED – 4688
09. KAWASAKI Z 750 – NAKED – 4394
10. YAMAHA VP 250 XCITY – SCOOTER – 4103
11. PIAGGIO BEVERLY 250 – SCOOTER – 4007
12. SUZUKI GSR 600 – NAKED – 3909
13. PIAGGIO LIBERTY 125 – SCOOTER – 3747
14. KYMCO PEOPLE S 200 – SCOOTER – 3610
15. PIAGGIO VESPA GTS 250 – SCOOTER – 3573
16. PIAGGIO VESPA LX 125 – SCOOTER – 3558
17. YAMAHA MAJESTY 400 – SCOOTER – 3558
18. HONDA SILVER WING 400 – SCOOTER – 3191
19. BMW R 1200 GS – ENDURO – 2727
20. SUZUKI UH 200 BURGMAN – SCOOTER – 2693
Did you notice? Only 5 of 20 were motorcycles, 4 of 20 were Italian, 1 of 20 was BMW and Kymco was the only non-Japanese Asian brand in the top 20. The rest was all owned by Japan with Honda (5), Yamaha (5), Suzuki (2) and Kawasaki (1).
***UPDATE***
Just two weeks ago (shortly after this report was submitted) Pedro was involved in a collision where a tractor trailer tried to take him out. Other than having his leg run OVER by the trailer Pedro is in good health and recovering in the hospital now. I hope you’ll pay him a visit over at his blog MATSU to wish him well. We look forward to having him back on his feet again soon.
Take care my friend!
5. July 2007 at 5:38 am
I think a few bubbles will be burst when poeple read this.
Contrary to belief, Italy is not filled with nice classic scooters. The vespa is just another from of transport there – people don’t really care about GS this or Lambretta that. Like everyone, they care about comfortable reliable transport to take them to work and home again.
Same in Vietnam too.
5. July 2007 at 11:57 am
Bubble burst city! Taipei is the heart of the scooter world.
5. July 2007 at 12:18 pm
I don’t know why people are all surprised that Italy isn’t over run with Italian scooters.
Even here in the US where I live there are more Japanese cars than American. People want reliabily.
The Roman Holiday Vespa mystique only appears to be in the US.
5. July 2007 at 2:06 pm
I thought that I read awhile back that the Italian government put out a cash incentive of some sort to remove the 2 strokes from the streets. It must have worked… and then people found that a reliable scooter is a good thing. We don’t have to worry here because we have the laws and the terrain that make the four stroke more likely in the long run so we never imported the scooter in large numbers until recently.
I like them all but I currently ride something with speed and comfort. It must be that I’m getting old.
5. July 2007 at 4:44 pm
Why do they all have windscreens?
I hate windscreens. They make the scooter handle crappy and look ugly, too.
On a more serious note, great pictures! I’d love to be there.
5. July 2007 at 8:19 pm
I visited Catania, Sicily a few years back and also noticed the lack of vintage scooters. My collegues thought it may have to do with their emmissions laws.
Since many were daily commuters, the windscreens seem to make perfect sense. The cobblestone roads had many potholes, puddles, etc. I wouldn’t want to ruin my suit on the way to work, either.
Mmm…Italia! That trip turned me into the daily-scooter commuter I am today!