Modern Vespa

After 356 miles on my Elettrica 45 mph model, I thought I'd share some observations.

First, this scooter is fun, fun, fun! And quiet. It is a joy for zipping around the city. There's something wonderfully convenient about just plugging it in, and never needing to put gasoline in it.

I really appreciate the build quality, and the ride quality. As far as electric scooters go, the Vespa is extraordinarily expensive, and doesn't have the best performance in any quantitative dimension: speed, acceleration, nor range. But its stability and the confidence it conveys is huge. It is well mannered with city bumps and potholes. It is stable even at high speeds. It feels solid, reliable and durable, not flimsy. It weighs 286 pounds! And it is beautiful, with design unlike any other brand.

The range estimate on the dash display seems accurate (and if it is slightly in error, it seems to be conservatively estimating the range). I just completed a 1:36 36.8 mile trip from a full charge, finishing with 21% battery/9 miles remaining.

The acceleration is strong, but it is noticeably moderated by the electronic control unit. The maximum speed (with a tailwind) is 45mph. Getting to 41mph is easy on reasonably level ground, though it takes a little time. The scooter's sweet spot seems to be 32-38mph; it gets there quickly and takes little throttle to maintain. It maintains good torque climbing very steep hills, but speeds often drop into the low 20s (mph), with a very rare case of 18mph. This is a very comfortable bike in the city.

Halfway through today's long trip, I had the opportunity to ride for prolonged periods at wide open throttle. I was surprised to have the bike slow its speed and the dash display a "Limitation!" warning. This happened consistently after three or four minutes of WOT. I tried it at near WOT, resulting in the same behavior. The limitation warning and speed reduction to about 31 mph on reasonably flat terrain lasted about two to three minutes, then everything went back to normal. I never encountered this before, but this was the first trip I made with long periods of WOT and with extended periods of riding without stops.

The app is nice. You have available a real-time display of many statistics, including torque, if you like that sort of thing. I love the fact that it records your trip on a map (if you choose), and shows an extensive array of graphs about each trip. I wish it didn't connect your phone's audio output to the scooter, because it prevents hearing GPS directions from the phone, and may preclude connecting airpods to the phone should eventually I want. I need to tinker with it to see if I can connect the app while keeping the audio disconnected.

I'm happy to answer any questions about this magnificent scooter.

Here is the app's overview of my ride today.

It looks to me like this is a strictly urban oriented scooter. I'll be honest, this is the first time (just now) that I learned that Vespa had this electric scooter. If they were to offer something that could do like 60-65 mph and with taller wheels I would consider one.

Thanks for posting this. Very interested in electric large frame Vespa. Hoping not to have to build one to get the performance I want.

I've never had the speed limitation on my Elettrica , could it be that it could depend on the ambient temperature when you ride at full throttle ( your batteries will get hot ) . There is an obvious temperature difference between Austin Texas and Manchester Northern England . Glad your enjoying your Elettrica .

I was wondering this. But the ambient temps were around 55F (~13C) during the ride. There is a control unit software update due, so let's see if that addresses it....

Thanks for posting your impressions!

It's interesting to me that the app calls it "Average Gas Opening"! I would think they really should have used "Throttle" in this case? Or is the app maybe shared by some other traditional gas-powered Vespa models (Supertech, etc)?

The screenshot looks the same as for the app for the Supertech with of course minor changes

Is the upgrade for the 'Powertrain management software ' as I've had this done , the scooter was ridden throughout the Summer before I had the upgrade done and I never had the speed limit experience and neither since the upgrade , very strange , especially when you were riding in quite cool temperatures . I'd ask your dealership about it , as the manual does not mention this as a tool to save the battery , motor etc .[/quote]

How much is a replacement battery?
O.S.

[/quote]
See qlso this Elettrica Software Upgrade

Thank you SHC, that is good info.

Does anyone have data on the linearity of the charge remaining display? If a full charge goes down to 50% after running 75 miles, does that mean that the range is 150miles and I have 75 miles to run? Vespa gas gauges are not known for accuracy .

Lacking actual data or observation, a guess from jimc would be good.

I have zero information about the Ellettrica, sorry.

thanks for taking the time to write up. great to see the elettrica owners posting information on the forum. keep up the posts you are part of a rare club! I'd love to try one and would consider one if living in an urban environment.

i was semi considering the czeta type 506 as it would just fulfill the needs of my 60mile a day commute. given I'm a "biker" now i've opened my mind to the likes of a zero.

