American Pickers: Who Is Victor Vespa & What Seattle Scooter Shop Did He Own?
Over the years, Mike Wolfe and the rest of the team at "American Pickers" have tracked down collectors for just about everything under the sun. We've seen lifelong collectors of sideshow attractions, people with warehouses full of retro cars, and even one collector who somehow got his hands on the original Aerosmith tour van.
As such, it wasn't too surprising in Season 24, Episode 18 to learn that Wolfe had found somebody who collects Vespa scooters — somebody who was so well known for his scooter affinity that he goes by the name of "Victor Vespa." Vespa's real name is Victor Voris, and as we learn in the episode, he spent 30 years selling these iconic Italian scooters across the West Coast. In the episode, Voris explains that his love for these scooters came from his father, who was also a Vespa collector.
Because Mike Wolfe is an avid collector of automobiles and motorcycles, Wolfe actually knew who Voris was long before the episode even aired — even dubbing him' the "Godfather of Vespa" for his unparalleled collection of antique scooters.
Voris sold Vespas for over 30 years at Big People Scooters
Although Victor Voris is still an avid collector of Vespas and other antiques, it's worth mentioning that his Seattle motorcycle shop, "Big People Scooters," is no longer in business. According to the company's official Facebook page, Big People Scooters was founded in 1986 in the Seattle neighborhood of Belltown before relocating to a more prominent Seattle location in 1989.
Big People Scooters was marketed as a Motorcycle Repair shop, offering specific services for Vespa-Piaggio scooters. The shop ran for nearly 31 years in Seattle before closing its doors in 2017. As evidenced in "American Pickers," Victor's love for these quirky Italian scooters has continued long after he stopped running the shop. He still spends plenty of time tracking down Vespas to add to his collection.
Hilariously, the episode starts with Mike Wolfe (self-proclaimed lover of all things cycle related) eying a different antique in Voris' collection -– a vintage Pepsi clock with neon lights, which Wolfe secures for $900. In the end Wolfe's admiration for "Victor Vespa" proved justified, as he found an incredibly rare "Rod Model" 1948 Vespa among Voris' collection, and bought the antique Italian scooter for $18,000.