Modern Vespa

engine aside...i think i wouldnt put it past Piaggio to consider a Vespa made of plastic...

Pros: Lighter (hence more efficient, better handling, faster and economical)
Cheaper
Body easier to replace when damaged or dropped (just replace the panel with ready painted plastic panels and viola!)
can custom your bike while preserving its "original" state. change color? buy extra panels and keep the old one.


Cons:its so "un vespa" like..

Those things are pretty cool, EXCEPT that HORRIBLE square little headlight perched up there like a shrunken voodoo head. It is all wrong--shape, size and location--and completely destroys the otherwise clean c.1930s streamliner design. It should have a massive, round, chrome-rimmed headlight streamlined into the leghield above the grill, or maybe a pair of smaller headlights streamlined onto the outer edges of the front fender. Then I would want one.

This is why Piaggio sells scooters under the Piaggio brand, in addition to Vespa. That way, they can have their cake and eat it too.

oh another pro....plastic wont rust...

what do we get with having our vespas made of metal?
im trying to think of a pro for keeping the vespa metal as opposed to plastic...apart from the heritage issue..i cant think of anything else..

Stronger less-flexible frame, more weight actually adds stability at high speeds and over bumps,

and the metal isn't necessarily more expensive to maintain... I crashed my ET going 30, and with its good strong body it needed only minor repairs, cost mostly just some touch-up paint. My Typhoon got trashed when it was stolen and in order to up and replace those plastic body parts was OBSCENELY expensive.

Metal CAN be more expensive to repair if you damage it enough, but plastic is much more easily damaged.

Definitely pros and cons to both build types

The front of that thing looks like a giant nose. Needs a big pair of glasses and a mustache.

The shape reminds me of my cousin's girlfriend in high school.

Al

class

Doug (in Lawrence)

You are absolutely right about the headlight. What a cheap-looking piece of crap! I also think that not having a front fender that turns with the wheel really detracts from the looks. In addition, the "Lady Bulgebottom" proportions of the rear half are too massive.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Hey, but she sure knew how to take care of me - and all the other guys in the neighborhood!

If that's the Vespa of Tomorrow, I'm more than happy to live in the past.

What a bloated monstrosity!

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With a metal steel body the lights change to green.

Piaggio can muck around with Piaggio-badged bikes all they want, but please leave the Vespas as they are -classic shape and monoque pressed steel!

Interesting... that looks more to me like the Salisbury of the future though!

May I ask: From whence comes the idea that this is a Piaggio item?

Al

It's the Groucho Marx model!


Seriously, that thing is waaay too phallic by half. "Goldmember"

Maybe some fins on the back, ala '59 Cadillac.

That is by far the fugliest thing I've ever seen.

oh no..sorry this is not a piaggio Item..its a concept bike, and made of plastic...was just thinking out loud the posibility of piaggio turning our beloved vespa to a "classic plastic"

unless they come up with hard density plastic.....

I'll stick with my Vespa of today.

That reminds me of something from Flash Gordon. The hokey early 80's movie not the serials from the olden days!

No front turn signals

The scooter pictured is a Gull Craft 'KYBELE'.

It's not really a concept, but a Japanese-built custom bike using a 250 Forza as a donor scooter. There are at least several of them in existence and their bodies are fiberglass, not plastic.

Here's a few more shots of them from my massive archive of strange stuff....





Here's a link to a photo sequence of the making of the Gull Kraft KYBELE from start to finish....just click on 'next' at the bottom of each page for the next set of photos in the series. The text is in Japanese, but a picture (or 50) is worth a thousand words in any language.

Enjoy!
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/kuri/brain/yattekita.htm

Yes, it still IS a giant rolling penis!

We see what we want to see.

This scooter is just strange enough for me. I love it.

About a year or so ago I emailed them about buying one, but; never got a response.