Thursday, March 28

Arto's New Ride

Press Release

When Arto Saari won Thrasher's Skater Of The Year Award for 2001, his most brilliant sponsor, éS Footwear, decided this esteemed honor deserved a very special congratulatory gift. Noting that Arto and friend Geoff Rowley were into scooters, éS asked Geoff what kind Arto would be most stoked on. A Vespa Super Sport was the reply, but Geoff didn't believe éS would actually get him one, since they're really hard-to-find and expensive-not to mention that whenever one of these beauties is found, it's not uncommon to spend a year in restoration. éS didn't have a year, so they started calling a few scooter-oriented folks in Southern California for some quick leads, but no one knew how to get one immediately.

éS team associate Andy Flores-whose hobby is buying and restoring old motorcycles-was given the task of tracking down a Vespa SS and took on the project with gusto. After searching California, the rest of the U.S., the U.K. and even Italy for three months, someone in that country pointed-out one for sale in Chicago. Indeed, a shop called Scooter Works in the Windy City had a pristine 1964 Vespa Super Sport up for grabs. Totally disassembled, meticulously restored then reassembled, this sweet scooter features a completely rebuilt engine, authentic repaint matching the original color, and NOS parts all over. It's a first year model (1964), # 2018 of 4000, 180 cc, freeway-legal and can comfortably ride a family of two.

The Vespa runs great, and now even more comfortably rides a family of one named Arto Saari. éS Footwear is way stoked on Arto winning Skater Of The Year, and Arto is super-psyched on the scooter, so it all worked out good.