History of Vespa

Gizmag is featuring a nice article about The history of the Vespa. It includes stories about records that have been made on Vespas, in movies and elsewhere. They also have 23 pictures showing some on the rarest and pinnacle points in it's history.

via vespaquest.

Scoot.net is Excellent

Since this is a new blog, and maybe a few of you out there are new to the scootering scene, I want to tell everyone how great scoot.net is for an all around scootering site. It has great classifieds section with an occasional rare item you can find. Scooterist profiles, ride calendars, jetting database and more. I have found useful things on there numerous times. Check it out if you haven't yet.

Vespa Releases new GTS 250 in the U.S.

Kinda old news for some but...Vespa has released the new 250cc GTS here in the states meaning:
You can pass up plastic 49cc scooters even faster
You can intimidate Harley Riders?
You have a good reason to max your credit card (it helps the economy grow, right?)

Whitewall Tire Paint Application How-To

I finally found time to paint my tires with the whitewall tire paint mentioned earlier. I was pretty impressed with the results.

Materials needed:
1 can tire paint by Örn Sigurðsson
Flathead screwdriver (to open the can)
Goo Gone (for cleaning tires)
Paintbrush - I used a 1.5" from my hardware store
Stirring stick
Turpentine - for cleanup

I started by taking off the tires and spraying them down with my garden hose, then I dryed them with a lint free cloth and cleaned the brake dust and grime using the goo gone.


I applied one even coat to each side, setting a bowl inside the tire to elevate the side that was already painted, so it could dry horizontally rather than taking the risk of having it dry vertical and drip. Remember to wait 24 hours inbetween coats and before riding. It may also help to use some kind of spray tire protectant like armor all or black magic.


I painted 2 coats, but there was some browning of the paint as mentioned by Orn. Adding a couple more coats should cover up this problem and will make your nice scoot look that much classier.


I suggest throwing the brush away and using a new one for the time inbetween coats. The paint is an oil/rubbery base, so water will do nothing to it and it will leave you with a nasty mess. If you must keep your brush though, use turpentine to clean it.