An escape from Death?

Two days after Christmas, one week after servicing, I headed down to Panjim’s ultra-modern Central Library for an informal meet. On my way back, however, my beloved ride stopped in the middle of traffic. Thankfully, I didn’t get knocked down. If there was a bus behind me, I’d doubtless be killed. Vespa, it’s nice to market yourselves as a premium brand, but at least care for the safety of your customers, if nothing else.

Back to the point. In the days immediately following my second servicing, the scooter’s engine tended to die down upon deceleration. However, it would easily start again when that happened.

Not this time, though. In the middle of the busy road leading up to the Mandovi Bridge (which connects Panjim with Bardez), it refused to start. Tried the electric start, kick start, choke, threatening it with murderous looks. I tried all kinds of stunts as the rush hour traffic stared incessantly at the angry Vespa guy glaring at his scooter. Nothing worked. So I called up the showroom. After around 40 minutes, the mechanic showed up and fixed the problem.

There’s something intrinsically embarrassing and frustrating about your Vespa breaking down in traffic. Firstly, people will stare at the scooter. It always happened. It’s still rather unusual to see a Vespa on Goan (and I supposed Indian) roads, so there’s nothing like a broken down Vespa with a helpless rider for people to stare.

This isn’t the first time the Vespa’s left me stranded. It happened the day I bought the Vespa too, when I and a showroom staffer were left immobile on Taleigao’s main highway. Six years of owning a Dio, I’ve never had 1/10^th of the problems the Vespa has given me in two months. For instance, the Dio has never once broken down. The Vespa’s done that twice in two months.

I think my New Year’s resolution is to take Piaggio and Vespa to Court, something I’ve been thinking about doing and collecting evidence for. Hope I don’t have to pay a premium for justice too.

Nigel Britto,
Panjim, Goa.