NICO’S STORIES – Andrea Pinasco, the man behind tuned Vespa
Back in the 1970s, the name Pinasco was synonymous with tuned Vespas: his performance kits drove enthusiasts wild, especially those looking for extra thrills from their scooters. Andrea tells his own story: a self-taught innovator who became an entrepreneur in Genoa at just 17 and, thirty years later, completely reinvented his life
Andrea Pinasco and Nico, who introduces him, are almost the same age. Back in 1969, they both turned up unannounced at the offices of Motociclismo magazine. Nico wanted to become a test rider, while Andrea had ridden his scooter all the way from Genoa. He was just 17 years old and said: “I make performance tuning kits for Vespas. Can you help me?” He went home with a small advertising contract, and ten years later he was selling 6,000 kits a month.
The man behind Pinasco's famous Vespa tuning kits tells us how it all began, from the original idea to commercial success in Italy and abroad, the evolution of his kits, endurance racing in Spain, the Vespa Azzurra and countless other adventures.
He also offers a glimpse into his second life as an olive grower, sailor, writer and highly regarded consultant whose expertise has taken him as far as Japan and Korea.
A fascinating character worth discovering: genuine, unconventional and refreshingly original.