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Rumours of the Stella 4t have swirled around the internet almost since the Stella 2t was introduced back in 2003. The Stella was an instant hit when it came to our shores but it was excluded from sale in California due to their stricter vehicle emissions standards.
Naturally, the vast network of scooterists in the Golden State cried, "What about us??!" Granted, they'd had access to the four stroke, metal bodied, four speed, traditionally styled Bajaj Chetak as an alternative. But the Stella was housed in an actual Vespa P-series chassis. The lines of the Italian design trumped the more utilitarian cut of the Indian styled Chetak. Then Genuine painted the Stella in a variety of both traditional colors and lively pastels. The battle between Bajaj and Genuine for the hearts and minds and wallets of the scootering public was over before it began.
Whille the speculation and debate circulated through on-line scooter chat rooms (who knew?), the concept for a four stroke Stella was being discussed between Genuine and the Stella manufacturer, LML. The solution was not a simple one. Significant modifications would have to be made to the P-series chassis to accomodate the 4 stroke, 150cc engine and the neccesary emissions equipment that would make the Stella exceed the strict C.A.R.B. (California Air Resources Board) standards. The process ran into a variety of hurdles along the way. Not least of which were financial and labor/management problems at LML which shut down the factory for over a year in 2006-07.
In the summer of 2009 at least a couple "concept" models of the Stella 4t arrived inthe U.S for extensive E.P.A. testing and scrutiny. She passed with flying colors! LML began retooling for assembly of the new model and Genuine announced that the long awaited arrival of the 4t Stella would hit dealwer showrooms in early summer of 2010.
Dealers began taking deposits from eager customers lining up to get their hands on the first ones available. Barry Gwin, the proprietor of San Francisco Scooter Centre, had received deposits from literally dozens of long suffering Californians. At Scooterville we had sold out our initial order. Great excitement accompanied the news that the first shipment had arrived in Chicago. Then came the next barrier.
The arrival of the 4t Stellas coincided with a recent dragnet by the U.S Customs to catch vast numbers of illegal scooters coming in from mainland China. Many of the Chinese models were coming to the U.S. with improper emissions documents and forged EPA stickers. Public and industry outcry about these scooters resulted in a long overdue inspection process by Customs of newly arriving scooter shipments. Agents in Chicago uncrated the first of the newly arrived Stellas and, during their inspection process, discovered that the factory had installed the wrong type of adjustment screw on the carburetor. The shipment was impounded by Customs while they decide their fate. Finally, after weeks in limbo, it was determined that the scooters would have to be returned to the factory in India to have the required adjustments made.
Fast forward to March of 2011. The first shipment of Stellas went to the long awaiting dealers and customers in California. Our first batch arrived this week. While many of the people who had placed deposits with us in 2010 had tired of waiting, demand has remained high and only a small portion of our first batch remain.