Slight Return

Well, whaddya know? Rumours have been circulating for months, but it looks like Piaggio really are going to start manufacturing the much-loved and much-missed Vespa PX again, in all its air-cooled, manual-gearboxed glory.

The last PXs were made by Piaggio in 2007. Officially, their demise was brought about by the engines not meeting emissions legislation. Apparently, the new incarnation will still have a two-stroke motor, with all the famous blue smoke (and particulates) kept in check by a new catalyser. There's also a mention in some of the press that the new scoot will have 'dual rear shocks', which might at last stop 'Vespa arse' on rides longer than half an hour.

SInce the last PXs were sold, anyone wanting a traditional scooter has been forced to get an Indian clone, the LML star*, which must surely have taken a significant chunk of Piaggio's market. No doubt this was a major factor in the decision to re-introduce the much-loved scooter, but whatever the reason - it's good to see it back. The new PX will be on sale next year - this is one of the new ones. Nice flares.



* one of LMLs main UK dealers is Eddy Bullet. They have the worst website you'll ever see. Go on, have a look.

Scootography

Yesterday I was in Brighton, "covering" - as we photographers say - the Brightona motorbike show. I was there for the scooters, specifically to photograph as many of them as possible in front of a certain gallery. These events being what they are, it was an exercise in rumour ("500 scooters on their way right now from Aldershot") and herding cats. Photographing scooters inevitably involves lots of crawling around on the floor, and I'm walking like i've got wooden legs today. Anyway, once the Money Shot was in the bag (or in the memory card, anyway) I was free to roam. Never seen so many Harleys. Nice bikes. If you're a girl.

The Days Of A New Spring

The cherry tree outside our house has a magnificent blossom this year. On a bright day, it's so luminous it looks like a photo taken on infra-red film. I love that tree. I'm always alert for council blokes in hi-viz vests who might want to chop it down to 'improve' the pavement. All that pollen played havoc with my hay fever last saturday as I converted Bella, my 1974 Vespa Sprint Veloce from a sort Fisher-Price Activity Centre for cats into what will be my summer ride. A good scrub removed the slick of protective WD40 and with four kicks she awoke from hibernation. Scooters don't like being put away for winter. When I remove Bella's covers for the first time, it always strikes me how much her headset looks like a dog sulking with its ears back. She'll cheer up when I put some miles under those Ten Inch Wheels.

The Stench Of Neglect

Cats have many owners. Their official one of course, and all the indulgent neighbours. It's like that where we live, with portly felines begging at each kitchen door. At least three cats claim our front yard and back garden as their personal territory. We've got used to the screams of Genghis and Jamie slugging it out at 3am over who wins the right to spray all over my scooters. We no longer jump put of bed, wide-eyed, thinking that someone's being strangled on our doorstep. Mind you, when a fox joins in it sounds like an attack by a phalanx of Samurai, and every bedroom light in the street clicks on.

This morning was the first time I'd had the PX - "Dino" - out for six months and the cover was especially "catty". While the engine warmed up, kicking out great billows of white smoke, the scoot smelled like the lion house at London zoo. It hadn't quite worn off when I got to work. Later today, Dino will be dropped off at the workshop for some running repairs. I've finally got round to ordering a replacement for the wonky centre stand, a victim of metal fatigue. If you've got a traditional Vespa, sooner or later you're going to have to replace the stand, it's one of the few weak spots. The front brake shoes need to be replaced and there's a problem with main headlamp - it won't come on. Then, nearer summer, it'll be the turn of Bella, my beloved Sprint Veloce, for a pre-season fettle. I hope the mechanics like cats.

Indian Gears

All over the world, anti-pollution legislation is killing off the two-stroke engine. This was one of the reasons given when Piaggio retired the geared Vespa - the much-loved PX - from their range of scooters.

"But what about a geared four-stroke model?" we wailed.

"Can't fit a 4T motor in the PX frame" came the retort.

"Oh yeah?" said India's LML.

Now the world's only producer of manual gearbox scooters, LML's version of the PX was originally built under licence from Piaggio. The two companies had a fallout in 1999 and went their own ways. The legal outcome is unclear (to me, anyway) but LML still produce PX clones. These are sold under the moniker of Star or Via Toscana in the UK and Australasia, and Stella in the US. Some heretics even claim they're better made than their latter-end Italian cousins.

So here's LML's four stroke Star. The frame had to be adapted to fit the engine, which looks like a cross between an extractor fan and the Terminator's digestive system. According to LML their new scooter is good for a quite staggering 179MPG. Every Vespisti is familiar with their steed being referred to as a sewing machine - and here's a scooter that really does sound like one.