As Chinese-made motorbikes flood Pakistan's roads, fans of vintage Vespa scooters are scrambling to find spare parts and preserve models that hark back to a bygone era.
The Vespas Of Pakistan
![A Vespa rider weaves through traffic in a working class neighborhood of Karachi. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/00082ec2-e828-4f20-bf53-8be002f3d864_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Vespa rider weaves through traffic in a working class neighborhood of Karachi.
![Journalist Arif Balouch, 48, poses for a photograph with his 1980 Vespa in Karachi. "For me, a Vespa scooter is like a family tradition. My father used to ride this and I myself find this very good as it has two separate comfortable seats which is uncommon; it has a compartment to keep things, which is also uncommon; and for safety it guards your knees during accidents. I would say it's the BMW of scooters," Balouch told Reuters.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0f84aa11-50c7-4e4b-ab73-452c111f07f7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Journalist Arif Balouch, 48, poses for a photograph with his 1980 Vespa in Karachi. "For me, a Vespa scooter is like a family tradition. My father used to ride this and I myself find this very good as it has two separate comfortable seats which is uncommon; it has a compartment to keep things, which is also uncommon; and for safety it guards your knees during accidents. I would say it's the BMW of scooters," Balouch told Reuters.
![The emblem from a Vespa in a restoration and repair shop in Islamabad. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/61bb4f98-1ed7-4b28-908f-b18ffddd8276_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The emblem from a Vespa in a restoration and repair shop in Islamabad.
![Journalist Nazeer Udding Siddiqui, 58, poses for a photograph with his 1979 Vespa in Karachi. "For me, people who own Vespas are very honorable people who still keep this tradition alive," he told Reuters. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/aa8a08c5-63a4-4f84-86fd-0bf015f864d8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Journalist Nazeer Udding Siddiqui, 58, poses for a photograph with his 1979 Vespa in Karachi. "For me, people who own Vespas are very honorable people who still keep this tradition alive," he told Reuters.