I initially assumed the range display would not be linear, i.e. it would behave like my phone, where the second 50% of charge lasts far less time than the first half.

It turns out not to be the case. In my experience thus far, the charge amount -- and more importantly, the estimated mileage remaining number -- appears to be linear ... and accurate. The manual states the mileage remaining number is based on a constantly updated average of recent driving, and I have no reason to doubt that.

The one caveat is the bike automatically goes into eco mode as the battery winds down to its last few percent of change (I _think_ the threshold is 10%, but I don't have the manual with me to confirm). So obviously, that would make the discharge non-linear as you approach the bottom end of capacity, but in a favorable way.

When I go on "long" rides, I compare the trip odometer with the mileage remaining estimate and the GPS distance home to ensure I can get back without recharging. Everything adds up, every time.

The only display inaccuracy I have seen (and I haven't yet tested the speedometer against GPS) is when the scooter is parked and charging, the minutes remaining until full number seems to be based off of 220V rather than 110, so significantly underestimates the time it takes to fill up the battery.

I wonder what the efficiency (and the charging time) will be after 50% of battery life and above all how much it costs a battery to replace.

-https://youtu.be/p6kOiy4OWYs- (English subtitles)

Can you not add a 220V outlet so you can charge with that? I'm assuming the bike can be switched over to expect 220 rather than 110V.

Sorry ... who is who still uses 110 v ..?

Just a couple of people ...

https://wikitravel.org/en/Electrical_systems

I've heard speculation it could be done. I've also heard theories that a simple adapter could let it use a car EV plug. I don't know the truth.

However, 110V charging speeds are fine for me. Plug it in at the end of my riding day, and it is fully charged when I wake up. Easy and convenient.

But for real? I ignored him ...
It's not technically logical ... I'm sorry.
We talk about it on another occasion.

You will have 220V delivered to your house or apartment anyway. It's a two-phase split system in the US. If you have an electric cooker, it's almost certainly on 220/240V, as are many clothes dryers.

But not to my parking space, at least not anytime soon. I live in a building with many EVs, and all of the capacity is taken for the near term.

The Ellectrica must take less than 5% of the energy that even a small EV car would take. Their chargers probably aren't 220V as such anyway, if they have proper charging stations. But I can see it'd be tricky for you.

Ha! Ha! I was born with it!

I called Vespa USA and they told me 220V charging was not possible. But this would seem to suggest otherwise.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vespa-Elettrica-Vectrix-Zero-adapter-to-charge-from-a-J1772-EV-Charger-at-240V/274521853188?hash=item3feac70d04:g:6B4AAOSwFYVfe2PV

That does seems strange. As noted above, a large fraction of the world (including Italy!) uses ~230V standard. It's also quite common in North America for heavy appliances (although with different frequency).

The CycleWorld review mentions 220V ("Charge up its lithium-ion battery in a claimed four hours (with a 220V power source)...")

There must be more to this info you received? I think the Vespa comes with a molded plug? So maybe it's not straightforward to replace the plug, and for this reason they didn't also make an easy voltage switch for the electronics.

I'm probably one of the few people who are thankful Piaggio, unlike some companies (*cough* Volkswagen) isn't biting off more than they can chew on the EV front. The Elettrica is a finished product, unlike too many EVs that end up requiring revisions, some of them not especially minor. Yes, it would be cool to have, say, a GTS-E, but I'm not holding my breath timeline-wise: it'll happen when it happens, and in the meantime, I'm having a ball on mine, without consuming any more resources than necessary to get where I'm going.

But above all Piaggio follows the models over time, in how many years will we still see the same model in circulation?
A few days ago, at the dealer where I help out for free ... as a pastime, we were talking with a Vespa Elettrica owner about Piaggio's future possibility of having the latest generation accumulators to replace the exhausted ones (after their service period) but with higher efficiency.
This is in view of ever greater progress in the battery sector; what he said was that Piaggio would not abandon the basic project because Vespa Elettrica also serves to attract new customers and therefore the project must develop and grow.
So they did not repeat the mistake, in not mature times, of the Piaggio MP3 Hybrid; it was a good design but very expensive and heavy and of excessive displacement.
It was decided to start from the bottom, a smaller and lighter vehicle ... to test customer satisfaction but also to "put a foot in the door".

So you think that the batteries of the current Elettricas’ batteries could be replaced by the newest generation?

That could also enable higher performance I guess? If it is accompanied with the right software update.

I really like the idea of owning Vespas for a long time. Would be awesome if the Elettrica would be suitable for that.