DEAR SCOOTER RIDERS!
It’s been 30 years since we founded SIP Scootershop in a garage. Our first stock was stored amongst Alex’s father’s beehives. As we had no staff, we delivered the parcels to the post office ourselves on our Vespas. Those were the days…
A lot has happened over the past three decades: we’ve made plenty of right decisions and a few wrong ones. We’ve met people who have become friends. We’ve had the opportunity to look at the world of ‘scooters’ from a wide variety of angles. There were gruelling moments when, at two o’clock in the morning in the cold former barracks on Erpftinger Straße, we sat at the keyboard in our jackets and gloves, coming up with descriptions for the next catalogue. There were moments of sheer joy, such as on road trips with friends and colleagues, when, after driving 1,000 km with road grime on our faces, we arrived at the seaside and clinked glasses with an ice-cold beer. Together, we’ve laughed, pondered, celebrated and mourned. This chronicle recounts these stories, highlights milestones in SIP’s history and recounts the big and small things that have shaped us into the company we are today. We want to continue striking the balance that has been important to us over the last 30 years: being, on the one hand, an efficient, modern company and, on the other, an authentic, honest family business. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to all our staff for their dedication and passion. We’d like to thank all our customers for their long-standing trust and loyalty to our brand. Without you, there would be no SIP Scootershop.
We hope to welcome and get to know as many of you as possible at our events in the years to come. Here’s to the next 30 years!
, Ralf & Alex
SIP Scootershop wish you lots of fun and an accident-free scooter season.
Video: 30 Years of SIP Scootershop – The Best Vespa Moments 1994–2024
2024
The year 2024 marks a milestone in SIP Scootershop’s history: 1994–2024 means 30 years of SIP Scootershop! Three decades of performance and style for Vespa and scooter fans. Naturally, this year was packed with fantastic events. It all kicked off at the end of April with a Vespa road trip by some members of the SIP team to Tuscany and the legendary Vespa meet on Elba. You can find the report here , along with lots of photos and an epic SIP TV video!
This was followed in mid-May by the SIP Open Day – the annual kick-off to the scooter season for many. More than 3,000 guests made their way to us in Landsberg am Lech, and we’ve never had so many scooters from near and far parked on our premises and in the surrounding streets! It was breathtaking and a fantastic day that only came to an end early the following morning after an all-nighter. Here’s our report on this unforgettable celebration.
Every Thursday throughout the summer, we held our Vespa Aperitivos, which are great fun for us and for you, our guests. Find out more here – we’d love to see you at the next Aperitivo!
At the end of July, we hosted the third edition of the MATSCHO KARATSCHO Vespa Cross Race on our very own racetrack. It was a battle against the heat that produced thrilling races and breathtaking images, as well as a SIP TV video – read our report on it here.
30 years of SIP Scootershop: it was high time to bring another Vespa custom project to life. We were able to secure none other than Marcus Pfeil to create the spectacular paintwork for the Vespa Sprint, along with extreme engine modifications and changes to the suspension, Frame and so on. Here we present our custom scooter, the ‘Tribute’, in detail.
Video: SIP Open Day 2024
2023
As is the case every year, our Open Day in May 2023 marked the start of the season. More than 2,000 visitors turned up in glorious summer weather. Here is the report, photos and the SIP TV video.
We then took part for the first time in the legendary GIRO DEI TRE MARI in Bari, Italy, with a five-strong SIP team. A fabulous multi-day tour on the Vespa through southern Italy and Albania – we’ve shared our amazing experiences in a blog post . Enjoy reading and watching!
As part of our popular ‘Sexiest Workshops’ series, we visited Marco Fumagalli’s Vespa Paradies, amongst other places, and have put together a report and video for you – be sure to check them out!
And, of course, there was another Vespa road trip in 2023 – this time to picturesque Switzerland for the Vespa World Days in Interlaken. We were joined by our friend and customer Eugene from Scooter Depot Manila (Philippines). Take a look here
SIP TV Video Vespa Cross Matscho Karatscho Landsberg
2022
For two long years, the circumstances surrounding the pandemic forced us to cancel our traditional and popular ‘Open Day’ at SIP Scootershop. We watched developments closely at the start of 2022, and when it became clear that events could be held again, the anticipation was immense. On 28 May 2022 , the time had finally come: SIP Open Day 2022.
Jochen has been working as our dispatch manager for many years, despite an accident that left him in a wheelchair. In 2022, we put together a profile of Jochen that’s well worth a read.
