Two new Piaggios

Piaggio has announced the arrival of two new scooters for 2005, the latest in the Vespa family and a new member of the X family with vast acres of storage space.

The new Vespa LX will replace the aging ET Vespas and gets a bit of a reworking of the looks whilst still retaining the Vespa style.

Apart from the styling update the main change is the use of an 11-inch front wheel for the first time on a Vespa. Piaggio claims the increased rim size will increase cornering stability.

Like the ET the LX will come with both two-stroke and four-stroke 50cc engines as well as a 125cc four-stroke.

The new X8 has been conceived to give the huge storage capacities of the Maxi scooters in a 125cc machine. As well as being able to fit two full-face lids under the seat there is also room for an extra item up to 80cm long.

Piaggio is trying to market the scooter to sporting city types, offering the ability to commute to work in comfort and fit a gym back and racket under the seat.

The luggage space can either be accessed by lifting the seat or through the pop-up boot at the back of the bike. Both of which are opened from thumb switches on the handle bars.

It also offers extra storage in the leg shield as well as a 12v accessories plug so you can plug in your heated clothing in the winter.

And if all that storage just isn’t enough for you, you can buy an optional 48 litre top box that takes the total storage space to 100 litres!