Some lucky bastard is scootin' to work in Bondi Beach every day.

One of the benefits of having an Australian wife is that visiting the in-laws for the holidays means a trip down under to the flip side of the world where an NYC Winter quickly becomes a Melbourne Summer.

This year I had my scooter-eyes on to bring back a brief report on – and a few snaps of – the scootering scenes in Sydney and Melbourne.

First off, let me give a serious hats-off to anyone riding a scooter in either of these cities. Take it from someone who rides in Gotham traffic everyday, you guys, and gals, have some serious brass balls. Car drivers in Melbourne, and especially in Sydney, have a way of flipping around bends at terrifying speeds that put NYC cabbies to shame. Add to that the twists, turns, and hair-pins of Sydney’s rolling hills of traffic and it’s enough to shake the nerves of even the most seasoned rider.

Melbourne doubles-down on the danger with the presence of the city’s ubiquitous trams, slippery tram tracks and local traffic nonsense, the infamous “Hook Turn” that I swear was designed for the single intent of testing the mettle of foreign tourists.

Let’s just say that, while the balmy weather is appealing, I’m not sure I’d want to be out there in either city on a scooter in everyday commuter traffic.

Dedicated powered-two-wheeler parking in Sydney downtown (AKA The Central Business District.)

Scootin’ in Sydney
Our first stop was a few days in Sydney for New Years Eve 2011/2012.

If you’re a foreign scooterist visiting Australia, one of the first things you might notice on local Aussie scoots are the ubiquitous “L” and “P” plates and we saw plenty of both in the city.

An "L-Plater" in Watson's Bay, Sydney.

“L” (or “Learner”) plates are worn by scooters ridden by scooterists in their first few weeks on two-wheels following the passing an initial online test at the local licensing center. Riding as an “L” means the requirement to be accompanied by another rider with appropriate licensing, either riding two-up or accompanying on another scooter or motorcycle. The system works much like the provisional licensing in New York but with visible notification to other drivers (and the cops) that you haven’t quite got your scooter “Sea Legs” yet.

Once you’ve gotten some miles behind you, you can apply for a “P” plate, which includes some restrictions including not being able to carry a passenger before easing into your full license. A system similar to the one I grew up with in England, and something I would love to see introduced in the States for all drivers. I’m convinced it leads to safer streets (my comment about corner-whipping down under aside.)

Attached to these plates my wife and I saw a good range of the usual scooter suspects naturally including a healthy dose of modern Vespas, Yamahas, Kymcos, and Hondas.

It might not have been in production for long, but at least one "La Vita" made it to Sydney.

In addition, much like last year’s trip to Paris, I was also pleased to see a decent amount of modern Peugeot scooters, another company with a historic pedigree, that currently offers a terrific portfolio of bikes that are disappointingly not sold in the US.

From a vintage perspective, if you find yourself in Sydney, do yourself a favor and swing by to check out and support S.S. Scooter Engineering who have been representing the vintage love in Sydney since 2006. They’re a much warmer friendly bunch of folks than their name suggests. The S.S. recently moved to a new workshop in the Alexandria neighborhood and are the local go-to guys for vintage repair, restorations and under-the frame performance pimping.

Finally, if local ride outs are your thing, if you have a couple of days in Sydney you’ll want to reach out to the local scooter clubs before planning your trip. In Sydney, your first stop for trip planning should be the website for the Sydney City Scooter Club that houses an active forum including the usual chatter, smack-talking, wrenching, and silliness that comprises all great scooter forums.

A Peroni billboard in Melbourne tips the hat to other Italian icons.

Movin’ in Melbourne

After a quick domestic flight, a few days in my wife’s hometown of Melbourne provided a great opportunity to swing by local legend, The Vespa House in the Collingwood neighborhood.

While Melbourne has a healthy number of scooter shops these guys deservedly wear the nostalgia crown.

The Vespa House has ruled Melbourne in the very-same location since 1956, founded like all great scooter shops by a guy called Tony from Italy. In addition to being a Piaggio, Vespa, and Gilera dealership, the jewel in the crown of the Vespa House is the fantastic workshop that drips with history and continues to actively take care of the vintage and four-stroke bikes of this very busy city.