There was also a Vespa road trip in 2022; we travelled to the beautiful Dolomites and, as always , brought back a report, photos and a SIP TV video.
Incidentally, we also organised a SIP Vespa Joyride in 2022 – with more than 450 participants, it was probably the biggest ever… There are plenty of great memories of that too , in the form of a blog post, photos and a video.
2021
2021 got off to a fun-filled start: we fitted studded tyres to two Vespas and whizzed through the snowy landscape around the building – read more about it on the blog, including a video.
And then we were nominated: for the Best Workspaces Award 2022 – we’re really excited to see how it turns out. But everyone who works here knows anyway that we have exceptionally great workspaces in our new company building.
2021 was VESPA’s anniversary year: 1946–2021 – so she’s turning 75, the elegant, sensuous lady from Pontedera. We’ve written a lovely blog post about it and would like to wish her a very happy birthday once again and a very long life!
In 2021, we also built a custom Vespa – this time a Vespa Rally 200 designed as a genuine everyday vehicle, yet still truly exceptional. We hope you enjoy reading the blog and browsing through the photos and video.
And despite the pandemic, we also went on a SIP Vespa road trip, riding down to sunny southern France. There’s a detailed report on this , plenty of photos and a SIP TV video.
For us, the 2021 scooter season actually came to an end with the season-ending ride in Augsburg in sunny but cold autumn weather. It was another great opportunity to meet lots of familiar faces and clock up a few extra kilometres on the Speedometer. Here’s the report, lots of lovely photos and a short SIP TV video.
We’re looking forward to the 2022 scooter season!
2020
The year 2020 will go down in the history books as the year of the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, we at SIP Scootershop were not affected by any closures and, thanks to our generous stock levels, were able to maintain excellent delivery capacity throughout the year. Unfortunately, some much-loved events fell victim to infection control measures, such as our Open Day in May and the SIP Joyride in July. Next year, however, the ANTICIPATION will be all the greater!
At least our annual SIP Vespa Road Trip went ahead in early August; this time, 21 members of the SIP team rode to Corsica on classic Vespas – a dream trip. We’ve brought you a detailed report, lots of photos and a SIP TV video from the trip.
2019
SIP Scootershop is celebrating its quarter-century. What began in a garage in 1994 is now celebrating its 25th anniversary! As well as a printed chronicle in a collector’s edition, there will be an Open Day to mark the anniversary, a second edition of the TACHO KARACHO acceleration race, a joyride around Lake Ammersee in July and a scooter pilgrimage in September.
There are also some fantastic limited-edition anniversary products to mark ‘25 Years of SIP Scootershop’: the handcrafted Helmet from 70s Helmets, the ‘25 Years of SIP’ T-Shirts, the high-quality handcrafted enamel Badge, the Patch and, of course, the Sticker in the shape of the Piaggio hexagon. Enjoy them! Here’s to another 25 years of performance & style!
In 2019, the SIP Vespa Road Trip took us to the Champagne region in France! As usual, we’ve brought back a SIP TV video:
2018
For anyone coming to see us in person on their scooter, we’ve got the SIP Pass Sticker, designed in the style of an Alpine pass badge. Just pop up to the bar with your Helmet under your arm and ask for one! As well as the Open Day, we’re holding our first ever Retailers’ Day for selected specialist retailers. A whole SIP collection of clothing for scooter riders is being launched: T-Shirts, hoodies and socks. The first ‘After Work Aperitivo’ will take place at SIPERIA, from now on once a month on Thursdays from 5 pm. Under the name TACHO KARACHO, the first DBM acceleration race will take place right outside our building. In the Italian scooter championship, the TROFEO MALOSSI, SIP becomes the first ever foreign racing team to win the Northern Championship.
2017
In 2017, the 2nd SIP Open Day will take place at the new premises at Marie-Curie-Str. 4 in Landsberg.
2016
SIP is launching the SIP PRIMO delivery option for customers in Germany and Austria. The concept is simple: pay a one-off annual fee of 20 euros and enjoy free delivery for twelve months. What’s more, every parcel is dispatched as SIP Express, and you’ll receive a one-off welcome gift of 1 litre of Oil.
In March, the major move to the new premises goes off surprisingly smoothly, thanks to plenty of night shifts and a brilliant team. SIP Scootershop now has more than four times as much space as at its old premises and a 300-square-metre flagship store featuring an Italian bar and pizzeria called SIPERIA. A modern logistics system, a large warehouse and modern, light-filled workspaces ensure the company is well-equipped for the future. A grand opening in May officially opens the building to the public, attracting 1,400 visitors, friends and customers.
