Modern Vespa

Does anybody (jimc?) have any experience with the Peugeot Satelis line of scooters, in particular the 500? I see they use the Piaggio drive train, I'm curious as to what the quality/longevity is like. They are now sold in Canada and I have seen them in person and have to say they are a very nice machine to look at and sit on.

That "trunk" reminds me of the Honda Pacific Coast

Yes, and the 500 is getting close in size to the Pacific Coast too. Very much a luxury barge. I think it would be a nice ride for long days on the open road.

Dave

They had both the 250 & the 125 supercharger at the Mad Bastard Rally; I tried for a test ride but no go (bastards!).



Regards
Harvey

What did you expect at the Mad Bastard rally?

Peugeot will have a display of their scooters at our Twisted Wheel Scooter Rally next Saturday. Unfortunately they didn't get the necessary Certificate of Insurance to allow test rides that day while even PGO got one.

My biggest concern (and this would also apply to Kymco scooters) is dealer support and the parts supply chain. The dealers all seem to be shops that I have never heard of, and whose longevity seems (on the surface) particularly vulnerable.

To be fair, I had the same concerns when I got my 2006 Vespa, and we did have local dealers that closed shop suddenly. However, the dealer system seems to be better now, and I have more confidence that they'll be around for a while. I'd be inclined to give Peugeot a couple of years to see if they are still going to be around or not.

Edit: I should clarify that I am only referring to the Canadian situation. The dealer chain for Kymco seems to be much better established in the US.

If thier build quality is anything like thier cars they will be built to a price.

I ain't saying nuffink.

Bill X

Pugshite Peugeot scooters don't have the best reputation over here, but that may be largely because of all the chavvy 50's and 125's they have produced in the past. The steering locks on those were trivially broken, so were a thief's delight. However the Satelis may be a completely different beast. and at least the 500 has a proven engine!

Yes the 500, and 250 all have the proven engine and assorted parts. The 500 has a very nice security feature: there is a receiver at the back of the bike the accepts an Abus chain. ABS is available on the Executive edition. I think they look very classy and my impression from the sales floor is that they are roomy, comfortable and well finished - Not cheap mind you.

Deja Vu, eh Michael?

Heh! I never said that I didn't like it. But where are you going to get it fixed when Peugeot retreats from the market (again).


... is it still creeping you out?

That one picture does, yeah. And, as you pointed out, Peugeot does have a history of, errm, prematurely withdrawing from the USA market.

P.S. I see that the Satelis is into bondage now, too.

If you do French (aren't all Canadians half-french?), then I suspect your best source of info will be the websites of any of the french scooter mag's.

From memory, the reviews of Peugots I've read in France are mainly concentrating on the 125s and 250s, where they really have a difference in technology (the superchargers or boosters or whatever they're calling them this year, which no other brand of scoot has to offer).

My take is that Peugot have an advantage against other peoples 125s and 250s, but that the things they do with the 500 engine aren't very different from what piaggio/aprilia do. The Peugot 500s don't really sell in the UK (I'm not even sure whether you can officially buy one), and you don't see a lot of them in France either.

WTF?

Ne sont pas tous les Canadiens à mi-français?

We are not all half French. I'm of Ukrainian, Polish and English decent. Canada is a multi-cultural country. We have an extremely diverse range of people making up our population, just the same as the UK does.

French is the other 'official' language in Canada. Not everyone speaks it - including me.



Dave

Well, if you can find any french friends, I'd still suggest that the richest source for reviews of the Satellis 500 would be in the french scooter mags (there are several, they're generally very good, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had a presence on the internet).

Bonne chance.

I thought the Peugeot Speedfight was very well regarded and most yoofs desperately wanted one - often they wouldn't wait till they could afford it and instead just tried to steal somebody elses. If you left your speedfight on the road with no external lock then somebody would definitely try and steal it and the result was a broken lock. I don't think it was a failure on Peugeots part - I think their bikes were just popular with the wrong crowd.

I think this scooter looks awesome! I would totally spring for this, but of course it is unavailable in the U.S.A., for now. I love the idea of supercharging on a scooter as well! Peugeot has been making scooters almost as long as Vespa, haven't they?

Yes I know.....very old thread.

A local dealer has a nice 2010 Peugeot Satelis 500 for under $3K CAN and I just might have to have a look.

I found a lightly used 2010 Satelis 500 today with only 8,100kms on the clock and I brought her home.

This seems like you made the right move! Enjoy. Super cool and unique, especially for N. America.

I wasn't able to resist the low mileage and price. I just need to find a pair of the small access hatch covers that are near the floor boards now. Previous owner removed them to do some service and now can't find them. Doh!

Never seen one like that, so it is unique even in Europe.

With respect to these covers: I checked the website that I use, easyparts, and I found them but they are "not available anymore".

So, I am afraid you will probably have to find an alternative solution. Anyone you know that has a 3D printing machine?

Does that web site list a part number? What's the web page?

I'd keep an eye on French ebay for used spares.

O.S.

I have a feeling the previous owner was not exactly truthful when he said he'd misplaced the panel covers so I decided today to fabricate my own. My parts cost was $15 which was for a piece of ABS plastic and some ABS glue.

The tricky part was to replicate the bend in the panel to match the main body work. Colour and texture is close and the left side turned out fairly well. I can live with the results.

Looks great, but if people take the opportunity to laugh and point while you're zooming by on your 500cc machine, you aren't riding it properly.

That's a Piaggio "MASTER" engine (460-479cc)? I have one in my '08 Scarabeo. I really like it, it's been trouble-free over 30k miles (the last 15k of which are mine), but Jess calls them "agricultural." Pfffft.

Mine has fuel injection but does NOT have an O2 sensor, which is a little unusual ("open loop," no feedback to the ECU). Later models have both ("closed loop").

Peugeot Scooters were bought by Mahindra of India back in 2019.

Getting spares for it is going to be a nightmare.

It was cheap because no one wanted it or knew what it was.

Sell it asap.

Looks fine. Great fix.

good for you!
I always thought that was a gorgeous scooter!
And....since the French really love their butts - I suspect it has a Citroen-like ride!
I lived in Paris for 4 years in the late 60's....and every French car I rode in had a spectacularly smooth ride. Even the lowly CV2!

O.S.

2 CV not CV 2.

Just sayin.

I have to say, that Peugeot is really bloody ugly.

Actually you don't.

We get it, really we do and I recommend you never buy a Peugeot Satelis scooter.

My mother taught me that if you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all. Words of wisdom don't you think?

he's just taking a break from complimenting JBacklund choice of Triumph

It doesn't look Italian but I think it looks cool. The stern evokes the back of the Honda Helix, and the bow has that Japanese Transformer look. It was a bit ahead of its time, maybe.

Peugeot Motorcycles (and scooters) are no longer controlled by Mahindra. They were bought by Mutares, a German private equity company. What that means in terms of support for the Satelis, who knows, but there are lots of Peugeot scooters on the streets in Europe.

https://www.mahindra.com/news-room/press-release/en/mahindra-partners-with-mutares-for-transforming-peugeot-motocycles

The Satelis still looks modern with it's sharp lines and although French, it has a Piaggio engine so some Italian flair there.

Please forgive me Steve. Replace ugly with ungainly.

I'm surprised that Mahrindra sold it as they have a habit of reinvigorating brands such as BSA and Jawa. This would have been ideal.