Antigravity Jump Pack Sport

Never be stranded by a dead battery again with the Jump Pack Sport by Antigravity. Works for scooters, motorcycles, and even cars to get you back on the road.

Beat the rainy and chilly weather with the Tempest glove by Scorpion EXO. It’s Matt’s everyday choice throughout Winter.

Adding accessories to a white Vespa is simple and everything looks good on it. Win win!

We love Vespa scooters and we’re also the Ural Motorcycle dealer in Portland. We were inspired to customize this matte beige Vespa Primavera Sport by the Ural Gear Up in sahara.

Make your Vespa even cooler with accessories that enhance both its form and function.

Checking your tire pressure is important for gas milage, prolonging the life of your tires, and your safety as a rider. You’ll need a source of air and a tire gauge. Unscrew the valve stem cap, check your pressure with the gauge, then fill the tire to the correct PSI as printed on the metal plate attached to the scooter.

Before we begin, we’d like to make it crystal clear that we do not recommend anyone reading this attempt a similar ride under similar circumstances. Riding such long distances, in such terrible weather conditions, in such little time, is very unwise and very unsafe. That said, people are going to do what people are going to do, and since a guy we happen to like a lot just completed a pretty crazy ride, we might as well at least document pieces of the story. Again, don’t try this at home. No, seriously. Don’t. -Andrew/Vespa Portland

As long as we’ve known Tim we’ve known he’s the kind of guy who gets a result when he puts his mind to something. Whether or not said result is desirable is the question. So when he walked into Vespa Portland to get the first service completed on his new 150cc Vespa Primavera Touring, it wasn’t a huge surprise to hear his plan to ride from Portland, OR to Reno, NV to visit friends for Thanksgiving. I think most of us assumed he’d stop somewhere in the middle, making a two day trip out of each leg of the 1064 mile round trip journey.

Well, you know what they say about assuming. Tim’s plan was to do it straight through.

It’s not that 532 miles one-way is impossibly far. People tour on scooters more than you might think. For example, people cross the entire United States, coast to coast, on the biyearly Scooter Cannonball Run. In 2015 some friends of ours in San Diego, CA rode Vespas all the way to Puebla, southeast of Mexico City, for an annual national Mexican scooter rally. Both of those rides are well over 2000 miles. The Cannonball often surpasses 3000. Scooters may never be the go-to vehicle for people undertaking such long rides but they can handle the distance. Vespas especially can handle it. The question is, can the rider handle it, in late November? That’s a lot of saddle time in some awful weather.

We wished Tim good luck and forced him to take a spare rear tire with him as he left our shop. If you get a flat tire on a long scooter trip, chances are you’ll find someone who can help you change it before you’ll ever find a brand new scooter tire just laying around in some small town, or you know, in the woods.

Two days before departure a drunk driver backed into Tim’s parked scooter and damaged the front fender. Thankfully there was no frame or fork damage that would have derailed the entire trip. As a bonus, Portland Police witnessed the hit and run and arrested the driver immediately. He blew a 1.6.

Around 11am on Wednesday 11/21, Tim posted a picture of his loaded up Vespa on Instagram and hit the road. In addition to his personal belongings, including a ukulele strapped to his back, he took a one gallon gas can, the spare tire we lent him, and a liter of oil.

Google maps showed the route taking 9 hours which of course does not account for gas and rest stops.

The first message we received around 2pm read, “It’s been raining in sheets since the moment I left. Ain’t nothing gonna stop this ginger!”

Three hours into the ride Tim was drenched with all three layers completely soaked through. He eventually stopped at some backwoods diner to grab a bite to eat. It was the kind of place where everyone inside is a regular and no one from out of town ever shows up. He enjoyed his meal as a group of 6-7 elderly locals just stared at him the entire time he was there. Waving, smiling, and saying hello elicited no responses at all. Real friendly around these parts!

Back on the road, still in the pouring rain that would last all day, he told us every bit of the ride was focused on getting as far as he could before stopping at a gas station to fill up and to warm his hands under the dryer in the bathroom.

