filthyjohn Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 The paintshop in the unit next door have a fun policy of not turning down any work. Usually this means lots of lightly bumped moderns and some 'funky' wheel resprays. Imagine my surprise when I came across this thing, in for a "full resto". eddyramrod, Junkman, The Moog and 3 others 6
filthyjohn Posted July 8, 2015 Author Posted July 8, 2015 Crazed innit? Q plate, allegedly 1991 and 225cc. Starts beautifully despite being laid up for a decade! Everyone who's seen it wants it. It's so light I can comfortably deadlift the whole rear end off the deck, even though that includes the 'engine'.Does anybody know anything about them? Jim Bergerac 1
Justin Case Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 Crazed innit? Q plate, allegedly 1991 and 225cc. Starts beautifully despite being laid up for a decade! Everyone who's seen it wants it. It's so light I can comfortably deadlift the whole rear end off the deck, even though that includes the 'engine'.Does anybody know anything about them?It looks like a Piaggio Super Ape (pronunced Arpay), Italian (very light) delivery truck used for everything in Italy but a few have escaped into the wild in the UK and are normally seen dispensing the kind of coffee that costs more than a decent pint of real ale, ie a sort of poor man's Citroen H van I would think that it is more fun to pilot than the basic Ape, which has a 50cc engine, one seat and handlebars instead of a steering wheel. I quite fancy one for buzzing around locally(dreadful pun intended eddyramrod 1
filthyjohn Posted July 8, 2015 Author Posted July 8, 2015 Interesting, I can't wait to have a quick drive of it before the cab and bed are removed (and ideally afterwards). We have a fair bit of private land luckily.
Junkman Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 ...and are normally seen dispensing the kind of coffee that costs more than a decent pint of real ale You mean the kind a cat shat?
bub2006 Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 Diesel engine? Maybe lombardini engine in it. I've fancied a 50cc one with handlebars and twist shift change for a laugh!
Jim Bell Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 The normal Apes look highly inferior to this Vespacarhttp://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=181773907861&globalID=EBAY-GB
barefoot Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 Ape means bee, like Vespa means wasp and apparently they are not brilliant in a crash.
Jim Bell Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 Bees or wasps? Skizzer, alf892, barefoot and 3 others 6
Taff Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 Ape means bee, like Vespa means wasp and apparently they are not brilliant in a crash. I can't see an issue with crashing that. Using my own knees as an airbag is environmentally friendly, no?
Taff Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 It looks like a Piaggio Super Ape (pronunced Arpay), Italian (very light) delivery truck used for everything in Italy but a few have escaped into the wild in the UK and are normally seen dispensing the kind of coffee that costs more than a decent pint of real ale, ie a sort of poor man's Citroen H van I would think that it is more fun to pilot than the basic Ape, which has a 50cc engine, one seat and handlebars instead of a steering wheel. I quite fancy one for buzzing around locally(dreadful pun intended a decent cup of coffee is a thing of beauty, unlike "beer" that is brewed from the Kennet Canal and looks like it
Cavcraft Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 Weren't the Apes 50cc? Must have been an absolute nightmare to drive if so!
Junkman Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 Downhill they are quite fast. Only the very first Apes back in the 40s-50s were available with 50cc engines, but the 125/150/175cc versions outsold them by not a narrow margin.The 50s made a comeback in the 90s and are still being produced, but are really only interesting in countries where 50cc vehicles don't need a registration, i.e. pretty much all countries except the UK.The closed cab came only in 1964 with the arrival of the Ape D and they have handlebar controls to this day, unless a steering wheel is specified. This has to do with national registration legislation. In many countries they must be sold with handlebars because they then qualify as motorcycles, which means they don't need emissions testing. In Austria for example that's the only way to get one on the road. So currently you can buy new 50cc and 218cc two strokes, or a ca. 400cc Diesel. While holidaying in Italy when I was a teenager, I sleeping bagged in the load bed of a seemingly abandoned one. Overnight, it had rolled down a hill about 30 yards without me noticing. So I was woken by some Carabinieri and detained for Grand Theft Auto. A very hungover Judge sent me on my way later that morning. Jim Bergerac, eddyramrod and Skizzer 3
filthyjohn Posted July 9, 2015 Author Posted July 9, 2015 I'll take pics as the restoration goes on, as I'll probably be drafted in for some of the mechanical work. You guys should see the chassis, it's just an I beam girder with two A arms at the back. Jim Bell 1
barefoot Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 Further to my earlier cobblers.... There's a local place, 'Shepshed Auto Spares' - SAS - who spares wins etc.who have one of these, it's sign written and generally left in local lay-bys.I asked if I could have a go and they told me that, 'you really don't want to, it is shit.' And... Peter Sellars crashed one in a funny* French film I once saw about a rozzer and survived.
UltraWomble Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 There was a 16 YO lad who did gardening jobs blezzed about Belle Vue in Blackpool for a while in a green Ape - I notice he got a proper van when he was able to.
Jim Bell Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 No monkey puns yet? Ape-arently we're all to grown up for that kind of thing now. I do Ape-olagise. Junkman 1
Junkman Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 What should you do if you find a gorilla sitting in your Ape?Use your other car.
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