The gyroscopic action of the small diameter wheels is much smaller than a bicycle or motorcycle and so they are much less stable. When they were introduced in San Francisco there were a number of accidents caused by crossing tracks at an angle and then being thrown on the ground.
7
In Italian vespa means wasp.
3
How is it possible that the president of the Lambretta club owns a Vespa and not a Lambretta? Is that true, or did the journalist just conflate the Lambretta into a Vespa-like vehicle?
3
to celebrate my midlife crisis parentheses retirement parentheses I bought a used Vesper 300
3
To celebrate my midlife crisis (retirement) I bought a used Vespa 300 and wonder why I waited so long. I could have been driving it to work years earlier. I rode a classic 1964 Vespa 125 when I was in my 20s and going to grad school. I had a ball exploring every corner of Los Angeles on Sunday afternoons on my little "scoot." I hand-painted it with hot red and yellow flames and labeled it Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. When it needed repairs, I took it to a local lawn mower repair shop mechanic and he kept it going nicely. My only concern today is the risk of an accident. I don't want my Vespa to become a donor-cycle. To me, it's worth the risk.
5
Around here anyone on a scooter is assumed to have lost their driver's license for one reason or another so the social stigma keeps a lot of people from using them.
5
@Azathoth that is a very unfortunate misconception in most places where anything larger than 100 cc requires a motorcycle license and insurance. They are a practical, inexpensive alternative for a lot of people.
6
@Azathoth same with bikes around here. Everyone assumes, DUI or homeless.
2
As expected, in an article written by an outsider with a deadline, there are plenty of inaccuracies. Chief among which: the picture of "Vespa scooters in southern Britain" displays, from left to right: a series 3 Lambretta, a S1 Lambretta, a sole Vespa (the blue one), and a series 2 Lambretta. Lambrettas are collectible scooters that tend to be more expensive than Vespas, and they were their main competitor on the market until Innocenti closed down its Lambretta brand in 1971.
The article also omits several points: older Vespas, those that made the reputation newer ones are sold on today, were all 2-stroke powered, with displacements from 50 to 200cc. As such, they were extremely reliable, easy to fix, cheap to run, and powerful enough for highway speeds in their 200cc guise. The newer models sold today are all 4-stroke, fuel injected, and a lot of repair work (especially by garages) entails putting in new parts instead of repairing the old ones. Hence figures much higher than what it costs to run, say, the 1977 P200E I bought back in the '90s for $700 as a daily commuter, and has never been to a repair shop since.
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Though it must be noted that the two stroke Vespa was a terrible polluter and very noise, which is why the changeover to the four stroke was mandated by law.
5
I own both vintage and modern Vespas. The quality of the new ones is phenomenal. Paintwork is exotic car grade. The power trains are very powerful and quiet. I ride my modern more often.
4
In the photo of the "Vespa scooters in Britain" only one is a Vespa (from left to right, scooter #3). The rest are Lambrettas.
4
My 1978 P200E is worth considerably more than it cost new. My 2005 GT200L, even banged up, is worth at least 70% of new.
While I have a soft spot for my Vespa, I stunned no-one has mentioned their Kryptonite: Rust! In a salty environment they will rust like there is no tomorrow. I have a 6 year old with 9000 miles which will gonto the dump as the chassis has completely rusted through!
3
A bicycle is the most reliable and speediest form of individual transportation for up to 4 miles. However, for 4 to 12 miles, these mopeds and scooters can't be beat. Why are there no U.S. manufacturers?
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@S Baldwin
As a Vespa rider and owner I can say the answer: gasoline is under $2 many places in the USA.
3
I love mine. I purchased My Vespa Primavera new in 2017 and it turns heads wherever I go. Stopping at red lights, for gas, or at a park to picnic, it invites friendly conversation with all nearby. Because of it, I have connected with generations of riders, from all over the globe: England, India, the Philippines. Even had a few mod/rocker laughs! I enjoy the scooter community as much as I do the slick ride.