2015
Planning has been underway for two years now; the ground-breaking ceremony took place in May and the topping-out ceremony in September for the new logistics and administration building, situated about 1 km from the old site on Graf-Zeppelin-Straße in Landsberg. The ever-increasing need for space – particularly for goods, but also for the now nearly 100 employees – made the construction of a completely new building an urgent necessity. With the architectural firm Ott from Augsburg, SIP has once again found a competent planner for industrial and commercial construction.
2014
20 years of SIP Scootershop – who would have thought it when Alex and Ralf converted the basement room at Ralf’s parents’ house to take their first tentative steps in selling scooter parts, both there and at various scooter meets? SIP exhibited for the first time at INTERMOT in Cologne, directly opposite the PIAGGIO stand. In the same year, SIP was certified as a manufacturer by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrtbundesamt), which opened up the possibility of developing products with ABE type approval or component certificates.
2013
As well as the new customer magazine *Curve*, which will be published for the first time in summer 2013, SIP Scootershop is also pulling out all the stops when it comes to events. Whilst the SIP team will be welcoming around 1,500 international guests to the Motorscooter Custom Show in Landsberg this spring, a visit to EICMA (as an exhibitor for the first time) will round off the year on a high note. In the summer of 2013, the SIP Shop in Landsberg will be given a complete refurbishment, featuring plenty of reclaimed timber and even more care and attention.
Vespa is launching the 946 model as a limited edition.
SIP is launching the first digital Speedometer/Rev Counter for the Vespa PX, with many more Models and additional features to follow.
2012
The team has been working on it for a year and a half. It’s finally due to be published in 2012: the SIP Scootershop Classic Catalogue. 940 pages packed to the brim with products, technical details and images… the ‘SIP Bible’ was published in German and English – and because it was such a success, it was swiftly followed in the months that followed by a catalogue of in-house products, a Lambretta catalogue and a Modern Vespa catalogue. The SIP Classic Catalogue was awarded ‘Catalogue of the Year’ at NEOCOM 2016.You can download the 2012 Classic Catalogue as a PDF here.
2011
The coming years will be characterised by increasing internationalisation. After visiting the USA and Asia, SIP boss Ralf is heading to Russia. On a Vespa mission, of course. Other team members are also keen travellers and go on a week-long scooter tour together every summer. To Italy, France, Croatia, Sardinia, Spain and Austria. Switzerland … only to return home each time with the same realisation: no matter where you go, a love of the Vespa and Lambretta brings people together all over the world. To reflect this, the SIP webshop goes live in 10 languages in 2011.
2010
Scooter Cross remains a hot topic in 2010, with teams within the SIP Team building off-road-capable scooters. ‘Demons of Scootercross’ takes place at the motocross track near Landsberg – a real battle of the machines....
2009
In 2009, Landsberg not only celebrated the company’s 15th anniversary but also looked to the future, as plans were in place for the following year to involve close collaboration with one of the leading suppliers of high-quality replacement parts and tuning parts: SIP Scootershop is set to take over exclusive rights to import MALOSSI products into Germany. Things take a more down-to-earth turn that same year at the Landsberg Scooter Cross. The SIP team ventures off-road for the first time and organises a scooter cross race in Landsberg.
In the same year, there was a small exhibition stand at Amerivespa in Los Gatos, California.
2008
There’s a SIP TV video from 2008 showing the Rollerkö Augsburg ride – hope you enjoy it!
2007
In 2007, the facility was expanded to include a 600 square metre high-bay warehouse with racking reaching a height of 10 metres. This means that 2,500 square metres of warehouse space and more than 400 square metres of office and shop space are now available. At the same time, the stock management system is migrated to a new, in-house developed system. Combined with modern logistics, this has resulted in a significantly higher parcel throughput since spring 2007, thereby ensuring short delivery times. The 50 SIP employees at this time were dispatching up to 400 parcels a day. SIP Scootershop was training Kathrin Brand, who went on to be named Bavaria’s best wholesale and retail trade specialist in 2007.
Vespa unveils the Vespa S50–125
In 2007, the SIP Team Tour headed to the Eurovespa in San Marino, the small city-state near Rimini. There is also an early SIP TV video from this Vespa road trip:
2006
Bavarian Television is broadcasting a feature on SIP Scootershop as part of the business programme PROFILE.
In 2006, the SIP Team Tour is heading to the Eurovespa in Turin, northern Italy. There are photos and a SIP TV video of the tour already available:
2005
The STOFFIS / SIP SCOOTERSHOP Racing Team is founded and goes on to compete successfully in countless classic races as part of the European Scooter Challenge right up until 2016.
