Test ride piaggio zip 100

The physical dimensions of the Zip are small, so it was a tight fit for me anyway, but would suit a smaller rider. The topbox fitted to the test scooter had a delicatelooking triangulated mounting bracket, but that would certainly add to its rigidity.

As a budget commuter for the smaller, lighter rider without heavy highway use, the Zip sure beats a car! Run it 'till you sell it Single-cylinder 4 stroke.

Compression ratio. Electronic capacitive discharge CDI , variable spark advance. Electric and kick starter. Wet sump. Forced air. Twist and go CVT with torque server. Steel tubes. Front suspension. Rear suspension. Single-arm with dual effect hydraulic shock absorber and coil spring - 74 mm travel. Front brake. Rear brake. Front wheel rim. Die-cast aluminium alloy, 2.

Engine: 96cc single cylinder, four-stroke, air cooled Starter: electric and kick Brakes: Front mm disc; rear mm drum Transmission: 'Twist and go' throttle, automatic clutch, continuously variable Running weight: 95kg Tank capacity: 7. For speed demons on a budget, Piaggio has come up with a gem. The Italian scooter marque has souped up its cut-price Zip, launching a new cc version.

Light to handle, easy to ride, the Zip takes nipping about congested city streets to a whole new level. But be warned: scootering freedom comes at a price, and not just the monetary kind. Piaggio invented the Zip to tempt first-timers on to the roads. Its Zip 50 is the cheapest of its kind, making it perfect for a scooter virgin.

I should know; my first scooter was a shiny red Zip 50 and I was lured in more by its price than its looks. So, double the power, but not double the cost. Yet, in my book, that makes the Zip twice as dangerous. The flip side of its agility is a machine that feels flimsy and, worse still, encourages its rider to take unnecessary risks in the name of shaving a few seconds off the journey. The Zip is certainly quick. The "twist and go" throttle is very responsive, which is handy for shooting off from the lights ahead of a bus or truck.

The extra engine-power also means that, unlike on the Zip 50, you can pull into the right-hand lane and overtake slow, smelly lorries. Driving around London meant I did not get to test its top speed of 52mph, although I briefly touched 40mph in between the speed cameras on the Embankment.

One bugbear on the example I tested - brand new, with less than 50 kilometres on the clock - was its temperamental electric starter. However many times I tried, and however gentle I was with the throttle, the engine would just splutter and die once started.

There was no chance of getting it to idle. I had to develop a tactic of wheeling the machine on to the road, pointing it in the direction I wanted to go, and being ready to zoom off by applying the throttle at the same time as I pressed the starter button. Distinctly hair-raising.