The Scoots of Summer

Eric Caruncho, an Inquirer music writer and also a Vespa rider, wrote about the Pinoy-style scooter-culture taking over our streets in this article which appeared in today’s sundayINQUIRERmagazine (pages 4-5). The feature includes an interview with Nani Juarez (aka Dr. Scoot) and a couple of low-res pictures of Vespas line-up in Mall of Asia taken during the Vespa Attack II held last December.

Here’s are excerpts from the article which specifically touched on the Vespa:

In 1997, a local distributor (that would be Veloci ~J.R.) reintroduced the venerable Vespa PX150 , a nearly 30-year-old design, to encouraging sales. “The real boom came when gas prices rose in 2000,” he says. “Scooters became an alternative mode of transport, Honda built a factory, and everyone got into the picture.”

“You know the Pinoy, his scooter has to look good,” says Juarez. “Maborloloy (decked out). Not to flaunt it, but the scooter has to look trendy. People will spend more on [customizing] the motorcycle than they spent for the motorcycle itself.”

At the opposite aesthetic pole are vintage scooter enthusiasts for whom the Vespa, which has evolved very little since its invention in 1946, remains the quintessential scooter. While a minority, these “Vespanatics” are also growing in number, fuelling a thriving trade in second-hand Vespas.

“These people value durability and reliability,” says Juarez, who rides a Vespa PX200 himself. “And these scooters appreciate in value. Now you have to pay up to P80,000 for a used Vespa PX150 which cost only P60,000 brand new five years ago.” The 2007 model now costs P190,000, but Juarez says they sold out in less than a month.

One thing I learned from this article is that there were 700,00 cars as of last year; easily outnumbered by the 1.1 million motorcycles in Metro Manila alone. I’ve always thought that there are more cars than bikes here in the country.

The article gives an accurate insight about the current state of the local motorcycling scene particularly here in Metro Manila. Read the full article here.

The riding season’s on!

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J0HNRANA

john[dot]rana[at]gmail[dot]com