Has anyone read the article "Vespa, Reinvented" on pages 88 and 89 of the September, 2002 issue of WIRED magazine?
Does anyone know whether or not OE had anything to do with the new engine they claim to have come up with? It does not mention direct injection.
Some snippets:
In speaking of the Vespa: "Introduced in 1946, ...Piaggio has peddled more than 16 million of them over the years - more than 4 times the number of Harleys sold in its 100 year history." ... "When California, which claims 90% of US scooter sales, slammed on heavy emissions starting in 1981, Piaggio's 2-stroke motors were sent sputtering back to Italy. A decade later, with similar European regulations looming, the challenge to the Vespa line was clear: Reengineer or die." ......."It begins in the mid-90's, when a group of 50 PhDs and 150 R&D technicians set out to produce an environmentally friendly engine that still packed enough power to please Vespa's fanatical following." ... "That engine, dubbed the Master, holds the promise to transform not just the Vespa line but all of Piaggio's scooters and motorcycles."..... "The new mandate: Design a 4-stroke that would fit in the space originally created for a smaller, lighter motor. Tolling away on a CAD system, engineers shaved off 20% of the size and weight of a standard 4-stroke by reducing the number of parts in the oil pump, crankshaft, and crankcase."... "the company now ofers several lines of scooters and motorcycles - Vespa and Piaggio, plus Puch, Derbi, Gilera, MV Agusta, and Cagiva - all powered by Piaggio engines."... "Last year, Piaggio also sold more than 50,000 engines to competitors,..." ... "At 460 cc, with 39 horsepower, a catalytic converter, and a counter-rotating balancer shaft to eliminate vibrations it's the quietest, most powerful and environmentally friendly scooter engine Piaggio has ever made. Company officials see it one day powering everything from sub-300-cc scooters to 1,000 Gilera motorycles." |
