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August 28, 2006
Italian scooter keeps it simple
Free parking, great on gas. What more do you need to know about scooters?
Scooters come in all shapes, sizes and displacements, from 50 cc tiddlers to mid-displacement sport touring machines.
Worldwide, they're incredibly popular, although in North America, land of the SUV, we've been a bit slow off the mark accepting them as viable, economical transportation.
Many Canadians may not be overly familiar with Piaggio, but in a nutshell, it's a very large Italian conglomerate that owns (among other marques) Moto Guzzi, Derbi, Gilera, Aprilia and (the usual Jeopardy response to "What is a scooter, Alex?"), Vespa.
Canadian Scooter Corp. imports several Piaggios, and the BV500 is the company's flagship model. Billed as a commuter with touring capabilities, the BV is ably propelled by a four-valve, SOHC, 460 cc single-cylinder engine.
An efficient, belt-driven variable-speed transmission puts the power to the ground while electronic fuel injection and a catalytic converter allow the Piaggio to meet strict Euro emission requirements.
Link.
Posted by Frank at August 28, 2006 10:17 AM
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