[edsuede]

Hi friends

A friend sent me this photo of an imported Vijay with an Indian Dealer sticker fixed to the front legsheild.

The dealer is Phillips Scooters of Avas Vikas, Lucknow.

Can anyone tell me more about this dealership? Are they still in business?

Also, can anyone tell me more about some of the makes of vehicles listed on the sticker - Priva, Rajdoot, Yezdi?

Regards
Ed

[wbd8779]

Originally Posted by edsuede

Hi friends

A friend sent me this photo of an imported Vijay with an Indian Dealer sticker fixed to the front legsheild.

The dealer is Phillips Scooters of Avas Vikas, Lucknow.

Can anyone tell me more about this dealership? Are they still in business?

Also, can anyone tell me more about some of the makes of vehicles listed on the sticker - Priva, Rajdoot, Yezdi?

Regards
Ed

Dont think they are in buisness anymore , however will check and revert by tommorow.

Priya - A 150cc Vespa replica , similiar to the Bajaj Super , Vespa 150
Rajdoot - A old WFM Model soild in India as the Rajdoot 175 with various iterations over the years , no longer in production.
Yezdi - The Czech Jawa models , various models have been manufactured and sold in India by ideal jawa Limited. Models were Yezdi 250 , Classic , Deluxe , Roadking , Oilking , Monarch ,175 and 350 . No Longer in production.

There are dedicated and detailed threads on Tbhp for all these vehicles , request you to search for the same.

Regards

[issigonis]

>>>

Vijay Deluxe and Vijay Super ( with its variant Mark II) were manufactured by the public sector Scooters India Limited (SIL)in Amausi Industrial Estate, Lucknow.

The Vijay Deluxe had a 150 cc petrol engine and was introduced in 1975-76 in the Indian market, after purchasing dies and equipment from Innocenti of Italy.

Scooters Limited was launched to fill the supply/demand mismatch during India's tryst with socialism in the early 1970s, when Bajaj and Automobile Products of India (API) were the only two scooter manufacturers in the country, when the two could not fulfil the latent demand for affordable transportation for the middle class, due to production limits set by the government.

The Vijay Super was launched a couple of years after the Deluxe and had the same mechanicals, with minor cosmetic changes.

Various other state owned manufacturers sprung up ( viz. Rajasthan had the Aravali, Maharashtra introduced a Bajaj licenced variant and so on).
Changes in India's industrial policy in the early 80s meant that SIL had more competition, not only from the above ( although Bajaj was the king of the hill) but also from new private players such as LML ( with their new and better designed Vespa, 100cc and 150 cc models).

Bad marketing, sales, poor after sales service and abysmal/unprofessional work culture in SIL succeeded in killing off the Vijay brand by the mid 80s.

SIL turned its questionable expertise to assembling three wheeled public carriers (brand name Vikram, with a Greaves Lombardini engine sourced from Madras ( correct me if I am wrong) and wonder of wonders, ceiling fans (brand name Ganesh SILair).

All these met their due end at the altar of unprofessionalism in all aspects, right from management to quality to after sales service.

I have heard that prices for junked Vijays command extraordinarily high prices in the UK, leading to many owners and agents flogging dead Vijays.

We had a Vijay Deluxe from 1976 to 1987; it was reasonably reliable, although lacking in finesse. Remember it had a Dellorto carburettor. The on the road price in 1976 was approximately Rs 4000. It had a rectangular headlamp vis-avis the circular headlamp treatment of API's Lambretta.

One can still see some old Vijays doing duty in the cities, towns and villages of UP, especially in Lucknow where it was manufactured.

Bajaj was reported to have evinced interest in buying out the SIL facility, but talks fell through with the UP government as it did not want to carry the baggage of SIL's unprofessional and overstaffed personnel.

Hope this helps in some way.

Regards, drive safe

[NFS]

My Dad used to drive a Priya (in fact my early lessons of driving were on this scooter). Looks were lot similar to Vespa 150 or more to the Bajaj super prior to 1990s. I am not sure if I have a pic of this vehicle, will search and let you know.

[edsuede]

Originally Posted by wbd8779

Dont think they are in buisness anymore , however will check and revert by tommorow.

Priya - A 150cc Vespa replica , similiar to the Bajaj Super , Vespa 150
Rajdoot - A old WFM Model soild in India as the Rajdoot 175 with various iterations over the years , no longer in production.
Yezdi - The Czech Jawa models , various models have been manufactured and sold in India by ideal jawa Limited. Models were Yezdi 250 , Classic , Deluxe , Roadking , Oilking , Monarch ,175 and 350 . No Longer in production.

There are dedicated and detailed threads on Tbhp for all these vehicles , request you to search for the same.

Regards

Thanks wbd, issigonis, NFS for your kind replies

I'm curious to know more about Phillips scooters as in my experience, dealer stickers for Indian scooter dealerships seem to be a rare thing. I'm thinking that Phillips scooters must have been a good size business to justify the making of these stickers to fix to their sales vehicles.

Thank you very much for the quick run down regards the other makes of vehicles - very interesting - I will look further on the site for more info.

issigonis - thanks for the detailed reply regards the Vijay, much of this information is already known to me as I've been a Vijay enthusiast since the 1980s and have owned 5 models from the production years 1979 until 1993. The 1993 model was bought brand new from the UK importer. My wife at one time owned one of the very last Vijay 200cc models off the production line and again, sold by the UK importer - a 1998 model.

What you say about Vijays being imported to the UK is true - the UK market has always had a HUGE scooter culture and when the available machines from Italy started to dry up, India was an obvious source of scooters. I have benefitted from this situation and currently own 3 scooters that have been imported from India.

