Piaggio Ape in India

Review on Piaggo Ape

Piaggo Ape is a three-wheeled light commercial vehicle that is considered to be a perfect vehicle for carrying out transportation business in busy towns.Let see how far it is true?

Build and Styling:

Getting access into the cabin,is made ease with a very simple and elegant door latch/lock mechanism .Also,the window-latch mechanism is also found to be simple and failure proof.With the seating capacity has been in provision of accomodating two persons.Once the driver sits at the middle of the little seat and start operating the hand controls and foot brake,it gives the feel of driving the scooter.On to the left of the steering which is of handle bar type, lies a normal motorcycle-style clutch lever,whilst on the right hand side,there’s a traditional twist throttle. The thing that differentiates the Ape and scooter are the windshield and top roof. There is the presence of an excellent windshield/washer that protects the Ape from the rain and mud,that is not seen in scooter.Secondly,the Ape got a roof at the top,which is absent in scooters.One can get the clear visibility on speed,power that gets displayed on the instrument console.

Engine and Performance:

Piaggo Ape is powered up by a single cylinder, naturally aspirated air cooled engine with displacement measuring 436cc.It would deliver up to the maximum of 5.53 KW of power @ 3600 RPM and 18 NM of torque between 2400 and 2200 RPM.The mill gets mated to the transmission system consists of 4 forward and 1 reverse constant mesh gear box. While climbing on the steep grades ,it is sufficient to maintain the gear level at one,whereas,it is fine to work on the second level of gear,when you are running on fine grounds.The fuel tank has the capacity of holding up to 10.5 litres of type diesel,thus proving to be fuel efficient.

Getting 40 MPH is quite optimistic,because it is crystal clear that the 50cc engine wasn’t made for sustained high speeds.The stability is achieved with the wheelbase of 1750mm.The suspension system comprises of Helical Spring With Hydraulic telescopic Shock Absorber at the front and Rubber compression spring with hydraulic telescopic Shock Absorber at the rear end. The quick halt of the wheel is achieved through the means of Drum Breaks Hydraulically actuated internal expanding shoe brake type. The clutch is of multi-disc wet type. Riding the Ape gives you the feel of riding the scooter.

Verdict:

Piaggo Ape with the price tag of Rs 1,10,000,proves to be a suitable three-wheeled light commercial vehicle for both urban and rural areas.