Vespa GTS 350

Rumours started surfacing in 2013 about a Vespa GTS 350, with some rumours even going so far to consider a change from the GTS to either GTR 350 Rally or even GTX 350. But where did all this start? In the scooter world, Vespa fans fall into two groups, the nostalgic groups who are mad for the original geared Vespas of pre 1984 models and the more modern group of the automatic Vespas. It is this last group that are looking for a better, faster, and yet still reliable Vespa to compete against the onslaught of the Maxi Scooters.

Piaggio, the manufacturers of the Vespa already have bigger, more powerful scooter engines, in the sizes of 400, 500, and 850cc in their other brands such as the Aprilia, Derbi, Gilera, Scarabeo, and Piaggio scooters, so why not the Vespa. In the past these larger cc engines were too big for the Vespa frame even when they made the frame bigger in the natural evolution of the Vespa from the smaller ET4 to the larger GTS300. But late in 2012 a 350cc engine appeared in the Piaggio Beverly BV350 which is only 6mm longer than the current 300cc in the Vespas.

The reviews of the Piaggio Beverly BV350 in the last two years have all been very positive, so why has Paolo Nesti, Vice President Engine Development and Calculations at Piaggio in Italy denied all the rumours of a Vespa 350. Could there be something wrong with the 350cc motor, as I am yet to find any bad reviews. The BV350 is reported to pack the power of a 400cc into a smaller package, enough to fit into the current Vespa GTS frame. The ABS and ASR anti-lock braking and anti-skid control of the BV350 are now being incorporated into the latest Vespas coming off the production line. Other than the extra power, the BV350 comes with a newer multi-plate wet clutch which is promising to be more efficient than the current Vespa centrifugal clutches.

Will we see Piaggio bring out the Vespa 350 in 2015?

Veni, Vedi, and Vici

Camp fire stories abound about some Vespas resting amongst the rocks in the Fish River Canyon. Above is a Vespa called Vidi standing proudly today, a stark reminder of Julius Caesar’s words “Veni, vidi, vici” translated from Latin “Ï came, I saw, I conquered”. This is a story about 3 Vespas who became an inspiration to all Vespas!

Way before the Posers started making epic Vespa journeys, the Cape Town Vespa Club took on the 2nd largest canyon in the world and the biggest in the southern hemishere, the Fish River Canyon in 1968. I was only an ankle biter when 3 proud Vespas, Veni, Vedi, and Vici, did the Fish River Canyon Expedition. This is the story of 3 legends which although ended in tragedy, their names remain forever engraved in all little Vespas with big hearts that are setting out on their own adventure.

To read the full story, click here 1968 Cape Town Vespa ClubFish River Canyon Expedition. Six friends Tony Beckley, Terry Davidson, Peter Derichs, Aubrey Jackson, Johnnie Johnson, and Graham Nell began with a dream of being the first to put down tyre tracks inside the second largest canyon in the world.

Three Vespas, painted in the colours of a leopard (Vici a 125cc Vespa), giraffe (Vidi a 125cc Vespa), and a zebra (Veni a 150cc Vespa), set off from Cape Town, north to what was then South West Africa or now Namibia.

Once there they lowered the scooters down into the canyon via a winch. Sadly one Vespa Veni was lost when she fell about 30m and was too badly damaged. Never losing hope the expedition continued. It was a struggle at the bottom, with the 2 remaining Vespas making slow progress.

While crossing the river on an inflatable raft, the raft got a puncture and sunk, Vici was lost. The expedition continued slowly with Vidi, the sole remaining Vespa until it too was abandoned due to mechanical problems which the team could not repair.

Although the 3 Vespas did not return from the Fish River Canyon, they did succeed in their task of becoming the first and most likely only vehicles to lay tracks inside the canyon. And changed the hearts of many aspiring adventurers.

LML Star Euro 150 Automatic

I was excited last year when LML launched an automatic scooter at Milan and now after a year I am a little concerned with LML's choice of placing their new Star Euro 150 Automatic or Gearless solely for men. Are they saying men only ride automatic scooters? If so then who rides the geared Vespas? I am sure my Vesparado friends will object to not being men, so would all the lady Vespa riders that I know of. 

LML state that the automatic scooter is the 2nd fastest segment in the 2 wheel category of their domestic market. To them the automatic scooter clientele comprises mostly of college students, women and older people and very few real men hence the change of marketing tack from the below type of advertisement to the shocking adverts shown above.

I wonder if we are going to see the LML Star Euro 150 Automatic in South Africa any time soon. Although the power is less than its main rival, the Vespa LX150, it fits neatly among the other Chinese contenders of the Big Boy, Gomoto, Jonway, Motomia and Zest 150 scooters. Will the Indian rebel be more popular than the Chinese flood and become a true rival to the Vespa LX150?

The Solo Scooterist

Following the footsteps of Giorgio Bettinelli, Michael Strauss the Solo Scooterist decided to journey his way through Africa on Victoria a Vespa GTS300 Super Sport.

Michael and Victoria left from Johannesburg, South Africa in May 2014 and headed out for Italy and are now half way up into Africa. You can follow them at on The Solo Scooterist blog as they record their adventures.

From Russia with Love

Can the real Vespa please stand up? As Vespas grew in popularity across Europe after the Second World War, the Soviet Union’s factories were starting to stand idle so the Politburo ordered prototypes for the manufacture of small motorcycle products aka scooters, to be submitted by the end of 1956.

Vyatka VP-150 (1957-1966)

With such short deadlines given, the Vyatskiye Polanski Machine Works decided not to start from scratch but virtually make a direct copy of the Vespa 150GS which was in series production in Italy from 1955. Even the logo was very similar to the Vespa, which showed no creativity from the copiers'part. Compared to the Vespa 150GS the steel used was much thicker which made the overall weight 16kg heavier. It was 4cm longer and had larger wheels. Its 4.5hp 150cc engine powered a 3 speed gearbox to a maximum speed of 70kph compared to the Italian’s 8hp powering an economical 4 speed gearbox to a top speed of 100kph. The comparative stats are for the GS, while the standard Vespa 150 in 1957 only produced 5.4hp with a top speed of 80kmp, which made the heavier Vyatka not a bad choice for the rural backwaters of Mother Russia.

It had a round dashboard compared to the slightly oval one of the Vespa.  Since 1960 a red soviet style star appeared on the front wheel arch and the power was increased to 5.5hp similar to the standard Vespas coming out of Italy. It was sold cheaply at 350 rubles, unsurprisingly the Vyatkas became very popular. Over 300,000 VP-150 were built but due to pressure from Piaggio production was stopped.

V-150M Vyatka-Electron (1974-1979)

The next model had more of a Lambretta style to the design, made from tubular steel compared to the mono chassis of the earlier model. Using the same engine as the VP-150 but centrally mounted, the power was increased to 7,5hp and a top speed of 80kph. The V-150M came equipped with an electronic ignition and it was made more affordable with the selling price dropping to 280 rubles.

But the popularity was steadily declining due to some bad marketing policies and by 1974 production was stopped with over 1 million produced. The stock continued to sell until 1989 and it took till 1999 for all the excess spares to be sold out.

Tula Tulitza 200 (1957-1987)

The Work TMZ, also started making scooters but these were based on the German scooter, Glas Goggo TGA-200F which in turn is based off the Lambretta.

1987 Tula Tulitza 200

Tula Muravey (Late 1960s-Current)

In the late 1960s a 3 wheel started being produced and is still in production.

Molot Strizh (1999-Current)

The Vyatskiye Polanski Machine Works changed its name to Molot and started building scooters again in 1999.

Lambretta Rebirth