+ Click to Enlarge UNMISTAKEABLE: The Granturismo 200L couldn't be anything but a Vespa. Pictures: DAVE ABRAHAMS

January 20, 2004
By Dave Abrahams

Along with Harley-Davidson and Honda, Vespa is one of the best-known names in motorcycling. The company was founded in the same year as Honda (1947) for the same reason – to provide affordable transport for people of a country torn apart by the Second World War.

The little step-through scooter has become a style icon for the best reason of all: the design was right, right from the start.

The latest in the Vespa line is the Granturismo 200L. It couldn't be mistaken for anything else, so strong is the family resemblance, but under the skin the drive train has come a long way from the basic simplicity of the earlier offerings.

Gone, for instance, is the smoky two-stroke engine with just four moving parts, replaced by one of the cleanest-burning single-cylinder motors in the business. It's a 198cc OHC flat single with four valves that breaths in through a CV carb with throttle position sensor and out through the obligatory catalyser tailpipe.

It's a built-in unit with a belt-drive CVT transmission, rather than the trademark Vespa cable-operated, three-speed gearbox, making the 200L GT a true twist-and-go. It has just three controls – a twist-grip and a brake for each wheel.

There's no choke; a neat little solenoid-operated fuel circuit on the carb richens the mixture for cold starts. It's a little less than generous with the hydrocarbons to start with so the GT is distinctly sluggish for the first minute or so. Rather let it idle on the stand while you put on your helmet and gloves – then it'll be ready for the road.

The motor, blessed with a balancing shaft, runs incredibly smoothly; bar a slight shaking through the chassis at idle, you could well be riding an electric bike – especially as you won't hear it either if you're wearing a well-fitted, full-face helmet.

That's one of the reasons why the bike feels as if its acceleration is very poor; the other is that it picks up speed very evenly, with no steps or stumbles in the power curve. It gets up to a 90km/h cruise sooner than you think; the first time I rode the Granturismo I met a gent on a 1340cc custom Harley and up to 90 he wasn't getting away from me – which had both of us grinning much better at every red light.

After that the Vespa runs out of steam, although given still air and a long, clear run it will wind up to a genuine 119km/h – exactly the same as the maker's claimed top speed.

Traditional Vespa chassis

This user-friendly motivator lives in a traditional Vespa chassis made by spot welding together two big sheet steel pressings along the centre line. It's called monocoque construction and it has become the industry standard for cars and aircraft but in the late 1940s it was a revolutionary way to build a motorcycle.

It's still unusual on two-wheelers.

Earlier Vespas had pressed-steel outer panels as well, borrowing from parent company Piaggio's aircraft-building experience. These have now been replaced by plastic mouldings to reduce weight as well as to make them rustproof, but the classic Vespa shape with its two bulbous, rounded sponsons is still there.

The suspension is also traditional Vespa in design, which is a bit of a let-down; the single-sided trailing arm front suspension, derived from an aircraft nose wheel, completely prevents nosedive under braking but lacks feel and feedback by modern standards.

The 138kg Granturismo is acceptably stable in a straight line but often feels as if it's floating across the road surface and turn-in for tight corners is, at best, imprecise. I managed to overload the front end rather badly diving into a fast downhill chicane and was warned of the error of my ways with a quick head-shake and a tendency to understeer – which turned down my go-fast knob a bit.

Because the motor, transmission and rear axle are a unit the whole drive-train pivots with the rear suspension, resulting in high unsprung weight and a bouncy "pogo stick" action typical of the breed.

Piaggio has treated the symptoms rather than the cause by firming up the damping at both ends. The result is a surprisingly sporty ride, but without harshness, due to the quality of the components specified – something most scootermakers have been unable to achieve.

I actually took the 200L over my suspension test track for full-size motorcycles and although it was all over the road in some places it never quite ran out of damping – an impressive feat for anything with 12" wheels.

Impressive brakes

The brakes, by contrast, are right up to date with 220mm discs at each end. In typical scooter fashion, the rear brake is much stronger than the front, with a potent opposed-piston calliper as opposed the somewhat less mordant floating calliper up front.

This is as much in answer to the unavoidable rearward weight bias of the genre as to the makers' perception that most scooters will be driven by inexperienced riders.

Nevertheless, used together, they haul down this big single-speeder with astonishing effect, even putting some sports bikes to shame – it is, after all, Italian and benefits from the national obsession with quality suspension and braking components.

Thanks to the unique front-end geometry it is also reassuringly stable under braking.

The rest of it, as always with Italian vehicles, is a mixture of the brilliant and the bizarre; the seating position is superb, roomy and comfortable with the signature Vespa rubber strips in the floor and generous knee-room. The saddle is deeply padded, with a slight dip in the middle to keep the rider in exactly the right place for perfect control.

