November 1, 2001
By Dave Abrahams

Seldom does a miniwheeler live up to its name like this one does – Gilera’s Runner is the fastest small-bore scooter IOL has yet tested, and one of the best-handling. It has a weird, but not unattractive, style all its own and some very unusual features but above all … it goes!

Which is par for the course; the marque was founded way back in 1909 by Guiseppe Gilera for the express purpose of building performance machinery and achieved its first race victory in 1912 at Cremona with the maestro himself in the saddle of a 310cc single.

In 1936 the company unveiled its Rondine (Swallow), the first (and only) four-cylinder, liquid-cooled supercharged 500cc GP, aboard which Dorino Serafini won the 1939 European championship. Sadly, the company fell on hard times and was taken over by Piaggio in 1969 but the name and the evocative twin-ring logo survive in the present range of scooters – performance scooters, of course.

The runner has a 175.8cc, liquid-cooled, two-stroke single-cylinder motor rated at 15.4kW. It drives through the usual belt-and-pulley constantly variable transmission, although in this case a lot of effort has gone into setting it up just right. When you crack it wide open pulling away from the lights (standard practice with single-speeders) the revs rise immediately to just below the torque peak and stay there for maximum usable urge.

The net effect is that the engine note remains the same while the wheels rapidly catch up with it – odd but not unpleasant. The bike goes up to an indicated 130km/h very smartly and tops out at a true 144, which is rapid indeed for a CVT vehicle of under 200cc.

The motor, made by parent company Piaggio, is the same as that fitted to the radical Italjet Dragster but works even better in this application, thanks in part to a tubular frame with a very deep backbone that is much more rigid than the general run of step-throughs.

However, this deep frame section results in the centre of the footwell being only 160mm lower than the saddle at its lowest point. I had to lift my foot so high to get it across this hump that I kept scratching it with my boot heel and from the second day of the test I took to swinging my leg over the saddle just like on a regular motorcycle.

It’s easier and more natural despite the seat height of 815mm but it’s not on for a lady in a skirt.

This is not a shopping trolley.

The front suspension has the only upside-down forks IOL has yet seen on a scooter while the rear uses a far more conventional single offset hydraulic shock absorber, adjustable for preload. The suspension is as firm as any Italian sports bike, even with the rear shock set at its softest, but perfectly balanced and remarkably well damped. It soaked up the bumps along our favourite unkempt road while refusing to bottom out even at distinctly illegal velocities.

The brakes are also very good, as they need to be on a scooter capable of beating the national speed limit by 25 km/h. The front stopper, a 220mm disc with a twin-piston floating calliper, lacks bite but this is more than made up for by the 140mm single leading-shoe drum brake on the back wheel. The Runner stops very hard indeed in the daily traffic grind but without excessive dive at the front.

The body panels of the Runner are taller than usual for a scooter, but very slim; the vestigial leg-shields are just wide enough to act as a fairing around the top of the radiator, while a neat double waistline runs upwards towards the tail light, lining up with the base of the seat and the silencer.

Just above the footboards there’s a grey area in the body with an adjustable grille on each flank; when it’s closed it vents the through-flow from the radiator out of the bottom of the body but when it’s open it’s an air duct, feeding hot air over your ankles, which is very comforting on a crisp spring morning.

It might sound silly but it works well while adding little or nothing to the cost of the bike.

The Runner doesn’t have the usual cubbyhole just in front of the rider because the radiator takes up most of the space inside the leg shield. However, on the left opposite the ignition key slot, you’ll find a small flap covering the fuel filler cap. This opens by pushing the key inwards (when it’s in the running position, of course).

Unfortunately I kept bumping the key with my right knee while on the move and usually arrived at my destination with the flap hanging open. Staff at Cape Vespa Sales, Gilera agents for Cape Town, said they’d not had similar complaints so it must have been me – which is not unlikely; I’m no midget.

The luggage compartment under the seat is a different ballpark (and nearly as big). Yes, Cyril, for the record it will hold a full-face lid with ease, although it gets a bit warm on longer journeys – so don’t put ice-cream in it, OK. The stylish front-end treatment includes a little fly-screen of smoked plastic, plus a superbly well laid out fascia. I would have preferred a clock – even a digital one - and a rev-counter but the present flight deck gives you all the basics in a very neat, easy-to-read layout.

Build quality on most European scooters is better than average and the FXR is no exception; everything fits exactly with no uneven gaps. Since almost everything else is black, the metallic orange Gilera colour looks really good – and no box pilot will ever be able to say they didn’t see you on your Runner.

Gilera’s latest scooter can outrun the traffic under most circumstances and has taut handling to take advantage of the power. It’s impractical for delivery work; with its short wheelbase it’ll pull wheelies with ease. It’s also not suitable for ladies because of the hump between the footboards and the suspension can be harsh on bumpy roads but it holds its line like a sports bike and accelerates hard up to about 80km/h in a straight line.

It’s a commuter with style.

Thanks to Alain Shmaryahu for the loan of the Gilera Runner. A new one costs R23 995.

Click here to use Motoring.co.za's repayments calculator.

SPECIFICATIONS
GILERA RUNNER FXR
Motor: Liquid-cooled disc-valve two-stroke single.
Capacity: 175.8cc.
Bore x stroke: 65.6x52mm.
Compression ratio: 9.8:1.
Power: 15.4kW.
Torque: 19Nm.
Induction: Dell’Orto PHVB20.5/VM20 slide carburettor.
Ignition: CDI.
Starting: Electric and kick.
Clutch: Centrifugal automatic.
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission by V-belt.
Suspension: 30mm upside-down cartridge forks at front, hydraulic shock absorber at rear.
Brakes: 220mm disc with twin-piston floating calliper at front, 140mm single leading-shoe drum brake at rear.
Tyres: Front: 120/70-12 tubeless. Rear: 130/70 -12 tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1303mm.
Seat height: 815mm.
Dry weight: 105kg.
Fuel capacity: 9 litres.
Price: R23 995.

Click here to use Motoring.co.za's repayments calculator.