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Scooter Fashion
the Early Edition, CBC Radio, September 18, 2002
(sfx: chik-chik-chik-vrrooom of scooters starting up)
Dozens of scooters are lined up along the path at New Brighton Park. It’s the biggest weekend of the year for the Vancouver chapter of the Vespa Club of Canada. They’re having this beach side barbeque, as well as several mass scooter rides and night time club events.
“My name is Simone Gore and I’m the president of the Vespa Club of Canada… Currently I have an ET3 euro model,a reproduction of 60s model. It has a small a frame. It's dark blue. I really love that one. I’ve had all kinds of models its my favourite.”
The scooter has long been affiliated with various subcultures. It was an icon of the Mods in the 1960s. The English ska movement in the 80s had it’s own affection for the bikes. A decade later, Brit pop bands like Oasis were seen riding around on scooters. Today’s scooter scene draws on music and fashion from all these eras.
“Nowadays, it’s everything. People just into the culture lifestyle as well as people who just like the bikes. People who don’t understand either just ended up with one. Mods and punks and other counter culture stuff and just regular Joe who thinks they’re great.”
Zoltan Szilvassy has been riding a scooter for almost twenty years. He says it’s a different experience than being on a motorcycle.
“You’re doing a less high speed, and that allows you to wear clothes that are more fashionable.…You don’t need gear to keep you alive at super high speeds. You can dress uniquely and you can paint the surface area on the scooter…It’s a little piece of ‘hey this is me’, much like a custom car would be for someone into custom cars.”
The Canadian government banned the selling of the Italian made Vespas over twenty years ago. The engines at the time emitted too much pollution. Since then, the old ones have become much sought after classics. New, cleaner Vespas were reintroduced into in the States several years ago. Szilvassy hopes that Vespas will be sold again in Canada in the next few years.
“There are all these people in the city driving around in cars alone, whereas a scooter gets through traffic, doesn’t take up parking, doesn’t produce much pollution. It gets over a hundred miles a gallon or maybe more, and takes two people comfortably….I think the scooter has been ignored in BC and Vancouver as a really great, viable alternative for the urban person to get around.”
Greg Donnell came up from Portland, Oregon for the rally. He rode his 1966 Vespa with his young son in the sidecar. Scooters may not be able to match the speed of cars on the highway, but that doesn’t bother him.
“There’s this imagined pressure we have to be somewhere faster than its feasible or even necessary. When you slow your life down your health improves, your attitude improves, your stress level doesn’t kill you. Slow down, look around. It’s still a nice world out there, and scootering’s a good way to do it. It’s a good way to see and be seen. You’re not trapped in your little goldfish bowl, your SUV or your motorcar. You’re out there picking bugs out of your teeth and seeing the world around you. It’s a great way to travel.”
The weekend included mass scooter rides to scenic Horseshoe Bay and Deep Cove. But the most bizarre event was a scooter obstacle course. It was set up in a high school parking lot. Riders drove over tiny bridges and knocked down piles of plastic bottles. They ducked to make it under a bar in the scooter limbo competition. There was even a contest to see who could drive the slowest, without losing their balance.
The following week, the Vespa Club members congregated in the beer soaked basement of the Anza Club. They straggled in for their monthly meeting, where they gossiped about fellow scooterists, talked about their latest mechanical troubles and discussed the previous weekend’s rally.
“The only problem was, some people took the wrong exit off the highway, and we ended up running across the sidewalk. The ladies in the concession stand weren’t happy about that.”
“Who was that?” “Ohh, was that me?” (laughter)
The meeting degenerated, and after an hour or so, the scooterists headed off. So when you’re driving around Vancouver in your car, make sure you check your mirrors. You just might spot a Vespa. Or if it’s a Sunday, you might see a dozen of them, out for their weekly mass ride. They may not be as fast as your car, but when you’re paying six bucks for a tank of gas, you have time to enjoy the scenery.
(sfx: vrroomm, vroom)
For the Early Edition, I’m Sarah Efron.