The pillion, by contrast, slopes slightly down towards the front, so that whoever sits there will eventually wind up against the pilot's back.

The folding pillion foot pegs are complex and rather difficult to use – I couldn't extend them without getting off the saddle. They swivel out from neat cavities ahead of the sponsons on three-piece cantilever brackets with spring-loaded detents to hold them in position.

The design places a lot of stress on the mild-steel crossover pins and I would expect to see the foot-pegs sag after a few years of continuous use - which would make it difficult to fold them away without scratching the bodywork.

Suicidal side-stand

The Granturismo has a side and centre stand; the main stand is great, keeping the bike stable even on grass (as in our photographs) and apparently impervious to wind. The side stand, by contrast, is of the "suicide" type so beloved of Bimota and older Ducatis, which flips up by itself unless the full weight of the bike is holding it in place – and sometimes even then. I didn't use it and I would not advise you to.

The instrument panel is superb – simple, stylish, logically laid out and easy to read. There's no rev-counter, which is not a serious omission on a CVT transmission, but the 200L has fuel and temperature gauges as well as digital clock and a comprehensive set of warning lights.

Likewise the chunky switchgear is an object lesson in good design to a budget; it's all plastic, built into the upper handlebar cover with no fancy housings, and is firm and positive in operation. The Granturismo is also one of very few scooters I've seen with a kill switch.

The 200L is has long-stemmed chromed mirrors, smoothly styled to match the slightly retro emphasis of the body shape. They may look a little dated but they're not out of place and they are very effective.

The only part of the styling that doesn't work for me is the headlight; Piaggio's designers have used an ellipsoid polycarbonate lens that slopes back from the leg shield, just because they can. To me the round vertical headlight with its slightly peaked trim is as much as part of the Vespa image as the sponsons and trailing-link suspension.

The funky, multi-element tail light is just as modern but better integrated into the classical tapered Vespa tail.

Generous storage

Under the seat you'll find the usual storage; due to the bulk of the four-stroke motor it's not deep enough to take a full-face helmet but it will accept two of the fashionable half-helmets so beloved of scooteristi and Harley riders. Tosimplify the key situation, there's no separate lock for the saddle; a remote solenoid, controlled by a button on the inside of the leg shield, unlatches it.

The cubby, a neatly carpeted compartment that stretches across the full width of the leg shield, is opened by simply pushing in the ignition switch, with or without the ignition key in place. With its soft interior it's the ideal place for cellphones, sunglasses, your house keys and the remote for the garage.

By turning the handlebars all the way to the left and locking the steering, you also lock both the storage areas.

The test bike came with a neat top box as well. Although this uses a key of the same type as the ignition lock, they are not interchangeable.

Any competent locksmith could re-key the top box lock to the ignition key in a matter of minutes; on a scooter of this quality and price I would expect the distributors to have it done as part of the fitting procedure. How about it, Vespa – since it doesn't require any modifications to the bike it won't even affect the warranty.

Style and function

At 200cc and 138kg, the Granturismo falls midway between a city bike and a megascooter; although it's considerably bigger (and much more comfortable) than the usual short-range commuters it's totally at home in heavy traffic, refusing to overheat or splutter no matter how hot under the collar the rider gets.

Build quality is superb, as well it should be given the Vespa's premium price; the cycle parts, as always on Italiana, would do justice to a sports bike and are largely responsible, (along with the smoothest motor in scooterdom) for making the bike the success it is.

Nevertheless, most Vespa pilots won't choose it for its brakes or its handling – although they'll appreciate its firm but supple ride. They'll buy it for the indefinable something, that blend of style and function that the Italians do so well. Latins have a passion for anything with wheels – and it shows.

Thanks to Vespa Cape Town for the test bike. Th Granturismo costs R46 500

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Specifications

Motor: Liquid-cooled four-stroke flat single.
Capacity: 198cc.
Bore x stroke: 72 x 48.6mm.
Valvegear: SOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.
Compression ratio: N/A.
Power: 14.9kW at 8500rpm.
Torque: N/A.
Induction: CV carburettor with electronic throttle position sensor.
Ignition: Electronic capacitive (CDI).
Starting: Electric.
Clutch: Automatic centrifugal type.
Transmission: Automatic CVT.
Suspension: Single trailing arm with hydraulic shock-absorber and co-axial spring at front, twin hydraulic shock-absorber adjustable for preload,at rear.
Brakes: 220mm stainless-teel disc with twin-piston floating calliper at front, 220mm stainless-teel disc with twin-pot opposed piston calliper at rear.
Tyres: Front: 120/70 x 12" tubeless. Rear: 130/70 x 12" tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1395mm.
Seat height: 790mm.
Dry weight: 138kg.
Fuel capacity: 10 litres.
Price: R46 500.

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