I Saw My First Electric Vespa Scooter

This is the Vespa Electtrica. 

Our 2018 Vespa Primavera 150.

The electric on a Paris street.

After years and years of promise from Piaggio - I had almost given up hope. When we toured the Vespa factory in Pontedera Italy a few years back - they said one was coming soon. They even hinted they would produce a hybrid. 

The other day - to my surprise - right in front our Paris apartment - there was a Vespa Electric Scooter. I did a full examination and read a few reviews of its performance. I did not get a chance to drive it - because although I looked every day - I could not find the owner. 

My first experience with Vespa was in 1964. My friend Donnie owned one. In those days - Sears imported a model they called Allstate - but it was a Vespa made in Italy. It is still the only scooter with an all-steel body. We used to ride together - Donnie on the Vespa - and me on my Honda Cub. sometimes we would exchange. Even then - the Vespa had a nice solid feel. 

Last year I had planned to buy an electric Vespa - but when a good deal came up on the Internet for a new gasoline Vespa - I took the hook. We had a 10 year old Vespa - navy blue - and I wanted a new scooter. I wanted either electric or fuel injection. Fuel injection means smooth steady starting. 

Here was the deal. A brand new Vespa Primavera 150 costs $6200 new. A young man in Georgia had a one year old one with 600 miles on it. After some wheeling and dealing - and a good solid test drive - I got it for $3000. Yes - half price with only 600 miles one it. The guy owed money on it - so we did the deal at his bank. I towed it home on my trailer - about 40 miles. In the year we have had it - the bike has been spectacular. We both like it better than our 10 year old Vespa - that we sold for a pretty good price.

Now I am going to compare the Vespa Elettrica to my Vespa Primavera 150. When buying a scooter you worry about - price - weight - power - brakes - range  - speed - comfort. 

PRICE

The new Vespa Electtrica (they spell it funny) is $7500 - pretty steep for a scooter. My Vespa cost $6200 new but I bought it one year old and 600 miles down for $3000. So I was way ahead on price. 

WEIGHT

A heavier bike is not as nimble - and needs more power to move it around. The Electric one weighs 290 pounds - because it has a very heavy battery pack. My scooter weighs 250 pounds. I could help that along by losing 40 pounds myself.

POWER

The Electric only has 5.5 horsepower. My Vespa 150 has 13 horsepower. An electric scooter should be peppier at low range - but that is a lot of power to make up for. 

BRAKES - 

My Vespa 150 has a big disk brake up front. The Electric has regenerative brakes - that simply means when you slow down they help charge the battery for more range. The brakes for that reason are not as crisp. 

RANGE 

The Electric Vespa goes 60 miles on a charge. Then it take 4 hours to recharge. My Vespa 150 holds 2.5 gallons of gas - at 80 MPG that is 200 miles. You fill it up in seconds and can go another 200 miles. 

SPEED

The electric scooter can only go 35 MPH. My gas scooter can go 70 MPH - but I seldom go over 35 MPH anyway. It is nice to be able to go on an interstate highway and keep up to speed. 

I am a strong advocate of electric vehicles - bikes - scooters - cars - buses - trains - they are all very quiet and smooth. I get tired of people saying they are pollution free. They are not. 75% of our electricity is made of coal - oil - or gas. They all pollute at the power plant. CO2 is the product of every burning - except hydrogen. Burning hydrogen produces water vapor. 

In China - there are tons of electric bikes - scooter - cars - buses. It makes for a very quiet downtown - it also cuts down on smog tremendously. But somewhere in China - power plants are belching tons of pollution into the air. 

CONCLUSION on the Vespa Elettrica. Since I am such an advocate for electric vehicles - and I love Vespas - I was really hoping to love this scooter. I am not happy with the price - the power - the range - the weight - and the brakes. I have the money to buy the electric one - but I think we will stick with our one year old - $3000 gasoline model. I hate the sound of that coming out of my mouth. 

$7500 is not a high price relative to the $20000 electric bike that Harley-Davidson is releasing. Harley is in lots of trouble for losing so many riders - they lost 40% of their buyers in the last couple years. Don't they realize that a main reason people buy Harleys is to make noise. They will have to include a high powered sound system to make engine noise to succeed.

I owned my first electric scooter in 1975. It was powered by two car batteries that sat between your legs. It went 20 MPH for 20 miles. It cost $525 new. It took a few hours to charge. It was very heavy - to push. 

My quest for the perfect electric vehicle goes on. I am disappointed that a quality company like Vespa  - came up with this. 

Primavera 150 goes 70 MPH.

Vespas have steel bodies.

It did not move the whole week we were there.

Color decorations and no exhaust pipe.

Big disk brake.

Our Vespa 150 in light blue.