Discussion summary
The discussion revolves around Vespa scooters, with some praising their style and history, while others criticize their noise and pollution. Modern electric Vespa models exist, but opinions vary on their quality and impact.
What the discussion says
- Some users appreciate Vespa's classic style and history.
- Others criticize Vespas for noise, pollution, and maintenance issues.
- Electric Vespa models are available, but opinions on their quality differ.
- Ebikes and e-scooters are seen as better alternatives by some.
- The Honda Cub is mentioned as a more impactful and superior machine.
“Thanks I hate it, extremely noisy and dirty.”
“Vespa has electric models now.”
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- Hacker News
- This is a nice movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8885658/ (Enrico Piaggio - Un sogno italiano)by arnejenssen
- Iconic design, but way too noisy and dirty. Article doesn't mention "electric" once.by xnx
- Maybe because not everyone cares, while the planet gets destroyed with wars, private jets and AI centers?by pjmlp
- Taylor Swift just used how many tons to get married?by shrubble
- The electric range of Vespas are using the same iconic design.by nxpnsv
- Are you talking about a 1950’s Vespa or a 2026 Vespa?
A modern 300cc four stroke Vespa will use 3.3 litres of fuel per 100km and Euro 5 means noise is quiet.
As far as things go, modern scooters are great, practical, economical vehicles.
by tiew9Vii - Vespas are fashionable and cute but the coolest thing on 2 wheels award goes to Simsons of all colors and stripes (2-stroke or electric, pick your poison). In Germany, the grandfathered 2-strokes are also the only way you can legally ride somethibg faster than 45 km/h on a moped license.by bushwart
- Second Ride is offering electric conversion kits giving you the best of both worlds: electric scooter, going 60km/h...by moeffju
- This sort of thing?
The bars look like an 80s bmx.
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2021/12/27/23/50/motorcycle-68...
by lostlogin - > "The first ads for the Vespa featured a woman," said Sarra. "You could call it a kind of feminist design." Well, a big feature of the Vespa design is that, unlike other motorcycles, women (or Scottish men) can ride them with skirts. Surely that helped with their initial popularity.by lazyant
- 'Kilt! Whas happ'n tae'e last wee rocket as call't a skirt'
https://www.amazon.com/Kilt-Happened-Person-Called-Skirt/dp/...
But you're not wrong. I haven't rode and actual Vespa, but have been on a Yamaha Vino YJ50 in my full montie gallus kilt, frae bunnet tae brogues.
by naishoya - There's a culture for modding Vespas in Indonesia that I think HN folks would find interesing - check out "Vespa extreme"/"Vespa gembel" - sort of like if mad-max was in the jungle culture of chopping and rebuilding old Vespas into all sorts of wild road machines. Pretty interesting kind of hippie/punk subculture.by elevaet
- These are wild, very creative, Thank you for the reference!
- Timeless iconic Italian design.
I'm surprised that the article didn't mention the role Vespa (and Lambretta) played in the British Mod scene.
You can see it's influence in the RAF roundel stickers on bikes in the article.
For anyone interested Quadrophenia is still a fun introduction:
by Lio - I hated our Vespa when I was a kid in the seventies but their calendars were cool. You know that instinct you get when you're slowing down or coming to a stop, where you just want to stick your feet out for balance? Well, every time I did that, I felt like those sharp metal edges on the Vespa were just waiting to scrape my leg or catch my ankle. It wasn't a bike to me; it was a hazard on two wheels. So when the opportunity came to "borrow" it while my father was napping, I gladly handed the honor over to my brother. Off we went, buzzing through the dark to see the aftermath of an airstrike on an oil refinery at the edge of the city. It was pitch black out there, and before we knew it, we'd tipped right into a ditch on the side of the road. Panic was not because we were hurt, but because we were convinced our father would somehow know we'd taken his Vespa. Luckily, a few strangers happened to pass by and helped us haul the thing back up. You'd think we'd have learned our lesson, but soon after, I pulled a similar stunt, this time with our white Volkswagen.by Sam6late
- Air strikes? Where was this?by lostlogin
- Piaggio also designed a car (well, more than one including bad prototypes), which unfortunately wasn't sold in italy due to a gentleman's agreement with fiat (fiat being much bigger basically went if you start selling cars, we'll build motorcycles). The English Wikipedia doesn't include this snippet of history, the Italian page does though https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACMA_Vespa_400by amarcheschi
- Piaggio also designed the Ape (bee) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_Ape a 3 wheel tiny pickup. It was hugely popular, but of course not as much as the Vespa because of the smaller market. I still see some of them especially in country areas.by pmontra
- I will now go off topic a bit. I guess that Americans might not know about it, but Pavarotti enjoyed driving his scooter. There are photos of him in his villa driving his scooter that nowadays might make you think they're Ai generated but they're real and very Italian
https://www.inmoto.it/news/curiosita/2025/08/14-8327674/pava...
by amarcheschi - The horror that was aluminium engine. You could open and close a screw only twice and goodbye threads.by timonoko
- The trade-off being (I'm guessing) that those threads would be pretty easy to re-tap by hand?by derefr
- Reading through the comments I somehow doubt that many have owned or ridden a Vespa that was built in the last 10 years or so.
