Modern Vespa

So anyway I was reading this article on the Piaggio GT 850 Scooter in the making.What I gather is,the GT's outside is still anyone's guess.But some knowns are that the GT will use the Aprilia Mana 850 motorcycle engine.This engine is said to be more evolved than the Gilera GP 800 engine.The GT transmission belt will not need maintenance for 30k km.The GT will use the Gilera GP 800 chassis.These are just some of the highlights of this MegaScooter.Lastly,early on in the paragraph it states "surpass in benefits and sportsmanship to the Yamaha T-Max 500,"We know what the Tmax is like.Now this makes me wonder if by chance a larger engined MP3 comes out in a year or two,what great things will it possess?? Life is Good...

http://tinyurl.com/3sfbb5

I'll be there the day they hit the showroom. I like the adjustable seat idea.

WAIT a minute! That bike only has two wheels! OK, it says the picture isn't right. I guess we get to see the real thing in Nov.

That 850 might be a twin cylinder. I know at www.piaggiogroup.com under the presentations link, their is a new 850 V engine which is different than the mana which is just an 850. Doesn't the V typically mean a twin cycliner?

The 850 Mana is a v twin. It says in the article that they are using the 850 Mana v twin engine and auto/7speed "manual" transmission, just like the Mana.

Why improve on something that works well?

The GP800 appears to use the same engine but without the variable auto/manual transmission that the Mana has.

But the best part of that article is this quote:

"`Fácil' was to send to the market to scooter sport like Gilera GP 800, completely automatic and with dowries sufficient to plant face and to surpass in benefits and sportsmanship to the Yamaha T-Max 500, unique great to megascooter sport of the world-wide catalogue."

I can hardly wait for the dowries sufficient to plant face - a face plant is normally when you go over the handlebars and your poor, unfortunate head lands in the dirt, pretty side down.

They must be some pretty good dowries!

All the best

Trevor G

oops I made a mistake in my post. Mana is 850 V......the new engine is 850 8V

Still the same engine - the engine in the GP800 is an 8 valver, just like the Mana.

Cheers

Trevor G

PS In reality, both engines should be able to plant face equally well...

cool thanks. why are these engines spread so far apart as far as release dates.. The 850 8V is not available until 2009?

Well, they are not releasing engines, but scooters/bikes with particular engine/transmissions in them.

As such, they need to be tested, cost and market analyses undertaken, manufacturing lines established and so on. It all takes time.

The 850 8v is in use now, in the Mana and the GP800, and the basic engine is possibly the same as in the 750 Shiver. The Mana and Shiver are badged Aprillia, while the GP800 is badged Gilera.

Hope this helps

Trevor G

PS A longitudinal v twin engine is longer than any other configuration, and is consequently not a suitable scooter engine, space-wise.

This is why the GP800 has lost its step-thru ability, and hardly looks like a scooter. However, a v twin engine is a very "cool" device, and is excellent in the one-upmanship stakes, especially with a decent-sounding muffler!

I can comment with some authority on the GP800 - it's the same engine as the Mana but missing the extra transmission bits giving the 'fixed gears' mode - it is essentially the Mana stuck permanently in full-auto Sports mode. It's 839cc, 8-valve, twin-spark - so that's 4 spark-plugs! Very smooth, it gets to licence-losing speeds in the blink of an eye.

As for step-through, it's hardly any more of a hurdle than the Nexus, which also needs a bit of leg-lifting. My dodgy back can cope with it, which is my personal criterion.

The seat on the GP800 has an adjustable rider's bumstop, which can be removed for even more room. I'm 6'0", 33" inseam, and find it's just fine without doing that. It does open up the possibility of adding a raised backrest, which I found very helpful on the X9 for long journeys.

HTH.

Yeah both the GP800 and Mana engines are the same, the GP doesnt have the manual gearchange option, and has a reduced power output... about 11bhp less, and a few NM torque less too.

We need the adjustable seat on the MP3 (500) now! I mean it.

The Mana is now available with ABS. Perhaps the MP3 will have an opportunity for this.