TheScooterScoop

Most of Vespa’s announcements at the Milan show came as no surprise with one little exception, the Vespa S… and the more I see her, the more I am overcome by amore!

Now, I would try to sit here on my work day and craft up some clever little prose to spell out all the details, but Illnoise at 2StrokeBuzz has already done a marvelous job… so, without further adieu:

Luckily, Piaggio kept one Anniversary model a secret until last week. Seeing the first photos of the Vespa S, we accurately noted it’s stylistic nod to the Vespa 50 Special, but mistook it for a superficially retrofitted LX. On closer inspection, while the general dimensions and displacements (50 and 125) match the LX, there are some rather significant design differences. Most obvious is the legshield, which discards the plastic insert of the LX, returning to a more traditional shape and contour than any scooter since the PK series. The Corsa-style seat looks as magically uncomfortable as the original. Details like the fender and tailight add to the impression that the Vespa smallframe is back, although for some reason, of all the great smallframe models to choose from, they gave it the horncasting and square headlight of a Vespa 50 Special. (Apparently, every European teenager in the 1970s lost their virginity on the 50 Special, so we’ll let that decision slide) It’s impossible to look at this bike and not want to add a dummy tank and spare tire behind the legshield. It evokes the spirit of the original without being superficial or corny, and that’s more than can be said about the bigger and more expensive 60th Anniversary models. The 50 features the 2-stroke Hi-Per, the 125 has the 4-stroke LEADER. Hello, Neue Primavera.

Great insight Illnoise! Brilliantly written as usual. (I hope he doesn’t disapprove of the blatant cut-and-paste. If so, he’ll prolly just whup my arse in Indiana.)