Vespa P200E
Mon, March 22nd, 2010
IT’S SCOOTER WEEK!
Featuring a different motor scooter each day.
| 1977–81 Vespa P200E | |
|---|---|
| Performance |   |
| The motor was big for a scooter, before scooters got big. It can cruise on the highway, but without much reserve. The cable-operated twistgrip shifter is bizarre and clumsy. | |
| Handling |  |
| Perhaps the worst handling vehicle I have ever driven. Cycle magazine once described the handling of the P200E as being like holding a puppy, 'sized for one hand but squirmy enough to require two.' Having personally had more than a few wide-eyed moments in the saddle of a P200E, I find that description perfect. Oh, and don't try to stop; the brakes are barely functional. | |
| Looks | |
| In my brain, this is what every scooter should look like. Even older, more classic models and newer, more modern Vespas come up short in comparison to the P200E. | |
| Reliability | |
| They are more maintenance intensive than Japanese scooters, but they go, go, go, go, go. You can still get every single part for them, plus performance parts, if you want. | |
| Practicality | |
| They work in urban areas where quick handling is more advantageous than straight-line stability, as long as you don't have to ride at night behind that pathetically dim, yellowish headlight. But what other bike comes stock with a spare tire, and a discreet place to store it?. | |
| Desirability | |
| Perhaps my most irrational desire, I know they're outdated, needlessly quirky, and downright unsafe, but I still want one. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Real steel, two-stroke Vespas are the only scooters that people won't make fun of — much. | |