Roxon P-One 10-10 2008 — Specifications

A scooter claiming 3.2 horsepower on its plate is a statement. The Roxon P-One 10-10 from 2008 won’t make you tremble, but it tells another story. That of an era when European regulations imposed their limits on 50cc engines, transforming the practice of mechanics into a struggle for every tenth of a horsepower. Here, the 49.9 cm3 two-stroke single-cylinder breathes through a Dell’Orto SHA 14/12 carburetor, a small jewel of simplicity that runs on oil and unleaded fuel. Air-cooled, it runs smoothly up to its fateful 6000 rpm, where it releases its regulated 2.3 kW. Don’t look for torque or top speed in the specs: the important thing is elsewhere.

With its 34 kg dry weight and tires in 2.50-10 at the front, 2.75-10 at the rear, the P-One is a pure urban creature. The braking, provided by two drums, recalls that urgency is not its domain. It is piloted lazily, with relaxation, enjoying the total absence of nervousness. The final chain transmission, rather than a sprocket, gives it a small retro moped look that is not without charm. The 2.2-liter tank says enough about the vehicle's vocation: a few kilometers per day, from high school to home, from the village to the artisan zone. Faced with the Aprilia SR 50 or the Peugeot Kisbee of the time, it assumes a near-militant austerity.

What strikes you is this absolute lightness. Thirty-four kilos is the weight of a large suitcase. You lift it with one hand, you put it away in a corner, you almost forget that it exists until the next trip. The unknown seat height suggests total accessibility, probably adapted to teenagers or adults seeking a minimalist solution. The frame, the nature of which is not specified in the specs, must have been a simple tubular cradle, just rigid enough to hold the two wheels together. The suspensions, which are not described, were probably basic combinations, designed to swallow sidewalks more than corners.

The Roxon P-One 10-10 never claimed to compete with the sport models in the segment. It targeted utilitarian, economical use, almost disembodied. Its rudimentary two-stroke smelled of castor oil and its exhaust pipe must have produced that characteristic rumble of small piston-port single-cylinders. Today, it will interest the collector of regulatory curiosities, the one who enjoys these machines calibrated to respect the law to the letter. For the novice, it offers a lesson in mechanical modesty. For the seasoned traveler, it recalls that a motorcycle is sometimes just an engine, two wheels, and the bare minimum to get from point A to point B.