Where – Shortwood Near Stroud in Gloucestershire.
When – A Saturday afternoon, late April 1976.
Who – Myself and girlfriend Sally (soon to be ex-girlfriend as it turned out 🙂
What – SX150 with an SX200 engine.
Why – Just off in to town for a spot of socialising.
My SX was much loved but worked hard and prone to popping side panels as the picture shows. The scooter was beaten up during an altercation between local skins and scooter kiddies (on one team) and the greasers (on the other) so probably had a little issue with a bend in the seat loop as a result.
I swapped a broken Triumph 5TA for this scooter in 1975. It was my daily driver for the 5 mile commute to Stroud where I worked for British Rail on the Permanent Way. Spring turned into the long hot summer of ’76 when it never rained for weeks. I recall vividly riding to work on this first morning that it did rain, touched the back brake going into the first bend , locked up the rear wheel, dropped it and slid sideways, in perfect synchronisation with the scooter, into the thick grass verge.
As I stood up, somewhat sheepishly, a cloth capped head popped up from behind the wall and says “ You need to be careful lad it’s a bit greasy on that bend”.
“So it seems” I thought.
Sadly I no longer own it but I do have its original Italian 200 barrel which I replaced with a matching barrel and piston when I managed to hole a piston.
John Bond
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