SIP Scootershop - more than 3,000 visitors to 30th Anniversary Open Day
German scooter performance parts and accessory specialist SIP Scootershop saw a crowd of over 3,000 enthusiasts descend on its Landsberg am Lech headquarters in Bavaria in May to help celebrate its 30th anniversary.
From modest, but passionate beginnings, Ralf Jodl and his team have carefully built one of Europe's leading specialist scooter businesses - a shrine to all things scooter - especially Vespa - and an exercise in enthusiasm and dedication.
"What an experience that was," says Ralf. "The best day of the year and our best Open Day ever! Once again, we were outrageously lucky with the weather, but around 3,000 guests, friends, dealers and families were part of a unique occasion that saw Vespas, Lambrettas and more from many corners of the country (and beyond) keep arriving at our site - the valet parking attendants had their hands full.
"At one point, the entire surrounding streets were filled with scooters - a marvellous sight and for sure a new attendance record for a SIP Open Day. The hotels in Landsberg reported that all beds were occupied - no more places available in the town.
Andi Jung from Kaufbeuren was the first brave person to sign up at the tattoo stand to have the SIP logo engraved: "I think the tattoo campaign is really cool and I would like to support the donation. I've been a customer at SIP for years, love the shop and always enjoy coming here." Over the course of the day, 11 more SIP fans came forward and got the logo tattoo, and ARCHE Landsberg can now look forward to € 2,400. A further donation of € 500 to the scooter riders' charity 'Um halb an der Bar' came from the Vespa Club of Germany."
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Always a popular highlight, it was "loud and smoky all day on the dynamometer". The afternoon saw the climax and showdown. First Jesco let his black Vespa Racer with EGIG 400 cc engine howl and set the bar pretty high with 84 hp. But Nico Pendl from Austria broke this record with 87 hp and, thanks to nitrous oxide, he even managed a sensational 92 hp in the second round.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, SIP Scootershop and selected partners have launched five limited edition complete engines. Presented by 'Workshop Meister' Robert, the series features engine SIP V-One 30/25 244 ccm; engine SIP VR-One 30/30 244 ccm; engine SIP EVO 30/30 180 ccm by EGIG; engine SIP EVO 30/25 170 ccm by EGIG and engine SIP BFA 325 by Casa Performance.
"The action on the cross track saw riders taking to the track for their first runs of the year, in advance of the action starting on Saturday 27 July at the 3rd Matscho Karatscho (27 July, 2024). Next door to the track the action was a little more tranquil, as the Vespa Club of Germany had set up a parkour for the trial tournament. Only those who had perfect control of their scooter could complete a faultless lap. Till Kleinschmidt came out the winner with a time of 00:56.21. The stunt show was by Italian acrobatics legend Nicola L'impennatore.
"Our international guests, who once again turned up in large numbers, were also amazed: Josh Rogers is not only the president of the Vespa Club USA, but is also known for his scooter collection. Lome from Vintage Vespa in Thailand has been a customer and good friend of the company for years, as have Pete Delaney from Canada, Bojan from Bosnia, and Ben and Sylvain from Authentik Scooter in Biarritz, France. Peter had travelled from Denmark with a whole gang, while the guests from Vintage Vespa Puerto Rico had, of course, not come across the ocean on a scooter. As always, we were also delighted to welcome guests and friends from Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria.
"During the day, DJ Jan Otto and Roberto Patrik Klegazz provided the perfect Open Day soundtrack, which was only silenced briefly when a true beauty saw the light of day at lunchtime. As CEOs, Alex and I, together with builders Christoph and Basti and painter Marcus Pfeil, presented our brand-new custom scooter "Tribute". Packed with high-end and carbon parts, as well as an eye-catching paint job by Pfeil Design, and an engine tuned to almost 300 cc. A worthy scooter for the 30th anniversary of SIP Scootershop.
"There were company tours that gave a look behind the scenes at SIP, advice and help sessions were held in the company flagship store, there were test ride opportunities and a hugely popular used parts selection.
"Many thanks to our organisation crew, all the hard-working employees, expert dealers and, of course, the fantastic guests who made the day an unforgettable experience. Next stop: 50 years of SIP Scootershop"!
Wideframe Vespas
Characterised by their motorcycle-style handlebars, the tuning of wideframe Vespa models has recently become more popular than ever.
The mileage done on these venerable 'old ladies' is necessarily low, as is the power available from the stock engines at around 2-3 hp.
However, a dedicated group of tireless tuners and spirited engineers have got together around the 'Faro Basso' models in a search of satisfactory repair, restoration and upgrade solutions. They have been busy optimising the porting on original cylinders, swapping pistons and experimenting with various carburettor set-ups and more.
The results? A new 100-page catalogue dedicated to the 'fenderlight' Vespa models is available online a IDDUU or on the SIP Scootershop website.