The shop, now in its third generation of the same family, includes Giovanni (Johnny) Scriba who has put in an incredible 40-plus years as the in-house Vespa mechanic.

Outside The Vespa House in 2012.

The same location back in the day. Spot the Lammy. Photo courtesy The Vespa House.

If you’re into vintage bikes of another pedigree, don’t hold-your-breath for a sight of a Lambretta however. While the workshop does service Innocentis, its website claims that the business has seen four times as many Vespas than Lammys, particularly back in the rivalry heydays.

For a sense of the history of the place, check out the gallery over at the Vespa House website which includes some fantastic images from the past 50 plus years.

Customer bikes inside The Vespa House.

If you’re looking to soak up some more Italian nostalgia in Melbourne, the city is home to some terrific Italian coffee houses that put American coffee to shame, including – but by no means exclusive to – the “Little Italy” neighborhood stretch on Lygon Street where you’ll occasionally spot a vintage scoot or two, even if it is sitting there for display purposes propping up a couple of Cappuccinos., or better yet, some of the best Gelati on the planet. Personally, operational or not, I’m always happy to see a scooter in any shape or form. Seeing an old bike as décor always brings a smile to my face.

Like Sydney, Melbourne is also home to a number of active scooter clubs including the Vespa Club of Melbourne, Melbourne Crusaders and the Vintage Vespa and European Motor Scooter Club and if you ask nicely through their forums, they’ll no doubt set you up with an experience in the city.

If you find yourself joining one of the local clubs for a ride out, you may also want to check out Melbourne Vespa Tour who offer modern Vespas to rent for city traversal.

All said and done, we had a terrific trip and I can’t wait to head back to the Southern hemisphere to check out more on the active scooter scenes of these two terrific cities. If you’re also fortunate enough to make the trip, not only will you have an amazing time you’ll also get to experience modern scooter culture at its best. A warm “G’Day” and “How yer goin’” to all our Aussie NYCS readers.

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Thankfully MTV have not forgotten that scooterists like a bit of two-stroking. Who knew that Dusseldorf was so much like Miami Vice-era Florida?

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The scooter photographed earlier this year at the 2011 NY Scooter Club Block Party. Photograph Courtesy, Vespa Brooklyn.

As the year begins to draw to a close, if you’re considering your first scooter in 2012, history shows us that now is the time to scour the web for used scooter deals.

As we enter the Winter many owners decide not to invest in another year of riding and price to sell. Come Springtime as the market for used bikes hots up, so do prices, so if you plan ahead, there are deals to be had now.

Today on CraigsList, past contributor to NYC Scootering, Melissa, is selling her beloved 2009 Vespa S150. The bike has a unique red and black two-tone color scheme, and comes ready to ride with a complete matching riders kit – a medium red copter helmet, gloves, raincoat and scooter cover. The scooter and her owner were recently featured in a CNN Money editorial on scooterists.

Melissa’s asking the Blue Book value, $3100, or best offer and can be seen in Park Slope. Head on over to her CraigsList post to get in touch.

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With Halloween behind us, it’s time to start turning our collective attention to the holiday season, and the season means presents.

Looking for a present for the scooter lover in your life? (Yes, it’s okay if that’s you.) Scottish artist Christine Berrie started drawing vintage scooters when she first moved to London and became enamored with the various Lambrettas and Vespas she saw tearing around.

After a period of time, with twenty five drawings under her belt she decided to put together a beautiful print that collects the bikes together. The limited edition signed prints are available in two sizes starting at $50 for a 14″ x 11″ edition and 20″ x 16″ for $200. Both sizes are available framed or unframed and are printed on 100% cotton rag paper using archival inks.

Head on over to Christine’s page at 20×200.com to learn more and part with your credit card details.

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Photograph courtesy Orin O'Neill, Scootin' Old Skool.

Even if you don’t consider yourself much of a grease monkey when it comes to your modern Vespa, it’s useful to get comfortable with some basic maintenance tasks like prepping your scooter for the Winter.

You won’t need to swap your battery very often but when it happens, you’ll be glad you read Orin O’Neill’s article over at Scootin’ Old Skool. In the case of the GTS the battery is located in the footwell rather than under the seat in the case of the LX and S but it’s easily removed with just a Phillips screwdriver.

