Comments on: Secret of French Military Prowess: Armed Vespa! http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/ The Neat Side of the Web Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:25:32 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Trond Oscar http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/comment-page-1/#comment-1843360 Trond Oscar Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:39:28 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/#comment-1843360 CaptJosh: Your correction is slightly incorrect =) Yes, this is a scooter. Scooters may or may not be mopeds. My -96 Vespa PK50XL2 is in fact both a scooter and a moped, but has no pedals. Pedals are not required for a motorbike to be a moped, though the source of the term is "motor-pedal". Nowadays (that is, the last 30 years or so...) the term moped simply implies that the speed is restricted to approximately 50 km/h form an engine of no larger displacement than 50 cubic centimeters. In the European Union that is 45 km/h, and the power output has to be >5hp. Some mopeds are scooters, some look like speedway bikes, others like enduro/cross motorbikes, classic "naked" motorbikes or even choppers. Vespa even made a very small three-wheel cargovan called Ape wich, in the 50cc version, is actually a moped. This scooter, however, is unlikely to be a moped. It may be a smallframe Vespa, but i gather that, with the load it is meant to carry, it would be based on a 125cc model. It may be a largeframe, I can´t tell from the picture since I am not very familiar with Vespas before 1990, and if so it may have a 125, 150, 160 180 or 200 cc engine. Or, it could have been custom built for the army with any old engine setup. Either way it is one of the craziest Scooters I´ve seen, and I´d love to do a replica - all though I very much doubt that I could get it road legal here in Norway... CaptJosh: Your correction is slightly incorrect =) Yes, this is a scooter. Scooters may or may not be mopeds. My -96 Vespa PK50XL2 is in fact both a scooter and a moped, but has no pedals. Pedals are not required for a motorbike to be a moped, though the source of the term is "motor-pedal". Nowadays (that is, the last 30 years or so...) the term moped simply implies that the speed is restricted to approximately 50 km/h form an engine of no larger displacement than 50 cubic centimeters. In the European Union that is 45 km/h, and the power output has to be >5hp. Some mopeds are scooters, some look like speedway bikes, others like enduro/cross motorbikes, classic "naked" motorbikes or even choppers. Vespa even made a very small three-wheel cargovan called Ape wich, in the 50cc version, is actually a moped.

This scooter, however, is unlikely to be a moped. It may be a smallframe Vespa, but i gather that, with the load it is meant to carry, it would be based on a 125cc model. It may be a largeframe, I can´t tell from the picture since I am not very familiar with Vespas before 1990, and if so it may have a 125, 150, 160 180 or 200 cc engine. Or, it could have been custom built for the army with any old engine setup.

Either way it is one of the craziest Scooters I´ve seen, and I´d love to do a replica - all though I very much doubt that I could get it road legal here in Norway...

]]> By: CaptJosh http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/comment-page-1/#comment-1397394 CaptJosh Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:13:28 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/#comment-1397394 Gah, when will people get things right? That is NOT a moped. It is a scooter, yes, but a moped actually has pedals, like a bicycle, which, among other things, start the engine. Gah, when will people get things right? That is NOT a moped. It is a scooter, yes, but a moped actually has pedals, like a bicycle, which, among other things, start the engine.

]]> By: seekshelter http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/comment-page-1/#comment-1211742 seekshelter Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:01:00 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/#comment-1211742 i so want one of these.... i so want one of these....

]]> By: Hot Carl To Go http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/comment-page-1/#comment-678779 Hot Carl To Go Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:21:00 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2006/12/16/secret-of-french-military-prowess-armed-vespa/#comment-678779 Where does the white flag go? Where does the white flag go?

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