#vespa

The queen of Vespas has received the latest in high-tech rider aids, with both ABS and traction control. The single-cylinder four-stroke buzzes underneath me as I’m sitting on a comfortable seat while smelling spring air in Tuscany, and I notice the butterflies in the fields covered in yellow spring flowers. It’s good to be liberated by the warming sun.

First used in 1968, Vespa is recycling the Primavera name in 2014 with a 50cc two-stroke and two 3-valve four-stroke versions (125cc & 150cc). We recently tested all three. Vespa sold 162,000 units in 2012 for parent company Piaggio. In 2013 Vespa has already seen 40% growth as of last quarter and is hoping to beat the 2012 figure this year.

Pretty girls sell motorcycles, that’s no secret; but did you know that silver screen leading lady Audrey Hepburn may have been the face that sold one hundred thousand Vespas? Read on, but first up, how it all started for Vespa.

Is there a cooler two-wheeled ride than a Vespa? Doubtful. Clearly, we’re just like celebrities, because the bold and the beautiful agree – as evidenced in the following gallery.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) a total of 46,667 motorcycles were stolen in 2011. The results range from a few hundred from lesser known manufacturers to multiple thousands from name brand OEMs.