BIKETEST GILERA NEXUS 300 CENTENARY SPECIAL EDITION:THE PORSCHE driver was as surprised as I was. I mean, you don't expect to be sitting in your nice shiny 911 tapping your fingers on the wheel to Dire Straits' Telegraph Road, on your way home to your Georgian farmhouse in which your trophy wife is busy rustling up a big pot of spaghetti con melanzane al cartoccioto get you in the mood for your monthly long weekend in Tuscany, and then for your entire world to fall apart as you're beaten away from the lights by a man on a 300cc scooter.
If it’s any consolation, the 911 driver did overtake me after about 20 yards, before hurtling into the distance with an anguished howl from his exhaust of high dudgeon and low self-esteem.
But then, he should have known that the borders between scooters and motorcycles are becoming increasingly blurred these days, in the same way as the borders between men, women and Eddie Izzard, light aircraft and microlights, and bankers and bookies.
The reason is simple. While mods used to be happy to take three days to get from London to Brighton, spend 20 minutes being beaten up by rockers, have a fish supper then spend three days getting home, today’s commuter wants the convenience of two wheels and the performance of a motorbike without all the palaver of full-blown biking gear.
Such apparently outrageous demands were answered with the Suzuki Burgman 650 in 2003 and again four years later with the Gilera GP800, whose 65bhp on tap was only two less than a Triumph Bonneville.
Lower down the range, Gilera offered the Nexus 125, 250 and 500, then replaced the middleweight version with a 300, which it’s now offering in a stunning red, white and green special edition to mark the company’s centenary.
The beauty of these machines is their simplicity: they may be powerful enough for effortless motorway cruising, but to ride them, you just stick on a helmet, climb aboard, twist and go.
And go you do: even with 100kgs of me on board, it was sprightly enough to beat cars away from the lights, with the surprisingly smooth single-cylinder engine and silky automatic gearbox powering us seamlessly to an indicated 133kmh, or 83mph.
That was flat out down the motorway after a bit of a run at it, but 70mph was entirely effortless at a pleasantly hushed 7,000rpm.
Wind and weather protection at motorway speeds was excellent, thanks to a fairly wide fairing and substantial screen, although that extensive frontal profile caused a fair bit of buffeting when I got stuck behind a lorry before he finally pulled back into the left lane and let me sail past with a cheery wave and the languid grace which comes from having a whole 22 horses under your seat.
Listen, don’t knock it. If my Royal Enfield used its 22bhp that well, I would have ridden it back from India in half the time.
As for handling, long gone are the days when scooters had wheels which were the size of Frisbees, and had about the same level of grip. The Nexus comes supplied with a hefty 15in front wheel which means you can countersteer it around corners just like a bike, although it does need a bit of care and accuracy at high speed.
Suspension, as you’d expect on a commuting machine, is on the soft side of comfortable, and the brakes are entirely adequate, since if you’re the kind of bloke who likes announcing his arrival with a stoppie, youll be on a Triumph Speed Triple, not a Nexus.
There’s enough space under the seat for a handbag or manbag and a helmet, although not an XL one, as I discovered after several wasted minutes with a shoehorn and sledgehammer.
So all in all, a sporty little commuter at a reasonable price, especially in this collectible special edition colour scheme, which will have you whizzing through traffic humming La donna è mobile contentedly to yourself.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, Ive just noticed a Porsche driver whos pulled over and found a hard shoulder to cry on, and I want to dry his eyes and get him home before his aubergines are ruined.
- The Irish distributor for Gilera is Bike World, Dublin 12, 01-4566222, bikeworld.ie. Call for details of price.
- Price in Northern Ireland £3,786 (€4,225). Test bike supplied by Piaggio Center, Belfast, 048-90321509, scooterservicesni.co.uk.
Fact file
- Engine:278cc liquid-cooled single cylinder fuel-injected four-stroke
- Top speed:85mph.
- Power and torque:22.4bhp. 23Nm.
- Transmission:automatic with centrifugal clutch, belt final drive.
- Brakes:front 260mm disc, rear 240mm disc
- Suspension:front 35mm hydraulic telescopic fork, rear double hydraulic shock absorbers with three spring preload settings
- Wheels:rear 14in, front 15in
- Dry weight:174kg
- Fuel capacity:15 litres plus 2.8-litre reserve