A5H15H

As a kid in the early 80's if someone mentioned the words "gaadi" "scooter" or "bike" the mental image that my young mind would conjure up would be of that of an LML Vespa.

My late father was a fan of the Vespas. He had owned a Piaggio Vespa (which looked like the bajaj cub with a trapezoidal speedo) and some Lambys before I was born and till about a couple of years after I was born.

The first scooter that I can remember very vividly was a Pista Green Vespa bought by my dad back in 87 (I think...was only 5 then but still with an acute sense of bikes and scooters ). It had some first time features (very modern types ). It had a newly designed speedo with a fuel gauge incorporated in the lower half and bright speedo decals unlike the dull ones sported by the other Vespas (Vespa XE, Vespa DZ, Vespa NV, Vespa PL, etc). I think it was also the first model that came with wheel caps and a small stowage pod above the dicky. It also had a stepny half-cover.

But what set that model apart was the NV3 Factor. The 3 stood for 3 Gears. Yes, it was the first 150 by Piaggio India to sport 3 gears. This model was very rare and at that time there were only 8 of these models in Mumbai (its what dad used to say). Being a 3 geared scooter meant ease of use in traffic and dad was quite a rider...even upto his last days. The scooter was smooth, tall and looked great in comparison to its rival Bajaj Chetak. Everytime dad used to drag with a Chetak/Super/Priya/Cub a win was guaranteed and so was that cocky smile on the face of yours truly

Though its parts were hard to come by and relatively expensive, the LML was a very reliable machine. Dad used to take us (me and mom) for an outing to places such as Surat, Pune, Valsad, Udwada, Khandala, Igatpuri, Nashik, Palghar, Dahanu, Uran etc on his Vespa regularly hitting 80 and cruising at 70. It was great fun to stand on the scooter (between the handlebar and dad) like a typical 80's kiddo, with the wind in my face.

There was one such instance in which we had to temporarily relocate to Khandala as our building was being renovated. Didnt have a lot of cash to spend on hiring a tempo so most of the stuff was stowed away at my aunts place but the neccessary stuff was all packed onto our Vespa. Here's a rough list of items that was packed onto our Vespa:
• 3 Hang-bags (Jholas as theyre called) attached to the underhook
• An electric stove tied to the backrest.
• Mom carrying 2 more of the jholas and our pet Parrot (along with his cage)
• Me carrying a schoolbag and a thermos and standing ahead as usual.
• Not to mention my cousin who cried and cried till we took him along with us.

Some village passer-bys gasped with their mouths hanging as if they had seen some new species of animals or Aliens.

With all this load and the then treacherous Khandala Ghats, the Italian-origin workhorse lapped it all up with not even a sputter and no breaks during the entire ascent. The engine still idling evenly with the typical muted exhaust note contrary to the tap-tap of the Chetak.

I was awed and amazed (not to mention filled with pride) with my scooter. I think this scooter (and of course my dad) sowed the first seeds of the biker in me and here I am doing monthly outings and a daily commute of 50 kms on my bike. (My 4½ yr. old P150 has clocked over 60,000 Kms)

Its a shame that eventually it had to end when the scooter's Gear counter got damaged and the replacement was not available anywhere (even at the LML Kanpur factory). The great scooter spent its last years rotting and rusting away outside our house until none of it was left.

The good ol' Vespa!! Miss you!!

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Noor

Thread approved

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saipranav

great thread!!!
5 stars

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Apache 180

aargee

Speaks your emotions; I liked this thread to be rated 5*

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A5H15H

Thanks bro!!

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Bottle and Throttle rhyme but dont mix....

A5H15H

Thanks a ton!!

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Bottle and Throttle rhyme but dont mix....