(finding a good image of a Vespa V5A with the pedals attached is about as hard as finding a photo of Sasquatch with his hair combed.)
I remember seeing this in a book once. It was a GREAT photo of what is definitely one of the oddest Vespas ever made. Apparently this rare bird was created for the French market back in the mid 60′s. From what I understand, the only way you scoot “unlicensed” was if the scooter had pedals (in other words, was a moped). This is the work around.
If you own one now and someone calls it a “moped”, you can’t frown. Sorry.
More googling reveals a thread on Modern Vespa where scooterists ponder its oddsmanship.
A beautiful V5A sold on ebay recently for the paltry sum of $1,825. Pedals NOT included.
14. April 2008 at 8:14 pm
I would say this is a dutch moped. In the Netherlands there used to be a law requiring all 50 cc motorbikes to have pedals, in order to qualify as ‘motorized bicycle’. All very silly and daft, but this ancient law was in effect until the nineties. Once the pedaling-law was abandoned we finally got a proper moped class, including many scooters. This is why the Netherlands has had its scooter-craze much much later than other countries. In fact, Holland has a couple more silly laws for motorists.
14. April 2008 at 10:00 pm
Hi,
in Spain, all 50 cc mopeds had to mount pedals until the end of the Eighties.
That is the reason because this model also is really a singularity here. It was on sale without success,
because almost all users prefered other bikes with better solutions, like the Vespino.
On the late eighties there were another moped called Derbi DS that solved it with a foldable floorboard.
15. April 2008 at 6:01 pm
Hey Kenneth B. and l.font!
Thanks for the overseas input!
It’s not that easy to find a good photo of a Derby DS with the Pedals on either.
Found this (minus pedals)
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/5492/lateral1vn9.jpg
Looks pretty nice though.
16. April 2008 at 10:20 am
Yes, it is difficult find also in Spain, I do not know why they have disappeared so quickly….