Cycle News

Cycle News 2019 Issue 15 April 16

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1105267

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VESPA GTS SUPERSPORT & ELECTTRICA FIRST REVIEW P112 The Vespa Electtrica represents the Piaggio Group's first production foray into electric propulsion. They haven't gone too outlandish with it—the Electtrica still uses the same steel chassis, wheels and suspen- sion as the Primavera, with just the motor/electron- ics undergoing the major overhaul. Instead of the petrol-powered 278cc single- cylinder engine, the Electtrica gets a brushless electronic motor that uses a KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) and has a claimed 3.5 kW, peak- ing at 4 kW, an impressive 147 lb-ft of torque at the wheel at zero rpm, and a Power and Eco mode with a reverse gear thrown in for good measure. The biggest question with electric motors— aside from how quick they are off the mark—is charge time and range. The Electtrica runs a maintenance-free, 4.2 kWh lithium-ion battery, that when plugged into a U.S.-spec 110 V power outlet should take roughly eight hours to get a full charge. The company says this is good for up to 1000 charge cycles. Vespa, unfortunately, does not have a quick charger in their accessory range, so if you forget to plug it in at night after about 60 miles worth of commuting, you could be in trouble. Vespa is claiming a range of 65 miles, with the Electtrica on a full charge, but we were unable to verify this on our short little blast around the city center of Milan. The battery pack takes the same place in the Primavera chassis as a standard petrol engine, meaning Vespa didn't have to tool up and make an entirely new chassis to accommodate electric power. And it's all customizable on your phone via the Vespa app, allowing you to view parameters like charge rate and usage once you've stopped riding. They're pumping 25 Electtrica's per day out of the factory at Pontedera, Italy, about an hour's drive from Florence, compared to up to 350 Electric propulsion is ideally suited to tight inner-city commuting. Vespa Electtrica

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