Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Flintoff Crash

With my pedant's cap on (it's around somewhere), I'd just say it's a Piaggio Ape. The Vespa is a scooter, also by Piaggio. Ape is bee in English and vespa is wasp. My father had an Ape for many years. He never turned it over but then he only used it to get from his house to his allotment half a mile away, which was pretty much a straight run.

With regards to the Top Gear Reliant, Clarkson has written in the past that the differential was modified so it would tip over whenever the steering wheel was turned.

I'm not surprised at your observation, the worst situation was a puncture on the rear tyre of a motorbike at speed, happened to a friend and it threw them and the fully laden Harley tourer down the motorway. That's why I always had a tyre puncture solution put in my motorcycle tyres to try stopping it completely deflating, fortunately I never had the opportunity to test the theory.


Are there any warnings/guidance about the operating envelope of the M3W in the handbooks?

I note all the car mentioned for tipping over are narrow tallish cars with a narrow wheel bases. and a friend 's Anglia we all knocked around in whilst at college even when fully laden had a tendency to try and finish up on its side when pushed a little, mind you we were all the worse for drink, but it seemed good fun at the time.

Thank you for that observation, it explain a lot.

I remember a contest where many tried to roll a citroen 2cv over by driving full blast and up a bank at the end of a field, steering into the bank. There was a big prize if you could roll one. Several came closeish but noone managed to actually roll one.

;-) Vespa, Ape, Moto Guzzi and Piaggio.

A lot of years back Piaggio produces Vespas, Apes and so on. In the paperwork they named Vespa, Ape. I‘ve got a 1977 Vespa Sprint VELOCE. In this time the main company was Piaggio, as from the beginning on. But it was named.

In the 1980ies it changed, you‘ve got a Piaggio.

In the early 2000 Piaggio bought Moto Guzzi. This year I bought a new MotoGuzzi V7. A GUZZI? No, in all paperwork, COC and so on it‘s a Piaggio. Only the stickers tells me „MotoGuzzi“ and the dealership signed as MotoGuzzi dealership. No Vespas around.

Greets René

Rene, thank you very much for your full explanation, I had no idea of that history

[quote=CooperMan]Super 3 and MTW stability, you ask...

Yes, that’s the word

Don't know about shoes, bit it is the UK city of counterfeit 'branded' clothes, the standard of driving would make you gasp

I've regularly seen drivers pull up to a T Jn red light who want to go straight on, they drive left over the pavement, make a U turn so they get back to the Jn on your left at green, they then turn left, and in affect jump the red light you are stood at, it beggars belief

Sadly Moto Guzzi no longer exists as a company. It was absorbed into the Piaggio Group and became a "brand". Whilst final assembly is still in Mandello most of the older parts of the factory have been demolished. In theory there are plans for new construction but we have heard that many times in the past. We have been told that the new "off-road" version of the V100 Mandello may not even be assembled in Mandello.

It is a rather sad turning point for the oldest motorcycle factory in the world that is still in the same place that it was founded