I've had a 300cc Vespa GTS for a decade now (alongside a few motorcycles) and the thing that is the most striking about it is how relaxing it is to drive. Despite being somewhat heavy, they are very manoeuvrable due to the low center of gravity. The suspension is very good and despite the roads here being awful it just glides over any bumps and smooths them out. The 300cc engine is fairly quiet and provides more torque than you need. When the lights turn green you'll be over the intersection before the motorcyclists have had time to release the clutch and get going.
It does well on the open road too. It isn't a race machine, but it'll do 120km/h (75 mph) which is good enough. And you won't feel stiff and bent when you arrive if you decide to take it on a 6 hour ride.
I didn't get it for the looks/style. Yes, I did think it was a bit of a gimmick. And then I tried it. I thought I was doing 60/kmh when I was doing 80km/h. And it just glided over bumps.
(And yes, I have a motorcycle as well, but I'm European so it means I don't ride a motorcycle to get into road rage incidents. We actually try to get along here)
by bborud - I'm surprised the small diameter wheels allow for such a good ride.by rconti
- The 300GTS is amazing. It can do anything.
Split traffic on the way to the farmers market while getting waves from random people? Easy.
80mph up a hill on the way to the park? Also yes.
Ride through the park to set up a picnic? Not only yes but it literally has a built in cooler.
Just a total zero compromise vehicle.
And you can buy one for what five grand? All other motorcycles (which I have many of) are stupid.
by mulmen - I like Vespas, they're very stylish, but damn they are noisy, and not a nice rumble either but more like a very loud chainsaw. They give off a terrible amount of smoke compared more modern scooters too. I do often wonder why so few other new small motorcycles or scooters have similarly beautiful designs though.
However, for me, having lived in a country with a motorbike culture for the last decade, the coolest thing on two wheels is electric scooters. So much torque, range nearly equal to same sized gas scooters, and no pollution of the noise or smoke variety. It makes such a difference when everyone is zipping around on these quiet, non-stinking scooters. That's cool. Now it just needs someone to make an electric scooter design as iconic as a Vespa.
by esperent - This is a really weird take that does not resemble any modern Vespa. Are you sure you looked at a modern Vespa and not some old 2 stroke thing?
Also, the range is pretty good. About 160 miles on a full tank, which no electric motorcycle or scooter I've tried can match. Drive it carefully and you can extend that range to probably 180 miles. You'll be lucky to get 80-100 miles out of an electrical motorcycle.
As for torque, sure the smaller Vespas could use more torque, but the 300cc has more than you will ever need in a city. And to be frank, it doesn't do too badly on longer trips either. It is certainly more comfortable than my Ducati.
Update: As for "modern". Note that my 300cc Vespa is about 10 years old now. So it isn't all that new either.
by bborud - My brother and I restored my dad’s ‘64 Vespa 150S and the thing is extremely loud!
It is very smelly as well as it’s a two stroke engine, but I don’t mind that at all. Quite the opposite
by nsbk - I have to agree that the amount of pollution these things put out is really a dealbreaker in modern times, in my opinion. They really smell up a street when they go by, it’s so noticeable after having mainly electric cars and bicycles going by.by jb1991
- I have a couple of Vespas - a '98 T5 and a 2011 PX Unità d'Italia - and honestly my favourite safety feature is the noise they _can_ make. Modern Vespas don’t sound like the old ones from the factory anymore, but the retro scene is strong, so a lot of tuning kits bring back that classic buzz.
In town, filtering, weaving through traffic, getting to the front at lights etc., being able to make a sound which is so ubiquitously embedded in culture that it's instantly recognisable, and so easily localised, really makes a difference. It might be audible, but it's still quieter than many bigger bikes that people ride around town on, and less obnoxious. I guess I'm not the only one who feels that way, as I get a ton of smiles and so many people make an effort to move out of my way - much more so than other bikes I see on the road.
I've been super excited for electric motorbikes for years. I nearly bought a Zero FXS/FXE during covid, and then for the last year or two i've been looking hard at a BMW CE04. But they’d change how I ride, and I’d be more hesitant using them around town simply because being almost inaudible makes me nervous in UK traffic. In saying that, I'd be a lot more comfortable riding around places with a decent cycling culture like Cambridge, where people are used to looking around for smaller quieter vehicles, so I guess this too will change over time. E-bikes are great, but there the problem isn't the ride, it's the theft/security/insurance aspects.
So yeah, I guess until a few of these things change, my buzzy Vespa, with its awesome clutch and gears and crappy little drum brake on the front, will continue to be my go-to.
by boomskats - Are you thinking of older Vespas? There's a few modern ones near me and they've never struck me as overly noisy.by GenerWork