+ Click to Enlarge FAMILY RESEMBLANCE: Piaggio’s ET4 has more than a look of the classic 1950s Vespa - as well it should.

July 6, 2001
By Dave Abrahams

Nearly half a century after the original Vespa scooter put war-ravaged Italy back on its wheels after the Second World War its latest descendant advertises its heritage with a strong family resemblance - as well it should.

The Vespa was a child of its time and so is this; the post-war shambles of Europe demanded simplicity, robustness and ease of maintenance but the new millennium needs easy electric starting, twist-and-go transmission and a clean exhaust. Enter the ET4: four-stroke - sanitised, stylised and dead easy to ride.

When Piaggio set out to build a four-stroke single-speeder they came up with the LEADER motor (Low Emission ADdvanced Engine Range) designed to comply with all European Union directives, present and proposed. The motor is well oversquare at 57x48.6mm bore x stroke for a capacity of 124cc and is fed by a single Dell’Orto CV carburettor into a straightforward SOHC cylinder head with only two valves to produce 9kW at 7750rpm.

Maximum torque of 9.5Nm comes up at 6500 so this motor likes to be revved, although a judicious right hand can get the ET4 moving at walking pace on just a whiff of throttle. There’s a little flat spot just after the centrifugal clutch goes all the way home at about 30km/h but after that the speed picks up smoothly and rapidly to its top end of just under 100km/h.

The fan-cooled motor runs very quietly with a little vibration on overrun - not unusual on four-stroke singles - but the carburetion, aided by an electronic throttle position sensor, is clean and crisp. The motor picks up without hesitation whenever it’s called on although it spends much of its time running flat-out, as do most single-speeders in South Africa, which is a big country by European standards with high average speeds.

The ET4 coped well with freeway cruising at around 90km/h to return an average of well under four litres/100km.

One disadvantage of very lean-burning low-emission motors is that (auto choke or not) they can be reluctant to start on very cold mornings - and you can’t keep it alive on the throttle because the clutch will take up before the motor is ready and the bike will stall.

The only way to start the day without abusing an ice-cold motor is to put the bike on its centre-stand, so the back wheel is free to spin, and gently keep the revs just above idle for about 30 seconds. After that it will idle, a little unevenly, while you pull on helmet and gloves. By then it will be ready to take you to work - or to whatever it is you do at the crack of dawn.

Like the original Vespa, the ET4 has a largely monocoque structure of pressed steel sheet with plastic body panels in non-structural areas. It might be a little old-fashioned but it’s tough, survives minor spills well and is easy to repair - and most scooters lead hard lives.

The chassis is very close-coupled - at 1280mm the wheelbase is one of the shortest IOL has measured - but there is still ample room in the footwell for my size 10s, although the seat height of 805mm is a little high for some segments of the bike’s target market.

The front suspension is genuine 1950s Vespa: a short trailing link with a single hydraulic shock-absorber in line with the steering stem. Its one modern touch is the 200mm disc brake with its single-piston calliper slung behind the suspension.

Trailing-link suspension has very strong anti-dive qualities - some older Vespas actually go up under hard braking - and this allowed the designer a measure of liberty in using softer spring settings for comfort and compliance.

Unfortunately Piaggio’s engineers went a little overboard in this regard; although the front end is stable under braking due to its geometry, spring and damping are way too soft. I could push the front suspension down to the stops just by leaning on it and it would bottom on the average suburban gutter, even at walking pace.

It’s a tribute to the inherent balance of the chassis that it’s stable enough to be ridden flat-out, one-handed, despite the spaghetti suspension, though it did suffer from a tendency to pump down when ridden hard on poor surfaces.

The rear suspension on any scooter has to deal with inordinately high input forces (half the mass of the motor and transmission is unsprung) so the rear end of the ET4 is much firmer than the front. It coped well with anything I threw at it, including a short trip with two large adults aboard which had the motor a little out of breath but didn’t faze the chassis.

The rear shock is adjustable for preload; the middle setting of five was fine for my 104kg so that’s where I left it.

Inside the rear hub there’s a conventional 110mm single leading shoe drum brake; as is often the case on mini-wheelers it’s sharper than the disc front brake. This is too unlikely to be coincidental; although none will admit it, I’ve long suspected that scooter makers do it deliberately to minimise the ill effects of panic braking by generally young and often scantily trained riders.

The Vespa’s handling is predictable and precise despite the soft front suspension. It goes exactly where you point it without shaking its head, even on poor surfaces, with surprisingly good ground clearance encouraging spirited riding. I had a lot more fun than I was expecting on this utility vehicle with its essentially basic suspension and wound up riding harder than I usually do on 10-inch wheels.

Piaggio also makes a torquier 150cc version; I’d like to try one.

The ET4 is neatly fitted and the plain black finish on the test unit would have done credit to a much more expensive bike. It’s well appointed, with a capacious lockable cubby in the leg-shield and the usual crash helmet-sized hole under the seat, the lining of which lifts easily out to permit better access to the motor than is usual on scooters.

The double seat is wide and deeply padded with just the slightest step between rider and passenger. I was able to relax on longer journeys by sitting on the pillion seat and stretching my arms without the Vespa losing any of its stability. Italians, especially female ones, have a strong practical streak tempering their national flair for design … neatly set into the front of the seat is a recessed pull-out hook for a hand or shopping bag - somebody has to bring home the pasta.

The styling of all the body panels is smoothly curved, other than the (optional) luggage racks fore and aft. The side-stand is also an option. The mirrors are beautiful oval items on fully faired stems long enough to put them out where they work.

The instrument panel deserves special mention; rarely have I seen something so plain that looks so smart. The speedo and fuel gauge stand out against the white background, as do the warning lights and indicator repeaters; Piaggio has even fitted a digital clock, a rarity on scooters, into the neat one-piece module.

That about sums up the latest Vespa: practical, durable everyday transport with unexpectedly sporting handling in a superbly stylish package. Bellissima.

Thanks to Stan van Rensburg of African Buzz Scooters in Cape Town for the loan of the ET4 125, which costs R23 999 or R25 595 for the 150cc version.
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SPECIFICATIONS

Motor: Fan-cooled four-stroke single.
Capacity: 124cc.
Bore x stroke: 57 x 48.6.
Valvegear: SOHC with two overhead valves per cylinder.
Power: 9kW @ 7750rpm.
Torque: 9.5Nm @ 6500rpm.
Induction: CV carburettor.
Ignition: CDI.
Starting: Electric and kick.
Clutch: Centrifugal automatic.
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission by V-belt.
Suspension: Trailing-link suspension with single hydraulic shock absorber at front, hydraulic shock absorber adjustable for preload at rear.
Brakes: 200mm disc with single-piston floating calliper at front, 110mm single leading-shoe drum brake at rear.
Tyres: Front: 100/80-10 tubeless. Rear: 120/80 -10 tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1280mm.
Seat height: 805mm.
Dry weight: 105kg.
Fuel capacity: Nine litres.
Price: R23 999
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