Vespa Motorcycles

About Vespa

Vespa is one of the most renowned luxury brands in the whole world. If you didn’t hear about it, you, of course, saw these iconic scooters in movies, magazines and numerous ad campaigns.
Vespa is manufactured by Piaggio and means ‘wasp’ in Italian. This whole brand has actually burst onto the scene from a single 1946 Piaggio model and hasn’t left the scooter Olympus ever since.

After World War II Italy was severely restricted from manufacturing aircrafts and had to turn to other light industries such as producing motorcycles and scooters. Italians urgently needed a modern and affordable type of transportation for the masses and Vespa became this innovative and most importantly useful product that won the hearts of a post-WWII public. Not only was it a breakthrough as a vehicle it also became the urban culture. It’s not just a scooter it’s a lifestyle which is chosen by people of different generations who prefer freedom and imagination.

In the late 40s and early 50s Vespa doubled and triples its sales every year, but the biggest promo was Hollywood. After Audrey Hepburn side-saddled Gregory Peck’s Vespa in the feature film ‘Roman Holidays’ in 1952 for a ride through the city this resulted in over 100,000 sales. In the next years major Hollywood stars like Marlon Brando, John Wayne and Dean Martin became Vespa owners.

Recently, many young urban commuters all around the world started buying new or restored Vespas instead of cars for several reasons: the lack and high costs of parking in metropolitan areas and the low running costs of a two-wheeler. The renaissance in interest in vintage scooters also means the boom in restoring industry with many restored Vespas that are being imported from numerous countries where Vespas were manufactured in the past. 

The brand is developing and adapting to modern day requirements which resulted in production of Vespa Elettrica with a 2 kW battery and a range of 100 km (62 mi) in 2018 and it was released at the beginning of 2019. 
Piaggio/Vespa is developing a range of hybrid scooters as well.

Moto blog

The Vespa electric scooter will appear in the fall

Piaggio Group will launch production of the first electric ""stool"" in September. The novelty will receive an electric motor that develops over 200Nm, and a lithium-ion battery, designed for 1000 recharge cycles, which will provide a power reserve of up to 100 km in the basic version and up to 200 km in the Elettrica X version. The equipment will include the Vespa Multimedia Platform, which combines a smartphone and a scooter and allowing you to read data not only from the Vespa's dashboard, but also get it on the gadget's screen.

Best Motorcycles Of 2018: MO Video Roundtable

Wrapping up what we learned at the Fall motorcycle shows The new model announcement season is an exciting time for motorcyclists, as it’s when we get our first glance at all the latest motorcycles being released in the upcoming year. While AIMExpo, with its extremely early event date (starting on September 22nd), was short on new models, EICMA blew the doors off of 2018 with no less than 37 different new bikes that we covered here on MO. 2017 AIMExpo Show Coverage 2017 EICMA Show Coverage On our side of the ocean, the Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS) included, as usual, Long Beach, California, giving the American motorcycle industry and public its first chance to see, throw a leg over, and, in some cases, take a test ride on one of the new models.

First Look: 2018 Vespa Elettrica

Electric Vespa goes into production After first announcing the Vespa Elettrica project at EICMA a year ago, the electric Vespa is now ready for production, with Piaggio confirming it will be available worldwide, with orders being accepted in the spring. The 2018 Vespa Elettrica will be offered in two versions, the standard model which offers a range of 100 km (about 62 miles) or the X model which uses a gasoline-powered generator that increases the maximum range to 200 km (124 miles). The Elettrica is propelled by an electric motor claiming peak output of 5.3 hp (with a continuous output of 2.7 hp) and more than 147.5 lb-ft.

Vespa Announces Limited Edition Sei Giorni Scooter

Vespa is proud to introduce a new model to their scooter lineup, The Sei Giorni. The new release from the famed Italian scooter company is designed to pay homage to the 1951 Vespa Sport Squadra Corse that won a gold medal, not once, but nine individual times in that year’s International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) held in Varese. The ISDE is a grueling test of the limits of both man and machine in an off-road environment.

Wall-climbing Vespas Star in Italian Art Exhibit

If you find yourself visiting Italy this year, be sure to stop in Florence to see a line of Vespas climbing the wall of the Gallery Hotel Art. The dozen Vespa shells are joined by three other scooters on the ground, each carefully painted by artist Simone D’Auria in an exhibit titled “Freedom” as part of the broader Lungarno Collection art project. D’Auria painted each scooter’s body with a nature-themed livery using a water transfer printing technique.

Vespa Elettrica Preview

Currently, the Vespa Elettrica is in project phase, but mother company Piaggio says production and sales of the Vespa Elettrica will begin in the second half of 2017, perhaps as a 2018 model. Piaggio supplied no technical information but eluded to the grandness of the Vespa Elettrica project. See highlights of the press release below.

2017 Vespa Primavera and Sprint Previews

Euro 4 and ready to roar The first Vespa to bear the name Primavera, that’s “springtime” to you and me, made its first appearance in 1968 and was revolutionary: small, agile, powered by a brilliant engine. Primavera placed wings on several generations and was produced without interruption until 1982, making it one of the widest commercial successes in Vespa history. Its new incarnation is a star in its own time, says Vespa: Youthful, innovative, technologically ground-breaking, agile and dynamic, with an eye to the protection of the environment, inheriting all the freshness and joy of living from its predecessor.

2015 EICMA: Vespa Settantesimo

To celebrate 70 years of Vespa, for 2016 the company is offering the Primavera, GTS and PX in an exclusive color scheme: the Azzurro 70. This unique paintwork include a dark brown saddle, finished with contrasting beige piping and a Vespa Settantesimo logo placed on the passenger seat. The three Settantesimo models are also characterized by a dedicated graphic on the side fairings and an identification plate on the door of the front glove compartment.

Vespa is getting more stylish with Armani

Two Italian style icons together. The Armani brand is 40 years old, and the Piaggio Group is 130 years old. Both companies celebrate the anniversary with the release of a joint work of art - Vespa 946 Emporio Armani.

Mid-Size MotoScooter Melee + Video

1500cc of Fury divided five ways: Honda Forza vs Kymco Downtown 300i vs Piaggio BV350 vs SYM Citycom 300i vs Vespa GTS 300 Super ABS Credit: Photos by Evans Brasfield | Videos by McNally Multimedia It really is a fine line between open-minded and cheap, between hip and hopeless, betwixt trending and tanking … and if you ride a scooter, you ride the razor’s edge, my friend. Obviously one has to be secure in one’s man or womanhood to even begin; my male college kid won’t be seen in the same garage with any scooter for fear it will dilute his musk. At the cool end of the scale, there’s our photographer/filmmaker/ballet dancer friend Richard Wright, who also finds time to head up the Bevery Hills Scooter Club and tear up Latigo Canyon on his bored-out Aprilia 250.