Narposia: Two Vespas which changed the face of motoring in India

Back in the 1960s, Bajaj Auto came together with Piaggio and launched the Vespa 150 here in India. It was a start of a revolution in India. The little scooter came with a full metal body, 8in tyres and two seats. It was powered by a small 150cc 2-stroke engine and a three speed gearbox. These early Vespas came with the Vespa badge and not a Bajaj one. These scoots also had flowing bodywork in sync with the original Vespa VBB. These scooters looked small but still could tackle the Indian roads well. The covered bodywork also shielded the riders from mud and muck thrown up during the monsoons. India just fell in love with the Vespa. As time passed these scooters were rebadged as the Bajaj 150. The Bajaj 150 came with several small changes. The headlight dome was different and although the engine was the same as the one seen on the Vespa, they no longer had Vespa etchings on the engine. As time passed the Bajaj 150 kept on changing. The Chetak came in with larger 10in wheels and a 4-speed gearbox and this was the scooter which started the ‘Hamara Bajaj’ revolution. Waiting periods went through the roof. It is said that there were instances when the scooter took nearly a few years to be delivered after the original booking was made. Eventually Bajaj and Vespa split their ways and the scooters continued to be made albeit with many upgrades.

The Vespa VBB series was the first one to officially come to India. The scooter was later rebranded as the Bajaj 150.

The Piaggio Group in the meantime knew about the Indian market and did not want to go away completely. In the 80s, the company tied up with LML and brought the Vespa PX to India. The scooter was initially just referred to as the LML Vespa. But later the name was changed to LML Vespa NV. More models like the T5, Select and Supremo came later. All these scooters were iterations based on the Vespa PX and all of them were powered by a 150cc 2-stroke motor. These engines were literally bombproof and lasted a lifetime. In case something happened, simple technology meant that any roadside mechanic could mend them.

In the later 80s, Vespa reentered India. It was a joint venture with LML and the scooter they launched was the Vespa PX. It was never called the PX in India.

With the advent of the automatic scooters, the LML and Bajaj scooters came under pressure. Bajaj decided to move away from scooters and dwindling sales of LMLs meant the company could no longer continue producing these old war horses. Eventually the arrival of the Honda Activa ensured that the manual scooters were riding into the horizon. Today though Vespa is officially back in India and offers a variety of 125 and 150cc scooters. However, Vespa too knew the need of the day and as a result offer modern automatic scooters.

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