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VESPA GS VS 1

The Vespa GS (Grand Sport) was Piaggio's first real attempt at a production 'sports' model since previous Vespas weren't exactly endowed with a reputation for breathtaking speed. This model - the VS 1 - was the first of the GS range, identifiable by having the cables routed outside the headset. For its time it represented a great advance in performance with its larger 10" wheels and hydraulically damped front forks. Remember the LD was its main Italian competitor.

This particular machine, TTT 295, originally belonged to scooter shop proprietor Ken Harris from the Exeter area, then his daughter Jean Harris. Period photos show Jean riding it in the "scooter-girl" competition at the Isle of Man Rally in 1958, it being used in a rally in France and also as a promotional aid for a film called "The Heat of Summer" in the Odeon cinema Exeter on St. Valentines Day 1960 on behalf of the South Devon Vespa Club, so no one can say the little Vespa didn't get its fair share of use. The original colour of the GS was silver, but it has been wearing this coat of pale blue, the two-tone seat and the red and chrome hubcaps since 1958.

1957 HEINKEL TOURIST 175

Heinkel, like Piaggio, was another firm originally famous for aircraft manufacture during W.W.II when Heinkel HE bombers helped in the decimation of Coventry which, in retrospect, doesn't seem like such a bad thing. The Heinkel, like many other German scooters, was a heavy but

stable, good quality piece of automotive engineering. The model I rode had a 9 h.p. two-valve pushrod four stroke engine as a powerplant, rubber mounted into a tubular steel frame with rare (at least for scooters) telescopic forks at the front. The main market for Heinkel scooters was Holland and Belgium and the Dutch Heinkel Club still flourishes. By the early 60's Heinkel Tourist sales were falling, a phenomenon the factory blamed on cheap secondhand car prices and the weather! First launched in 1953 as a 150, the Tourist became a 175 in '54 with only minor differences to the test model, such as a headset instead of handlebars.

ON THE ROAD

Both machines started more easily the I expected considering they are stored in cold dampish conditions. The GS required only about three kicks but the Heinkel needed bumping since the batteries were flat (2x6volt in series for a 12volt system). The Heinkel soon settled to an even but slightly loud tickover as we manhandled it off the stand again. It's heavy weight makes it unwieldy at low speeds but once on the move it has excellent balance with the engine mounted forward under the rider and a chain in an enclosed oil bath running to the back wheel.

Gears on the Heinkel are the same as on any modern Vespa or Lambretta but I must confess to having great problems correctly selecting the gears, especially second. This, I was later to find out, is the only major design fault of the heinkel since the ratchet that selects the gears is in the headset and not on the engine. This means that the scooter is very sensitive to gear cable adjustment which must constantly be checked to prevent missed gear changes. The gears themselves seem widely spaced but the torquey old 4 stroke pulls from very low revs making a sort of thudding noise. Acceleration by modern standards is non-existent but that doesn't seem to matter. The comfort and the quality of the ride seem to make speed irrelevant and pottering around in an almost serene casual style is the order of the day. No Vespa or Lambretta comes close in terms of comfort, the seat is the size of a surfboard and amply padded.
I said acceleration isn't too hot but that isn't down to lack of power but due to how much weight it had to pull and eventually it will build up to 60 mph and happily stay there until you get to a hill.
The handling is really excellent as far as I felt happy leaning it on damp greasy roads with a pair of prehistoric Fred Flintstone tyres on it. Leaning takes a bit more input than I am used to, but once over then an uneven road surface doesn't upset the handling anywhere near as much as on a Vespa or Lambretta. This is because the whole engine doesn't have to move when you hit a bump, only the rear wheel and the swingarm moves, so the suspension reacts much faster. Also the telescopic forks have much more movement than a Lambretta. This all adds up to a much more luxuriant ride but without feeling soggy and out of control.

The Vespa on the other hand handled exactly as I expected; in comparison to the Heinkel you get really pitched about on a bumpy road, and the front end dive is terrible - just like on a Rally 200 twenty years later. Nobody can accuse Vespa of rushing into a re-development program, eh! The surprising thing about the GS was its performance; its acceleration was on par with a PX125 and top speed by the speedo was about 60mph, not bad for an unrestored 1955 scooter. The GS engine's main difference to modern Vespa engines is that the induction isn't rotary disc through the cases but piston ported like a Lambretta with a downdraft carb bolted onto a inlet on the barrel.
The GS frame feels slightly smaller than a P Range but without a legshield toolbox I could comfortably get my knees in the dry behind the legshields.
The brakes on the Vespa were ample for stopping such a light scooter but the front end dive made the rear brake far preferable for slowing down in anything other than an emergency. The brakes on the Heinkel however, were nothing to write home about and I'm sure neglect had more than a little to do with this, but as the manual says, copious engine braking from the 4-stroke motor goes some way towards making up this shortfall.
The lights on the GS were totally crap, as were those on the Tourist but in the Heinkel's case this was down to the dead batteries stealing all the power from the motor and in fully charged condition the 12V system is supposed to be very bright. Also, think how long it took before Vespa eventually got electric start.
To pick the best scooter out of the two is not an easy matter. The GS is probably THE classic Vespa styling-wise, but to ride it is very similar to all other Vespas. It was very quick in its time but it has no useful features like a spare wheel and in comparison is lacking in comfort.
The Heinkel doesn't look anywhere near as bad as most of the British scooters of the same period. My personal opinion being that it looks typically Teutonic but is one of the nicest looking non-Italian scooters. It is full of special features like the electric start and it has an air of quality of manufacture shown in the alloy footboards. It just feels solid and well made. Where the tourist is let down is its sluggish acceleration and poor low speed manoeuverability which would make it a handful in town - where the GS is nippy and small - but on the open road the Heinkel is infinitely preferable. For going to rallies and touring, as the name suggests, the Heinkel is still an excellent prospect and given a bit more speed, it would be as good to ride to a rally as any of today's Vespas.
Why the Tourist was never such a big thing in the U.K. I can only speculate. Maybe it was too expensive. I know the club scene for Heinkel owners was nowhere near as well developed as it was for Vespa and Lambretta or even as good as the Owners Club scene in Germany or Holland, but I think the Heinkel is definitely the more preferable of the two even if there are only less the ten VS1 GS Vespas known to have survived in this country.

By Sticky

Published in the December 1992 issue of Scootering Magazine

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