2014 Piaggio Fly 150 3v... It's official.... it's here!!!

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:39 am

Hmmm...website says max speed is 61mph. I can make that on my Buddy 125! I thought it would hold 70?

THE NEW ENGINE'S A CROCK!!!

Alexbv200 · Post by **Alexbv200** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 5:22 am

pugbuddy wrote:Hmmm...website says max speed is 61mph. I can make that on my Buddy 125! I thought it would hold 70?

THE NEW ENGINE'S A CROCK!!!

Piaggio is always conservative on their top speed.
I got our Demo to 74 MPh indicated.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 5:34 pm

pugbuddy wrote:THE NEW ENGINE'S A CROCK!!!

And you came to this interesting conclusion while sitting at home on your fanny in front of your computer? Hmmm?

(For what it's worth - I understand Piaggio/Vespa will release 2 new models later this year using the same 155cc 3V engine)

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 12:54 am

It was a joke, Dooglas! Hence the smileys!

Piaggio is always conservative on their top speed.
I got our Demo to 74 MPh indicated.

How long did it hold that speed? I'm wondering about an all day road trip.

Alexbv200 · Post by **Alexbv200** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 5:18 am

pugbuddy wrote:It was a joke, Dooglas! Hence the smileys!

Piaggio is always conservative on their top speed.
I got our Demo to 74 MPh indicated.
How long did it hold that speed? I'm wondering about an all day road trip.

I did it for about 10 mins or so.
Not sure any scooter under 200cc would feel comfortable to be WOT on highway for a long period of time to reach 70 mph.

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 5:33 am

I'll admit that I've run my 175cc Kymco Yager up I-10 from north Tucson to south Phoenix, a distance of ~90 miles, with the (measured accurate) speedometer showing 72mph and the tachometer flirting with the CDI cutoff of 9250rpm all the way up. It was an intense ride, to say the least. I was max'ed out and was twiddling the throttle constantly to prevent the CDI from cutting out, while barely keeping up with traffic in the slow lane (75mph posted limit).

The trip was uneventful and saved me a fair bit of time versus taking the back roads, but the process of running max'ed out for that long was very tiring and not much fun. I'd go find a way to raise my road speed limit and reduce engine speed to a saner level before I'd run that again.

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 2:12 am

az_slynch wrote:I'll admit that I've run my 175cc Kymco Yager up I-10 from north Tucson to south Phoenix, a distance of ~90 miles, with the (measured accurate) speedometer showing 72mph and the tachometer flirting with the CDI cutoff of 9250rpm all the way up. It was an intense ride, to say the least. I was max'ed out and was twiddling the throttle constantly to prevent the CDI from cutting out, while barely keeping up with traffic in the slow lane (75mph posted limit).

The trip was uneventful and saved me a fair bit of time versus taking the back roads, but the process of running max'ed out for that long was very tiring and not much fun. I'd go find a way to raise my road speed limit and reduce engine speed to a saner level before I'd run that again.

I went about 650 miles in a day on my 125. The majority of it was WOT or close to it. I'm not averse to cross-country trips on my Buddy and plan (at this time) to ride from Tulsa to AV 2014 in NOLA this summer. Hence my question.

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 3:28 am

That's definitely a perk of carburetors. My Elite 80 will go all day with the throttle wide open and no complaints. EFI, not so much.

My Yager can really romp on at higher speeds, but the ignition cutoff makes it impossible to crank the throttle open and hold it. Holding top speed requires a watchful eye on the tachometer and constant throttle management. Not sure if the Buddy 170i has the same issue, but I know that it will light the CELP and cut the ignition at high RPM as well.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 5:10 am

az_slynch wrote:I'll admit that I've run my 175cc Kymco Yager up I-10 from north Tucson to south Phoenix, a distance of ~90 miles, with the (measured accurate) speedometer showing 72mph and the tachometer flirting with the CDI cutoff of 9250rpm all the way up.

The Kymco Yager is water cooled, as is the Vespa GT200. That is a whole different deal than an air cooled scooter. Extended performance at higher speeds is a strength of a liquid cooled engine.

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:47 am

Dooglas wrote:The Kymco Yager is water cooled, as is the Vespa GT200. That is a whole different deal than an air cooled scooter. Extended performance at higher speeds is a strength of a liquid cooled engine.

The Yager is a 2V 175cc with a layout like a Buddy and is built on a 125cc bottom end. The LEADER in a GT200 is a more sophisticated design with a 4V head that is markedly evolved from it's air-cooled siblings. Like the Buddy, the Yager's CVT is configured for acceleration over top speed. The factory fitted variator is reported to be the same as that of the Blur 220, which probably helps the top speed. I like my bike, but I'd be lying to say that it's on par with a Piaggio.

That said, the 155cc 3V in the new Fly is listed for 12.7hp while the 175cc Yager reports an output of 15.4hp. I would expect that if the Piaggio came in a similar displacement, that power would be about 13.5- 14hp. Add an oil cooler and ceramic coating to the head and piston, and I believe that the 3V would outperform the Yager, especially with the improvements in cooling and friction reduction that are already built-in. Conjecture aside, the real-world performance of a 3V Fly is pretty similar to the Yager as it sits, which is pretty good since it's doing it without water cooling.