I had been eying this Lego Vespa kit ever since @Brickman posted about it here.
I’ve always loved motorbikes and the classic Vespa, like the Honda SuperCub or a turbo ‘Busa, is symbolic of the access and freedom a motorcycle affords. This Lego kit is another beautiful example that is fun to build, looks great on the shelf and stands as a lovely avatar to a philosophy, much like the Fiat 500 kit they did before.
I had to have this kit and at the end of May, after walking by it on several store visits, I caved.
Kiddo and I built it over a couple sessions on the living room floor (rite of passage for a child with Legos), ushering the dogs away and trying to assure their errant fluff doesn’t get stuck in the bricks.
It’s really a wonderful kit! It is meant to be in the office but has instead remained on display in the living room as all members of the family seem to enjoy it equally.
Now I’ve been 2WheelNegative since 2015 when kiddo was born and we went into the collective ‘hunker down and parent’ mode. It was an irrational shift and eight months in I was ready to ride again though the bike was gone and other priorities and distractions had filtered in to displace the thought. This kit as separate from riding as possible stirred some emotions and even got my kiddo asking questions about motorbikes.
It started out so innocently as a Lego kit but then shifted to ‘what is on FB marketplace for cheap?’ — which led to this happening:
A week later, for three-times the cost of the lil’ Lego set, I procured a full-sized Vespa Lego set. This Vespa is a 2006 LX50, 4-stroke and it has been parked in a lady’s back yard for two years, as a play-thing for her grandkids. It doesn’t run, it is filthy, and safe to assume EVERYTHING is broken, but it has a legitimate title!
We set about doing a half-baked clean of it, but given the scope and scale of this project, it’ll be parked until some other tasks are completed. — namely organizing my chaotic garage, installing some very unique seats in a certain Mustang and doing a LOT to the wife's Jeep to make it adventure-friendly.
I should have been happy with this shift, we went from no motorbikes to a very nice toy one and a terrible real one; yet FB marketplace struck again. Another week later I found a post by a quirky Italian man selling a 2007 Vespa GTS250ie, running and driving fine but with cosmetic woes due to ‘falling off a trailer during unloading’. I showed my wife as a bit of a laugh and then she asked ‘When will you go look at it?’ Determination displaced dismissive and I reached out to the seller. He was available and so I asked my boss to give me a ride over, he laughed when I explained what for, but grabbed his keys as excited to be party to a bad decision as he might be to make one himself.
It looked great in person, save the dent and chonk of plastic missing…
This is the ‘hot’ Vespa, 250cc, watercooled engine, 22bhp… a whole different beast from the potential 3bhp aircooled thing the LX50 is. Rode well, was quick and smooth and he was willing to work on the price given the damage, but on e again this one had a clear title and that is very important in FL… many I saw were annoyingly without title and can’t legally be used here.
Wife loves it, it rekindled her love of commuting to work on her old Aprilia SR50 Rallye or the many times she stole my Triumph, naughty girl. She’s now looking to get her MSF sorted so thar she can ride care free on all bikes big and small. — and kiddo… well, we may have created a monster…
For a total investment of $1,800, I have three ‘Vespas’ in very different states of existence
Thank you so much to our resident sage of The Scoot, @Shop-Teacher as he offered insights, guidance and reassurance as I ventured down this absolutely nutty path.