Welcome

What can I say to get the ball rolling on this one. Some history perhaps....
Well it's hard to explain what it is about something that sparks an interest that leads to a hobby and finally onto something that's close to obsession. My interset in scooters probably started subconsciously as a child, I remember hanging on for dear life whist sitting on the fuel tank of my dads motorbike as he did a few laps of our street, that feeling of speed, the excitement of the wind in my face and just really wanting to get off...that was in the mid- seventies in the N.S.W. country town of Lthgow, where I grew up.
As I grew older, some friends had the small Pee Wee dirt bikes, but I wasn't allowed to have one, which now being a father to two small boys can fully understand. These changed into bigger bikes as we all grew, so did the bikes and although I never really rode one by myself, I was always on the back, I still had the same feelings, not in control, hanging on for dear life and still just wanting to get off. Again these bikes grew into big road bikes and to be honest I just had no interest in them.
So I turned to a pushbike, which I enjoyed a lot, this period overlapped the motor bike years and I started small, following the normal trend of a trike, a small kids bike, a BMX and finally a road bike, The Macquarie, it served me well through high school, getting me to and from school, there was a group of us that lived in the same end of town, or on the way, and it was fun riding in a group, sometimes racing, always laughing. It all ended as did high school and cars took the place of the trusty two wheelers, which were sent to thier inevitable rusty, spiderweb covered end. I had the Macquarie for years, stored safely under Mums house and in the garage when she moved house. Years later I revived my trusty ride when I was living in Sydney, but a lengthy overseas holiday saw us part ways, some low life decided they liked my old bike more than me and stole it from the backyard of my then girlfriends' parents house. Wankers
A few years past by and a new girlfriend and a friend of hers decided they were going to do an extended bicycle tour through South East Asia, I invited myself to join them, as the time to depart drew near, tragically, my girlfriends friend was killed in an accident when her bike was hit by a car while she was training for the trip,  a couple of months later we decided to go anyway. As anyone who has done any research into push bikes will tell you, it is a can of worms, mind boggling at the array of and difference between all sorts of bikes and the gear you can get for them, cutting a long story short, mountain bikes were purchased along with all the gear, flights booked and we were on our way to KL.
Thirteen or so months later, 11,260 kms, countless tire and tube repairs, 5 countries and the odd bowl of noodles and I was home. What I had learnt was that all that riding was both a lot of fun and good for you, I also learnt that it could be bloody hard work. A well known fact was that asia has millions of scooters and motor bikes and a few hybrid thingys that will remain nameless. Nice looking scooters stood out from the crowd and I found myself looking out for these gems, mostly Vespas, I think this planted a seed in the back of my mind, but thats where it stayed. On one occasion we hired a scooter to travel the 30 odd kms from the small village we were staying into the nearby city for lunch, a look around, go to the bank etc. This time I was in control, wind in my hair, I didn't want to get off, nor did the smile that was spread across my face.
It all became clear to me then, I wanted a bike that wasn't about the speed, but the easy riding and pleasure of not having to pedal, but going slow enough to enjoy what was going on around me and of course it was also going to be about finding the right classic style of scooter to do it all on. It could only be a Vespa.
Fast forward a couple of years, and two interstate moves and getting married, it was time. I was living in Perth and needed transport, the choice was easy, licence laws in W.A meant I could ride a 50cc scooter on a car licence, so I found myself in Franzones, a Vespa and Piaggio dealer, who also worked on Jaguars and other prestigious European cars, I had a chioce to make and being low on coin meant the choice was simple, Piaggio Zip, purple blueish and the joy was instant. I began looking further into scooters and the history, admiring bikes I saw and found online, the old stylish classic bikes and stories of adventure, rallies and the whole lifestyle that came with it began to interest me, I thought if I could find a 1971 Vespa that would be an exciting day.....one day. Over the next year or so I clocked up over 13000 kms and had very little to complain about, except the traffic trying to kill me, The wife and I decided to move back East to be closer to our families as we'd discussed kids and thought it would be better to be closer to our parents. I thought "well if I need to get a licence to ride the Zip, I may as well get a bigger bike" so I got my Learners and bought a black Vespa GT200. We moved East and I got my full licence and I attended a few rallys, met other like minded scooterists and had a great time, things started happening, changing jobs, having two children, building a house, a rabbit hutch and a dog kennel, scootering things got put on hold.
UNTIL NOW.
With the wife back at work for a year after my youngest son was born, two pay rises for me and everything forming some sort of routine. I was able to get up to a national rally in Qld, same deal, I had a great ride up and back and a fantastic time, saw some fabulous bikes and met the great people that owned them. When I got back I thought I'd put it to my wife the possibility of trying to find that elusive 1971 Vespa, under the guise of my 40th birthday next year, she though it would be a great way to celebrate turning 40, on a vintage Vespa as old as I am. Naturally I agreed.
For years I have scoured EBay, Trading Post and all the bike sales websites, I read just about every post on every scooter website and forum, looking and learning on the way, I bought magazines, manuals and dvds on scootering history, travel adventures, maintenance and restoration and once I got the go ahead I was ready. I'm not sure why I chose the path I did, especially since I've read all the bad experiences people have had buying scooters from SE Asia, I read some comments on a forum that put me in touch with someone who was happy with the bike they got from overseas, a few others had positive things to say as well as two or three other people that were also in the same boat as me, wondering if they should bite the bullet, but needed a little reassurance. This got me thinking maybe, just maybe I should look into it, It went against my better judgement, against all the things I'd read and I weighed up the risks. If the bike is stuffed I've done my wife and my hard earned cash but I might be able to sort it out over time, if the frame is ok and the engine stuffed, I'll have a project rebuilding the engine, dissapointing but better than nothing. If the bike is all good then I have the model and year I wanted, with a new engine and the colour I wanted. Fuck it I'll do it I said.
That was two months or so ago, I did more research into the exact model I thought I wanted and with some guidance decided on the Sprint Veloce, 1971 and if I had a choice it was going to be british racing green and in as close to original condition I could get it. I made the first contact with a guy in Vietnam that I was recommended, He is an Aussie and his business is to source old Vespas and restore them, I thought most of the Vespas he had on his website were from the 1960's but I wasn't sure if he could find me a Veloce. He had three a '74, a '78 and yes I was in luck he also had a 1971. Cool, I was preparing myself to wait months, years even until I could find one and I found one straight away. That wave of nervous excitement crashed over me, once I committed there was no going back. I did and after what was a pleasant transaction, all my stupid questions answered, my dollars deposited, the weeks of restoration and transport, importation, customs and quarantine inspections and a truck ride from Melbourne, my 1971 Sprint Veloce arrives in my driveway tomorrow. Let the adventure of owning a vintage Vespa begin.....