A question that’s often asked on scooter forums, and indeed across our parts desk, is whether or not a particular scooter is a Douglas Vespa, with its associated rarity and historic value. In fact that designation was in use long after the association with Douglas ceased, and as we’ll see the answer to that question can be ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Maybe’. However, before we explain how that can be, we need to set the scene.
What’s in a name?
There are several elements to any branded product, which is precisely what a Vespa scooter is. Firstly there’s the brand name itself, in this case ‘Vespa’. Then there’s the company which owns that brand name and for Vespa that’s Piaggio & Co S.P.A. The company owning the brand name usually, but not always, owns the patents and design rights to the product, and then finally there’s the factory which actually manufactures the item.
From this we can see that Piaggio is the only company that can decide whether or not a scooter can be called a Vespa, but it’s not necessary for Piaggio to produce it. Confused? Well, read on.
Have you got a licence for that?
To understand how Italian scooters came to be built in Britain, we need to understand how the world looked at the end of the Second World War. The story of how Piaggio designed a product aimed at providing cheap transport and in turn created an icon has been told many times and we’re not going to repeat that here. However, the Vespa was never aimed solely at the Italian market. With industries across Europe shattered by the ravages of war, and governments in desperate need of foreign currency to boost their economies, exports were vital. Unfortunately, every country had the same idea; to export more and import less. As a result, imports were tightly controlled both by tariffs and the issue of import licences.
It’s said that business will always find a way around bureaucracy and there were various ways around these restrictions. One option was to build a factory in the target country, but that was expensive and at that point in their history Piaggio didn’t have the funds necessary for that kind of investment. Another alternative was to authorise, or ‘licence’ a local company to produce the machines. In this way Piaggio controlled the product range and took a proportion of the profits whilst considerably reducing the amount of investment required.
It was an arrangement that would be used in countries such as France (ACMA) and India (Bajaj). However in this period of history the ultimate prize was a foothold in the British market. Not only was there an insatiable demand for cheap transport across the UK, but British companies also had access to all the Commonwealth Nations. If a factory could be established in Britain, the potential rewards were huge and it’s at this stage that the Douglas company enters our story.
Bristol beauties
Founded in 1892 by Bristolian brothers William and Edwin Douglas, the Douglas Engineering Company operated initially as a smithy but became best known as a foundry. One of its customers was Joseph Barter, who manufactured lightweight motorcycles and it was to Douglas engineering that he contracted the task of casting engine casings. When Barter went out of business in 1907, Douglas took over the manufacturing rights and from that point on concentrated its activities on motorcycle production. During World War One, the company supplied an incredible 70,000 motorcycles for military use and by the late 1920s were successful in various forms of racing with their flat twin layout influencing manufacturers such as Indian and Harley Davidson.
Unfortunately, the inter-war recession wasn’t kind to Douglas, and although motorcycle production continued throughout WW2, the company was forced to diversify, turning its hand to producing generators. By 1948 the company was in a dire financial state but whilst on holiday in Italy, the Managing Director, Claude Mc Cormack, became aware of the scooter phenomenon which was sweeping the nation. He immediately saw the potential and negotiations with Piaggio for the British rights began almost immediately.
1949-1965
What happened next is somewhat difficult to understand. As, despite some interest from industry giants such as Triumph, Piaggio elected to grant production rights to the struggling Douglas company. Although a Vespa could be seen on the Douglas stand at the 1949 motorcycle show in Earl’s Court, it wasn’t until 1951 that the first Bristol built machines appeared. Although it would never rival the scale of Piaggio’s Pontedera plant, the factory at Bristol was a complex operation. Body panels were produced by Pressed Steel in Birmingham, whilst Douglas’ own foundry produced castings such as cylinder heads and clutch covers, whilst the factory’s machine shop churned out many of the engine’s internals. The Douglas machines are interesting in their own right as there were many subtle variations from Italian standards, with items such as seats and electrical components being sourced from local suppliers.
Unfortunately, the promises made by Douglas to Piaggio were never fully realised. In fairness, some of the blame can be attributed to Piaggio who consistently supplied tooling for obsolete models, meaning that Douglas was always lagging behind the design curve. Another constraining factor in the British market was the activities of Lambretta Concessionaires, a company formed to distribute a machine that would always be Vespa’s main rival. Led by the charismatic Peter Agg, Lambretta Concessionaires had a marketing budget that Douglas could only dream of. Additionally, Agg chose a different business model to Douglas and from the outset absorbed the costs of importing machines direct from the factory. As a result his network of dealers could always offer the latest models.
