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Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. - the wholly owned Indian subsidiary of the Italian Piaggio Group has launched the Vespa LX125 in India.
Price announced during launch: INR 66,661 Ex-showroom Maharashtra.
High Points:- Maintains its retro-styling
- Loaded with chrome
- Accessories & merchandise range to follow.
- There will be a Vespa club, which is also present in other countries.
- Currently, the only scooter in the world with a single piece monocoque steel body construction.
- With the Vespa launch in India, Piaggio has also developed an India-specific engine. This will be produced in other manufacturing facilities in Europe and Asia.
- Will be available across 50 dealerships in 35 cities.
- Peak production capacity of 12,000 / month by September-October 2012.
Vespa Specifications:- A 125cc 4 stroke, 3 valve, single cylinder, air cooled engine.
- Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT).
- 9.92 BHP @ 7,500 RPM.
- 10.6 Nm torque @ 6000 RPM.
- 35W Halogen Headlamp.
- 8 Litres fuel tank capacity.
- Drum brakes (front & rear - A front disc brake would have been welcome).
- 3 Spoke alloy combination wheels.
- Will be available in 6 colours. Monte Bianco - White, Nero Volcano - Black, Giallo Lime - Yellow, Rosso Dragon - Red, Rosso Chianti - Deep Red/Brown and Midnight Blue.
What you'll like:- Unique retro styling stands out from the crowd of lookalike scooters
- Loads of chrome adds to the bling factor.
- Tough build quality.
- Soft and comfortable flat seat.
What you won't:- The most expensive Scooter in India.
- No telescopic front suspension & no front disk brake, which other, relatively cheaper scooters currently offer.
- Foot rest for the pillion is located near the rider foot-well. No side-step for women sitting sideways.
- Kick-start lever is missing a rubber gripper is likely to cause foot slipping under wet conditions.
- No spare tire or tuff-up style tube
Rear Profile:
Rear maintains the elegant and classic look. No over-kill with LED tail-light and bling .
Side indicators on the rear.
Tail lamp with brakes active.
Chrome grab rail for the pillion.
Body coloured rear mud-guard however looks ugly. Will be covered with mud in no time
The housing for the license plate lamp is also covered with chrome.
Chrome inserts around the tail-lamp. The price would surely have been low if not for the excessive chrome.
The rear mud-guard is body coloured which will be prone to visible scratches.
Seats on the Vespa:
Seat is soft and good for city commutes.
Notice how soft the seat is.
The keyhole (to flip-open the seat) is on the seat itself, and not on the body.
The chrome grip for the pillion has enough space to wrap around the fingers. Good, because the fingers won't feel cramped.
Flat seat. No stitching or step in between rider - pillion areas. Useful for those on the taller/heavier side.
Storage Space:
I could not find a way to open the storage bin below the handle. No key-hole or any kind of lever.
Was then informed that you need to push it to open it, only once the key is on the "off" mode. A safety feature designed to prevent operation during driving.
Under seat storage seems to be adequate for small full-face helmets.
Access to the engine after lifting off the under seat storage box. The under seat storage box can be lifted off without any clips or levers.
Fuel filler is placed under the seat. High time that scooter manufacturers notice the hassle in operating this.
Small pull-out lever to hang your bags / purse.
Speedometer:
Very minimalistic though not exactly retro. Odometer is not the digital type.
Usual indicator lights, speedometer, odometer and fuel-gauge.
There is a digital clock w/ rubberized buttons that ruins the retro theme. Sticks out like a sore thumb and also looks cheap by itself.
Instrument cluster when illuminated.
Miscellaneous:
The choke switch.
The chrome kick-start lever is missing a rubber gripper. Owners will have to exercise caution when its wet.
The India specific engine (Specifications shared in the earlier posts)
Exhaust muffler gets a chrome heat-shield.
Simple round headlamps remind you of the Vespas from the decades gone by.
Head-lamps have clear lens.
Horn is located behind the chrome grille on the front.
Rubber strips in the floor just like the classic Vespas/Bajaj Chetak. Aftermarket rubber mat is recommended to keep dirt and scratches out :
Rider foot-well gets useful rubber strips. Is essential since the body is made of metal and not fibre.
Fits in snug and wont come off while riding.
The pillion foot rest behind the rider foot-well.
Indicator switches and RVM's:
Circular chrome rear-view mirrors.
The front side of the mirrors have a rubber boot. May be useful but looks / feels cheap. Will accumulate a lot of dust on the go.
The switches felt a little hard. Quality is decent.
Miscellaneous:
Rear suspension
Front Suspension
Tyres: The Vespa gets MRF Nylogrip tyres. Tyre profile: 90/100-10 53J
Vespa written all over:
On the pillion grip-bar.
On the front Suspension / brake mount.
On the front fascia.
On the Hand grips. Notice the chrome on the inside of the hand grips.
On the side, below the pillion.
Even the font looks retro.
On the front mud-guard.
Thank you for reaching till this image! :D
Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the 2-wheeler Section. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! what a detailed coverage, a hearty thanks to you parry!
Coming to the VESPA, After the retro, vespa, brand loyalty fades out lets see what it lacks on...
Pricing, telescopic suspension, Disc brakes, reliability, mileage, after sales, resale value etc
What new is is bringing to the table... Chrome, retro looks? Sadly this in my books is an opportunity lost, this scooter is beautiful and has a brand to represent, today's customers are very very well informed, the Japanese offer more equipment and have so much more going for them!
They priced it high, no problems but they stripped it down for features? why? to me the vespa is neither making itself a lifestyle product with such omissions and neither a competitor to the Japanese at the price point!
30,000 units sales a year is set as a target, achievable? time will tell...
Overall an overpriced, good looking scooter with a fancy price tag. Clearly the prices are inflated by atleast 10K.
An awesome looking scooter, but does not justify the price tag. What is it a wannabe VW-Beetle of scooters! It has all the ominous signs of expensive maintenance as well
Drum brakes up-front, I remember seeing some images wherein the front brakes were discs. Are there any options/accessories listed for the bike? Most of the first ride reviews mention soggy front brakes
Congrats, and thanks for such a nice and detailed report.
My father had Vespa PL 170. I learnt driving 2 wheelers on her. That was one of the few first Vespa in India. First with indicators, strong headlight, quicker acceleration. Soon Bajaj and Priya followed with newer technology.
At that time, technology was far superior than Bajaj or Priya. Now we have many players and technology has gone far. So pricing has to be competitve for survival.
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