Vespa
The Vespa is a motor scooter that was first manufactured in Genoa, Italy in 1946 by Piaggio & Co, S.p.A. Piaggio continues to manufacture the Vespa today, although the Vespa was a much more prevalent vehicle in the 1950s and 60s when it became the adopted vehicle of choice for the UK youth-culture known as Mods. The classic Vespas had unibody chassis pressed from sheets of steel, with bodywork covering the legs for protection from rain and mud. The engine was covered completely by a steel cowling for protection from heat. Piaggio revolutionized the two-wheel industry with the Vespa and provided a model on which nearly every other scooter made since has been based.
Most older Vespas have manual transmissions that are controlled by twisting the left handgrip while pulling the clutch lever and selecting between the 3 or 4 gears. They also have had two stroke motors, requiring a mixture of oil with the gasoline in order to lubricate the piston and cylinder. The generous mixture of oil in the fuel produced high amounts of smoke. This drawback to the two-stroke motor caused any such motor over 50 cc to be outlawed in the United States, which would have caused Vespa to completely disappear from the American scene if it weren't for the enthusiasts who kept the vintage scooters on the road by rebuilding and restoring them.
Vespa has since returned to the states with a new, more modern style, and offers several models that have automatic transmissions and use 4 stroke engines.
Vespa is Italian for wasp, and it was adopted as a name for the vehicle in reference to its habitus: thicker rear part connected to the front part by a narrow waist, and the steering rod as the antennae.
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