History

Founded by Rinaldo Piaggio in 1884, Piaggio initially produced locomotives and railway carriages. During World War I the company focused on producing aircraft.

Aeronautical engineer, Corradino D’Ascanio sold the design he was working on for an inexpensive scooter to Piaggio for the Italian population needing a cheap form of transportation. It is called the Vespa.

The birth of the Mod scene in England with The Who, the Kinks, The Small Faces and many more R&B bands at the forefront of music listened to by young Mods. Mods were smart dressers with the latest Italian suits and shoes. Some started buying Vespas (and Lambrettas) to be able to get around to Mod clubs and events. It was also to show off the latest fashion, what they wore and what their "modded-up" scooter wore.

The Mod Revival came about with the release of The Who’s film Quadrophenia set in the heyday of the Mod scene in England 1964-65. As a result of this film there were many Mod revival bands such as The Jam, Purple Hearts, The Lambrettas and more that complemented Quadrophenia. Teens took to the sounds of these bands, the Mod look, the sounds of the two-stroke Vespa (and Lambretta), the music and the Modded-up look of the scooters.

Some shops across Canada had left-over parts but were hard to locate. This was well before the internet, eBay and Google. You had to know someone who knew someone with extra parts or you mailed a letter to shops in the UK. A UK scooter magazine started publishing in the early 80’s, called Scooter Scene now called Scootering with ads for scooter shops that sold parts internationally.

The Canadian Scooter Corp was created and started opening up shops across Canada with the city’s name attached i.e. Vespa Halifax, Vespa Burlington, Vespa Calgary etc. These shops sold various models (including the ET2 and ET4 models) which were quieter and automatic. These shops sold Vespa-branded products from clothing to books, helmets, baggage for scooters and scooter accessories. The last geared Vespa, the PX150, was imported as late as 2005 into Canada. They were a limited edition and each PX150 came with a numbered plaque attached on the scooter.