A friend of mine is in Europe for 3 weeks, so he let me borrow his Vespa :-)
The two seem to mesh well, tho with only 50cc's- a tad slow (top speed is 45 if I sit up, 47 if I tuck down and take the mirrors off ). Sorry for the large pic... I'm getting resolution happy with my new camera (knocked down from 8.1)...

 

That's a cool scooter. :smile:

Always wanted one of those 50cc's... but in my neighborhood, not too many
places I can drive on it.

 

Oooh, zfxr! Great piccie! I love Vespas and Lambrettas! They are such great designs and look like so much fun! I want one I want one I want one!!!!! Top speed of 45, though? How sweet is that?

Clo/Wanda

 

What, a fuel efficient vehicle that takes up little real estate!

What would happen to fuel prices if the public were to real start using these. I don't know how clean scooters' emissions are, but they use so little fuel that I suspect a dirty scooter puts out less that and clean burning SUV.

If the weather is nice why not get out on a scooter or motorcycle and enjoy it?When winter sets in the MINI can be the main mode of transportation.

 

Time to get that Vespa to The Dragon

 

Are they being chaparoned on the evening hours?

 

There is no match like a Mini and classic scooter. I have had several of each for two decades now! Here is a photo of my latest pair - a 1960 Lambretta LI150 with my Cooper S. I have done quite a bit of performance tuning on the Lambretta so it is now a 190cc with a large carb, expansion chamber, and a great deal of porting. It cruises very comfortably at 55 to 60 but will go much quicker.

 

My car had a guest in the garage once. But we poisoned it.

 

they need to be watched carefully at night, if they hook-up- maybe a Mini motorcycle from BMW

It's rained most of the weekend, so I haven't driven it, but when I get it out on roads like Telegraph (50MPH)- pretty much everything passes me I have to take back-roads to get around. It'll hold 40MPH well, but as I get above that- I'll loose speed on steep hills. Is pretty good on gas, tho, get's about mid-40's... Could probably get higher if I didn't floor it all the time. Tho a fill-up is about $4

 

Here is the solution to the slow speed of that Vespa. A good top end kit, pipe, varator, and carb upgrade will get you in the 60s: http://www.pmtuning.co.uk/

 

I saw those Vespas at a car show and they were like $7k! For that money you could buy a classic Mini.

 

Sounds about right. I sold this bike for about that much a few years ago and lost money on it. Very expensive restoration!

 

BTW, that Lambretta was built as a tribute to one of my favorite Minis - The Mincomp GT5 race car. Bill has a photo of the Lambretta above his desk.

 

Rick, That is one sweet looking car. Thanks for sharing.

 

I wish the car was mine! The scooter was mine - I built it to resemble the Mini, which belongs to Bill Gilcrease from Mincomp Racing. You see it quite often on Speed Chanel during the SCCA Races. It is my favorite Mini of all time.

By the way, Despite what Honda would have you believe about their 750-Four, the Lambretta was the first two-wheeled vehicle in the world to have disk brakes as standard - six years before Honda even thought of it! Check out the photo - the disc is totally enclosed but you can see it through the windows. Innocenti made the best of everything (including classic Minis)! Not too bad for 1963, eh?