Piaggio Sfera

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Side view of a Sfera1 NSL 80, built in 1992
Side view of a Sfera RST 125, built in 1996
Front view of a Sfera2 RST 50, built in 1995

The Piaggio Sfera is a scooter from the Italian vehicle manufacturer Piaggio .

Model history

In 1990 the Sfera ( Italian : sfera, sphere ) was presented to the public for the first time in Monte Carlo . Piaggio had redeveloped the scooter, a completely new concept replaced the original technology of the Vespa, which had been built since 1946 . The Sfera only resembled the original scooter with its self-supporting sheet steel body in its basic principle: free access, two-stroke engine and a front wheel suspended from a swing arm. The Sfera consists of a torsion-resistant central tube frame / profile sheets and a head tube. The cladding is made entirely of plastic. For the most part, it can only be removed in several successive steps, which makes maintenance and repair difficult.

technology

The engine is another difference to the Vespas; its construction achieves a lower center of gravity that is shifted forward. The scooter has a centrifugal clutch and an automatic, continuously variable V-belt transmission , which means that you do not need to use the twist grip. By 1995 over 250,000 Sfera of the first series, i.e. NSL 50/80, were built and sold.

In 1992 the then high-tech roller Quartz was created as an offshoot of the Sfera; it was Piaggio's first liquid-cooled scooter and had a disc brake on the front wheel.

In 1995 the Sfera NSL became the Sfera RST . The revised model had a slightly modified body, a disc brake on the front wheel and a modified drive. The exhaust gases could be cleaned by an optional, unregulated catalytic converter. The NSL 80 model was replaced by the RST 125 with a four-stroke engine.

Motorization

The Sfera was available with the following engine :

  • Sfera1 NSL 50 (49 cm³ 2-stroke engine) (1991–1995)
  • Sfera1 NSL 80 (75 cm³ 2-stroke engine) (1991–1994) - (Looks like the NSL 50, but different drive train swing arm with larger centrifugal clutch and aluminum cylinder.)
  • Sfera RST 50 (49 cm³ 2-stroke engine) (1995–1997)
  • Sfera RST 125 (124 cm³ 4-stroke engine) (1995–1997)

literature

Web links

Commons : Piaggio Sfera  - collection of images, videos and audio files