When he hit the Umpqua National Forest it was a good three hours of no cell phone service. His music cut out and Google’s offline maps kicked in. Friends at home watched the weather reports and when he got back to cell service his phone was blowing up with voicemails and texts. At the next gas station he spent a little while letting everyone know he was, in fact, still alive.

Three hours later when we asked how it was going the response was, “Cold and wet and a ton of fun.”

He rolled into Klamath Falls at some point in the early evening. That was the make it or break it halfway point; the last chance to either turn back into the same driving rain he’d been dealing with all day or keep on rolling through more of it. At a gas station he asked the attendant for four garbage bags; two to cover up his saddle bags and two more to wear as an additional layer over completely drenched clothes. As he neared the Oregon/California border it began storming harder than at any point in the day. Then, right as he crossed into California, everything stopped. The skies cleared. The sun poked out. And then 20 minutes later it started pouring again.

By this point, about an hour south of Klamath Falls, it was beginning to get dark and was of course still miserably cold and raining. This was the only time in the ride when he had a real gas scare in the middle of nowhere. With the low fuel light holding steady he decided to fill up on the side of the road with the gas can. Maybe 10 minutes later he came upon another gas station where he stopped to refill everything. He walked into the station for the hand drying routine covered in garbage bags “like a crazy trash walrus.”

After pressing through the rainy mountain pass, one gas station at a time, he rolled through Susanville where the turns came more rarely, with 80+ miles between. Eventually the switchback mountain roads gave way to sharp drop offs and no guard rails to keep anyone from going over the side. At this point the rain finally stopped but black ice appeared in the deep tire ruts on the unused road and it was a hair raising balancing act to stay in the dead center of the lane between the two rivers of ice. With how bundled up he was his face shield fogged up badly, bringing visibility way down, so he resorted to riding with his high beam on which thankfully illuminated the black ice on the road. Sketchy, to say the least. From there it was one long straight line and then, BANG, there was Reno. When he arrived at his friend’s house he dropped everything in the living room and took the longest, hottest shower of his life.

When I woke up on Thanksgiving morning, I had a message from Tim sent at 2:46am. “Made it down to Reno. No problems.”

Fourteen hours. Straight through. Wild ride.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he didn’t touch the scooter the entire time he was in Reno.

Three days later he hit the road again for the same route in reverse. The ride home was totally different. He was able to see the cliffs that had been right off the side of the road in the dark on the way in. It didn’t rain as hard or as consistently. Later on while riding through the wilderness he noticed a steaming body of water right off the side of the road and pulled over to park. It turned out to be a hot tub sized hot spring so he tossed off clothes in full view of passing cars and chilled in the random hot spring for awhile.

After Klamath Falls the sun just died and it was another 31° degree pitch-black mountain climb. It had been raining on the way in but turned to snow up the mountain, falling on a layer of snow already on the ground. Nature added more black ice for good measure, so the high beam went back on to help easily spot its reflective sheen. Thankfully there was a large truck in front of him the whole way, so he stayed a safe distance back from it and paid attention to the brake lights. As the truck and man-on-scooter made their way out of the mountains, Tim waved a thanks to the driver for leading the way. Just a bit up the road he stopped for gas and could not understand what the attendant was saying to him because his ears were so plugged up from the abrupt 4500 ft drop in elevation.

From there, the ride became much easier. It was just a matter of getting to Eugene, hopping on I-5 North and getting back to Portland. Upon return home he was glad he had done laundry and made his bed before he left. After a shower he crashed out and was at work at 6am the next morning. Success!

The ride back to Portland was twelve hours straight through, two hours shorter than the first leg, which Tim attributed to not having to stop at every gas station bathroom to warm his hands under the dryer. A few gas station attendants recognized him on the return leg and said things like, “Oh, you survived huh?”

This was Tim’s first really long ride. Before this epic trek, he had simply ridden to the Oregon Coast which seemed so far away at the time. After completing this 1064 mile round trip he now feels like the Oregon Coast is right down the street.

