my cool scooter: an inspirational guide to stylish scooters by Chris Haddon

Author:Chris Haddon [Haddon, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781910904022
Publisher: Pavilion
Published: 2015-06-25T07:00:00+00:00

vespa cosa 200

‘I try to avoid the clichéd preconceptions of what makes a typical scooter owner. I own and have a passion for something frowned upon by scooter snobs because of its unconventional angular design, a departure from its stablemates, and the financial stresses it put upon Piaggio during its development. Yet the more it offends, the more I love it. Many quizzical observers (I can’t say admirers) ask if it’s a prototype. The Cosa really is a “love it or hate it” scooter. I acknowledge the poor design judgements: a belly pan made from plastic, which shatters on sight of gravel and a glovebox rendered useless when it’s occupied by the central column, deeming the remaining space useful only for storing spaghetti.

‘Period accessories need not apply to my Cosa. Anything goes – the uglier, the better. My journey to the dark side of scootering was assured by adding a motorbike flyscreen that was crudely adapted for a Lambretta and then fettled to fit my Vespa! My status is underlined by being a follower of the Darkside scooter club; I applaud their progressive approach to all aspects of the scooter scene, both autos and “classic” geared scooters. My machine’s current nickname is “The Nun”, thanks to its forward-facing resemblance to a nun’s cornette – an improvement on the previous “flying wheelie bin”.

‘Although I sprayed it black to cover its previous awful green incarnation, it still shows through in places like scooter acne. However, none of the problems and haters will turn me against my Cosa – I just feel sorry for it and then love it more. My route to ownership was because I needed something cheap and reliable,’ explains Stuart, who studied fine art at university. His work is permanently on display at the Royal Academy – on the floor, that is. He insists a prerequisite to becoming a floor layer is to have a fine art degree.

The Cosa was the creation of designer Paolo Martin, introduced in the late 80s in an attempt to modernise the Piaggio brand and compete with the futuristic designs coming out of Japan. Seeing as Paolo was attuned to contemporary angular designs, in vogue in the 80s, he was seen as the obvious choice. Millions of lire were spent, with huge additional sums squandered on design compromises in order for the Cosa to be road-legal in Britain. The scooter flopped, with around 10,000 built, and nearly put an end to Piaggio.

‘I’ve paid my dues by owning many classic scooters over the years, since my first Britpop-inspired Vespa at the age of 17. Now I plan to have the Cosa properly painted with a Second World War RAF shark-mouth motif – a nod to my late father, a Lancaster Bomber gunner.’

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.