Originally published July 15, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified July 15, 2007 at 2:05 AM
Scooter rally invades Seattle streets
Enthusiasts came to Seattle from as far away as Germany to trade stories, compare notes, test-drive different models and find their own niche...
Seattle Times staff reporter
ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Heading south on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Robert Morgan, above, leads what he calls "a swarm of Vespas, a swarm of bees" returning to their gathering on South Lake Union following a 2-1/2-hour ride Saturday. Morgan owns three Vespas and repairs them himself.
Put a few hundred Vespa owners in a parking lot together with free Red Bulls and an intoxicating afternoon sun, and sparks are inevitable.
At Saturday's Amerivespa rally, part of a three-day event for scooter enthusiasts of all types, riders eyed each other's seats, asking about comfort vs. style. They traded stories of spills, sideswipes and sympathetic spouses (or the opposite).
They got personal sometimes, too.
"You've got a really short inseam, like I do," one man said to a new friend.
"Probably," the other replied, and agreed it can be hard sometimes to straddle a gas tank.
The riders came to Seattle from as far as Germany for the annual rally, held in a different city each year. It ends today.
Riders tour the city, test-drive different scooters, buy gear and participate in activities such as an obstacle course.
For most, it's a rare opportunity to hang out with hundreds of like-minded people in one place.
"Everyone is welcome," said J.D. Merryweather, president of the Vespa of America Club.
Within this subculture, though, divisions emerge.
Hard-core riders like vintage scooters for the history and tradition. They're not into the environmental benefits or convenience. They personalize their Vespas with stickers and do their own repairs, thank you very much.
The new models?
![]()
For sissies, they claim.
"They're made of plastic, not metal. They have rattlesnake-skin seats. They're cutesy," said Geoff MacIver, from Victoria, B.C., who has a 1983 Vespa.
Cutesy, on the other hand, is a big draw for the newbies, who ride Vespas made since 2001, when the Italian company started selling scooters again in the U.S. after being out of the market for several years.
The newer models fit in with the broader auto-revival movement, which brought drivers the new Volkswagen Bug and the Mini Cooper, said Dave McCabe, editor of American Scooterist magazine.
He spoke about the history of the scooter movement. (Recap: it started in Italy, swept through England and then went global. Today if you want to see swarms of Vespas, which means "wasp" in Italian, head to Southeast Asia.)
Although a few Harley-Davidson T-shirts and telltale beards were spotted in the crowd, scooter enthusiasts define themselves as against that grain. That's one thing both old- and new-style riders agreed on.
"Getting on a motorcycle takes effort," McCabe said. "You have to gear up. They're heavy. Scooters are nimble. They're much more fun to ride, and they're quirky. They're like these cute little things. Scooters are just prettier. They have lots of curves and they're shapely.
"I haven't slept with my scooter," he added.
"Yet."
Roxana Popescu: 206-464-2112 or rpopescu@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say
Reward in Greenwood arsons raised to $25,000
Greenwood merchants nervous after 3 more arsons
UPDATE - 03:11 PM
Police say 2 die in Oregon office park shooting
UW to honor war heroes with Medal of Honor memorial

Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Ken Auletta talks about Google with Brier Dudley at the Seattle Central Library.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect
- Lt. governor's son shot by co-worker in Kent; gunman then shot self
- DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- Prosecutors consider charges against suspect in police shooting
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- Trucker dies as big-rig plummets off SF bridge
- Huskies are finding talent in Tacoma
- Steve Kelley | Hasselbeck gives Seahawks' sagging season a stay of execution
- Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
264 - King County OKs 'don't ask' law on immigration
225 - Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
210 - McGinn more than doubles his lead over Mallahan
192 - Resolute Fort Hood soldiers ready for return
131 - Obama pressed into role as national healer
109 - Time to bring Ken Griffey Jr. back in 2010
98 - 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
97 - Josh Smith picks UCLA
85 - DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say
84
- For 80-year-old Maple Valley man, hoops aren't just a dream
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- Silver Lake restaurant destroyed by fire
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
- Pakistani-American cafe, bar owner on verge of being Granite Falls mayor
- All You Can Eat | Fruit flies: thrill to the kill
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- Rainier Pacific Financial calls rescue 'unlikely'