As expected, the Vespa ran flawlessly the whole way. Tim never had any issues with starting the scooter, on-road performance, or even a loss in tire pressure. He checked the oil twice on the way down to Reno and both times it was clear as day. He says it was a dangerous lesson for him to learn that 14 hours at full throttle didn’t destroy the bike or cook the oil. More long rides are sure to come, perhaps to Denver, CO when the weather is better.

Unfortunately the only pictures he took on the trip are the ones included here. It was a long, cold, and wet ride and he wanted nothing to do with stopping if he didn’t have to. Once the sun went down, in the rain, photos were simply not a priority.

When asked what he’d do differently if he did the ride again the answer was simply to find a way to be warmer. As fun as it was to do a seated dance on the floorboards to keep warm, heated gloves, heated grips, heated jacket, heated socks and perhaps a full face helmet instead of a ¾ with a face shield would have been the better option. Maybe he’d bring a floodlight mounted to the bike somehow, or some actually waterproof clothing since all the fancy stuff from stores like REI and Columbia Sportswear soaked right through. The only thing that held up was a pair of waterproof boots from the Andy and Bax surplus store.

He says he’d definitely still do it straight through now that he’s done it once (Did we mention that we don’t recommend you, the reader, ever do this? OK, just checking.) and that overall the ride was very therapeutic for him. “You find a way to clear your head when you have bad visibility, black ice everywhere, bad rain, and a goal. Like, what have I been worrying about in my regular life?”

Lastly, it cost less than $40 in gas. 5 gas stops, each time $3-5 to fill. “If that’s not a reason for someone to get behind a Vespa I don’t know what is.”

You’re the man, Tim. We’re glad you made it there and back safely.

It is not a new electric scooter, it is Vespa Elettrica, it is a work of art with a technological heart that is born as the symbol of our modern times and the years to come.

Vespa Elettrica is the most modern icon of Italian technology, it is synonymous with advanced connectivity and quiet operation, customisation and accessibility, respect for the environment and unique style. These are values that have always belonged to Vespa and which now, in Vespa Elettrica, have been fully accomplished, confirming Vespa as the brand that has always been ahead of its times with respect to its market.

Vespa Elettrica, which is characterised by its easy ride, or rather, its natural ride, takes shape as the highest expression of Piaggio Group research in the electric mobility area to meet the needs of a growing environmental sensitivity, with the goal of providing technological solutions for an increasingly sustainable and liveable urban habitat.

I AM THE POWER

The heart of Vespa Elettrica is a Power Unit capable of delivering continuous power of 3.5 kW and peak power of 4 kW: values ​​that, combined with a torque of over 200 Nm, provide performance superior to that of a traditional 50 cc scooter, especially in terms of acceleration and uphill power that benefits from the typical quick output of electric motors. This results in an agile and enjoyable ride on urban routes in total silence. In fact, Vespa Elettrica is completely silent, helping to make cities less chaotic and more liveable, countering pollution even in terms of noise.
Vespa Elettrica guarantees a maximum range of up to 100 km, a value that does not change significantly on a rural route, thanks to a modern lithium ion battery and an efficient Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), which charges it in the deceleration phases. Charging operations are the simplest thing imaginable: the lithium-ion battery, just like the one in modern smartphones, needs no special precautions. To charge, simply extract the cable from the seat compartment, where the fuel cap is usually located, and plug in to a normal wall outlet or one of the growing number of public charging stations in big cities. The standard time required for a full charge is 4 hours (with voltage of 220 V).
As further confirmation of how extremely easy user-friendly Vespa Elettrica is, the motor and battery pack are completely maintenance-free. The battery provides excellent efficiency for up to 1000 full charging cycles. This translates into a range of between 50,000 and 70,000 km, equivalent to approximately 10 years of operation for a vehicle intended for urban commuting. Even after the thousand charging cycles, the battery still maintains 80% of its capacity and is perfectly usable. Located under the helmet compartment, the compact battery pack does not compromise the functionality of the Vespa Elettrica seat compartment, which can hold a Jet helmet.
The Ride by Wire electronic accelerator controls the power output of Vespa Elettrica’s motor. By pressing the RIDING MODE button on the right hand side of the handlebar, the rider can choose between ECO and Power, in addition to Reverse mode for easier handling of Vespa Elettrica while manoeuvring. ECO mode, intended to save energy, extends battery life; speed is limited to 30 km/h and acceleration is more gradual. However, Power is the basic riding mode which fully exploits the power of the motor.

