Super Scooter

This punk-style, self-modified scooter looks astonishing, doesn't it?

Modified old scooter punk-style like this one is quite a popular statement among the members of punk communities here. Some of the modified scooters look somewhat aesthetically nice and curious like this one. But many, in many my opinion, look just like a moving trash bin. I think most of them are not safe and road-worthy either.

A 1968 Vintage Vespa Scooter

A few days ago, while photograph-hunting on the streets, I came across this guy with his old vintage Vespa Scooter stopping on the northern part of Braga Street. Admiring his well-maintained scooter, I asked if I could take a photograph of him and his scooter. He agreed. I set my camera to sepia tone for the top photo to make it look old.



After taking the photographs, we talked a bit. He told me that he had two of them and that he was a member of the Bandung Chapter of Scooter Owners Group Indonesia. He also said that the group is an international group with branches in many other countries in the world. Members from other countries - especially those from the neighboring countries of Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia - often come here in search for old Vespa scooters, which, he says, are relatively easier to find and less expensive here.

Vespa MP3 250

I snapped this photo on the road side parking of Jalan Braga sometime ago.

Vespa MP3 250 is a real beauty among the ordinary motorbikes and scooters parked beside her.

As the name indicates, MP3 250 is packed with 244.3 cc single cylinder QUASAR 4 stroke engine that enables it to comfortably run at 120 kilometers per hour. It is also equipped with CVT automatic transmission which makes it easier to handle in frequently congested city traffic. Its emission and exhaust noise, according to its manufacturer, is also quite environmentally-friendly. It meets Euro 3 standard. The price tag, however, is not very friendly to many Indonesian motorbike and scooter users. Priced at about IDR 110 million (USD 11,000) this Vespa model is about 4 times more expensive than its Japanese counterparts with the same engine capacity. But for fashion and comfort, I don't think I would mind paying more for this beauty.

Vespa Scooter and Bandung Antique Vespa Club

Vespa scooter is undoubtedly one of the most legendary two-wheeled vehicles ever produced.

Vespa was first produced by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A of Pontedera, Italy, in 1946. The name Vespa, which in Italian means wasp, originated from the exclamation that Enrico Piaggio (the son of Piaggio's founder Rinaldo Piaggio) made when he was shown the second prototype of the vehicle (which until then was called MP6) and heard the engine's buzzing sound. He reportedly exclaimed, "Sembra una vespa!" ("It resembles a wasp!"), hence the name.

I took this photo at the motorcycle parking lot of The Faculty of Language and Arts Education building of the Indonesia University of Education (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia), Bandung. I think this vintage Vespa belongs to one of the students. As can be seen from the plaque above the rear lamp, the owner of this scooter is a member of Bandung Antique Vespa Club (he is member number 1011).

Antique Vespa Piaggio scooters have a lot of fans in Indonesia. Bandung Antique Vespa Club (BAVC) is one of quite a few Vespa lovers clubs in the city and country.

A well-maintained and all-original antique/vintage Vespa Scooter like this, by the way, can fetch a very high price at an international collector market.