This is where the problems arise; there is no question that this is a beautiful machine, a classic design. To give an example slightly removed from the topic at hand the 1960’s Porsche speedster is a classic, it is still beautiful today, however if Porsche made one now using original style components you could not compare it with a modern vehicle. Imagine that you have just driven the brand new, all singing all dancing Porsche GT, it becomes obvious that the beautiful 60’s Speedster is old news, it still looks great but it is old, isn’t particularly nice to drive, doesn’t handle all that well, doesn’t make much useable power and in comparison to it’s modern equivalent it just doesn’t do the job very well.

So back to the topic at hand…what is the job of a scooter? To me that job is to get me around the place conveniently and quickly, most Vespa’s do that job admirably, they, more than just about any other brand, manage to get the job done while looking absolutely stylish. The problem with the PX is that it takes away the “convenience factor” of a scooter. To use the car analogy again you would not drive a vintage car with a crank start or a steam engine after driving a modern motorcar. So going from a zippy little auto scooter to this bike messed with my head a bit, ok maybe more than a bit… what is the advantage of a manual over a CVT… If you want to change gears and have that vintage feel, would you not buy an actual classic to tinker with? Don’t get me wrong here, personally, I am a huge fan of unusual, old, or just plain unique motor vehicles, unfortunately classic, vintage style technology is not necessarily suitable as every day transport, when considering this bike you have to be very certain what you want in a scooter, this is very much an emotional rather than logical purchasing decision. That doesn’t mean it would be illogical to buy this particular Vespa, it just means you need to think very hard about what job you want it to do.