41–50 of 179 posts
The horror that was aluminium engine. You could open and close a screw only twice and goodbye threads.
The trade-off being (I'm guessing) that those threads would be pretty easy to re-tap by hand?
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/thread-repair-inserts/thre...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Keep the body shell, modernize the internals. I think they have already done so...
There has been an electric vespa for quita a while: https://storeusa.vespa.com/elettrica/vespa-elettrica-45-mph....
Piaggio also designed a car (well, more than one including bad prototypes), which unfortunately wasn't sold in italy due to a gentleman's agreement with fiat (fiat being much bigger basically went if you start selling cars, we'll build motorcycles). The English Wikipedia doesn't include this snippet of history, the Italian page does though https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACMA_Vespa_400
Ah ah my youth! I had a Vespa with a 200cc engine, three speeds, from the 80s: this thing would do a wheelie in 1st gear. And very hard to control wheelie for the weight is uneven on a Vespa. My brother had a rare Vespa 125 cc from 1961 or something: when he left the country he sold it to a friend who still owns it. Another friend of mine --the reason we all had Vespa back then-- could disassemble and reassemble them…
Piaggio also designed a car (well, more than one including bad prototypes), which unfortunately wasn't sold in italy due to a gentleman's agreement with fiat (fiat being much bigger basically went if you start selling cars, we'll build motorcycles). The English Wikipedia doesn't include this snippet of history, the Italian page does though https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACMA_Vespa_400
Piaggio also designed the Ape (bee) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_Ape a 3 wheel tiny pickup. It was hugely popular, but of course not as much as the Vespa because of the smaller market. I still see some of them especially in country areas.
The funniest version is the presidential one gifted to the president of the republic in 2008 https://www.museopiaggio.it/it/collezioni/2-piaggio/57-ape-c...
Iconic design, but way too noisy and dirty. Article doesn't mention "electric" once.
Are you talking about a 1950’s Vespa or a 2026 Vespa? A modern 300cc four stroke Vespa will use 3.3 litres of fuel per 100km and Euro 5 means noise is quiet. As far as things go, modern scooters are great, practical, economical vehicles.
I like Vespas, they're very stylish, but damn they are noisy, and not a nice rumble either but more like a very loud chainsaw. They give off a terrible amount of smoke compared more modern scooters too. I do often wonder why so few other new small motorcycles or scooters have similarly beautiful designs though. However, for me, having lived in a country with a motorbike culture for the last decade, the coolest thing…
https://storeusa.vespa.com/elettrica/vespa-elettrica-45-mph....
Probably the main regret to WFH is not using my Vespa anymore as I did when I was going everyday in the office.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And that's relevant how? If you live in a city where everyone owns a petrol scooter it's absurd. Can't wait for all of these to be electric, it's just common sense.
When electric will be equally practical (recharge time, mileage) and accessible (we do not have electronic money). And the noise pollition I hear coming from the electric to me is a million times worse than ICEs.
I like Vespas, they're very stylish, but damn they are noisy, and not a nice rumble either but more like a very loud chainsaw. They give off a terrible amount of smoke compared more modern scooters too. I do often wonder why so few other new small motorcycles or scooters have similarly beautiful designs though. However, for me, having lived in a country with a motorbike culture for the last decade, the coolest thing…
Are you thinking of older Vespas? There's a few modern ones near me and they've never struck me as overly noisy.
I have a 150 4-stroke that is fuel injected and it’s way quieter than any motorcycle and has very little exhaust smell