visited the national museum on christmas day as admission charges to all the exhibition areas were waived. did not have the leisure of visiting all the exhibition halls because i had to go for a christmas day lunch, one that i have not missed for a decade, at least. so, i settled for the canyon where they had on display 'weapons of mass desire'. one of the exhibits was this vespa scooter.
the vespa scooter is an italian post-war invention. it was a machine meant for all people, men and women. it was built on a spar-frame with a handlebar gear change, and the engine mounted directly on to the rear wheel. the front protection "shield" kept the rider dry and clean in comparison to the open front end on motorcycles. the pass-through leg area design was geared towards all user groups, including women, as wearing dresses or skirts made riding a motorcycle a challenge.
what i remember most about the vespa scooter is not the time i used to ride one but more the time when there was this gang of riders whom were referred to as the 'green hornets'. they all rode souped up vespas that were painted green. these modified scooters were capable to hitting a top speed of 128 km (80mph). they not only made changes to the engine, but they also trimmed the 'shield' to reduce the drag.
they would race among themselves or with other scooter gangs. sometimes the scooters would race with the motor bikes. in the 60s and 70s, a popular racing venue was the changi coast road.
