#Piaggio

When Moto Guzzi introduced the V100 Mandello, we figured it was only a matter of time before its 1,042 cc engine, the brand's first liquid-cooled engine, would make its way to other models.

Urban riders understand the utility of e-scooters, and the Piaggio 1 is a prime example of the genre. Today, Piaggio announced the 2023 Piaggio 1 line of e-scooters, with three members for a variety of uses. The first two, the Piaggio 1 and 1+ are considered mopeds and are speed-limited to 28 mph with a range of 34 miles and 60 miles, respectively. For e-riders who want a more scooterish experience, the Piaggio 1 Active bumps the performance to 37 mph and a range of 53 miles. All of the Piaggio 1 models feature a removable battery for easy charging.

The apex of motorcycle announcement season is here! EICMA, the world’s largest motorcycle show, happens this week in Milan, Italy! While most of the excitement will take place on Tuesday, November 8th, the show itself goes on from the 8th-13th, with the public being allowed in the facility for the last days. Every year the Italian Trade Agency invites editors and distributors from around the world to attend the show so, for 2022, Ryan Adams will be reporting live from the Fiera Milano exhibition grounds, giving Motorcycle.com access to information and photos that sites dependent on press releases can only dream of.

Piaggio announced an updated MP3 lineup, giving its three-wheeled scooters a number of technological upgrades, as well as a new range-topping MP3 530 hpe Exclusive model.

The saying is massively overused, but there really is no replacement for displacement. Such is the case with the updated 2022 Piaggio BV 400 S – BV being the abbreviation for Beverly. For a few years now, Europeans and Americans alike have been doing just fine with Piaggio’s BV 350, but stricter Euro 5 regulations have forced manufacturers to comply with the rules if they want to keep doing what they do; sell product.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive, lightweight vehicle for riding around town or completing short errands, scooters are an excellent choice. If you want something with a bit more performance and versatility, you might want to consider a maxi-scooter instead. Maxi-scooters, or touring scooters, offer larger engines and typically better wind protection, making a good choice as an everyday commuter or for longer distance rides.

A new trademark filing for an “eSR1” logo may suggest an electric Aprilia scooter is on the way. The Aprilia eSR1 will likely share technology with another member of the Piaggio family, the Vespa Elettrica scooter.

Piaggio has filed a patent for an active aerodynamic device using winglets that rotate up or down to affect rotational torque. The patent, published today with the World Intelletual Property Office but initially filed in Italy in late 2018, uses a last-generation MP3 three-wheeled scooter in its illustrations, but the principles behind that patent can apply just as well on a two-wheeled motorcycle.

Inside a former tool-shop located on the Piaggio facility’s grounds in Pontedera, Italy sits a treasure trove of history, a time capsule if you will, which allows visitors a look into the past of some, but not all, of the brands currently included under the Piaggio umbrella. The 32,000 sq ft Museum is located in one of the oldest parts of the Piaggio complex where, in the early 1920s after purchasing the facility, Piaggio began production of airplane engines.

Last November, Moto Guzzi presented its V85 concept, an adventure-touring model powered by a new air-cooled 850cc V-Twin. Based on the comments in our EICMA show coverage, the V85 concept was very well received by MO readers. If you’re one of those who liked the concept, you’ll be happy to learn that Piaggio has filed a design patent for what looks to be the final production model, and it does not stray too far from the original concept. (UPDATE: better quality versions of the patent images now added, from filings with China’s patent office.)

After first announcing the Vespa Elettrica project at EICMA a year ago, the electric Vespa is now ready for production, with Piaggio confirming it will be available worldwide, with orders being accepted in the spring.

Vespa is proud to introduce a new model to their scooter lineup, The Sei Giorni. The new release from the famed Italian scooter company is designed to pay homage to the 1951 Vespa Sport Squadra Corse that won a gold medal, not once, but nine individual times in that year’s International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) held in Varese. The ISDE is a grueling test of the limits of both man and machine in an off-road environment. The completion awards bronze for merely completing the event in the allotted time. The more elusive silver is awarded to riders that finish within 25% of the class-winning time and the gold is awarded only to those that finish within the top 10%.

If this has been a hard year for scooters (sales are down in the category and there were but a few new models), it’s a harder year for me, the sole self-proclaimed scooter expert here at MO. I’ve ridden a lot of scooters – maybe too many – but if you ask me what’s the best scooter on the market, I’m going to try to find a gap in the conversation so I can slink unnoticed from the room. Editor Duke tried to spear me by demanding a direct answer – I responded with some wishy-washy gibberish about how great a job the Taiwanese scooter industry is doing in this market, so they should all get the prize, but he wants one specific scooter. This job was fun until it got hard.

This week’s Top 10 comes to us courtesy of Miguel Galluzzi. Mr. G is best known for designing Ducati’s original Monster and starting the modern naked-bike movement, but before that he also penned Ducati’s early ’90s 900 Supersports. He’s been a busy man ever since, and is currently director for PADC (Piaggio Advanced Design Center), in Pasadena, CA, where he – together with another design team in Noale, Italy – cooks up new Moto Guzzis, Aprilias and other Italian delicacies. —John Burns

The first Vespa to bear the name Primavera, that’s “springtime” to you and me, made its first appearance in 1968 and was revolutionary: small, agile, powered by a brilliant engine. Primavera placed wings on several generations and was produced without interruption until 1982, making it one of the widest commercial successes in Vespa history. Its new incarnation is a star in its own time, says Vespa: Youthful, innovative, technologically ground-breaking, agile and dynamic, with an eye to the protection of the environment, inheriting all the freshness and joy of living from its predecessor.