skylarwoodward

I have a new crush. Bella. Veloce. Stimolazione. This weekend I finally took home my 1969 Vespa 150 Sprint Veloce and began the process of getting her aquainted with the foggy SF air after 5 years of sitting garaged. It was a rough start to our relationship, but after a new ignition coil and fuel line she’s finally come around. I’ve been taking her out every afternoon or evening so far to work some of the crud built up in the engine from the early new-millenium hiatus.

She’s every bit a classic and 100% Italian even down to the scratches on the cowls and the fuel cap label reading “USARE MISCELA AL 2%.” The Sprint Veloce was the name applied to the 150cc Sprint models produced directly for the Italian Market though I’m still learning the distinctions to the 150 Sprint aside from the lack of ignition or seat locks and the speedometer in kilometers. In the pictures posed on flickr, you can see small dealer stickers on the front and rear of the bike which suggest that at some point the bike was sold in Modena, though aside from a brief history of her story in SF since being imported around 1998, I can’t say that I know much more. That said, she’s a joy to ride and a dream to park. In addition to my new Breezer and the Yahoo! shuttles to Sunnyvale, its one more reason to leave the car in the garage, and 150 more reasons to go out smiling.