VESPA ELETTRICA, CONNECTED TO THE WORLD

Vespa Elettrica is not just a silent, ecological and technologically advanced vehicle; It is also, and above all, connected.: The many features offered by a new version of the Vespa Multimedia Platform, the multimedia system that connects a smartphone to the vehicle, can be managed through a man-machine interface incorporating a digital instrument panel with a 4.3 inch colour TFT display, always easy to read thanks to the twilight sensor that adapts the background and colour of the characters to the light conditions (day/night mode) and the four adjustable brightness levels.
The extensive information displayed is arranged in a very impressive and extremely rational graphic diagram. The centre of the screen always contains the main information such as speed, selected riding modes, residual range in km and battery charge level (%), while the ecological riding quality and the level of energy used or recovered during the ride are indicated on either side. But it is using the dedicated Vespa App on your smartphone and connecting it to the vehicle – via Bluetooth – that lets you take full advantage of the capabilities of the TFT display on which all notifications of incoming calls and messages appear, highly visible in the centre.
The system also allows you to use the handlebar buttons to answer calls and to use the smartphone’s voice commands to make calls or play music from your own playlist. To fully enjoy all these features, easily managed through the handy MODE joystick on the right control block, a special dedicated Jet helmet with built-in earphones and Bluetooth intercom is available for Vespa Elettrica as an optional accessory.
Of course, the predisposition for connection to the outside world is not limited to the various Infotainment functions. thanks to the dedicated Vespa App, once connected to Vespa Elettrica, your smartphone becomes an exceptional source of parameters in real time, as well as other useful information on vehicle use, including trip time and distance, battery charge use percentage, statistics on the last 30 trips, push notifications on the battery charge status, number of recharge cycles carried out and much more.

Vespa Elettrica X: a range of up to 200 km
Vespa Elettrica will also be available in the X version at some point during the year 2019, with a range of almost 200 km thanks to its petrol driven generator that, depending on riding style, conserves battery power. To make room for the generator and its fuel tank (3 litres), Vespa Elettrica X uses a smaller battery pack that, with the generator off, provides a range of up to 50 km. The generator adds another 150 km to the range, bringing it up to 200 km to make Vespa Elettrica suitable for out of town riding as well.
The generator kicks in automatically, when the battery charge level falls below a certain threshold or the rider can start it manually by selecting the Extender mode.

Vespa Elettrica is always unique and customisable

Vespa Elettrica is designed with the same unmistakable lines that have made Vespa an icon of style and elegance around the globe and won the hearts of entire generations of young people.
The body shape, strictly in steel in accordance with the best Vespa tradition, is emphasised by an exclusive dedicated livery: In fact, Vespa Elettrica comes in a special grey finish, around which the customer can choose to tailor many distinctive details. In fact, the profile that runs along the entire perimeter of the shield, the “neck tie” decoration, the edge of the wheel rims, the profile of the “Vespa” nameplate and the seat trim are available in six colour variants: Azzurro Elettrico (standard on Vespa Elettrica), Verde Boreale, Giallo Lampo, Cromo, Nero Profondo and Grigio Fumo.
Vespa Elettrica X, on the other hand, stands out for its Copper colour standard finishes.

Plus, in line with the customised “total look” concept, a special Jet helmet is available exclusively for Vespa Elettrica that matches the vehicle livery and finishes, all in the colour chosen by the customer. This helmet stands out not only for style but also technological content, with built-in Bluetooth earphones so you can use your smartphone and listen to music through the VESPA MIA system.
The front headlight with LED technology and the rear light cluster give an even more distinct personality to Vespa Elettrica, which adopts generous 12″ front and 11″ rear aluminium alloy rims. Comfort benefits from a seat made of a material capable of providing maximum comfort for rider and passenger, as well as perfect ergonomics. The remote control key has a built-in Bike Finder feature (flashes the turn indicators) and a seat compartment opening function, while the inside of the compartment in the leg shield back plate contains a USB socket for charging smartphones or other mobile devices.

