Service

yesterday, my son trailed me in the car as I rode the ET4 to motorsport scooters for a service. The guys at motorsport are one of a kind. For more than 15 years, alex and the gang have serviced and upgraded scooters of many makes and models, and just about any Vespa. When I began to consider getting a motorscooter, I called them frequently when making a find in the newspaper or craigslist. They always gave me an honest evaluation and still do. Before I bought the ET4, I considered a Kymco people 150. I rode the people 150 and was very impressed with the handling and acceleration. I bought the ET4 simply because of its beauty. The Kymco performed better and they are very reliable. But the ET4 is more suitable to the 2-up kind of riding I do, and is just jaw-dropping gorgeous. The used ET4 had low miles, was only about 500 less than the new people 150, but for once in my life I went with my heart. Motorsport sells Kymco and Genuine and will order Bajaj and maybe a couple other brands. They don't sell new Vespas which I found rather odd. I asked one day while admiring the Kymcos and they mentioned it had something to do with Vespa USA wanting to maintain the boutique image. This sucks.

I've been to the San Diego boutique Vespa shop on University Avenue in the swanky Hillcrest area. The shop is small and cramped. A space not much bigger than a walk-in closet serves as the service shop. I could see tools and parts of new Vespas were scattered all over the place in the tiny room until the tech guy closed the door. The front room holds maybe 30 new bikes in close rank and file. The salesmen are nice enough but know very little about Vespas, certainly much less than the guys at Motorsport Scooters. In fact, the boutique defers to motorsport for service and performance upgrades.

If I walk into the Vespa boutiqe, I know I'll get a sales pitch (ironic that the bikes don't really need one). But when I walk into the Motorsport Scooters building on 30th street, I know I'll get a fair and honest price and evaluation concerning new and used, upgrades and service, parts and accessories, etc. Scooterists hang out at Motorsport Scooters. They have their "regulars" that come and go. They are not just service and sales, they are the meeting place of a like minded community of people. Motorsport Scooters rocks... I think I'll ask them to upgrade my ET4 with the 187 kit and maybe a windscreen, perhaps those chrome mirrors I've been looking at, and... where do I get one of those infamous surfboards with the motorsport scooters emblem (you've got to go there to see it)?

I love the new Vespas - all of them. But I just can't understand the business decision to open boutique shops with little or no service capacity. Especially when a place like motorsport has been in the Vespa business for so long. The bikes sell themselves and are very reliable. Maybe it doesn't matter who sells them since the markup probably isn't much anyway. I know where to go for support and I'm lucky to have motorsport scooters in town.