Quick Ride
Quick Ride
VESPA ET4 The Italian scooter
JOHN WAYNE RODE ONE. So did fellow actors Charlie Chaplin, Natalie Wood, Charleton Heston, Ursula Andress and Henry Fonda. And more than 15 million fellow enthusiasts worldwide.
Forget your fabled Harleys, Indians and Vincents, the classic Vespa scooter may be the most recognizable—and celebrated—two-wheeler in history. Introduced to post-WWII Italy as an economical but modern form of transportation, the first Vespa, a 98cc two-stroke with front suspension modeled after aircraft landing gear, rolled off Piaggio’s Pontedera assembly line in 1946. Throughout the five-plus decades since, production has never ceased.
Of course, Americans haven’t had the opportunity to buy a new Vespa since the early Eighties, when Piaggio pulled up stakes due to increasingly strict emissions regulations. Now, however, the scripted logo is back on the ET2 and ET4.
Sold through standalone Vespa “boutiques” (vespausa.com) in nine colors along with all manner of accessories (dig the suede Schedoni seats!), the two gasand-go step-throughs are virtually identical, apart from their single-cylinder powerplants. The $2980 ET2 uses an air-cooled, 50cc two-stroke, while the $3980 ET4 tested here gets an air-cooled, two-valve, 150cc four-stroke. The former weighs a claimed 216 pounds, 20 less than its larger-bore sibling.
Importer Piaggio USA alleges 12.5 horsepower at 6000 rpm for the ET4, and a top speed of 61 mph. That’s punch enoughsurprisingly-to run with most four-wheeled vehicles in stopand-go city traffic. A combination of hydraulic disc and mechanical drum brakes haul the mostly metal-bodied ET4 down from speed, while 10-inch biasply tires mounted on cast-aluminum wheels provide stick sufficient to ground the centerstand in comers. Due to its tiny wheels and scant 50.4-inch wheelbase, the ET4 changes direction with only a light nudge on the narrow handlebar. The short-travel suspension is reasonably compliant, as long as you don’t overdo it on tire pressures.
Criticisms? Orange-peel paint, at least on our Dragon Red testbike. The rear-view mirrors are excellent at any speed above idle, but stick out far enough to hinder passage in tight going, such as lane-splitting. Also, overfilling the 2.4-gallon underseat tank is all too easy-and downright embarrassing!
Gas geysers aside, the ET4 is lighthearted fun. It’s no replacement for a corner-carving sportbike or a big-inch cruiser, but it shines brightly on short hops (a gallon of milk fits perfectly in the removable underseat storage bin-no pets, please!). Plus, it’s cheap to run and insure. Best of all, though, it’s a Vespa.
-Matthew Miles
