Piaggio Zip 50

The first bike I commuted on was a Zip 50 so I thought it would be worth writing a review of that machine -



2003 Piaggio Zip 50 – Dragon Red

2 Years, 13,000km

I bought this brand new when I realised the cost of my annual season ticket to central London was going be more than buying a scooter. I had ridden a little before when I was in my late teens, but this was my real introduction to scooter commuting. I kept this bike for nearly two years doing 13,000km, riding it on the full moped license I was granted when I passed my car test in 1990.

Cosmetics

Not much to be said here – small simple and technically uncomplicated bike using a two-stroke catalysed engine. Piaggio have been making and selling loads of these for years. As with all Piaggio painted exhausts, this needs repainting regularly. It goes from black to rust red in the first couple of months and is expensive to replace. I took to rubbing down with a wire brush and painting with exhaust paint every three months or so.

Storage

A helmet sized storage area under the seat – easily good enough for lock and chain, a couple of bags of shopping etc. I once managed to get a laptop in there but can’t work out how I did it! There is a storage hook in front of your feet for larger items, and a small glove compartment in the leg shield which I only discovered when it popped open when I hit the curb!

Speed

This is a restricted 50cc bike so what do you expect? Zipped nicely to about 25 then crawled to its maximum speed of about 33. It got faster with each service and would do nearly 40 by the time I got rid of it. It was still restricted and I have no idea what the dealer did to speed it up. Once had to slow down for a speed camera in a 40 area but that was on a very long steep hill! Don’t even think about overtaking a moving vehicle!

Handling

Very light, very manoeuvrable. It went round corners very nicely but had a tendency to slide when pushed. I also didn’t like the way the handlebars seemed to twist with every bump at higher speeds (like 35!). The brakes were adequate – nothing special, but with the bike being so very small, and so very small, the brakes never had much to do.

Economy

I got about 60mpg with all the riding being on London’s congested streets. Servicing (every 5000km) was dirt cheap but synthetic two-stroke was needed at about a litre every 1000 miles. The belt lasted 10,000km and cost virtually nothing. The tank was good enough for about 100 miles before needing to be topped up.

Comfort

As a large heavy bloke I thought this would be a problem, but the bench type seat meant I just sited further back A bumpy ride with the small wheels etc but I never got cramp.

Reliability

Apart from a loss of power in the rain, and poor starting when wet this bike never had any problems I nearly two years of regular use. Both problems were solved by spraying damp start sealant all over the HT leads and other electrics.

Commuting

For short journeys in urban areas this would have been a great cheap and effective way to get around. However, I couldn’t really recommend this for doing the 25 mile round trip I was doing every day. The bike is too small and too slow and had no presence on the road meaning people pulled out on me all the time and would try and force their way past – even through gaps that were not big enough. From the front of the traffic you can pull away from the white vans and the 4 x4s but they will soon be on your number plate desperate to get past. The performance is not good enough for any road with a speed limit above 30mph.

As it was the depths of winter when I first got this machine I bought a tall screen for it for protection. Whilst the screen was great at keeping me warm, and was especially good at keeping my hands warm, when it rained at night or when the sun was bright but low down it was impossible to see through the screen. I got fed up of looking round the screen at night and took it off .It was easy to replace for those few weeks in winter when the cold really got too much for my hands. The rest of the time I just didn’t use it.

General Riding

I only rarely took this on roads I didn’t know or on roads outside London. The performance is not enough to give any room for manoeuvre and it is too easy to be bullied by faster traffic, which is how I hit the curb.

Fun

As long as you stick within the bike’s limits this machine is great fun – one of the reasons I stuck with it so long. The bike is so small and light it is very easy to ride.

Value

Cheap, cheap cheap – but does not keep its value well – Despite being in almost perfect condition and fully dealer serviced with a year manufacturer’s warranty still to run I got less than 30% of its value part exchange. I would have got no more on Ebay, probably a lot less.

What would I change?

The bike as restricted is just not up to being safe on the roads so I would just change the whole bike! Other than that, the lack of a clock niggled - wearing proper protective gear made it difficult to read a watch, and with bus lane time zones etc it was worth paying £20 on a small waterproof stainless steel clock which I fitted.

Overall

Stick to the short city commutes it is designed for and it will serve you well. But this is a poor excuse for a motorcycle and should only be considered as a last resort for the seriously skint.