BIKETEST VESPA GTS 125:TO BE a motorcyclist requires a certain leap of faith. Firstly, that your physics teacher was not a mendacious wizard, and was telling the truth when he demonstrated the gyroscopic principle that mysteriously keeps spinning objects upright.
And secondly that, rather than a bloke from Tyrone shivering around Belfast on a frozen winter’s day on the Vespa GTS 125, you are in fact Leonardo di Lampedusa – pilot, lover and adventurer, with a primrose yellow cashmere sweater draped over your cornflower blue linen shirt, on your way through the lilac twilight of Sorrento to see your mistress, the peerless and exquisite Maria Dellaguardia.
Still, at least the Vespa helped the illusion, since it had already been run in by its previous owner by a spin down to the Amalfi coast and back before he decided to trade it in for an even more vintage PX125 with the twist-grip gearchange.
It must have broken his heart to say goodbye to the GTS, I thought, as I stood looking at it and thinking out loud that only the Italians could have blended a combination of steel, chrome and rubber into something so infinitely, classically stylish – especially in an exquisite colour scheme of navy set off by tan seat.
For which you can get matching helmets, naturally, not to mention a passenger backrest and top box which my wife declared was far more comfortable than anything she’d been on, short of a Harley Electraglide or Honda Goldwing.
Start it up and the engine purrs into life like a Tuscan tomcat after a bowl of warm, hand-knitted, free range cream.
Acceleration is brisk rather than breathtaking, as you’d expect, although entirely acceptable once the engine winds up a bit. But the real surprise is at the top end, where, on the motorway, I managed a whisper under 70mph, a full 10mph faster than on the Honda CBF125 and a lot more comfortably, since the Vespa’s windscreen offers a lot more protection than the naked Honda.
Even more surprising is the fact that Vespa claims a top speed of only 64mph – unusually modest for a manufacturer, never mind an Italian one.
Those of you with an eye on your wallets will point out, of course, that the Vespa is a third more expensive than the Honda – but that’s the price you pay for style, dahlings.
As for handling, bikers will take a bit of time to get used to cornering with the dinky 12” wheels.
And while the steel rather than plastic bodywork may mean that the GTS takes a while to build up speed, it gives it a very reassuring stability, as I found when I rounded a corner, hit some diesel, let go of the brakes more by accident than design, and survived with nothing more than a wobble.
The brakes are excellent and the storage, under the seat and with optional top box, gives you enough room to take sandwiches in for the entire office.
In short, it’s a winner: looks gorgeous, puts a smile on your face, and will get you to work as frugally and a lot more stylishly than any other 125 out there.
Now, if youll excuse me, Maria is expecting me at 8pm – and she is not a woman who likes to be kept waiting.
Factfile
Engine: 125cc, liquid-cooled four-stroke with four valves; 15bhp at 10,000rpm, 8.5lbft torque at 8,500rpm
Transmission: variable pulley automatic transmission, belt final drive
Performance: top speed 64mph (although I got 69mph)
Price: on request from Bike World, Dublin 12, tel: 01-456 6222, bikeworld.ie. Price in Northern Ireland £2,937. Test bike supplied by Piaggio Center, Belfast, tel: 028-9032 1509