I received an inquiry from a woman seeking ideas for a Christmas gift for her father. Here’s that note:
My dad is an avid rider in New England (Vespa and a “project” Lambretta). I’m at a loss for a Christmas gift this year. Do you have a favorite piece of gear, book about riding, or other misc thing that you would love to give to a Scooter pal?
Gift giving is an art. For many a nightmare. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy the hunt and remain unconcerned with the reception. Putting myself in “dad’s place”, I tried to imagine what a New England rider might want. In the end it really was about what I would want. Result — gifts for scooter riders is a tricky business. And a little working through what I think I want but not really. Like the bomber hat with the rabbit fur. I’ve thought about owning one of those since I was a kid.
But I digress…
With as much Christmas spirit as I could muster I sent the following message about gift ideas for a fellow scooter rider. Perhaps readers can add others.
Dad’s and Christmas are always a problem, even the Vespa riding ones!
A lot of the Vespa experience is personal so it will be difficult for me to make recommendations but I’ll give it a whirl. I’m assuming you don’t want to buy him a brand new, shiny Vespa….*grin*
I would visit scooterwest.com — it’s a big Vespa scooter parts and gear enterprise. Once there search for “signs”. You’ll see a number of metal Vespa signs that a lot of us who have scooters like to display in our garages. Don’t ask me why. I have one.
If you know the exact model scooter your dad has, you could give scooterwest.com a call and tell them you want to buy some maintenance items — oil, filters, sparkplugs, etc. Even if your dad already has some of this he’ll need it eventually and he’ll be impressed that you picked this stuff up.
On the left hand navigation of the scooterwest.com site you’ll see their holiday gift giving guide. That area will have Vespa hats and shirts and such. Always a safe bet for Vespa riders.
Thinking about books — there are many. Take a look at Ghost Rider. While not about scooters it does look at the riding experience. A lot depends on your dad and what his riding is like. Aerostich has lots of books.
Or this — gloves. I love getting riding gloves. Aerostich makes some fantastic Elkskin ones.
And the last thing, the one I like most is the gift of riding time. You might have to coordinate this with your mom or dad’s significant other. Give him a Christmas card with a written note that basically says you want him to take a riding trip. Maybe it’s a little homemade gift card entitling the bearer to depart for a couple days — a guilt free, don’t worry about mowing the lawn, fixing anything or washing the car. The only requirement is to take some pictures, eat some good food and have a good time. I would love getting that gift.
So if you’ve found the perfect gift for a scooter or motorcycle rider leave a comment. You may ease the stress of a gift giver and make a rider happy.
Quick update on my Vespa:
It’s still in the garage dismantled, heated grips connected but still have to secure the wires, put the pieces back together, and basically spend an hour or so to get it back on the road. Or to the point where I can put the winter tires on. Things have been busy at work and I’ve had little energy left for my poor Vespa…