I know that the exporting of Indian machines causes some members of the forum to feel angry - and I understand and respect their feelings, but I'm also very pleased to see via this wonderful forum that Indian enthusiasts are starting to save them from export and are restoring them to stay in your country. In my defence, I have always been an Indian scooter enthusiast and much prefer their character to their Italian counter parts

Regards
Ed

[edsuede]

Hi

I'm just wondering if anyone can confirm what the complete address details are at the bottom of the sticker as the bottom left hand corner is missing?

NFS - forgot to say in my earlier reply - would love to see a photo of the Priya if you can find one

Regards
Ed

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by edsuede

NFS - forgot to say in my earlier reply - would love to see a photo of the Priya if you can find one

Assuming you meant any Priya, here is a decent one, possibly one of the earliest with this brand name:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/2098182-post113.html

The main difference with the Vespa VBA(?) it is based on is probably the shape of the horncast. The later priyas had a smaller mudguard, I find them a bit retracted at the front, unlike this.

[edsuede]

Many Thanks for the link Stanher.

I like the look of this model - especially the black panel and horn grilles. I've never come across one of these in the UK but then, Vespa variants are not imported in the same numbers as Vijays, Lambys etc as Lambretta based scooters are more popular. Of course, it may be that some of these have reached our shores and have been disguised as vintage Vespas rather than maintaining their Priya identity.

Regards
Ed

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by edsuede

Hi

I'm just wondering if anyone can confirm what the complete address details are at the bottom of the sticker as the bottom left hand corner is missing?

NFS - forgot to say in my earlier reply - would love to see a photo of the Priya if you can find one

Regards
Ed

My Dad's 83 Priya, Our first tyrst with Automobile.

Still a Galloping beauty, even after 26 yrs

[rishab.k]

Originally Posted by edsuede

I'm curious to know more about Phillips scooters as in my experience, dealer stickers for Indian scooter dealerships seem to be a rare thing. I'm thinking that Phillips scooters must have been a good size business to justify the making of these stickers to fix to their sales vehicles.

Sorry to disappoint you but I don't think that's a dealership sticker & it's quite common for even the small repair shops to put up these stickers on the vehicles they have repaired.

Anyway, can't make out what's on the extreme left corner on that sticker,looks like a number but what I could make out is that the area mentioned is Rajajipuram (which has been mentioned as Raja Ji Puram on the sticker).

[wbd8779]

Confirmed with an old mechanic friend in Lucknow , Philipps Scooters does not exist any more, it was a repairing shop which dealt in contemporary vehicles of that era (rajdoot,Yezdi and Vijai Super ) . Incidentally the registration of your Scooter Edsuede UHG 7492 also belongs to the Lucknow RTO , the original owner of the scooter will be very amused to hear where it has landed up after bieng sold for a princely sum of 2500 a few years back.

[edsuede]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

My Dad's 83 Priya, Our first tyrst with Automobile.

Still a Galloping beauty, even after 26 yrs

That's a great scooter Pavan - I love all the accessories on it and is that the original running in/servicing advice sticker I see on the inside legshield? I assume the black panel cover is to protect the paint from a passenger sitting side saddle? I've not seen one of these covers on a scooter before. i'm pleased that the scooter is still in the hands of your family too Thank you for posting the photos

wbd & rishab - thank you both for the information. wbd, do you happen to know that the scooter was sold for 2500 (rupees?) or is that a good guess based on experience? This scooter was recently sold by someone on UK ebay but I forget now how much it went for.

As a general rule, a well battered Vijay 'project' that will need a total rebuild and lots of welding, replacement body parts etc will sell from a dealer for around £700 in the UK, maybe a little more if it's a pre-86 model. The reason for this is that scooters of 1986 or above vintage need to have indicators fitted to comply with UK law. UK owners tend to prefer the Lambretta lines uncluttered by indicators.

Regards
Ed

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by edsuede

I assume the black panel cover is to protect the paint from a passenger sitting side saddle? I've not seen one of these covers on a scooter before. i'm pleased that the scooter is still in the hands of your family too Thank you for posting the photos

Ed, those rexine/leather panel covers are common on Vespa-based scooters here- they are indeed to protect the panels, but not from passengers (usually women) sitting side-saddle, as those who do normally sit facing the other side (left), as seen here:

Couple life | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The panels get more scrapes from passengers who sit the 'normal' way, and in case of Vespas, which have bulbous panels, people normally tend to put their feet on top of either panel.

[edsuede]

Originally Posted by Stanher

Ed, those rexine/leather panel covers are common on Vespa-based scooters here- they are indeed to protect the panels, but not from passengers (usually women) sitting side-saddle, as those who do normally sit facing the other side (left), as seen here:

Couple life | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The panels get more scrapes from passengers who sit the 'normal' way, and in case of Vespas, which have bulbous panels, people normally tend to put their feet on top of either panel.

Thanks for the explanation Stanher. I'm surprised that no one has thought to market these panel protectors to UK Vespa riders - I'm sure they'd be popular.

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but please bear in mind that riding side saddle is not allowed in the UK - why do female passengers normally sit facing the left as opposed to the right? Is this tradition or is there a practical reason?

Regards
Ed

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by edsuede

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but please bear in mind that riding side saddle is not allowed in the UK - why do female passengers normally sit facing the left as opposed to the right? Is this tradition or is there a practical reason?

Regards
Ed

>>>

Ed,
In India, a majority of women upto the 80s wore sarees and it was very inconvenient for them to sit astride. Nowadays with more and more women adopting western wear (trousers/jeans/slacks) it is almost the norm to see younger women sitting astride. Not so much women of the earlier generation.

Regards, drive safe