Head on over to Scootin’ Old Skool for the full article.

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The LX150 remains the Vespa marque's most popular scooter this year.

Back in 2008 Piaggio North America had one of its best years ever as skyrocketing gas prices provoked commuters to think twice about their chosen form of transportation. The scooter business was booming and everyone set to profit from the growth was smiling from ear to ear.

Then gas prices fell, and so did scooter sales. Established dealers were left with models on the floor that nobody wanted, and many new dealerships that had sprung up in response to scooter fever found themselves closing as quickly as they had opened.

Now, a couple of years later, US scooter sales are once again on the rise as gas prices (and the economy in general) prove challenging.

The LA Times business desk released a story yesterday highlighting scooter sales for all the major manufacturers are now up close to 30% over equivalent quarter sales from 2010. Importantly, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, this rise in sales is above and beyond any other category of powered two wheeler.

A quick glance at Piaggio’s Vespa USA site certainly confirms that the brand is going after cash-strapped commuters in a big way with the brand continuing to push the daily savings provided by, “Vespanomics.”

Also of interest is that Piaggio in particular are seeing a rise in larger-capacity sales with scooters in the 150cc-300cc seeing significant growth as, one assumes, consumers look to bikes that can get them off the back-streets and out on the highway without making the transition to a higher capacity motorcycle.

The Times also leverages the article to introduce its coverage of the scooter exhibit currently on show at the Petersen Automotive Review. You can see photographs and read our review of the exhibition here, or click on through to the LA Times photo gallery of the show for more.

For the full LA Times article, click here.

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The cover of the upcoming Quadrophenia box set.

The Who have announced that their classic scooter culture album, Quadrophenia is finally getting the deluxe back-catalog treatment and Vespa is joining forces with the band to celebrate.

Vespa will be making a unique, one-off scoot to celebrate the release of the Director’s Cut box set of the album.  The box set, slated for release mid-November, also includes several previously unreleased demos by Pete Townshend including songs that didn’t make the cut for the original album, an eight-track DVD, a hardcover book and various notes, photographs, memorabilia and exclusive content.

The scooter will based on a PX125, complete with “mod-ed” parts such as white-wall tires, chrome bits and multiple mirrors.  The scooter will be given away on The Who’s facebook page.  Good luck!

Also of interest, in the run up to the release, Pete Townshend has begun to open up the archives on the band around the time of the album and subsequent film. You can get a taste of some of the great behind-the-scenes material over at the image gallery at the UK’s Independent newspaper website.

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Not so with this seller who has a terrific P200 up for grabs. In addition to the listing which confirms that the bike has had a top-to-bottom restoration including a complete engine rebuild just 3K or so miles back, and new electrics including the wiring harness, the post also includes plenty of video footage of the bike in action.

Take a look at one of the seller’s videos embedded here:

The seller has an additional three videos to view that can be accessed via the original post. All this for a very reasonable $2500 for such a desirable bike.

The catch? While the seller is advertising on the NYC area CraigsList, they haven’t confirmed their location. The bike is wearing Maine plates if that’s a reliable clue.

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Normally when I see a ride with a paint-job like this my mind goes immediately to Vietnam.

This bike’s owner however has all the receipts to prove the $9000 that was put into this 1969 Vespa to prove it has never left the country and the restoration, while not to my taste, is legit.

In addition to the head-turning color, the bike includes a fully rebuilt engine.

A bike as unique as this of course does not come cheap, but if you have $4500 spare, you’ll shortly be riding in style. Available to view on the Lower East Side.

Click here to contact the seller via CraigsList. Somewhere out there is a Vespa nut who loves them some pink.

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Any Vespa owner out there will tell you that the Vespa is an art form. Heck, the MOMA agrees. They have a GS150 in their permanent architecture and industrial design collection.

But what about the Vespa as a material for Artists? Beautiful Life has unearthed the recent works of Australian artist Patricia Picchinini who has taken key aspects of the industrial design of the contemporary Vespa range and brought to life some unique Vespa characters.

To see more of Patricia’s amazing Vespa sculptures, click on through to her website to see more great images.

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