Launch: Vespa Primavera 125/150

Eighty-four kilometres. That was the total ‘damage’ when the Bikesales Network recently ventured out of the office for a day’s riding through Melbourne on the all-new Vespa Primavera – a return of a famous name for the iconic Italian marque. It wasn’t an epic, but then again it didn’t have to be: if you want to go about your business in an increasingly clogged and robust city there is simply no better transportation option than a light and agile scooter.

There was ample time for work and play – we managed to visit an old friend (the oldest Vespa dealership in Australia), do some sightseeing, touch base with our ‘offices’ (smartphones) to keep the channels of communication alive, take some action shots, have lunch and devour some sensational ice cream before making a late afternoon beeline for our final destination on the fringes of the city. Scooters don’t peel layers off your quality of life; they enhance it. Enjoyment isn’t always derived from riding at warp factor: convenience and quality of life are the big ticket items.

And really, is there a better way to fall in love with a city – for the first time or time and time again – than on a scooter, where most nooks are never too difficult to conquer, fuel consumption is just about irrelevant, and you can actually park within cooee of your desired location.

On current population projections, commuters in major cities all over Australia are in for an increasingly torrid existence. In Melbourne, it’s estimated that over 7.1 million people will live in the city by 2050, which is extremely difficult to rationalise in what already appears to be a metropolis bursting at the seams. It’s going to place an enormous – some would say excessive and edge-tipping -- strain on how we all go about our daily lives, and the load that is going to be borne by the transportation and road network is just about too much to bear.

By that time, scooters and motorcycles will be just about the only form of transport to maintain your sanity – for me at least, as I will be an impatient 78-year-old by then, still waiting for the pension to kick in at 80 after a decision announced by Joe Hockey Jnr in the 2038 federal budget. You think about these life-changing issues on a scooter, and so it was again as we kicked off the Primavera journey from Vespa Australia’s headquarters in inner city Melbourne, heading towards the Yarra River for some happy snaps.

We’d already heard about the Primavera’s suite of updates over the LX scooter it’s replacing, and it’s quite impressive. The presentation hit the mark as well: how many potential scooter customers feel they need to hang tough in the commuting stakes based on power and torque figures? Not a huge number we’d imagine – the biggest thing to digest was that the three-valve Primavera is sold in 125 ($5290) and 150cc ($5990) iterations -- and so the real emphasis was on what the new Vespa actually brings to the styling and functionality table.

The enhanced chrome-laced switchblock was the obvious standout from the get-go, with the clunky switches of yore replaced by a much cleaner design in Primavera guise. The turning indicators are now much easier to engage and cancel, while the front light is no longer hard-wired; there’s now a switch, but the Primavera does have non-stop illumination thanks to the new LED daytime running lights.

The traffic was light as we settled into the journey, and the Primaveras managed to turn plenty of heads from the outset – some, err, larger specimens on small tackle can do that, but perhaps it was just the visual splendour of one model in six different colours.

Piaggio does this colour thing better than anyone else; it’s in the fashion business as well. And it’s refreshing that all colours are still released in Italian names, from Nero Vulcano to Azzurro Marechiaro to Rosso Dragon. Take your pick; there are no lemons among them. And the colours won’t go stale as well: the company plans to launch a new collection every year.

The Primavera does take many of its styling hues and soft lines from the “exclusive and refined elegance” of the Vespa 946 (HERE), with the front shield an obvious case in point. And why wouldn’t Vespa delve into the 946’s modern and sleek lines: there’s simply too much elegance to ignore.

But it’s not all about the present, and the steel-bodied Primavera remains a diminutive machine, refusing to shred one of the original and vital elements which made the original Primavera one of Vespa’s most enduring models after it was released in 1968.

Action shots done in the unseasonally warm air of Melbourne in May – I was perfectly comfortable in my $129 Kevlar-lined hoodie from Grinfactor, which is a great for commuting -- we then made tracks to Vespa House in Collingwood, which is the oldest Vespa dealership in Australia, dating back to 1956. It’s still owned by the same family – and it’s not hard to tell that its members have been collecting and hoarding all sorts of Vespa paraphernalia over the last 58 years.

Vespa House has a 1972 Primavera in its showroom, and modern advancements aside – brakes, etc – there’s no denying the new incarnation hasn’t eliminated the family DNA.

