A
lthoughit’snowintheloving
custodyofStefManoli,the
storyofthis 1974 Vespa
SprintVelocestartsin
WesternAustraliawitha
boredteachercalledNeilDoig.“Igrewup
inKalgoorlie,agoldminingtownwitha
populationofabout 30 , 000 .I’dbeen
apprenticedasaboilermaker,but
managedtosecureapositionatteacher
trainingcollegeinPerth,”explainedNeil.
“FortransportIboughtausedVespathatI
named‘Bessie’.Althoughshebrokedown
100 kmshortofPerthandIhadtoreturn
aweeklatertocompletethe 600 km
journey,Bessieneverletmedown.Iused
herfortripsaroundPerthuntilaVauxhall
VivabeckonedandIgaveBessietoa
friend.LittledidIknow,butthiswasn’t
justthestartofaloveaffairwithVespas,
butalsothebeginningofan
expensivehabit.”
Onlyonewaytotravel
Oncequalified,Neilmovedtoacountry
schoolinWesternVictoria,wherehe
boughtaKawasaki 100 ,thathesoon
named‘Horace’andbegantoexplorethe
countrysideon.“Ifeltlikeatraitorowning
amotorcycleafterthegoodtimeswith
Bessie,butIhadsomereallyenjoyable
tripsonHoraceandhecertainlyinstilleda
bugfortravelling.Whentheschoolclosed
IgaveHoraceawayandsetoff
forEurope.”
OverthenextfewmonthsNeilhad
enoughadventurestofillabook,including
adrunkenpassagetoIsrael,dirtyworkon
aKibbutz,andtakingrefugewitha
contingentofAustralianpeace-keepers
duringtheTurkishinvasionofCyprus.
TrainjourneysthroughtheBalkansproved
tiringandafterarrivinginVenice,Neil
decideditwastimetobuyanotherVespa.
“Thesalespersonwaseagertohelp,but
theubiquitousredtapehadtobe
attendedtofirst.Ihadtovisitfour
differentdepartmentstogetthevarious
58 |SCOOTERING|AUGUST 2019
