Vespa House, Collingwood

Having a delayed mid-life crisis, I decided that turning 50 was the impetus for fulfilling my long-held desire for, no not an MG or a new partner, but a snazzy Vespa scooter. After checking around Melbourne and Ebay for prices on new and secondhand scooters, I ended up at Vespa House discussing options with Frank (who confessed to buying a Mercedes for his 50th birthday!). His business has certainly taken off since the first time I checked it out in the early 1980s but it is still the same in terms of selling and servicing almost exclusively Vespas. After a lot of procrastination, I went in one day and asked what he had that I could ride off on that day. I chose a scooter that wasn't quite the demure colour I had anticipated but that's impatience for you and I have learnt to love my dragon red wheels. It's been back a couple of times for servicing, a trouble-free procedure with the use of a battered 50cc scooter for the day thrown in. There are always a few classics in the workshop and while it's fun to look at them, my fully automatic LX150 with electronic ignition and security is far more practical for me.