From Deseret News archives:
Scooter rally sets streets abuzz
The Amerivespa, the Vespa Club of America's 12th annual national motor scooter rally, started Thursday and continues through Sunday. The club is a nonprofit organization that collects, restores and preserves vintage European motorscooters.
Vespa, a brand of scooter manufactured in Italy, means "wasp" in Italian, a name attributed to the look and sound of the scooter. The rally, one of the biggest scooter rallies in the nation, drew more than 300 participants from around the country.
On Friday, vintage and customized bikes crowded the parking lot of the Italian Center of Utah and Tony Caputo's Market and Deli during the "Meet and Greet." Long trails of scooters buzzed into the lot, blending a diverse crowd of mostly 20- to 30-year-olds sporting vintage and customized bikes.
Scooters vied for attention with tassels, glitter, flames, skulls, stickers some even painted with the Italian colors. They crowded the parking lot, as proud enthusiasts beamed over their machines. A handful of riders wore outfits and some of the female riders sported lipstick to match their scooter colors.
"The scene has been growing in the past couple of years and this year I've seen more scooters of all types," he said. "There's been an explosion."
Vespas were first manufactured in 1946 and the company has produced more than 16 million. This past year, 300,000 Vespas came off assembly lines.
They're extremely popular in Europe. Between 3,000 and 4,000 scooterists attend the Eurovespa rally. Pelzel attributes the recent boom of scooter sales in the United States to rising gas prices.
"When gas is $2 (a gallon) and a Vespa can get 60 to100 miles to a gallon, the gas crunch hits us a lot less than someone filling a Hummer," he said.
Scooters are "friendlier" than motorcycles and sports bikes, Pelzel said, especially for women. Twenty percent of scooterists are women, compared to 3 percent to 5 percent of motorcyclists, he said.
"Scooters are here to stay, especially with cities getting more congested," Pelzel said.
Recent comments
beehive scooters... one of the main sponcers
Skye | Aug. 25, 2009 at 7:13 a.m.
Does any one know where i can get a nice vintage vespa? i havebeen...
Anonymous | May 12, 2008 at 9:01 p.m.
- Sponsor for gay-rights bills found 9:53 a.m.
- Aggies beat Spartans in snowy Logan 4:31 a.m.
- TCU 55, Utah 28 4:24 a.m.
- BYU 24, New Mexico 19 4:21 a.m.
- Jazz game at a glance 3:00 a.m.
- Real Salt Lake: Game at a glance 3:00 a.m.
- Stanford ends Y's soccer season 2:20 a.m.
- Jazz hope D-Will returns soon 2:19 a.m.
- Snow, SUU lose 2:18 a.m.
- Toone saves day for Wildcats 2:15 a.m.
- SLC council OKs gay rights policies
358 - BYU happy to escape with victory
204 - Editorial: Mormons and gay rights
200 - TCU creams U.
150 - Will state consider gay rights law?
148 - Can BYU root for (ick) Utah Utes?
130 - Letters: Strange breed in Utah
129 - Utes remain silent about BCS
120 - Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
106 - Celtics crush Jazz
104
If you are looking for a bird on the cheap, the following specials from...
How do you handle kids and contests? Our oldest daughter, 7, is of the...
Amazing the selective observations... "they hung 55 on you!" Try these...
Great Game HHS, fun to watch another team take out PC. Since JD already...
Congrats to Park City. It was a well fought game. Hold your heads high....
Thank you Nick. You were obviously the man of the match. If you can please...
New Mexico played their best game of the year because of the competition!...
The reporter needs to check her facts. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is not...
Goal Post: MVP. Nothing else even close. BYU’s best defensive player is...
Coach Whit did NOT have his team ready to play. This game was over in the...
I honestly think Maynor can run the offense better than D-Will.
The fewer languages, the better, so we can all communicate with each other.

