Visor Down

For some odd reason, thing just tend to happen to me on Fridays. Maybe its because its the end of the working week here and I tend to go a bit off those days, delighted in the fact that I get to lay in bed for an extra hour or so during the weekend. Or, maybe my luck just runs out on Friday.


Anyway, there I was rushing back home on another Friday. Normally, I'd like to go on chillax mode and not hurry it home but grey clouds were starting to gather that afternoon and along with the clouds came gusts of wind that could take a person off their feet in an instant. OK, maybe not fat old me here but it definitely did that to my other half not too long ago.


All of a sudden, I could hear something that sounded like glass being smashed into pieces. And then, something came flying towards me. A shard of glass I thought, if what I had just heard a split-second ago was correct. Not wanting to end up like Felipe Massa, I sort of half-swerved and half-ducked but the object still hit me. Thankfully, I was wearing my full-face helmet and had my visor down that afternoon so, all the Unidentified Flying Object left behind were deep scratches on my visor, just above my right eye.


Phewww...that was a lucky escape. Initially, I thought it was something like a glass bottle that some drunken idiot had left on a nearby footpath but Monday came along and I was proved completely wrong. Something was not right that morning. The headlamp's light was shining just a bit too brightly and when I finally arrived at work, my suspicions were confirmed. That bottle of Smirnoff was actually my Vespa's headlamp glass which was now completely missing. Gone.

Whatever it is that caused it to break into a thousand tiny pieces, I don't think I'd be able to figure out anytime soon but after getting over the frustration, I decided that this was a good chance to get the Vespa a long-needed upgrade. The older versions of the PX have decent enough lighting but as the days get shorter, I'd be doing most of my commuting in the dark and in the pitch black darkness of winter, the headlamp's only as good as a candle in a darken room. Not good enough when roads are slippery and car drivers' attention might be lacking.


So, after a short call to confirm prices (reasonable for a change), I popped over to a local dealer and within half an hour was out of the shop with my new PX Disc halogen headlamp. Bright, bright lights even in midday.

Obviously, I'd be straying away from my Vespa's original look but I'd rather go with safety rather than authenticity on this one. Now, all I need now is some protection for my all-new headlamp from any debris on the road, especially since central Dublin might end up like one humongous construction site over the next few years.