Scootering’s popularity in the United States ebbs and flows, but a tight-knit community of dedicated scooterists has existed since before WWII, when American-made scooters like the Cushman, Salisbury, and Moto-Scoot ruled the roads. Following the arrival of European scooters after the war, American Vespa clubs copied the model of European clubs. At the peak of the U.S. European scooter boom, the Vespa Club U.S.A. (active 1957-1961) and the American Scooter Club organized local chapters, planned local and national events, and published club newsletters
The Vespa Club of America (VCOA) was formed in 1992 as the spiritual successor to the VCUSA. VCOA is America’s largest and longest-running national club, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022. The VCOA is a 501(c) non-profit organization and the U.S. affliliate of the Vespa World Club, the official association of national clubs. Among other things, the VCOA organizes the U.S. national rally, Amerivespa, as well as VCOA Vintage Days, Vespa Parade Day, and more.
VCOA-Chicago (formed February 6, 2019) is one of the first (and the largest) of VCOA’s local chapters, with about 70 members. We promote scootering and host monthly meetups, rides, and other events in the Chicagoland area, and meet with other local, regional, and international scooterists and clubs.
While most worldwide Vespa clubs limit their membership to Vespa riders, the VCOA and VCOA-Chicago welcomes all marques, vintage and modern, and celebrate the diversity of scooters, scooterists, and scootering in the United States. VCOA-Chicago welcomes non-members to most of our events, in the hopes that you’ll see that scootering is more fun with friends, and the VCOA is worth your support.
How to Join VCOA
Visit the VCOA Membership page and register. When you fill out the application, select “Vespa Club of Chicago” as your local chapter. You’ll receive all the benefits of the national club AND our local chapter.
Also note that we offer VCOA-Chicago email newsletter (in addition to the national newsletter). You won’t automatically get it, so please remember to opt-in here to get it. We’ll only email once or twice a month with ride and event info and useful local information