10
Best 'late to a meeting excuse ever' while donning a huge grin; "my Vespa just didn't want to come to work today..."
4
In New Jersey you must have a motorcycle license or motorcycle endorsement on a regular license, in addition to insurance and vehicle registration.
Even for a sub-50cc motor scooter like a Vespa if you take in on public roads.
To NJ, (and NY), it's a motorcycle. Period.
2
@Dadof2
"Likker cycles" are legal in several states but most places you need aDL endorsement and a written and performance test and perhaps a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course too. Many treat scooters similar to MC's thinking it won't be me who crashs and so we have the HD pirate set who wears little protection and the scoot set that ignors reality of speed kills. There are no "fender benders" on two wheels. For the record I have ridden MC's since 1963, scoots since 2014 and bicycles since I was a very young pup, who needed a wall to get on my old balloon tire bike. I love my Vespa GTS 300- it's fast enough to ride with pizazz and handles like the best MC's, yet light enough for my 5 year old body. I can easily load it in a PU truck using ramp, ride to either coast from KY and have a smile on my face the whole way...
1
My parents parting words as I left for Europe in the summer of '65 were, "Don't buy a motor scooter." I got one anyway---a white Vespa GS. Bought it in Italy and had memorable adventures, not least the first day I took delivery. It was in Rome, in the rain, in heavy traffic. The traffic circles were especially exciting. It was best that my folks didn't learn about my Vespa until they met my ship coming home.
27
It'll be interesting to see how well the new Vespa Elletrica sells. Please keep an eye on that, one way or the other, Times.
15
I kept one in NYC for a few years. It was great on gas, ease of parking and maneuverability in traffic. But in NYC it is often too: hot, cold, wet, icy to ride. Just as the article says, I sold it to an acquaintance for almost what I paid.
7
My late cousin, Marshall Lipson, rode his Vespa across West Africa (usually one step ahead of the law, as he was teaching English and French without a permit) ca. 1962. At one point he loaded it up on a truck for a run across the Sahara.
Flaming red hair, lime green Vespa - he must have been a wonderous sight.
Nancy L. Fagin
22
Vespas are beautiful, but if they have a two-stroke motor (as most scooters do), they're a huge source of pollution--so much so that Genoa is trying to ban all scooters, including Vespas, built before 1999. The electric version may lack some of the romance, but you won't be contributing to the premature deaths of your neighbors.
11
@J -- The new Vespas are four stroke for the most part. They still made a couple two strokes up until a couple years ago. This article is about the four-cycle models.
12
@J. Vespas imported into North America are all now 4 stroke engines. I have a 2005 150 px, the last hear two strokes were imported into Canada (other than off road motorcycles). You have a point as regards exhaust but the average car pollutes more than my beloved Vespa.
11
@J
The 2 stroke debate is rife with inaccuracies and downright lies, and it's always annoying to witness someone perpetuating the nonsense as if it were the undisputed truth.
The "pollution" stereotype rests on the fact that most people associate 2-stroke engines with times when there were more around, cars weren't catalyzed, and overall pollution was more visible. However, 2-strokes are more efficient than 4-strokes off the bat, and injected 2-strokes are the most environmentally friendly of all combustion engines (look up "Evinrude ETEC").
The exhaust produced by 2-strokes has the distinct smell of whatever oil is added into the mix (on most carbureted models: the ones you mention), so it's more noticeable than the 4-stroke-polluted air we are accustomed to; but its toxicity is much less than that of, say, a modern, state of the art diesel engine with all the particles filters etc. that remain inefficient at the t°s attained during the typical commute. Nanoparticles emanating from modern norm diesel engines travel deep down into the lungs, whereas the heavy 2-stroke is blocked way before reaching those depths.