VESPA ELETTRICA IS EASY, EVEN TO PURCHASE

Vespa Elettrica is manufactured in Pontedera for the markets all over the world and it is already available in major European countries at a price of € 6,390 or, alternatively, with a new purchasing solution in monthly instalments of € 99*. By adding a down payment, the instalment can also include Vespa Care, the services package that includes scheduled maintenance operations (36 months or 10,000 km), a warranty extension of an additional 12 months, the periodic battery check and roadside assistance enhanced by dedicated services.
These financing packages were designed and created by Piaggio Financial Services, the new Piaggio Group financial platform developed in line with the Group’s vocation for innovation and constant attention to the changing needs of the customer, and they are making their début with the launch of Vespa Elettrica.

Piaggio Financial Services is a customer services system aimed at providing a wide range of financial products capable of meeting any possible customer purchasing needs, thereby allowing the most appropriate combination for him or her to be designed: from traditional instalment financing to the possibility of adjusting the instalments based on specific needs, even coming up with all-inclusive solutions with a monthly fee which, in addition to the vehicle purchase through instalments, can also include various insurance coverages, periodic maintenance operations, warranty extensions and accessories.

All the Vespa accessories

As with every Vespa, Vespa Elettrica can also be customised and made into a unique piece, following the personality of the rider, thanks to a rich range of accessories: The dedicated top box, painted entirely in the same colour as the vehicle and enhanced by the chromed Vespa badge, can hold a full-face helmet. The top box can be finished with a backrest, covered in the same material as the seat. The chromium-plated base where the top box is mounted can also be used as a luggage rack. An extra touch of elegance is provided by the genuine Italian leather seat and backrest that are subjected to a special protective treatment in order to maintain a high level of quality over time.
Maximum protection is provided by a windshield made of high quality anti-splinter methacrylate, customised with the Vespa logo; the support brackets are made with a chrome finish in line with the other aesthetic details. Vespa Elettrica can also be fitted with a top fairing – available both transparent and smoked – that elegantly rounds off the front design of the vehicle.
The classic chromium front and rear luggage racks are also available for Vespa Elettrica. The front side and rear chrome mudguards elegantly finish the vehicle and protect the bodywork. A hand crafted black leather bag, 100% Made in Italy, which can accommodate a jet helmet with visor can be easily fastened to the rear luggage rack.

The accessories range also includes the special jet Tech helmet dedicated to Vespa Elettrica that combines style and maximum practicality with a built-in bluetooth headset so you can take full advantage of the VESPA MIA system. To go with the helmet, goggles are also available that stand out for the mirrored lenses derived from the world of skiing and other new finishes. The demi-jet Vespa VJ Special Edition Vespa Elettrica helmet is also available, customisable to match the colour of your vehicle.

Another novelty is the original backpack with LED piping that can be taken apart and used as an internal bag for the top box and backrest with built-in helmet bag. Equipped with a special laptop compartment and a power bank for charging mobile devices, the backpack is also available in an innovative reflective fabric that matches Vespa Elettrica’s typical chrome grey colour.
The range of Vespa Elettrica accessories is also enriched by the convenient side-stand – in black-painted steel to make parking easier, an outdoor cover and an indoor “big logo” cover, both with convenient openings to accommodate any accessories, and a non-slip rubber mat.
An electronic alarm is available for Vespa Elettrica as is a mechanical saddle-handlebar lock and a line of customised mechanical anti-theft devices. The essential mittens and leg covers are practical and fast to fit, made of thermal material to provide excellent protection from the weather. The Vespa Elettrica leg cover bears a metal Vespa logo and provides maximum stability even at high speeds. The saddle cover and anti-theft device are integrated in the accessory.

Call us or stop by the shop to reserve a Vespa Elettrica.