VESPA ELETTRICA HEADED TO USA
PRODUCTION STARTS IN SPRING 2019
Back in November Vespa showed off an all electric concept scooter called the Elettrica at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. Now today Vespa has announced they are taking this model to production, with the first examples rolling off the production line in September. Production will be slow to start, but Vespa hopes to start deliveries in November. Interestingly, Vespa has announced that they are going to sell this model worldwide including the USA, with sales starting there in spring 2019. Thus it will become the first small electric scooter in North America from one of the major brands, as previous electrics from BMW and Vectrix have been larger maxiscooters.
Vespa has equipped the Elettrica with an engine that offers 4 kW peak power (5.4 horsepower) and 2 kW (2.7 horsepower) sustained. That might sound firmly in 50cc territory, but this scooter should be quick off the line because electric torque is instant and abundant. The Elettrica boasts 11 ft-lbs of torque - which outdoes their gas powered 150 models which have 9.4 ft-lbs.Top speed is not announced, but I expect a peak velocity in the 40 - 45 mph range, similar to a typical 50cc. Anything higher would eat through the range much quicker and thus require more of the expensive batteries, but Vespa is hoping to keep this model semi-affordable. For the first year at least, the range is rated at 62 miles (100 km).
Vespa is also going to offer the scooter in a restricted “Eco” version that is likely being designed to meet e-Bike regulations to compete with the growing popularity of that niche. This approach seems misguided, as it’s hard to imagine there are a lot of folks wanting an e-Bike to save on insurance/registration costs, yet also willing to pay thousands more for a Vespa branded one. Then again, fewer young folks are getting drivers licences these days, and Vespa might make it easy to derestrict these models, so outlaw owners might get the
Our Scooter of the week: HONDA ELITE 110 (NHX110)
The 2010 “Elite” or “Elite 110” was Honda’s first small wheeled scooter to be introduced in North America since the 2002 Metropolitan (aka Jazz in Canada). The Elite 110 was offered by Honda USA for only the 2010 model year, while Canadians were never offered this small Honda. Globally it remains on sale as the Lead 110. This scooter marked the first new member of the presumed to be dead Elite family since the late 80’s. By naming this scooter simply the ‘Elite’, Honda created a mildly confusing situation since they also referred to their 1987 50cc Elite scooters as just the ‘Elite’. Those older Elite’s are generally referred to as Elite 50’s however, so hopefully not too many people will be confused. Still, before dropping thousands on a photo-less Craigslist posting for a “like new Elite”, you’d better make sure it’s the 2010 model.
Honda-Elite-1100-Dash
Model Background
The new Elite seemed to be a replacement for the departed Elite 80 (1985 - 2007) although if you follow its family tree back it was actually a successor to the Aero 80 sold here from ’83 - ’85. Overseas the Aero 80 was sold as the Lead 80. The Aero 80 was dropped here after 1985 but elsewhere it continued to be updated. It moved to 90cc in the late 80’s and then it was redesigned in the 90’s and bumped to 100cc (and 4-stroke). The present generation is the Lead 110, which is what arrived as the 2010 Elite.
Motor
Like the Elite 80 (and the Aero 80), this scooter offered small wheels and great power for running around town. At 108cc’s and a corresponding 8.9hp, the Elite 110 is a nice performer without creating any illusions of highway capability. With nearly 9hp and 6.9 lbs/ft of torque available, drivers have roughly double the power of Honda's 4-stroke 50cc offerings and easily more than every 2-stroke 50cc on the market. Owners will have no trouble keeping up with traffic around town on this scoot. Top speed on the Elite 110 is restricted to
