Piaggio Ciao

Piaggio Ciao

Piaggio Ciao

    In 1934 aircraft and locomotive manufacturer Enrico Piaggio hired Corradino D’Ascanio, inventor of the helicopter, to design a helicopter for production. After several failed attempts and the outbreak of World War II this never happened. Instead Piaggio asked D’Ascanio to design a new two-wheeled vehicle that was simple, cheap, utilitarian, and unisex. This lead to the patent of the Vespa scooter in 1946, named for its similarities to a Wasp. By 1967 Vespa was selling well over 200,000 scooters per year.

Piaggio Ciao

    On October 11, 1967 Vespa introduced its first moped, the Ciao, at Genoa’s Maritime Exhibition. Thanks to its small size and weight, the Ciao’s consumer base was composed almost entirely of sexy women, who helped comprise the hotest moped advertisement collection in the history of mopeds. Following the success of the Ciao, Vespa introduced the Boxer, Bravo, and Si.In 19 69 Piaggio purchased Italian motorcycle company Gilera. Eventually, Piaggio was manufacturing two lines of mopeds: Vespa and Gilera. The Gilera moped line included the Eco, CBA, and CBI. Starting in 1978 the CBA was slightly modified and was sold in North America as the Vespa Grande. Between 1976 and 1981 the Vespa and Gilera moped brands were Piaggio's biggest seller.

    The Piaggio Ciao (ciao means "hi" or "bye" in Italian) is a family of moped / bicycle produced by Piaggio from 1967 through 2006. Its the most iconic of Piaggio mopeds ever produced together with Vespas. It mounts a 49 cc engine that can make it run up to about 40 km/h. It is very convenient as with a full tank, it can cover nearly 130 km. It can also be converted into a bicycle by pressing a small button on its back. This function is vital when you run out of fuel and need to reach the closest petrol station. The Ciao uses a belt drive, unlike most other mopeds which are chain driven. Some models have an automatic continuously variable transmission (Variator). Breaking is by front and rear drums. Power for the lamps, horn, and ignition is from a magnet; there is no battery.  On newer models, the plastic fuel cap also serves as a measuring cup for the 2% oil-fuel mixture.