However, it was a lack of funds that would ultimately prove to be the limiting factor for Douglas, who also lacked the Commonwealth connections that Piaggio had desperately sought. It’s fair to say that Piaggio wasn’t slow in realising that they’d backed the wrong horse and by the mid-1950s relationships had soured considerably. Nevertheless, production continued at the Bristol factory until 1965, when the last of 126,230 machines built in Bristol, a 150 Sportique rolled off the production line. From then on Douglas would act only as importers and distributors.
With tooling provided by Piaggio, we can definitively state that any machine produced in this period at the Bristol factory is a true ‘Douglas Vespa’. However, some anomalies were already creeping in that would cause confusion for future enthusiasts.
1965-1982
As production had been officially licensed by Piaggio to Douglas, the authorities were quite correct to register machines built in Bristol as ‘Douglas Vespa’. However, some models such as the GS range were never produced in Bristol, instead they were imported direct from Italy. These were Piaggio built Vespas and should have been registered as such, however officialdom tends to take the path of least resistance and these imported machines were also registered as Douglas Vespas.
When production ceased at Bristol, and all machines were imported direct from Piaggio in Italy, there was no longer any excuse for Piaggio to be omitted from the registration papers, yet it was. As with models such as the GS, Douglas continued to file the paperwork and officialdom accepted them without question.
So, can models registered within this period be considered to be ‘Douglas Vespas’? Well, they certainly passed through the old factory site so a tenuous case can be made for them to be considered that way, but in reality they aren't.
1982-‘2000’
In 1982, the franchise to distribute Vespa in the UK was transferred from Douglas to the Heron Corporation, a move that ended any involvement by Douglas in the Vespa brand. From that point onwards no machine can lay claim in any way, shape or form to the Douglas name.
Subsequently Piaggio dispensed with any franchise arrangements and formed their own company to handle distribution. However, officialdom rumbled on and it wasn’t until around the millennium that ‘Douglas’ was dropped from the registration process. From then on, the manufacturer of all Vespa machines has been recorded as ‘Piaggio’. Or should we say, almost all Vespas…
Anomalies
There can be no doubt that the Vespa brand is truly iconic, being loved by enthusiasts across the globe. Although Piaggio continues to develop the brand, classic machines are still highly prized and as machines emerge from years of neglect, or are moved around the globe there is a need for them to be registered.
In the UK, responsibility for registering vehicles rests with the DVLA, and their employees are not experts in the finer points of vehicle manufacture. When faced with a pile of paperwork, they’ll take the most obvious option presented by the drop down menu on their computer screen. If the paperwork says ‘Vespa’, and the year of manufacture falls within the Douglas period the chances are that, wherever the machine was manufactured or first sold, it will be recorded as a ‘Douglas’.
Does any of this matter?
The question of whether it matters or not depends on the reason behind wanting to prove that a Vespa was manufactured by Douglas. If it's a query about parts for a PX, then it’s immaterial because there’s no question about there being any specific ‘Douglas’ parts. However, because they were produced in smaller numbers, genuine Douglas built machines are more desirable, and therefore more valuable. There are also some very subtle differences in the components used and expert advice will be needed in the case of a ‘factory’ restoration.
The continued use of ‘Douglas’ on the V5 document is problematic for another reason. Although Douglas machines that have lost their identity are still being discovered, and need to be registered appropriately, there’s also a steady influx of ‘restored’ machines that are still being registered as ‘Douglas Vespa’. This problem is particularly associated with the VBB, although other models such as Supers and Sprints also fall into this category. The quality of these restorations varies considerably, with some from the Far East often falling way short of European safety standards. If you’re considering the purchase of any VBB our advice is to approach it with caution. However, that’s an entirely different story that deserves to be told on its own…
If you’re considering the purchase of an early Douglas Vespa we’d strongly recommend joining either the Vespa Club of Britain or the Veteran Vespa Club, not only do we offer their members a great discount on parts, they they can give you all the specialist advice about Douglas built Vespas you could need.
However if it’s parts you need for a P Range, (whether or not it says Douglas on the V5!) we hold one of the largest stocks of Piaggio, OEM and remanufactured parts in the country. We’re always ready to offer advice. Just call our sales team on 01226 203377 or take a look at our illustrated online catalogue.
(Thanks to Chris Wainwright of the VVC for granting access to his archive material to help produce this blog)
