The Gilera Fuoco 500ie three wheel SUV and Gilera GP 800

April 18, 2007 at 3:51 pm | Posted in Gilera | 4 Comments
Tags: Gilera

This photo for me sums up Piaggio’s approach to this vehicle: Land Rover headlamps, bull bars, serious off road riding.

Sadly this is all fantasy because:

It still only has one driving wheel so it’s going to get stuck.
It’s too heavy, 238Kg.
It’s too expensive.
It looks ridiculous.
Everyone will stare at it (for the wrong reasons.)
He’s going to break it.

This is the Gilera GP 800. It succeeds where the Fuoco fails because

It has an 850cc engine, the biggest in it’s class with rumors of an 1050cc engine to follow.
It weighs less than the Gilera Fuoco, 235Kg against 238Kg.
No one will try and take this off road!
People will stare at this for the right reasons.
BMW drivers will give this a bit of respect.
You can reasonably traverse countries on this.

Piaggio can be really stupid (remember they cancelled the DNA’s with the decent size engines after only a couple of years) but we forgive them because they can bring out really great bikes as well.

Technorati tags: Gilera Fuoco, Gilera GP 800, Scooters, Piaggio

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[...] April 28, 2007 at 2:43 pm | In Piaggio, Scooters | Now my objections to the Gilera Fuoco are on record but I do have a soft spot for the MP3. It’s just less pretentious. It’s still expensive [...]

Pingback by Piaggio MP3 in full winter kit « Gilera DNA.org— April 28, 2007 #

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Any thoughts as to whether Piaggio will bring the Gilera 800 to the US? They did this with the Fuoco.

Comment by Michael— May 12, 2008 #

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The Fuoco is not meant to be an off road vehicle! I’ve done over 1000 miles on mine in Ireland where it’s nearly always wet. The clever twin front wheels provide a sure footedness in slippery conditions which inspire confidence and allow a riding style in the wet which you are unlikely to match on any conventional scooter. The extra front wheel also improves braking…especially in wet conditions. I was riding around a dry medium fast right hand corner when I unexpectedly encountered a small river of water flowing out of the hedgerow. The Fuoco handled the scary situation superbly and I continued safely on my way. On an ordinary scooter, the outcome could well have been very different. This sums up the advantage the Fuoco has. If you get a chance have a test ride. This technology could well be developed for more powerful machines in the future. It’s excellent!

Comment by Clifton Hughes— October 3, 2008 #

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Totally on the Fuoco handling in bad conditions, I live in the Alps in Switzerland and the weather conditions change here at the drop of a hat, its nice to have two bloody big headlights on the front when the rain/ mist rolls in and my riding instructor was well impressed with the braking in the wet. I am not saying that it is perfect, yes it is a bit heavy and as for the stares, you get used to it

Comment by PerkyP— October 1, 2009 #

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