By that stage, nearly two hours in, our odometers – and trip meters as well, which are new to the Primavera on the LCD display -- had barely moved past double figures, but there certainly wasn’t a feeling of being short-changed. Lunch would be soon and, even if there were some itchy feet, we knew that proceedings would be ‘escalating’ later on when we hit the highway for the final 30km blast to Werribee. That would also fully test Vespa’s claim that the new engine mount system reduces vibration by 40 per cent over the LX, especially in the footboard area and to a lesser extent the seat and handlebar.

With grey clouds starting to swirl, Vespa House was farewelled and the next destination was Collingwood’s traditional football rival – Carlton. We poked and prodded our way through the streets as only two-wheelers can – those times when you can really appreciate what’s at your disposal -- to arrive at La Porchetta in Rathdowne Street, the original restaurant which has now spawned a massive franchise chain. Tragically, La Porchetta founder, Rocco "Rocky" Pantaleo, was killed in a motorcycle crash in 2010 on his way home from the Melbourne F1 race, but he left behind a love of motorsport and Italian cars and bikes (and beautiful women, based on some images plastered on the restaurant’s walls…).

Pizzas in the oven, it was time to crystallise some thoughts – but it wasn’t a taxing exercise, as the Primavera has, in my mind, supplanted the LX in just about all areas. Setting aside performance – but if you must the 125 produces 9.8hp/9.5Nm and the 150 gets by with 11.8hp/12Nm – it is keener on the eye, stops way better (the 140mm rear drum has some real bite), has more storage, and little touches such as a revised glove department and spring-assisted saddle show a real attention to detail. It’s a crackerjack, and I’d happily take on the 150 – just that little bit of extra torque from the long-stroke engine is the sweetener over the 125 – as my everyday steed if I was an urban denizen.

Fitzroy – like Collingwood and Carlton, it was the home of literally hundreds of pubs in the bustling 1890s in Melbourne – was the next destination as the inner city crawl continued. Actually, there were fracas galore in those bustling days of ‘Marvellous Melbourne’ – a Primavera would have been a handy getaway vehicle after a dust-up rather than a horse and cart…

The clouds unleashed just as we eased the Primaveras onto their sidestands – the latter another new addition to the scoot, complete with engine safety switch.

Then it was onto the CBD and the massive Eureka Tower for some sightseeing, but it was scuttled because of poor visibility. But I’d already been to the tower for a world superbike announcement – and saw that even the toughest racers are fallible when Troy Corser became a nervous wreck on the overhanging glass which juts out from the main building.

Time was marching on, and the traffic was getting heavier as we started the final leg -- conditions which the Primavera thrives on. Filtering through traffic is ridiculously easy and such a supple and crisp exercise on the Primavera. But like any powered two-wheeler, the bike handles certain conditions better than others, and a freeway certainly isn’t in its natural habitat. But that doesn’t mean it’s an outcast – far from it, and a bigger rear tyre (the shoe size has increased from 10 to 11 inches) keeps it on stable footing, as well as the new frame design delivering a lower centre of gravity. Like all Vespas, the frame is made from steel, but this “finely tuned” one is stiffer and bigger than the LX’s, but it doesn't adversely affect the Primavera's svelte proportions.

And the tiny engines produce just enough mumbo – and with a small amount in reserve – to maintain a level footing with the other traffic. And that simply has to be the case, as I’ve been besieged on a freeway on a small scooter, and it isn’t a pretty feeling.

As well as the bigger rear tyre on the Primavera, both ends have newly styled rims which are much shapelier than the LX’s staid design.

The cross wind was quite fearsome on the freeway to Werribee as well, but the Primavera didn’t show any nerves. But it does have quite a hard seat, which is more pronounced than in the city where you’re always fidgeting and moving around on the bike, with less chance for saddle soreness to become an issue.

But it was only a short-term niggle, as the end was nigh – all 84km of it. By then, the Primavera had completed the full sell job, and that included displaying wares like the colour matched top box and the waterproof wheel-shaped bag, which is securely wedged to the floor area between your legs. There are also other accessories as well, such as chrome perimeter side bars, chrome rear bars, screens (short and tall), chrome racks and rubber footrests.

The Primavera will be a volume seller for Vespa – on the sheer fact it’s a better piece of kit than the LX, as well as undercutting its predecessor on price. Vespa’s brought back a big name from its past, but it’s not recycling – it’s reinventing. It’s going to make a lot of scooter buyers very happy.