Product Overview
No single word is more synonymous with scooter than Vespa. People who've never seen a scooter are often familiar with this famous Italian marque. The Vespa line of motor scooters was first manufactured in Pontedera, Italy in 1946 by Piaggio & Co, S.p.A. Piaggio continues to manufacture the Vespa today, although the Vespa was much more widely used in the 1950s and 60s when it became the adopted vehicle of choice for the UK youth-culture known as Mods, and later Skinheads. The classic Vespas had unibody chassis with bodywork covering the legs for protection from rain and mud. The engine was covered completely by a steel cowling to appeal to a broader market of people, often turned off by the dirty/greasy stereotype often applied to motorcycles. Piaggio revolutionized the two-wheel industry with the Vespa and provided a model on which nearly every other scooter made since has been based.