In 2005, Vespa launched the GTS, a new large touring scooter.
2004
SIP Scootershop is celebrating its 10th anniversary! 1994–2004. The first decade since the company was founded is already behind us....
2003
In 2003, a new Classic Vespa accessories catalogue is published
2002
In 2002, it was time for a new chapter in the SIP story. The premises in the former barracks were bursting at the seams. As a result, various external storage units were rented, and an old Ape TM from the 1960s dutifully shuttled everything back and forth. Whilst this was great fun and delighted the neighbours, in the long run it simply took up too much time. A new building with enough space for a large warehouse, offices and a shop was needed. Following an intensive planning phase, the company was finally able to move into its new headquarters in the Landsberg industrial estate just before the Christmas holidays. The commercial building won architectural awards and was featured in several magazines.
Since 2002, SIP Scootershop has been the exclusive distributor of GRIMECA Disc Brakes for retrofitting on Vespa models.
2001
In 2001, the new SIP Scootershop website went live, featuring a significantly improved online shop.
The two VESPA Customs have been completed and are being presented to the public. To date, they have won more than 10 trophies at shows and exhibitions.
2000
Thanks to an ever-expanding product range and 15 motivated staff members who are passionate about scooters, SIP Scootershop GmbH entered the 2000s as one of the largest mail-order shops for scooter accessories.
The two Vespa PX Customs, in yellow and silver, are taking shape, painted, of course, by the Austrian master Marcus Pfeil.
1999
In 1999, the decision was taken to include Replacement Parts for automatic-gear vehicles in the product range. As more space was required, SIP Scootershop rented not only the non-commissioned officers’ mess but also the former enlisted men’s mess and other rooms, totalling approximately 1,000 square metres.
1998
In 1998, SIP Scootershop’s first website was launched, already available in German and English and featuring an initial online shop that was linked to our MS-DOS stock management system via ASCII data file export. Even back then, we had real-time stock levels for several thousand items.
Back then, SIP Scootershop also sold second-hand Vespa scooters, which we regularly brought back from Italy. Not only did many scooters make their way north via the Brenner Pass, but friendships were also forged that have lasted to this day – for example, with Cao from 70s Helmets or Mamo, an industrial designer for Lamborghini who has also designed the odd in-house product for us.
A new catalogue was also published in 1998, *performance & style*, running to just under 100 pages....
1997
On 1 March 1997, SIP Scootershop, in collaboration with T-Shirt manufacturer Sgotter, organised the international Vespa & Lambretta Custom Show in Landsberg am Lech, which attracted 1,500 visitors.
In 1997, the company also rented larger premises in the former non-commissioned officers’ mess at the disbanded Ritter-von-Leeb Barracks in Landsberg. Every year, the start-up SIP Scootershop compiles a mail-order catalogue in German and English (as demand is also growing beyond language barriers) to showcase its range of approximately 2,000 items.
The SIP Performance Racing Exhaust marks the launch of the first all-stainless-steel exhaust system on the market – and it is still available today.
1996
In 1996, therefore, larger premises were rented in the former non-commissioned officers’ mess at the disbanded Ritter-von-Leeb Barracks in Landsberg. Every year, the start-up SIP Scootershop produces a mail-order Catalogue in German and English (as demand is also growing beyond language barriers) to showcase its range of around 2,000 items. You can You can browse the 1996 SIP Catalogue online here.
The SIP Performance Racing Exhaust marks the launch of the first all-stainless-steel exhaust system on the market – and it is still available today.
VESPA is unveiling its first Modern Vespa models: the ET2 and ET4.
1995
In the summer of 1994, the pair decided to turn their long-standing hobby and passion – ‘scooter riding’ – into a career. The idea took the world by storm, and within no time at all, the 35-square-metre basement shop in Kaufering had become too small.
Essentially the first product is the SIP Sport Seat, made from GRP and carbon fibre, for Vespa PX models.
1994 – the year the company was founded
Alexander Barth and Ralf Jodl have been customising Vespa scooters since as far back as 1989. Dissatisfied with the range of tuning and custom parts available at the time, they began developing their own specialist parts even back then, distributing them in small quantities to friends and acquaintances. Close ties were forged with many tuners and suppliers in the scooter scene of the time, such as Stefan Onken of Nordspeed Tuning, Paul Melici of PM Tuning and Jim Lomas of JL Exhausts. Good connections to Italy ensured a steady supply of high-quality Replacement Parts.
