There are few two-wheelers that evoke as many mixed reactions as scooters do.
Regarded by some as the epitome of style and flair, others despise them as transport strictly for drab minions. Whatever your opinion on scooters might be, I respect them. But no matter which side of the little wheels your say might lie, there’s no doubt that they are hard workers.
One must not forget that India was at one point of time a large scooter market. Seemingly, everybody rode them and almost every joint family home had at least one of these baskets-on-wheels parked outside. But then motorcycles overtook the scooters, practicality was lost to performance and subsequently, contentment ate the dust of ambition.
A home-grown company that initially built Italian-designed scooters in India and later developed their own chose to take the fight head on. They continued with the production of these two-wheelers, albeit not continuously, till very, very recently. Sadly, they too have now chosen to ditch scooters to focus all their attention on the glittery motorcycle market.But like someone said, all that glitters might not really be shiny precious metal after all. Case in point: a certain Japanese company, first in collaboration with Kinetic, and later on its own, that has ushered in the resurgence of the ultra-utilitarian scooter.
In case you’re still tilting your head to the side and trying to kickstart it to life, the two manufacturers I was referring to are Bajaj and Honda respectively. And if you think scooters are passé, here’s something to chew on — Honda sold about 6,73,145 of their Activas, Aviators and Dios during almost the whole of the current financial year. Their motorcycle sales contributed 4,53,944 to the total sales in those same very months. The scooter is here to stay, irrespective of whether you like to hear that or not.
All said and done, I’d like to introduce you to Roxanne, Bijoy’s Bajaj 150 (or Vespa clone, as he very aptly puts it) that was built back in the 70’s. It’s a Vespa all right, the two-stroke motor with an aluminium enclosed drivetrain, the voluptuous curves and that 3-speed gearbox with a rear brake activated by a pedal that emerges from the right part of the footboard. Yet, it fits into the Indian landscape as easily as a turmeric-smeared ascetic trudging to the Kumbh Mela.
Now here’s another machine that’s thoroughbred Japanese, yet could very well be nominated as the “national” bike of Goa. Well, the reason I say that is that almost every bloke — Goan or tourist — rides the Activa in Goa. Obviously, the Activa has carved out quite a fan following since its launch in 2001. You hardly ever find these scooters in the second-hand market. If and when you do, they're easily in the Rs 25-30,000 bracket for an abused example. That in itself proves two things. One, people love their Activas and won't easily put them up on sale. Two, they age well and despite being run to the ground, will go about doing their thing reliably.
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