The norms used by Genoa (Paris as well) set a standard of pollution per cc, but totally disregard the total displacement of a given engine. So while a 2-stroke may pollute marginally more than a 4-stroke per cc, a 50cc scooter pollutes much less than a typical 1200cc+ car. Yet the car will pass the Euro test while emitting much more pollution than the 2-stroke.
12
I believe Brompton folding bikes (also on the road) likely hold their value equally.
8
Love the article. My family frequently asks me why I take so many pictures of scooters whenever I visit Europe. "Oh, look..yet another Vespa pic from dad." I cannot really give them an answer, other than, somehow, I am mesmerized by Vespas. Nothing exemplifies Europe better than a Vespa. A blue Vespa. Gray/blue. Or maybe yellow. Red?
I'm always in search of the perfect Vespa photograph!
18
I grew up in New Haven where my Dad owned a scrap yard I worked in. In 1969, when I was 15, we got a 5 year old Vespa that had been used by a succession of Yale students and was no longer running, though it looked as if it had just rolled of the showroom floor! Dad said I could could keep it and work on it, and while I'll spear readers the details of my subsequent work and ownership experience, it taught me stuff I still use today and was HUGE fun! Also, for the parts guy at Libby's, the local dealer, I was constant source of amusement! It's tiny, smokey, rattling two stroke heart along with its three-speed gear box brings a smile to my face even now...
24
Money was tight in 1964 when I was discharged from the Navy and attending University on the G.I. Bill. I needed reliable transportation and found it in a lawnmower repair shop in Tempe Arizona where I was a student. This was the Vespa 'dealership' for that area. On offer were three models at the time and I bought the light blue middle one. I don't remember the number of cc's but you could easily ride two-up while looking like the coolest Dude around ! What a wonderful,trouble-free machine it was,never let me down,cost nothing to run,park anywhere; I believe it cost $450 dollars or so. Well,those were the days....
36
Three of the scooters in the second picture are not Vespas but Lambrettas. Only the second from the right (the blue and white one, FEA 103C) is a Vespa.
In India, where I grew up, Vespas were THE cool scooter, prized for their ruggedness, cheapness and durability. Both Vespas and Lambrettas were manufactured under licence in India, and the government limited production. As a result, the wait time for a Vespa was 9+ years, and many people flipped their long-awaited scooters as soon as they were delivered for a hefty profit. Lambrettas never achieved the same appeal, and there was virtually no wait for them.
Vespas were (and are) truly fun to drive, particularly the early versions with their two-stroke motors (which produced the characteristic high-pitched whine of the wasp they are named for) and their three-speed transmissions. A rite of passage for teens who had just passed their drivers' test was to learn how to pop a wheelie on a Vespa (difficult given their small wheels and low power). The only way to do it was to sit far back on the scooter, rev the little engine to its redline, and pop the clutch with arms at full stretch; the rider's body weight helped to push the rear end down enough to provide leverage for a little bunny hop of the front wheel. Riders with short arms, low weight or insufficiently strong/tactile fingers to manage the gas/clutch dance couldn't do it.
25
@Shiv You're referring to the early 3-speed 50s, which were, as you say low-powered. Try that on a 4-speed 125 or 200, and all you have to do is rev it a little, and let the clutch out.
1
"Vespa scooters in southern Britain"
Out of 4 scooters only one is a Vespa the other 3 are finest motor Scooters ever made Lambretta.
19
@Rob
Agree - three Lambrettas and one Vespa. And you are right - at the early years (late '50s and early '60s) the Lambretta was a better machine than a Vespa. Then the Lambrettas disappear.
4
@Rob - indeed, Lambrettas were the better, smarter, cooler scooter back in the day.
My older very cool cousin was a Mod in the '60s (full-on Quadrophenia-style, Tiger Tail on the whippey aerial, parka jacket, chrome mirrors, etc.), ony rode a Lambretta and taught my younger brother and I to yell "Bloody Vespa!" whenever we saw one.
1