Vespa Breakdown

I've only had praise for my trusty old Green Vespa. Other than the odd clutch cable snapping (a well-known P-series design flaw) and the recent issues with the exhaust, my ownership of this Vespa has been relatively problem-free.


So, in a way, the breakdown I had a few days ago on my way to work was definitely a first. Not a first that I would be awfully delighted with but, a first anyway.


Like the calm before the storm, everything seemed fine that morning. Traffic was heavy but not actually horrible. There was one car-driving douchebag on the road that refused to let me overtake him even though it was clear he'd get nowhere at the next set of lights which was only a few feet away from us. There was even one stretch of road that was almost impassable because of some cable-laying work. But still, I felt glad as my Vespa was doing fine.


Unfortunately, that feeling was totally erased when at a set of lights in the city centre, I heard a loud enough Click from my scooter and then, silence. At first, I thought it was just that I had mis-timed releasing the clutch while it was still in gear so, instinctively my right foot went for the kick-start. To my horror, the kick-start was stuck in position no matter how hard I tried. I knew then this wasn't some problem I could solve by myself on a footpath that morning.

Not wanting to face the fury of the traffic behind me, I gently rolled the Vespa on to the footpath and started to think of my options. I considered rolling the Vespa to work which was only a 10-miunte walk away (probably a bit longer I suppose dragging the scooter with me) or call in the recovery crew immediately and get my scooter to Carl's that same morning.

I went with getting the scoot over to Carl's and within an hour, a recovery van arrived (courtesy of my Carole Nash insurance cover) and got me over to Inchicore. Hopefully, it's not too bad of a problem and I'd be back on my Vespa within a few days...