Scooter style surges
Fashionable flair for getting around downtown in style

It's hip, sexy and cool to ride a scooter - especially if it's a vintage Vespa or Lambretta. The trend is being attributed to a combination of retro-style fashion and European flair.

Danielle Iversen, publicist for the Motoretta scooter store on College Street in Toronto says, "Scooter popularity is growing like crazy because people find that it's a really easy and fun way to get around town, especially downtown Toronto. Many buyers are boomers who want to re-live their trip to Italy. They rode one there and buying one here rekindled their sense of freedom."

The Motoretta location is a unique scooter lifestyle store and the newest venture for Giancarlo Serrafero, a connoisseur of the Vespa culture who has been importing vintage Lambretta and Vespa scooters for about 20 years. The store also has a coffee bar where you can enjoy an espresso while you shop. All beverage proceeds are donated to charity.

Co-founder Morey Chaplick says, "Prices range from under $2,000 for a basic model to $10,000 for a collector's item. The average price is around $5,000." Some of their scooters are more than 50 years old. They also provide scooters for photo shoots, movie sets, music videos and special events.

You need to get a motorcycle licence to drive a scooter. Top speed is about 100 km/h. "The insurance costs about $350 per year. A scooter can go about 300 kilometres on one tank of gas, which costs about $7," says Chaplick.

Vespas (Italian for wasp) and Lambrettas aren't the only things flying off the store floor. Scooter fashions and other paraphernalia are enjoying a surge of popularity of their own, even for those who don't own a scooter. Motoretta sells clothing, helmets, goggles, watches, bags, books, posters, patches and more.

"The people riding the scooters and wearing the clothes tend to be the artsy types and those interested in the newest trends. Like the scooter colours, the most popular clothes are in shades of baby blue, bubblegum pink, candy apple red and copper," notes Iversen. Designer fashions by Ben Sherman, Lambretta, Fred Perry, Vespa and Merc are popular. Be prepared to pay $30 for a T-shirt if it's a designer brand.

For more information contact Motoretta at 416-925-1818 or visit www.motoretta.ca.

Scooters have a long history

One of the first scooters produced commercially was a 2-wheeler manufactured by Hildebrand & Wolfmueller, patented in Munich in 1894. It had a step-through frame and the engine cylinders went back and forth. It had a radiator built into the top of the rear fender. The bike is considered by many experts to be the first powered, 2-wheel vehicle.

Although the bike was not a huge commercial success, it paved the way for a new generation of affordable transportation. By the end of World War Two, the scooter really took off.

The modern scooter was created in the Lambratte area of Milan by Ferdinado Innocenti. Inspired by military motorcycles he had seen in Rome, he asked designer Corradino D'ascanio to develop blueprints. Unfortunately the two men could not agree and D'ascanio left to join the Piaggio company to work on aircraft design. He and Enrico Piaggio created the Vespa in 1946 and unveiled it at the Milan Fair. It had a 98 cc engine.

Innocenti, Giuseppe Lauro and Pierluigi Torre designed a scooter that was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1947. The Lambretta 'A' was economical (160 to 180 mpg at a time when fuel was rationed), could go 45 mph (70 km/h) and had a 123 cc engine. During its first year, 9,000 models were sold.

A Vespa 125 cc was produced in 1948 - and the competition for power and speed, design and price, has continued ever since.

Diane Tierney is editor of Leisureways, Journey and Going Places, member publications for the Canadian Automobile Association.