We had 2 chetaks with us at different points of time and I had an unforgettable experience with both of them. The first scooter to be with us was a year 1996 model which was with us for 3 years and clocked 40, 000 kms. The second geared scooter was also a chetak, 1980 model and it was with us for 2 years from late 2002 –to early 2005.
The chetak’s lineage can be traced to the legendary Vespa of Italy. The layout of the engine and much of the body - design has been very true to the original vespa. This can be noticed more in the case of the priya- model of the scooters.
I am told that the genius who came up with the vespa-geared scooter did that with parts left out in the parts bin after assembling vehicles, immedietly after the second world-war. The vespa was responsible for providing mobility to the masses at a very affordable cost. Little must have the creator known that it would do the same once again in a different part of the world - that is INDIA.
Well history apart, Chetak is a very well designed scooter with low running cost and maintenance. I have observed that the ruggedness of the scooters from the early and mid eighties has been missing in the models of the nineties and Y2k ones, but nevertheless the chetak is a very reliable and rugged two wheeler.
Some people complain about the balance of these scooters when compared to bikes, but if you get a hang of it, it can be quite fun in slow moving traffic to just keep changing the gears without ever keepin g your foot down. I am sure this is one of the greatest advantages of a geared scooter when compared to a geared bike in slow moving traffic. I remember many a time when I cursed myself for not having opted to take the chetak to work instead of the samurai.
The 1980 chetak didn’t have an electronic ignition and needed regular tuning of the contact breaker points for a trouble free ignition. Other than that it was as good or sometimes even better than the 1996 chetak. The 1980 model would be great for slow moving traffic as it didn’t need too much of gear changing as the 1996 model did.
Anyways the second strong point for the chetak is that there is no chain and sprocket assembly as in bikes, so even if you are not so careful with the clutch or you overload the scooter. You can still be sure that with a little bit of tuning everything should be back to normal. Which is impossible to imagine for a bike. A chain and sprocket assembly can last anywhere between 12, 000 km to 40, 000 depending on driving conditions for a bike. Also you have to get the chain adjusted between service intervals if it is too loose. So you can see how trouble free it is with a chetaks!
The biggest drawback for a chetaks is its handling under heavy braking.
The kind of average that we managed to get from the chetaks would be rubbished by many. But it is very much possible. The 1996 one would return 56kmpl(with 40, 000 on odometer) and the 1980 one would return 42 kmpl(1, 00, 000 and still going strong!). I guess the key lies in using the right gear for the right speed. I have seen many people using the top gear for speeds even below 30 kmph. The reason they say is that it would give a great mileage. The only thing that happens with that kind of practice is that the engine will be strained unduly resulting in low life. So even though you use a lower gear for a given speed, in the long run the benefits far outweigh any gains.
In Hyderabad, almost all the small business men and Milk men use the Chetak. With close to 200 kg payload the chetak sprints on merrily in the deccan landscape be it a steep climb or a flat out drag race.The 1996 chetak had a tendency to pull to the left when braked hard, and this could only be corrected after straightening the front handle and suspension setup.
My father suddenly started experiencing severe pain in the shoulder region and some people attributed that to the scooter and his long drives( Thought that has been proven wrong). So the decision was taken to give her away and then we got the Samurai as a replacement. I have many pleasant memories of the chetaks, zipping past many motorcyclists with a twinkle in the eye and hitting the 80 kmph mark just in a few seconds. It was fun and unforgettable.
Bajaj tried to revive the falling sales market by introducing the bravo. But it was already too late. There is one point that I have to mention. Bajaj made very little to improve the vespa design other than changing the ignition to CDI and 12V. There were no significant changes made to the suspension or the engine department. As many good things come to an end. The two-stroke Chetak was discontinued from production in Jan 2006.
I would outline the details here for a quick reference.
Model: Year 1996 & 1980
Odometer reading: 40, 000 km and 1, 20, 000 Respectively
Avg per liter: 56 kmpl & 42 kmpl
Pros
Proven design and inherent strength of a two-stroker
Low maintenance and easy availability of spares
Low price of spares.
Value for money
Cons
Handling under braking
Can be tricky in wet conditions
Front suspension
No separate engine oil tank