History on my TV175

Gene Meredith of Scooters Originali filled me on the history of my TV:

"History: the TV was imported directly from Italy, from a frenchman who lived there and would collect scooters and then sell them by the container. We only bought one container from him as his description of "all of them run" was far from the truth and there were issues with many of them. The Vespas were worse than the Lambrettas - it is nice to see that Lambretta finally being put back on the road!"

The story behind Bajaj

Below you find high resolution scans from Vespa, style in motion, which documents how Bajaj, as a company came to be. It gives a good history for you to tell every time someone asks, "hey is that a Vespa?" It does not address the 1980s and 2000s attempt to sell Bajaj in the USA.

Click on the photos to enlarge to read or to print.

Bajaj history (abridged)

In the early to mid 1960s Vespa outsourced to India to build Vespa Sprints. The Indian factory had to uphold Vespa's quality assurance and factory system. The relationship was short lived as legal issues came into play. The end product was that Bajaj purchased the factory from Vespa. After this happened the Bajaj badge began to appear. At first, with any brand transition, the bikes had a Vespa and a Bajaj badge on the legshield. You can find these bikes in the USA. Or you may be riding a Vespa Sprint that was made in India and not know it.

As you can see in the photograph above of this classic Bajaj, it's basically a Vespa Sprint with its trapezoid headset. It's a handsome bike.

The "Chetak" was named after a famous horse that belonged to a Indian Prince, I believe. The horse belonged to him and helped a lot in battle and such. Pictured above is a 1980s Chetak I believe. In my opinion, much more handsome than the newer 4-stroke Bajaj Chetaks. These bikes were 2-stroke and can be found in the states. They often sell for less than a Vespa of similar model.

In the 1980s Bajaj tried to sell in the USA. It didn't go well. It returned again in the early 2000s with Al Kolvites as the president of Bajaj USA. 4-stroke versions were imported. Bajaj USA died around 2006 and became Argo USA -- Chinese plastic scoots. A strong Bajaj culture existed via Bajaj Yahoo Group while the bikes were being sold. Note: some Bajaj are still available new as 2005 models. Check with dealers. The only thing about the newer Bajaj's that I could do without is the horncast and a little more chrome, say floor rail kit and a legshield trim would have been an added bonus.



Like its predecessor and its competition the Chetaks & Legends are work horses, like the Vespa P200s, and take a heck of beating and keep on running. The roads in India are harsh with pot holes and the Bajaj was built to withstand the harsh roads and to be easily worked on and repaired.

Like the Stella (LML), Vespa P-Series, the Chetak is the last of line of the work horse scooters. The Stella and Vespa horncasts are much more handsome than the Chetak and there is more chrome on the other bikes, but I have spoken with dealers and the overall report is that the 4-stroke Chetaks have way less problems than its 2-stroke rivals. I intend to give my one-year-old son my Chetak when he gets his license. My Chetak should run for a long long time. I ride hard and it remains to be very trustworthy and dependable.

If I was to buy my first scooter all over again, I'd buy a Vespa PX150 from Vespa Mechanicsburg for $3600 (sale price -- only have 3 left). My wife's Chetak costs $1999 and you just can't beat that price. Now the Chetak is $3000 and the Stella is $3300. Genuine Scooters runs a very smart marketing campaign for its Stella, because the bike uses Vespa aftermarket products. So this makes upgrades and accessories CHEAPER and easier to find. I have no intention of selling my Chetak, because it is a tank of a scoot, but if you're purchasing you should consider all your options and what you plan to do with your scoot . . . ie buy a Stella or PX and put a DR177 kit on it for a cheap speed/power upgrade. Or buy a Vespa for resale value. If you're looking to be accepted into the classic/vintage culture either a Vespa P-series or Genuine Scooter (Stella) will get you in. But if you're looking for a dependable daily rider that requires next to no maintenance, a 4-stroke Bajaj Chetak or Legend will deliver that to you at an affordable price.

If you come across a Bajaj from 1980 or earlier for a good price (it will be cheaper than a similar Vespa) it is worth picking up. The vintage crowd will accept you as well. And the bike is prettier than the newer bikes.

Is this my TV?

Take a look at the photo in the top right corner of the white TV with red seat (sorry I could not download the actual pix and post it larger). . . I suspect that that is my scooter.

When you own things older than you, such as a house or car or scooter, etc. it's neat to learn the history of your old love. I aim to do all I can to learn more about the history of my wife's SS180 and my TV.

All I know, thus far, is that the TV was imported from Italy by Scooters O in NJ. There are two "Radio Spoleto International" stickers on the leg shield so I can only assume it spent part of its life in there. (Sorry I need to take a better macro pix of stickers and rotate the photo by 90 degrees right).

Stu Werner bought it from Scooters O and then due to lack of storage, disassembled it and stored it in the rafters above his garage. The front disc brake was used on one of his ESRA team's race bikes and I suspect other odds and ends were used as well. A couple items on my TV are not original to this specific bike and Stu pointed those out to me, but for the grand majority of the bike is original.

Next time I see Stu I aim to ask him more questions about the history of this bike or at least learn when he bought it and what the experience was like and what was the condition of the bike. More to follow.