In Indonesia, the Vespa has become a symbol of freedom and self-expression

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The first country people think of when they hear the word “Vespa” is Italy. But imaginative Vespa lovers in Indonesia are laying new claim to the iconic scooter.

Filmmakers Marc Ressang and Daniel Agha-Rafei’s recently released documentary, Rebel Riders, takes viewers inside the island country’s custom scooter scene, where DIY enthusiasts have turned the Italian moped into a symbol of freedom and self-expression. These creations, which look like they belong in the wastelands of Mad Max rather than real life, are known as “extreme Vespas.”

提到 Vespas，大多数人都会想到它的原产地意大利。但在印尼，Vespa 车迷正在对这一标志性的摩托车提出新的主张。

电影人 Marc Ressang 和 Daniel Agha-Rafei 最近推出的纪录片《Rebel Riders》（《叛逆骑士》）让我们得以一窥这个岛国里的摩托车改装场景。在那里，摩托车 DIY 改装爱好者把 Vespa 变成了自我表达和自由的象征。这些改装的作品看起来有种超现实主义的风格，更像是来自《疯狂的麦克斯》里的荒原，因此也被称为“extreme Vespas”（意为“极限 Vespas”）。

Considering the extent of the modifications, it may seem dubious to even call these bikes Vespas. But an annual festival celebrating the customized scooters in Kediri, Indonesia—now entering its fourth year—has a clear-cut definition of “extreme Vespa”: the vehicle just has to be powered by a Vespa engine. It doesn’t matter how outlandish the design is. In fact, many riders make a point of being as over the top as possible.

“It’s about being different from others,” says one of the riders interviewed in the video. “No one wants to be outdone. If there’s someone with a big bike, we’ll want to go bigger. If there’s a long bike, we’ll want to make something longer. If there’s one with a lot of wheels, we’ll want one with even more wheels.”

有些作品的改装程度之大，已经让人几乎认不出那是 Vespas 车。但在印尼凯迪里一年一度庆祝改装摩托车的节日（目前已经进入第四个年头）中，对可以定义为“极限 Vespas”的摩托车要求很明确：有 Vespa 发动机就行。不论最终的造型看上去多么奇怪，都没有关系。实际上，越是浮夸的设计就越受欢迎。

“关键是要与其他人不同。”接受采访的车手之一说道，“所有人都想要超过其他人。如果谁的车很大，我们就要想办法把车做得更大；如果谁的车很长，我们就要做出更长的车；如果有人装了很多车轮，我们就设法装更多车轮。”

This competitive spirit means that riders are constantly pushing their creativity to the limit. In the film, one of the most astonishing feats of engineering is a scooter made from a tree—not a vehicle built with wooden parts—an actual tree on wheels. The scooter body is a tree trunk, while the handlebars are branches that have been mounted like antlers.

这种好胜的精神意味着车手要不断推动自己，将创意发挥到极致。在这部纪录片里，最惊人的改装是一辆用树来改装的 Vespas，不仅仅是指车的零件用木制成，车身主体就是用树干做的，而前板和车把则是用树枝制成。

This unique manifestation DIY culture was eye-opening for Ressang, but what truly made his time in Indonesia such an enjoyable experience were the people he met. “A lot of these guys can look pretty intimidating, with their face tattoos, piercings, and their copious drinking and smoking, but once we made our intentions clear, they were extremely hospitable and enthused about showing off their creations,” he recalls with a laughs. “I’d like to go back to make a feature-length film around one of the crews and their life on the road.”

这些独特的创意和 DIY 文化确实让 Marc 大开眼界，但对他来说，沿途遇到的人才是这部纪录片最特别之处。Marc 笑着说：“这些家伙中很多人看起来都很凶，脸上有纹身、穿洞，也喝酒抽烟，但是一旦我们说明来意，他们就会变得非常热情好客，急切地想要向我们炫耀他们的作品。我希望以后有机会回去印尼，围绕车队和他们在路上的生活拍摄一部专题影片。”